Exerpts from Talon the Black: 

1. "In a desperate attempt to burn away the legs of his foe, he made a deadly mistake diving too close. He came within the giant's reach. His face erupted into pain as the giant swatted him. He felt the icy fingers rake across his scales, from the eye ridges of his forehead, down to his jaw. He was seared by white-hot agony. "

2. "When she neared his dais, the king moved his hands, exposing his appearance in its entirety. She was met by a face covered in deep scars. Disguising her shock was difficult. The sight of him encouraged her alarm, and even pity. For a brief moment, compassion replaced her intense hatred. What kind of horrors had done such a thing?

When at last she reached the stairs, she beheld the king closely. He was completely different than she imagined. She expected him to be old—perhaps a white bearded man stooped with age. He was nothing of the sort.

Hiding behind marred skin was a young man. She could see that he was once handsome, with a prominent forehead and heavy-set silver eyes that glittered with flecks of gold when they caught the light. Beautiful as they were, his eyes could not overshadow the rest of him. Was it difficult for his subjects to see past his scars? The mutilations covered his face. The most noticeable line ran diagonally from his right eyebrow to his lower jaw. She forced her gaze away to look at the rest of him.

His jet-black hair was thick and unruly, hardly tamed by the crown of gold atop his head. These two wrestled for power—order versus chaos. The winner was clear. Yet the untidiness suited him, lending itself to the beast-like appearance he possessed."

I was so thrilled when captain_prongs used her artistic talent to paint this fan art image of Talon. I worked with her closely on his scar placement, using excerpts from my first books, as well as the image of him in my mind to get them right. When she sent me this, I literally cried. It was the first time I had seen Talon with so much likeness to what I had imagined, from the diagonal scars to the unruly black hair and silver eyes. I wanted to save this image for THIS chapter as a lead-in. I hope you all love it. Let's congratulate her on a job well done!

Brezen

Claire woke just before dawn when something soft smacked her in the chest. She found Bedelth peering through the tent flap. "A pillow?! Really?" She pushed it off and it tumbled to the floor. There were worse ways to wake up, though she would have expected such behavior from Koldis, more than anything.

"Rise and shine!" Bedelth gave her a toothy grin before disappearing. She grumbled and stretched her muscles, slowly getting to her feet. One day closer to sleeping in a real bed again—to waking up without aching muscles.

"Ughhh," Tamara grumbled beside her, getting up from her own cot. "I could sleep for hours more."

"Same!" she agreed. "But preferably in a feathered bed."

"Yes, that would be nice!"

The moment she was up and about, her stomach tied itself in knots. Tamara padded about the space on bare feet, helping her to dress in travel clothes. She gathered her pack, checking back through the contents.

"You're sure you have everything?" Tamara asked.

"Positive." She zipped it closed.

"Well, I suppose we won't be separated for too long," Tamara said, sounding rather forlorn. "I never imagined I would see the capital. Promise that when I arrive, you will show me around?"

"I promise."

They hugged and linked arms as Tamara and Byron escorted her to the field beside their camp. The closer she got, the faster her heart raced. Talon and Bedelth had already assembled, along with Fort Kastali's other twenty pairs, those who'd escorted Talon to Esterpine.

Talon walked between them, speaking casually with each pair. His movements were more tense than usual. When he spotted her, he froze and then nodded before moving away to transform.

She watched.

Iridescent black scales sprouted from his skin like armor. His body expanded, swelling outward in a matter of seconds. A pleased roar escaped his jaws as his forelegs settled on the ground, ripping furrows in the soil. The black dragon was free once more.

She glanced between Talon and the others. "He's quite a bit larger than the rest, isn't he?" It wasn't exactly meant as a compliment. Especially as she eyed his hulking form, now towering over everything else. He wore the same harness she had used with Koldis and Jovari.

"How am I supposed to climb up something so large?"

"With poise and grace, as any lady ought," Tamara whispered, bumping into her shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. Good luck."

"Thanks," she whispered back, giving Tamara's arm a final squeeze.

Adjusting her pack she strode across the field. Talon had settled himself a comfortable distance away from the others. She set her pack down beside his foreleg and looked up at him. Her head fell back, taking in the dark mountain she was supposed to climb. The harness straps were out of reach, but if she vaulted up his foreleg, she could grab ahold of them. There were also straps to fasten her pack.

