Chapter 12 – We Are Changed
"Sleeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself." ― C.S. Lewis, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
Kathryn came hurtling back to her body with a jolt, a gasp bursting from her lips as her body shot up, only for her to smack into a heavy chest. Feeling the heat beneath the flesh and the well sculpted muscle, Kathryn knew it to be Smaug's human shape, and she clung to him, her fingers like claws as she grabbed and pulled at his clothes, burying her face into his shoulder. She shook like a leaf, a cold settling over her body as her breath shivered in her lungs as she fought to hold back the tears as the images from her vision still burned in her mind. Smaug's arms came around her as he withdrew from her mind, as she felt him leave her and go back along the bond they shared and into his own head; he held her, burying his face in the curve of her neck, she felt his hot breath as he took in her scent. She felt a relieved sigh escape his lips, cascading over her collarbone and shoulders, he held her protectively, almost possessively, the pair of them thankful that the danger had passed and that the other was safe… memories of feelings from when they had both thought otherwise surfacing, and in that moment they simply conveyed all the emotions they had not shown since they had been reunited. Kathryn conveyed it all to him as she buried herself deeper into his arms, everything she had wanted to tell him, to show him, but had not due to the hurt and anger she had felt. All her grief at his passing, all her joy at his survival… and all her love for seeing him again. And she felt along the bond, all of the same emotions in him as he held her as if he would never let her go.
But suddenly, she felt Smaug stiffen, his body going rigid and she felt his chest vibrate from the growl he produced that seemed to be beyond human hearing. Kathryn leaned back, worry flickering through her, looking up into Smaug's face, only to see his eyes dark with anger as he looked off to the side. Kathryn then gasped, when she noticed the tip of a sword held against his throat.
And then she felt the touch of cold steal against the back of her neck.
She squeaked in surprise and fright, but completely stilled, as if should her body give off one twitch then her life would end.
"Well, well," came a dark drawl, and Kathryn turned her head ever so slightly so that she could see King Wilhelm glaring daggers into her back as he sat straight in his throne. "It seems you've been keeping secrets from us, Lady Kathryn,"
Suddenly, Kathryn squealed in pain as someone grabbed her arm and hauled her away from Smaug, half dragging her until she was thrown in a heap at the base of the steps leading to the throne. Instantly, Smaug went ballistic as he gave an almost inhuman roar and tried to stand and rush to her side, but three armed guards tried to restrain him – with varying degrees of success – and another sword was held to him.
"No!" Kathryn exclaimed, her eyes wide as they refused to leave Smaug's. She didn't know who she was talking to, Smaug or the guards or the King. But Smaug seemed to understand, rational thought entering his mind as he stilled himself upon her command, but his eyes never left her face.
"In all my years," said Wilhelm's voice, drawing everyone's attention back to him as they faced the King where he leant forward as if he were a hawk looking down upon his prey. "I have never seen the work of magic like that before… I had heard of your kind's capabilities, but I had never thought to actually see one in the flesh. And now, how fortunate that a Seer has come to the court of Dorwinion,"
A whisper ran through the gathered crowd, and Kathryn struggled to fight the panic rising within her as she forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat.
"Tell me," the King said. "I assume that you just went into a vision. What did you see?"
"Um," Kathryn murmured, her mind racing as she tried to decide what on earth she could possibly say. "It was mainly nonsense, your majesty,"
"Lies!" he spat, and suddenly, the guard beside Kathryn held his sword by her throat again.
"No! No! I swear!" Kathryn almost shrieked hysterically, her breathing becoming fast and erratic and she heard Smaug growl at a level in which everyone could hear him. "It could be a future that can be or something symbolic that has or will happen. I don't know! Most of what I see is a jumble, completely unfathomable!"
"But there are the odd occasions when you can?" he scowled at her.
"Sometimes…" Kathryn murmured, trying not to notice how vague she sounded.
"And you do have the sight?"
