Dragon Rebellion

3. Hua

3

Hua

Fire had a smell. Smoke and ashes. Burned bodies that could have passed for cooking meat over the stove.

The scent invaded Hua’s every pore, sinking into her.

Fire had a feel. Heat and peeling skin.

It slithered along Hua’s arms, hitting her every nerve ending until her body buzzed with the energy.

Destroy.

The dragon’s voice thundered through her mind, reveling in the destruction fire caused. She’d never heard it as clearly as she had while she was asleep.

Avenge.

Avenge what?

She inhaled, her body reveling in the smoke filling her lungs. A smile curved her lips, one that was not her own, one that yearned to see the flames. Hua tried to claw her way to the front of her mind, but she slammed into a wall time and time again.

She’d spent weeks fighting this very battle, preventing the beast inside her from opening its eyes—her eyes. If she couldn’t gain control, she didn’t want the Nagi to have control either.

But the smoke breathed new life into the dragon, infusing her with a strength she hadn’t yet encountered.

Hua shrank further into the back of her mind until she hardly felt anything at all.

When the dragon opened her eyes, there was nothing more she could do to stop it.

Hua Minglan had lost her final battle.