"May I help you with that?" Bedelth appeared beside her. He eyed Cyrus's sword strapped to the back of it, but said nothing. Without waiting for her answer, he picked it up, climbed onto Talon's forearm like a pro, and fastened it to his harness. His reach got him much farther than hers would have.

"There. All set." He stepped down and moved away where he transformed. His orange scales glittered like a sunset in the gray light of dawn.

Talon's massive head came around to regard her. His forked tongue flicked out like a snake's, tasting the air. She eyed it, frowning. He snorted, enveloping her in a small plume of smoke. "All right. All right." She fanned the air. "I'm going. Just give me a sec."

Taking several steps back for a running start, she sprinted towards him and gracefully leapt into the air, placing her feet on his foreleg and vaulting upward to grab the straps of the harness. Her body collided with his. Her skin made contact with his scales. There was a brief instant where she felt the warmth of him before the jolting realization that she was still in motion. Falling. Falling. Falling....

Her heart stopped.

The world around her pitched and heaved, sending her right through the blackness of Talon's scales into something...more. She couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe?!

"Claire..." The richness of Talon's voice echoed in her mind.

"Talon?" She only vaguely registered his presence. Where had everything gone? Where were Bedelth and the other pairs? Better yet, where was she? "What's...happening?" Her thoughts were panicked. She blinked against the overwhelming heat surrounding her, stifling her, making each breath thick and heavy. She coughed and squinted into the distance. "Talon? Talon, where are you? I can't see you..."

Before her was the vast expanse of a lava field, hues of red, orange, and black, stretched out in every direction, all the way to the horizon. She could feel the heat of it through the soles of her feet. Had Talon become a portal to a Hawaiian volcano? It was the most absurd thought. But how else could she explain it? And that absolutely terrified her.

"Talon, I—"

"Claire, no need to panic." The lava beside her gurgled and bubbled until it popped, burping up red-orange liquid.

She shrank away from it. What was this place? What had he done? Had he tricked her? Transported her?

"Nothing of the sort. You are in my mind."

"Your...your mind?" All she could see was the same harsh, inhospitable landscape. In a place like this, how was she even alive? How was it possible to breathe without strangling herself on fumes? Deadly volcanic fumes.

"Claire, listen to me. You're in my mind. Please...stop panicking. Take a deep breath. Can you do that?" His words reminded her of the time she had been kidnapped, when he had coaxed her to calm down. Except this time, she was truly struggling.

"I..." She looked for him, for his glittering black form. It sounded as if he were right beside her. But she couldn't see him. Why?

"Deep breaths," he reminded her.

She nodded this time, inhaling deeply, in and then out. As the breath left her chest, she began to relax. None of this made any sense, but if she wasn't dead by now, she was probably okay. And Talon was there with her...somewhere. Somehow.

"Wait..." A sliver of realization dawned on her as she calmed down. "You said this was your mind?" She noticed then that her voice echoed, as if she were in a vaulted chamber.

"Correct. You are in my mind. No need to panic. You're safe."

"But I don't...how?! Did I fall into your body? Where your dragon fire lives?"

He chuckled. She felt it as a rumble that reverberated up through the soles of her feet. Several lava bubbles burst beside her. She stepped away from them.

"I can see why you would think that. But no, you are simply in my mind, not my body. Claire...I wanted to tell you. I tried..."

She backed away without watching where she stepped. There was a squelching sound as her left foot sank into a puddle of lava. "Ugh!" It did not burn as she expected, but it was warm, comfortably warm, like an inviting bath. She had a brief flash of a memory. Talon speaking to a woman with dark hair and silvery gray eyes, eyes like his own. His mother.

She pulled free and her foot came away completely clean. The memory vanished as quickly as it had come. She placed her hand against her chest to calm her racing heart. "Was that...?" She took another deep breath to calm herself. "How is it...how is this possible?"

Her fear subsided, replaced by awe. She took a deeper look around as if seeing her surroundings in new light. That's when she noticed that Talon was there with her, just as he'd said. She couldn't see him, not physically, but she could see everything that made him who he was. The entire lava field was alive!

"It's magnificent. This place." Smiling, she spread her arms wide and turned in a circle.