"Y-yes… Your Majesty,"
"And how do you know this man?"
Before Kathryn could answer, Smaug spoke out, bringing the attention of all those in the throne room to him with just the magnetic power of his voice.
"I am an old acquaintance," he growled out, his eyes burning into the King unashamedly, as if Wilhelm were a beggar in his presence.
"What is your name, stranger?" the King asked him coldly, raising an eyebrow at him as he peered down his nose at the man scornfully.
"Cail Agonn," Smaug said after a brief pause.
"And what exactly were you doing to our Seer?" the King asked as his eyes narrowed on Smaug.
"If it was not obvious," Kathryn could see that Smaug was trying very, very hard to keep in his temper – and perhaps more importantly his pride – but was having difficulty as his eyes were almost glowing from rage, and he was pronouncing his words through gritted teeth. "The Seer seemed to be in great peril. The magic was a danger to her, I saw what all of you were blind to see and so addressed the issue,"
Wilhelm frowned, head swivelling between Smaug and Kathryn as confusion creased his face. After a moment he scowled and turned to look at one of the servants at the side of the room.
"Then have the new physician look her over!" he barked, clearly angry at the fact that he couldn't dismiss a threat to Kathryn's safety, not even to spite Smaug. As of the recent revelation, she was far too valuable. She shivered at the thought.
A servant ran off, and not a few minutes later, the same servant returned, this time with a man in tow. He looked to be perhaps fifty years old, his skin pale on his very thin frame, he looked more like a sack of bones as he hobbled over to Kathryn, walking hurriedly with a cane to help with the slight limp in his step. Kathryn had never seen him before, so he must have been new to the castle staff as he had not treated Kathryn when she had been recovering from the madness. As he reached her, he bent down to his knees before her, and gently began to examine her, his long and thin fingers working over her flesh as he turned her head this way and that, checked her pulse in both wrists and her neck, looked into her eyes and ears. Smaug studied the man with narrowed eyes, as if he were dissecting a new bug.
"Now, you have put me in a position, Master Agonn," Wilhelm drawled as he sneered at Smaug. "You flung one of my greatest lords across a room," As if to accentuate his words, Lord Beronor stepped forward, looking a little ruffled as he glared across the room at Smaug as if he could burn him.
"The man was in my way," Smaug dismissed the threat as if it were nothing as he gave the human king a look that told of the boiling, murderous monster that hid just beneath the surface. "I do not allow such inconveniences,"
"Do not allow?" Wilhelm's brows rose with his outrage. "You seem to be under the impression that you have any form of authority. This is my court, and as such I am the one who holds the power here,"
"Isn't that the arrogance of men," Smaug chuckled, the sound holding no humour, only a coldness that seemed to put everyone on edge. "To claim what they are not worthy of,"
"I am worthy by right of blood and marriage!" the king hissed. "I am a king, and you are nothing more than a worm beneath my boot!"
"A worm…" Smaug muttered under his breath, and Kathryn felt her heart begin to race with fear as she saw the anger rise within him like a roaring fire, and she was sure that had he been in his dragon form, his chest would have been shining like the sun from the force of it. But he never showed it on his human face, only a cold, malicious, crooked smile spread up his face. "What lovely titles you give both to yourself and to me. But I have seen kings and empires fall in just one day, all gone in a cloud of smoke… And just now, as your narrow-minded advisors tell you, self-proclaimed kings are falling day by day, to die in the dirt, and be nothing but food for the crows and the worms,"
Wilhelm stood there, suddenly unsure with how to proceed, obviously unsettled by the clear threat in Smaug's voice. The human-dragon however, carried on.
