Page 55 of Scaled Hearts

Where is my mate?

I crane my head to look around, spotting her running over to me.

She immediately throws her arms around me when I lower my head for her. I can feel her heart pounding in her chest as well as smell the bitter worry that rolls off of her.

“I was so scared. You took so long down there.”

I nuzzle into her body. “They’re all dead.”

She pulls back from me in surprise. “Allof them?”

I nod at her. “Every last one.”

She stares at me for a long moment, completely taken aback that I’d killed every last one of the orcs that were inhabiting the mines. I’m sure there are more on this island that need to be taken care of, but for now, her vermin problem has been taken care of.

She grins at me and turns to the crowd of humans that have yet to actually leave us alone.

“The orcs are dead!”

I’m startled when they all begin to cheer.

What… is going on?

“You did it,” Kelly tells me, throwing her arms back around me again. “You did it.”

“Did what?” I ask, incredulously.

She lifts her head and looks at me with tears in her eyes. “You freed us.”

24

Kelly

After the fall of the orcs, our lives begin to change drastically.

As once oppressed beings, it felt like one big trick that we were finally rid of the orcs who had controlled us for so long. No longer were we going to be forced to work in the mines until we died from exhaustion. No longer were we going to be forced to breed and create more livestock for them to abuse.

It all felt like an incredible dream that no one wanted to wake up from.

Angurus had been praised to the high heavens for his actions. His heroism has earned him the kind of notoriety that only a king possessed. Unanimously, it’d been decided that the encampment was to be named after his actions: Angurus’ Mercy, in order to honor him.

Of course, he’d soaked up the attention like the vain dragon he is. But he’d charmed enough people into letting him stay among us without fear that they needed to chase him off of Kaynvu.

Which had been a relief to me. I didn’t want to leave my sister, but I also didn’t want my mate being forced to leave either. Now, I get to live a happy life with both of them.

I move us back to my and Kara’s hut after things have started to settle down. I know that eventually, Angurus and I will need a bigger place to stay, but for the meantime this works.

As for my sister, Old Agatha and I had tried a few different combinations in order to find the purest form of the Lotus that we possibly could. For now, Kara’s curse has been put into remission, though the cure still eludes us.

It’s a disappointment for sure, but at least she won’t be getting worse any time soon.

“What are you thinking about?”

I look over, seeing Angurus coming out of the hut—dressed for once—and stride over to me.

I smile at him and turn back to the encampment. I’ve been people-watching all morning because it’s been hard to sleep lately. I think it’s the restlessness left over from our long journey that I’ve finally started to come down from.

Angurus wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me back into his chest and fitting us together perfectly. He buries his nose in my neck, breathing me in.

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