Corrupted: An Epic Dragons and Immortals Romantic Fantasy (Fallen Emrys Chronicles Book 1) by E.E. Everly (motivational books for men txt) 📕

I won’t abandon you, Seren said. So we continue north?

That’s as good as any destination. We need to find civilization somewhere. The angled mountain peaks were fizzling out. With Seren’s dragon sight, I glimpsed the first green hills beyond the frozen silence. The land, at least, was in a warm season. I could just make out a village and crop fields with stalks waving on a breeze.

Reminds me of Gorlassar at the height of the growing season, Seren said.

The land is beautiful.

So what do we do if we’re spotted? I’m not sure if mortals have ever seen a dragon.

Maybe they have three thousand years ago. I don’t know how much of their culture has evolved since Siana left Gorlassar. I wonder if their records mention her.

I doubt it, Seren replied. We should probably stay out of sight.

I’m not hiding. I left Gorlassar to start a life. We just have to figure out a way to introduce you to the frail beings.

The mountain range dropped off, and a mile-wide gap cut through before the range climbed in height on the other side.

I like that grove of trees there, I said. Let’s take a look. We’ll be able to see the highlands up close.

Seren banked and descended. People are in the village.

Let’s hope they didn’t notice us fly in.

How are you going to introduce me to the natives? Seren asked.

We could torch a village. That would at least let them know you’re not one to mess with.

Though she knew I was pulling her tail, Seren said, I’ll do no such thing. She landed with the grace of a queen. A sparse patch of tree growth allowed her to slip right in, next to a trickling brook.

Quaint. Like home, I muttered.

Are you homesick already?

Not on your life.

Are you regretting your actions? she asked.

Seren, there hasn’t been time to regret my actions.

But you feel heavy. Aneirin bruised you more than you care to admit.

I swung around in the saddle. No, I admit it all. You can feel my disheartened center. I did a reckless thing. I shouldn’t have looked into his soul.

You’ll heal. What should we do in the meantime?

While I come up with an idea? How about supper? I rummaged through a satchel tied to the saddle. I wasn’t rash enough to leave without provisions and some of home’s comforts. Canisters of soup, breads, cheeses. A basket of fruit. I wasn’t sure what I’d find in the mortal world. I didn’t know what season they were in or what the landscape was like because the view from Mount Eirwen’s snow-covered ledge was nothing but a panorama of white and blue mountains reaching with steely fists into the sky.

No immortal had ever set foot on Bryn—besides Siana, and she had not returned. We possessed no records of what mortals were like, no record of their world. The wisdom the elders passed on was only how wicked and dark this world was. How the Creator, Deian, magicked the portal between our worlds to prevent evil from entering. Thus the inference that humans were corrupted, that they would corrupt us, a society of pure, light-bearing immortals.

And the High Emrys had knowledge from the Creator himself, so as a people, we were told to stay well away and mind our duty as dragon guardians.

I’d brought a change of clothing and cleansing oils. I opened a bottle of bergamot and inhaled. Calm stroked my mind. I wished the feeling reached my heart. A knot had lodged under my breastbone—a constant reminder of why I left.

Brokenhearted. Pity.

Aneirin.

I jumped off Seren, with my satchels, and dropped them against a tree. She stepped over the rocky dirt and tipped her head to the brook for a drink.

Are you hungry? I knelt, and my fingers played in the water. Not being delicate, I brought a palmful to my mouth and slurped. I washed the remaining drops down my neck and rubbed my collarbone. The water was fresh, with a delicious mineral taste.

I smell a tantalizing morsel a few meters away. I’ll catch my own dinner, Seren said.

Sounds good. I plucked a peach from a satchel. Those spoiled the fastest. I took off my boots and roamed the mossy woodland floor barefoot while Seren squeezed between two trees and crouched, waiting for her dinner to draw closer. A rabbit. A snack, but Seren wasn’t one to complain.

After supper, we explored the area. I ventured to the edge of town, ducking behind bushes and rocks. Seren stayed in the grove, but I allowed her to see through our shared sight. The mortals weren’t completely inept. I wasn’t sure what I expected. Slobbering, drooling, wild men and women grunting and exaggerating their gestures? What surprised me was they spoke the same common tongue as the people in Gorlassar. I supposed Deian gave all beings on two legs the basic components of speech. A few particulars were different, but the meaning was understandable.

I watched a mother hang laundry on a rope line while her toddler dug in the dirt. The girl caked mud over her cream-colored dress while her mother was oblivious. I gasped when the child traipsed over to a cradle and dangled a worm above it. The mother finally turned and screeched, “Katelyn, don’t feed your brother worms!” She smacked the offending creature from Katelyn’s grasp, and the child wailed, setting off the sleeping baby, whom the mother picked up and promptly latched to her breast.

That might have been handled with more tact, Seren said.

I smirked. They were only human.

Many more yards, enclosed by slapped-together stick fences, contained mothers with children. Most tackled some chore, such as hoeing the garden weeds or scrubbing laundry in a tub. A whiff of stew wafted out a window. A