"How wonderful it must be," Smaug carried on, his eyes alight with dark pleasure as he watched the King visibly pale. "To be lord of a flock of sheep that follow what little orders are thought for them," the audience cringed at his scathing words directed at them, but he ignored them. "To be king of a realm that has always been second best, for it is not the wealthiest, nor the most famous, nor the most popular. A realm that will burn beneath the fire of wyrms and die with –"
"ENOUGH!" Wilhelm screamed, all the nobles in the room physically shrinking away from the outburst of their king. Smaug was the only one who seemed unfazed as he smirked wickedly, as if this was a game that had only just gotten amusing. The King stood there, panting as he glared down with wide eyes at the seemingly human man kneeling before him, obviously rather upset by the exchange. He clicked his fingers harshly, and an armed guard appeared by his side. "If this man believes himself to have such a witty tongue," he hissed. "Then we shall show it to him!"
The guard hesitated for only a moment as he looked at his king as if he were mad, before stepping forward and drawing his dagger from his belt.
"No!" Kathryn screamed, lurching forward but was restrained by her own guard.
Smaug tensed, preparing to strike as the guard approached him, like a viper ready to –
"STOP!" sounded a voice and the whole room fell into silence. Everyone turned to see Queen Lalemwen standing upon the top of the dais, her eyes stormy as she glared down at her husband, and Kathryn realised that this was perhaps the only time she had seen the Queen angry or even standing up for herself. And from the looks on everyone else's faces it was a first time for them as well. "Enough of this Wilhelm," she commanded, finally acting like the Queen she was.
"He insulted me, I will see him punished!" Wilhelm raged, seeming oddly like a child throwing a tantrum as he seemed in such a difficult disposition with his wife standing over him and commanding the entire room to her will with her mere presence.
"Then have him sent to the dungeons!" she snapped. "I will not see my father's throne room become a torture chamber!"
She then turned her gaze on Smaug, her eyes cold and almost scathing, but Smaug merely looked at her as if she were beneath him.
"Away with him!" she ordered, and without any hesitation, the two guards hoisted the larger man back onto his feet, keeping their weapons trained on him as they secured his wrists with chains. They then turned him around and began to lead him out towards the exit.
Smaug let them lead him off, and Kathryn strained to see him through the crowd as they parted for him to leave. But glancing over his shoulder at her, Smaug's eyes connected with hers for but a brief moment, and as if time had slowed, she saw his lips curve into a self-satisfied smirk, before he vanished from her sight. With him gone, the whole room erupted into frantic whispers as people of the crowd talked with their neighbour of all that had transpired.
"Well?" she heard Wilhelm's voice cut through the air like a blade, forcing Kathryn to turn her head as she faced him. The physician stood, having done his examination a while ago and had simply been absorbed in the drama like everyone else.
"She is fine, my lord, no lasting damage," the physician said in a weasel, nasal like voice.
"Then take her to her room!" he hissed at the guards. "Keep her under lock and key until I have need of her."
And with that, the guard at Kathryn's side roughly took hold of her elbow and half escorted half dragged her out of the throne room. Quickly picking up her feet, she was able to walk on her own as she was taken through the castle towards her rooms. Along the way, she noticed how several people were staring at her – word travels fast, she thought bitterly. She wanted to snap at them, to tell them to at least be subtle when they gawked at her. But she restrained herself, for it would do her no good to lose her control. Her body was humming as she felt the magic flow through her, and she feared that if she didn't keep a tight control on it then it might lash out. That was something she had been terrified of doing since she discovered she had Raw Magic, it was something that she had strived to teach herself and prevent.
Eventually they came to her rooms, and without a word, her guards opened the door for her, allowing her inside before quickly slamming it shut behind her and locking the door. With the loud "boom" of the door, Kathryn felt her breathing become erratic as her heart rate began to race, panic setting in as she looked about her frantically.