But why?! Why was she here?

"Because you are my mate."

"Your...your....mate?" She stepped forward, moving to a safer patch of dried, blackened lava. His words didn't quite sink in. "But I can't be, Talon. That's..."

"Impossible? I know. I thought it was too."

Her stomach fluttered. Talon had failed to find his mate, failed after hundreds of years because his mate had never been born in Dragonwall. Whoever she was related to had fled into her own world. But in time that line had found its way home. Back to Dragonwall. She had found her way home. The realization overwhelmed her. It was almost...too much.

Buying herself time to think, she went down on one knee and dipped her hand into a pool of lava. She was enveloped into another memory. This one was recent. The forest surrounded her, familiar and inviting. She sighed with desire. With longing. In hopes that one day she would return.

The face of a Sprite woman swam into view. Princess Taylynn.

You're sure of it? Talon asked the princess.

Positive, Taylynn answered. Claire is your mate as surely as I am a Sprite. The King Tree never lies.

She ripped her hand from the lava, eyes growing wide. "What is this?" she whispered, not quite believing what she had just seen.

"You weren't supposed to see that."

"She...she knew? Taylynn knew and she told you? And you didn't tell me?"

She stepped farther away from the lava holding the memory. The thought of it tasted like ash on her tongue, bitter and charred. She wanted to spit it out, to pretend she hadn't seen it. To pretend it hadn't tainted her.

"How could you have kept something like this from me, Talon—something so important?"

"Claire, I—"

"No! You...you lied to me!" Her heart pounded.

He had kept this from her, this thing, this important piece that tied them together. If Princess Taylynn had been the one to tell him, then he had known for days. Known ever since arriving in Brezen, and even before then.

Hurt blossomed in her chest, painful and piercing. It felt like betrayal.

"Am I worth so little that you couldn't tell me? Why...why would you do that?"

"Claire, please! I never intended to hurt you. I tried—"

"No!" she hissed, shaking her head, backing away. Something pierced her mind—something foreign. She gasped. If she was in his mind, of course he was in hers too! Or he tried to be. She wouldn't let him. Her mind belonged to her and her alone! It was the last place she had to herself.

Cyrus, help! She cried.

In this, I can no more help you than you can help yourself, he said. Remove your hand if it pains you so much.

My...my hand? Realization overcame her. She wasn't really in a lava field. She was touching Talon's scales.

"No, Claire. Please. Let me explain. I did not—"

She jerked her hand away and the dark world vanished. She blinked against the dawn's sunlight, against tears that blurred her eyes. She was still hanging, dangling from the harness strapped to Talon's back. How much time had passed? Seconds? Minutes? It felt like an eternity.

Shocked and confused, she released the harness, careful not to touch him again as her body slid down his. Her feet landed on his forearm. Without further contact, she jumped away from him, trying to understand what had happened.

He had lied to her! Lied by omission. It made little difference.

"Fly yourself back to Kastali Dun," she said, her voice cutting. "I'll walk the distance with Tamara and the rest of the camp."

She fled, sprinting away from everyone, away from the camp, away from the field, to be alone. An angry roar split the air behind her. Moments later she heard him. Hands from behind wrapped around her waist, stopping her.

Talon grabbed her and spun her around to face him. "Claire, please! Please!" His eyes were wide. The scars on his face were pale white lines.

"No!" She struggled against him, trying to get free. He fought back, keeping a firm hold of her. "Let me go!" But he wouldn't. Her breaths grew shallower, faster, until she was on the brink of hyperventilating. "You hid this from me!" she gasped. "All this time! You had so many opportunities but you...you—" A sob escaped her chest, cutting off the rest of her tirade.

He pulled her against his chest. "Shh. Please! Don't...I didn't mean...it was never my intention. I tried..."

"You tried?" Her voice came out muffled against his tunic. "You had the chance! Plenty of chances."

"You're right." His arms tightened. "You're right. I may have failed the other night, but I should have told you. I should have made the time to say something. I...I made a mistake," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Claire. I messed up."

She stopped fighting him, going limp as his apology sank in. Apologies weren't something he did well, but this time, he held nothing back. Not like the last time when it had taken months. This time it had taken mere minutes, and she wasn't exactly prepared for that.

