Ari and the Beast by Devon Cross

Author:Devon Cross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay first time, hurtcomfort, hurt comfort, gay dragon shifter, gay beauty and the beast, gay paranormal fairy tale, gay paranormal shifter romance, gay shifter fantasy, mm paranormal fairytel retelling
Publisher: Silverlark Press

Chapter Ten

Ari

The daylong journey to reach his village gave Ari the time he needed to reflect on the last thirty-six hours. Leaving the safety of Devlin’s cave had been difficult, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the flood of emotions that hit him as soon as he reached his old home.

The smell of ash and burnt flesh found him first, hitting Ari in the chest and forcing all of the air from his lungs. Buildings that once stood tall now lay on the ground. His mother’s clothesline was missing along with the lovely rocking chair his father had made for the front porch.

Every house inside the village was much of the same. The only things that had survived the blaze were the fence lining the back gardens and a section of trees beside the road.

“It’s gone,” he choked out, placing a hand on a nearby tree before he could fall.

He’d seen the torches in the hunters’ hands and felt the heat on his back, but he’d hoped the damage wouldn’t have been as bad as this. Charred supports jutted from the ground, reaching up to the heavens where the fates ignored his family’s panicked cries.

Overwhelmed with grief, Ari’s legs gave out as the flicker of a memory raced through his mind. The attack on his village played out in vivid detail.

His mother had just hung the laundry out to dry when Ari and his father returned from their morning hunt. They’d planned to sit and have a meal to themselves, but as soon as the thundering of hooves hit the ground, Ari’s family and the rest of the village scattered.

If there’d only been one horse there wouldn’t have been a problem. Scouts were commonplace along with weary travelers. But as soon as Ari’s mother focused in the beasts’ direction, she knew. She always did.

As one of the only remaining seers in the land, she’d guarded her secret well. She’d warned Ari years ago to never use his gift for fear of another seer sensing him.

“Not all seers are alike,” she’d said. “And what you see will be a terrible burden no other can share. You must never use it. Promise me.”

Ari swallowed hard and fought back tears that threatened to fall. “I don’t know if I can.” He’d kept his promise to her for so long, but it never did any good. If she’d kept to her gifts, if she hadn’t hidden them, then maybe none of this ever would’ve happened.

Not the attacks, the fire, or his race into Devlin’s arms.

Devlin.

Ari’s heart skipped. With Devlin so far away, Ari’s promise to never use his gift started to wane. His heart reached out to the drake and the bit of comfort he could give. He waited for his fox to argue, to remind him how their mate left in a time of need.

It didn’t matter. The longer Ari stood alongside the road, the harder it was for him to ignore what he needed most. Not revenge. Not his mother’s wisdom or his father’s strength.

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