What had she done?! How could this happen?! Of all the times to go into a vision, why now? If she had not been caged before, then she was surely to be imprisoned now for the rest of her days. The way that Wilhelm had looked at her… she shivered in repulsion, for she knew the greed of men as well as any. The human King would use her powers, of that she had no doubt, and she could not escape from it. That was not what bothered her; long ago, yes it would have and she would try everything she could to be free, but that now came second for her worry for Smaug. She had dragged him into this. His need to protect her had cost him to become captured and now little more than a dead man walking. Kathryn knew that if she could do anything then she had to get him out, she had to make sure he was safe. There was no question to it in her mind, his welfare came before hers, and that was that. But how could she get him out? It was not as if she could simply ask! As she stood there, fists pressed against her temple to try and force her scattered thoughts to become comprehensible so she could think, she tried to –
Suddenly, Kathryn felt a warm presence behind her, and a shadow eclipsed her form. She made to turn, hands flying to defend herself, but before she could, hands grabbed her, one clamping over her mouth and silencing her, the other around her waist and pulling her back so that she was pressed against a solid form. Kathryn struggled for only a second until she caught a flash of fiery eyes and felt the hard and muscular body against hers.
Smaug held her against him, his eyes scanning the room before he quickly led them both back, and before Kathryn knew it, they were on the balcony and Smaug released her and was softly shutting the doors so that they would make not a sound. Once they were closed, Smaug sighed softly, before turning back to face Kathryn.
"What are you doing here?!" Kathryn whispered as she stared at him in shock. "You were taken –"
"Do not finish that sentence for it will only insult me that you believe I would even allow the notion of a pack of humans to keep me prisoner," he interrupted her with a heated glare.
"They will eventually realise that you're missing," Kathryn insisted. "They will come after you,"
"Let them," Smaug grinned at the prospect of the challenge, his eyes dancing with a primeval joy.
"Why did you come here?" Kathryn asked, trying to distract from the fact that his want for bloodshed deeply unsettled her.
"We need to talk,"
"And you thought the best place would be on the balcony?"
"There are spies now watching your chambers, I can smell them between the thin walls. It was not safe to speak there," Smaug said softly, eyes shifting about with paranoia as if he could find the listeners.
"But then, I must question the balcony, for it would be the most obvious place that they are spying on," Kathryn dropped her voice, already unsettled at the thought of someone spying on her now.
"That is where you're wrong: it is such an obvious place, they would know you would know that, so you would avoid this area on purpose, meaning there was no need to watch this space," he explained as if it was so obvious, the answer had been dangling in front of her eyes. Kathryn decided to ignore how he could constantly make her feel stupid. Smaug then turned his attention fully on her, his eyes softening slightly, though he searched her eyes. "Kathryn, what happened in that vision?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," she murmured, rubbing her arms absentmindedly as her flesh became cold with the memory of her fear. "I have absolutely no idea… and that scares me,"
"But you have had visions where you did not understand the meaning of it before,"
"Yes, but they were triggered by something! This… I have no idea how to deal with this! It was automatic, completely out of the blue; I have no idea what it is or what it means. That scares me because that means that it is not something real,"
"Explain." He commanded.
"I means it is not something of the past, present or future, but something of a more meaningful nature, something that relates to outside forces beyond what we see," Kathryn explained, her mouth going dry as she remembered the vision she had had when she first encountered Smaug, one that had been metaphorical in predicting his death because of his attachment to her.
"I came into that vision to find you going into the arms of death," Smaug growled. "What happened?"
"I… I-I don't know –"
"Kathryn, I can't help you unless you tell me." he took a step towards her, and Kathryn automatically backed up, until the small of her back was pressed against the stone railing of the balcony and Smaug moved closer, lowering his head so that his eyes were level with hers and only a few inches separated them. Kathryn became painfully aware of that distance, as if the air was charged with electricity and became flooded with heat that warmed her flesh. Smaug spoke to her softly, his eyes never leaving hers. "I have never failed you in this before, so let me help you now…"
"How far we have come… if Smaug the Tyrannical begs a human to let him help," Kathryn murmured as she thought aloud, instantly forgetting the rush and tangled web of her emotions for him as all she focused on was his eyes, and how she felt safe with the monster within him.