"You're...sorry? You mean that?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I've done a lot of stupid shit. But perhaps this might be the stupidest."

A strangled sound bubbled up from her chest, half sob, half laugh. Her body shook against his. "It's too much," she said at last, overwhelmed by the bigger elephant in the room. The fact that they were mates. "I had no warning. I...I wasn't ready."

"I know...shh. It's okay."

"No, it's not! How can you even say that? Is it...is it always supposed to be like this? This frightening?"

He grumbled. "You're asking me? As if I have done this before? Two minds become one. It's different for every pair." He paused. "Claire..."

She pulled away to look at him. His arms were still around her waist, unyielding. She saw his face, his scars, strained.

"I really am sorry," he added. She nodded and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, aware of how ridiculous the two of them must have appeared to those watching. "I never wanted to hurt you. Gods! You're the last person in the world I want to hurt. It seems I have a good habit of it. Can you forgive me for this? I was...scared."

"Scared of what?" She scowled at him, uncomprehending. What did he have to be afraid of? He was Dragonwall's king.

"Of...of everything! Gods! Don't you see?! I have been alone for centuries. Convinced that living mateless was part of my curse, convinced that even if I had a mate, she would be forced to live with my...with my scars. With...me." His words came out bitter. "My life was exactly where I wanted it."

"Well gee, I'm sorry I came along then."

"No!" His arms tightened again, keeping her flush to him. She was forced to arch her back to get a better look at him. "That is not what I meant. Look, as sudden as this is for you, can't you see it is just as overwhelming for me? I...I'm doing a very poor job of explaining myself, aren't I?"

"I...no...I mean, yes. I think I understand your meaning."

Maybe she had overreacted. Perhaps a smidge. But he had kept a massive secret hidden from her. Then again, hadn't she done much the same? More than once?

"I...I'm sorry that I got so angry with you," she said at last. A strangled laugh escaped her chest. "I guess this is just a lot for both of us."

"You think?" His chest deflated against her body. "But thank you. That means a lot. And for what it's worth, I understand your reaction. I should have told you." He tucked her head beneath his chin, holding her against him. "I have known for five days and I'm still struggling to comprehend it. When my parents died, it took months to internalize the severity of it. I would wake up in the morning believing they were still alive. Then reality would sink in, and each day was as bleak as the last. And my scars—knowing that I would always be ugly. That took a long time too. Big events sink in slowly for me, it would seem. But us? Mates? I can't seem to fathom it."

"Me either," she whispered, her voice thick.

"I'm not used to having a bossy female in my life, you know. Not until you came along."

"I am not bossy!" She tried to push at his chest, but it was half-hearted.

"You're not?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe a little. But only when I have to be. And maybe if you weren't so ridiculous all the time. Besides, you're bossier than me."

"Fine. Noted." He huffed, tucking her head back under his chin. "You know, I thought perhaps our walks together might make it easier for me to tell you. Admittedly, I did not want to believe Taylynn when she told me. I was certain that when you touched me, nothing would happen. That's why I didn't say anything."

"That...makes sense, I guess." And it did.

"Can you imagine me telling you, only to be wrong?"

The disappointment would have been severe.

"I spent years hoping, searching, only to be let down, until I finally accepted who I am, what I am. I finally accepted my life. Being alone."

Her heart sank like a stone. "Talon, you don't have to be alone anymore. Not with me. Don't you see? Everything has changed. Everything." She sniffled, brushing the last of the wetness from her eyes as she leaned away from him.

"Yes, it has." He sighed, looking down at her, studying her for several long moments. "I know this is a lot. It will take time, which we hardly have. All we can do is digest it in due course. And for the record, I'm not letting you walk back to Kastali Dun, even if I have to carry you in my claws the whole way. So you can either fly on my back, or choose a less dignified manner. Which do you prefer?"

She snorted. "The dignified option, please. But does that mean I have to go back to the lava field?"

"Lava field?" His brow furrowed, making his scars more pronounced.

"Well, yeah. Your mind."

"A lava field? That's what you saw?"

"Um...I take it that's not normal?"

He kissed her forehead before releasing her. "No idea. But no, you don't have to go back to the lava field if you do not wish to. You were fighting me, fighting what was happening, which is why our minds didn't meld properly. I felt yours but I could not get inside of it."

"Why?"