"You are no ordinary human to me," he said little above whisper, his voice a hypnotic purr that sent shivers down her spine, but she couldn't break away from his gaze. He brought up his left hand, and with the tip of a single finger, he traced the line of her jaw down and then down the path of the vein in her throat before resting in the hollow of her collarbone. Kathryn felt her breath become light as she seemed to await with anticipation his next move, but he did nothing but stare into her amethyst eyes.
"The figure you saw me with…" she said at last, breaking the atmosphere that had been held taught between them like a bowstring. "I keep seeing him, though I never see his face. He keeps calling to me, speaking to me in words I don't understand but trust. Whenever I see him, he calls me Tharŷliel."
Smaug stood there, frowning slightly as he went deep into his own thoughts, lips moving slightly as his eyes shifted about, his cunning mind racing to connect the dots. Kathryn couldn't help but be drawn in as she awaited his answer with bated breath.
"What? What is it?" she asked.
"'Tharŷliel' is Elvish. In the old tongue it means 'daughter of future dreams'. It was a name given to the Seers of Old, an order that took your god Irmo as a patron."
"He is the Valar Lord of Dreams and Visions…" Kathryn murmured, her own mind now scattering as she weighed what this could mean. "Do you think I'm seeing him?"
"I do not know what to think, as I find the tales of the gods of mortals to be little more than naïve tales. Fantasies of cowardly mortals who would rather hide behind the wills of "higher beings" rather than take control of their own lives."
"But weren't the dragons used by Morgoth in the War of Wrath?" Kathryn raised a brow at him.
"You know of that?"
"Only small bits from what the songs and tales say," she said simply.
"Your so called "valar" may be very powerful beings, of that I have no doubt. Perhaps they were once powerful elves, from which all wizards of today are descended. But I do not believe them to be gods capable of bending the world to their will. That is a right only held for ones like dragons,"
Kathryn raised a brow at him, sinking into a hip as she gave him a look that said: 'really?'
"And anyway," Smaug grumbled with a flick of his wrist in dismissal. "If you are seeing some version of him, then I want it to stop. What he seemed to be doing made it look as if he wanted to take you away. I am not about to let that happen,"
Kathryn watched him, the sudden fire in him upsetting her. The way he seemed threatened that a mere shadow in a vision could take her from him, the paranoia, the fear, the desperation to not let her go… it made her want to comfort him, oddly enough. She wanted to hold him and whisper that nothing could take her from him. But of course, it saddened her to know that something could, and something had once before. She shivered at the thought, and so tried to change the conversation.
"'Cail Agonn'?" she said instead, looking at him curiously as she cocked her head as if to study him. "That's a rather thinly veiled emulation of Morgoth's greatest Dragon, don't you think? ... What was he, a childhood hero?"
"No." Smaug said, a smug tugging at his lips. "But even a child could recognize and respect Ancaligon's strength."
"More fear than respect, but alright." Kathryn murmured almost to herself. "Why not use a variation of your own name? Why take that of another?"
"If others are to call me by my name, then I will have them call me by my name. Not a variation of it. They will speak my name with respect and fear, knowing what it is they speak of." He growled out as he looked out from the balcony onto the city that laid sprawled out before him, clear contempt in his features as he sneered at all the puny humans that were literally and metaphorically beneath him. "And besides, I take that name because it is within my right, both through honour and blood,"
"Wait, what?" Kathryn frowned, suddenly realising what that statement meant. "Are you saying that –?"
"Ancaligon the Black was a great ancestor of mine." He turned to her with another smug smirk across his handsome features, eyes glinting hotly. "Glory and greatness is in my blood as well as my actions,"
Left to ponder that, Kathryn supposed that she shouldn't have felt so surprised, seeing as it could have been something to start Smaug's self-entitled arrogance, perhaps he was told of his ancestor's magnificence and prowess on the battlefield, and so took it upon himself to carry that mantle and maybe even surpass it. It made her smile slightly to think of Smaug as a young and innocent creature, idolising a long lost family member the only way a child could do. She was so lost in her imaginings, that she did not even notice that Smaug had come to stand beside her until she felt the heat of his body against her own.