"Perhaps because of your fear." He shrugged. "Normally, people are prepared for this sort of thing. They long for it. They aren't fearful."

"Oh. Makes sense I guess."

He nodded. "I won't force you into anything, Claire. I will never force you into anything. Wear gloves if you can't bear to touch me."

Her stomach dropped. "It's not like that, Talon. I...don't mind touching you." In fact, now she wanted to quite badly.

Sparks filled his gaze. "Nor I, you. Shall we?"

She nodded and took his arm. They walked back to the others. Tamara and Byron lingered at the field's edge, watching. No one made any acknowledgement of their strange behavior. Thank the gods for that!

When Talon transformed, she noticed that her pack was still tied to his harness. She repeated the process of vaulting onto his back. This time she was quicker about it. As she came into contact with his scales, there was a brief flash of the lava field, this time accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of relief, which must have come from him, and then she was settled, strapping herself in. As long as she didn't touch him with her bare skin, they remained separate. When she fastened the final buckle, she considered everything.

Talon—her mate. Hers. As she thought about it, her thoughts scrambled. "Mine..." she whispered under her breath. Her heart fluttered. She looked down at him, taking in his monstrous size, the way his inky scales shimmered from green to blue in the dawning sun.

"Mine..."

She would never need to worry about another coming into his life to steal him from her, or fret about someone else upsetting their norm. What they had built together would be theirs, always. "Mine..."

Everything had changed.

She lifted her hand, tentative but determined, and let it hover just above his scales. A spike of exhilaration shot through her. And longing—a need to be complete—as if she had realized for the first time that part of her was missing. All she wanted, all she needed, was right here, in Talon.

Her skin tingled. The Forest Tear upon her neck thrummed. She let her hand fall upon Talon's scales, this time, prepared.

The lava field rushed up around her, more beautiful than before. She did not fear it or fight it. She welcomed it. This was Talon at his deepest and most fundamental—a perfect reflection of the person that he was. Each rut running through the dried, blackened lava was a scar upon his soul. Each gnarled formation was a torment he had endured. Between these formations were the many memories that made him. Some good. Some bad. It was like seeing him for the first time, his soul split open for the taking. Split open for her. In that moment, she knew that she wanted every broken piece, every misshapen fragment, every pool of memory. All of him.

The stifling heat cleared. Clouds rolled back to reveal a brilliant blue sky. Her acceptance gave way to awareness. The lava field evaporated around her until she was looking upon their world again as the sun rose higher. Her hand still rested on Talon's scales, but instead of seeing blacks and reds, she saw him. And he was there in her mind, too, and she was in his, sharing emotions and feelings. In her blood, she still felt the heat of his inferno, like a great pool of desire. And it was in this moment she understood what the Drengr had meant about the intimacy of flying with another—truly flying.

"But we are not flying yet," he said, reading her thoughts. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Her heart tripped forward. Pure undulated joy clutched her insides. She was going to fly with Dragonwall's king. And she would fly with him not as an outsider, but as his mate.

Talon gave the signal, lifting his head to roar. And there was triumph in it. Not just merely a signal to depart, but a signal of victory. The sound of it shook her body. Then he crouched and leapt into the air, unfurling black, leathery wings. He swept them downward. She exhaled, placing both hands on the harness, separating their minds to grip the leather. As the ground sped away, she spared a glance for Tamara and Byron. They were specks below her. She lifted her hand to wave before they disappeared from view.

Then, because she could, she placed her hand against Talon again.

"Yes?" His voice was rich, decadent, alluring.

"For the record," she said, "would you really carry me all the way to Kastali Dun in your claws, kicking and screaming?" It was hard to keep the smile from her face.

"Never doubt me, Claire. I absolutely would have gotten you there one way or another."

She snorted, stifling the laughter that bubbled up in her chest before removing her hand. When she next looked down, the camp was a shrunken smudge. Soon after, the entirety of Brezen disappeared until all that was left was the barren landscape and the open sky. All the knots and anxiety weighing on her, all the questions she had asked over the past few days, all the confusing feelings, the intimate and awkward moments, they all made sense. For the first time in her life, she knew with absolute certainty exactly where she belonged, and the calm that came with knowing was more profound than anything she could have ever hoped for.

⭐🌟 DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!🌟⭐