"Kathryn…" he murmured in a soft voice just beside her ear, his breath washing over her neck, and she struggled to repress a shiver. "When we were alone, you pulled away from me; why?"
Kathryn felt herself stiffen, trying to fight her body's automatic response as she remembered the kiss they had shared. The heat as well as the embarrassment that filled her was enough to make her cheeks burn, and she tried to turn her face away from the man beside her and ignore him. But of course, there was no ignoring him, as she felt him loom above her with his impatience, his mind tugging upon the bond between them in order to try and coax an answer out of her. And suddenly, she felt afraid… could she tell him? She had spent so long bottling up all of her feelings that it was suddenly as if she were being stripped of her clothing, leaving her bare for him to see. She felt like a stupid teenager, too afraid to voice her own emotions. But she had known Smaug for so long… he had been a part of her mind and soul, he was the only person who had understood her and accepted her for what she was. Suddenly remembering this, she found an odd strength and was able to find her voice.
"I have always loved you," she said, and a silence quickly descended upon them as Smaug stared at her, eyes wide but impossible to read as she turned to see him studying her intently, as if looking for any form of deceit. "Since I left you, I knew I loved you. But I could never know if you felt the same way… of course, as you said, your actions proved your intention. But call it a human insecurity: I have to have it spelled out before I get it. I've spent so long, keeping it all in, never letting you know; when you kissed me, I guess I just… I panicked. I-I've never been…" she trailed off, embarrassed by her own ignorance, but she turned to face him, standing straight as she looked into his fiery eyes that were positively glowing from something she couldn't quite define. "You are the only one I've ever felt this way for. And I was too afraid to do anything before,"
"And now?" he asked, his voice suddenly husky and had deepened considerably as his eyes locked onto her, never blinking.
Instead of answering, Kathryn slowly went up onto her tiptoes, craning her head back, she closed her eyes, giving in to herself as she pushed past the fear and panic. Her hands pulled on the collar of his cloak, pulling him towards her as she slowly brushed her lips against his forehead. Ever so softly, she kissed his forehead, right between his brows, a swirl of emotions raging within her as she remembered the time she had left him, leaving him with one secret kiss upon his eye before she had run away. Slowly pulling away from him, Kathryn watched him with fearful but saddened eyes as he straightened just enough so that their eyes were level, gaze unreadable.
They stared at one another, unable to take their eyes from the other, completely losing themselves as their stares locked. Kathryn felt a surge of emotions run along the bond between them, merging together, swirling and wrapping around each other, holding each other even if in the real world, neither of them moved. They felt each other's pain, the grief, the joy and the love that suddenly bloomed between them with a life of its own, like a storm in its strength but as gentle and tender as snowflakes drifting down to settle over them. And then, Kathryn held in a breath as Smaug slowly leaned forward, so slowly it was as if he were quietly asking permission of her as he came closer and closer. Kathryn held still, not looking away nor daring to show any fear, not even as her heart hammered inside of her chest. She then felt Smaug's lips brush her own, and felt a tender touch at the corner of her mouth, as the dragon-human placed a soft kiss upon her flesh. He lingered for only a moment, before slowly retracting from her. The move was so gentle and affectionate, so cautious, as if he didn't dare to break this fragile moment, it was so against the Smaug she knew, the one who took what he wanted and cared not for the consequences… this was so loving that it physically brought Kathryn to the point of tears, and before she could stop it, a single tear escaped her eye and raced down her cheek.
"Y-you need to leave," she whispered in a shaky breath, turning away from him. "The guards will be searching for you,"
"You're coming with me," he murmured in a low voice.
"I'll slow you down, they will kill us both,"
"I would like to see them try," he growled, the malice in his voice directed at the threat that was coming, not her.
"Damn it Smaug!" Kathryn hissed, her emotions bubbling to the surface as her eyes stung with tears. "You cannot say things like that anymore! Whether you consider this an insult or not, you are human now, you are not indestructible anymore. That means you can get hurt, you could…" she trailed off as she forced herself to swallow back the lump in her throat. "I can't watch you die again Smaug, I can't!"
"You never will," he said softly, coming in close to her again, and she feared that he would kiss her again. "We will have an eternity together. When we go home, everything will be perfect, just like it once was,"
"Home?" Kathryn asked, frowning up at him in confusion.
"The Lonely Mountain," he clarified as if it were completely obvious.
"W-what?" Kathryn blinked, as if waking from a dream as she seemed to be slammed hard into reality as she stared at him as if he were mad. "Smaug, what are you thinking?! You can't!"
"I can't?" he growled as he raised a brow at her at the challenge. "I beg to differ, dear Kathryn." He purred out her name, knowing the effect it had on her as it made her shiver involuntarily. "I took that mountain once, I can take it again, and this time, no one will steal it from me!"
"No Smaug, you can't, so many people will die –"
"All of them dwarves and Lakemen who killed us." he snarled in a low and quiet voice, making it seem all the more dangerous. "I would see them die a thousand times beneath my claws for what they did."
"No!" Kathryn begged him quietly. "Please, I –!"
"You are coming with me," He insisted, seemingly oblivious to her pleas. "We are going to take back the mountain, and you are never leaving me again! I will finally have everything, all my treasures back once again, I will not part with – ARGH!"
Lurching away from her, Smaug cried out as he quickly doubled over in pain, writhing and body jumping as he fell into spasms and contortions. Kathryn's eyes widened, mouth opening, trying to edge closer to help but his thrashing limbs prevented her.
"Smaug! What –" she tried to speak as she came close enough to grab his shoulder and turn him to face her. But what she saw made her gasp and retract her hand as if she had been burned.
Creeping across his flesh, Kathryn saw scales bloom like veins across his skin as they grew up his arm, onto his shoulder, crawling across his chest and up his neck to meld with the right side of his face. The cheek bone became more angular, the jaw became much thicker, the eye socket distorting. It was like her vision, a monstrous meld of dragon and human as the beast within tried to break free from beneath the skin. He was so hot that Kathryn was surprised he wasn't bursting into flames. His eyes were wide with pain and panic, he looked at her desperately, seemingly the only thing he could focus on.
"Katrhyn… Ka –!" he was cut off as an inhuman scream was ripped from his throat as his back arched and Kathryn heard the sickening crack of bones. His knees wobbled and Kathryn lurched forward to catch him before his legs gave out. But he flinched away from her touch, and before she could stop him, in his panic-stricken mind, he turned away from her and jumped straight off of the balcony.
Author's Note: Hey guys, hope you like the chapter, a bit shorter then the last one - which was huge even for my standards - but as I've said now, I'm looking for quality not quantity, which is why I'm updating whenever I can now. Being on Easter Break is actually taking up my time with family business :P But don't worry, I'm still getting time to write in the evenings.
Couple of quick things: Firstly, thanks to Dagdamor1 for all business regarding Smaug's name. Also, Heart of Ashes now has a music video! I made it myself with the music that I've been using as the theme for this story. Link to it on my profile!
And a reminder about the competition: Myself and Mussymay14 are holding a "Heart Series" Competition! You can submit anything from fanart, fan-vids, music, whatever so long as it is to do with this series. Go to the Heart-of-Fire Devianart Page (link to that on my profile page) for all the rules, even though there's not many. Deadline will be 21st of April. First prize winner will have themselves/their OC feature as a guest star in this story! Second place prize is a short story, and third prize is a preview of the next chapter. Can't wait to see your work!
Until next time my dragon-lovers! x X x
