The Endless Series Book Two The Dragons Heart

Chapter One: Adelaide March

CHAPTER

ONE

ADELAIDE MARCH

Anyone who was anyone could tell you that there was something strange about the old, Endless estate. For a start, it had seemingly appeared, the moment Edward Endless, a famous author had arrived with his wife Nora for a honeymoon. And to start the rest of their life’s together.

Edward Endless had written a series of children’s books inspired by the faeries that were supposed to roam the moors around this area. The books had been extremely popular, and he had made his vast fortune from them.

He brought a lot of tourists to the village, people all looking for a sight of the literary genius or perhaps hoping that the area would rub some inspiration would rub off on them. While as much as we appreciated Edward Endless’s legacy, there was some things we could have done without.

Like the weirdness, for example.

People didn’t talk about things that happened on the Endless estate. But everyone knew that the estate did strange things. For instance, even though we knew that there were people going in and going out of the place all of the time the only thing people could remember was the front door.

If anyone had actually been inside, no one remembered it. There were also the four, Endless siblings. They had all gone to the village school, and they had all gone to college. But they all kept mostly to themselves.

Louisa Endless was tall, blond, and intimidating. She always looked as though she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and was frequently caught talking to things that weren’t there. Although that didn’t seem to be a problem for her.

Emma Endless was the youngest, beautiful, with curly, jet black hair and green eyes. Though at least half of the village fancied her, she had never gone out with anyone, and shared an odd connection with her brother Clark that no one could put their finger on. They were supposedly siblings, of course rumors said that Clark’s parents had been killed by faeries and that he wasn’t actually an Endless by blood. Some believed that he was a faerie Prince, put in under Endless protection until he was of age to marry Emma.

Then there was Clark himself, the strange, red haired anomaly, quiet, reserved, who if you believed the village girls had a faerie protection rune on his chest. He had stuck mostly to himself, Emma being his only friend, and their strange comradery had kept people away from both him and her.

But then….

Then there was Bradley Endless.

Bradley Endless was the second oldest Endless sibling. He was tall, blond, with blue eyes and a charming smile. Unlike his siblings, Bradley had always looked for something more, whether from the villagers or from the world.

For as long as I could remember, Bradley had charmed everyone. The girls at school, teachers, little old shop ladies. He’d been able to get free drinks at the local bar from the time that he was thirteen. No one knew how, or why, except that Bradley was the kind of person who could make things happen.

The thing was, the Endlesses didn’t get close with everyone. For every boy that had ever had a crush on Emma, there wasn’t a single boyfriend to be heard of. For every story about Louisa Endless being spotted in the clubs of London, no one knew anything about the girl. For all the talk of Clark being a lawyer, no one could actually recall a single case he’d worked not even people who had been his clients.

As for Bradley, for as many hearts broken that he had left behind, the girls couldn’t remember a single thing about him. Except they knew that they’d had a good time. I’d been fascinated with Bradley Endless since I was fifteen years-old.

I had dreams about the Endless estate. Dreams of spending days with Emma, running through faerie. Nightmares about a huntsman that had tried to kill us once. Dreams of listening to music in Louisa’s room, trying on her clothes. Dreams of annoying Clark as he studied for his A-Levels. Dreams of Bradley Endless, kissing me during a pool party in the summer.

Once the Endlesses were in their twenties, they had all gone their separate ways. Louisa was the only one to stay behind, running the estate. Bradley went off to god knows where, Clark was in London going to college then being a lawyer. Emma had stayed up until she was eighteen, then had gone off to America. Apparently to go to school and work in publishing.

They were rarely together. They had lost their parents young, with their father disappearing on them, and their mother dying of cancer. Their grandfather had died just around Emma’s eighteenth birthday, right after the massive fight they’d had about her going to America. The siblings didn’t see each other much.

But people still talked about the Endless estate. About the strange lights that could sometimes be seen from the garden, about the curious woman with a snake for a pet who would come to cure Moira Endless instead of her getting chemo. Or about pets that would go onto the estate and never return.

Recently, the rumor was that a famous American author had come for a visit, with a wound in his chest. After being fixed by Louisa somehow, he seemed to have taken up residence with them. People thought he might have been Emma’s fiancé, but he seemed to spend more time with Louisa than Emma. The two were frequently off shopping together in the village.

As for Emma, she had mysteriously returned from America supposedly to get married. But no wedding had taken place, and she seemed somehow older, wiser, and sadder. Clark had appeared, briefly, just at the same time, and disappeared just as quickly after. If you believed local gossip, Emma had eloped with her adoptive brother but after a case of cold feet, Clark had left.

It was Bradley though, who appeared the most changed. Since returning to the village, he hadn’t taken up with any of his usual conquests. Whenever he was here, I always got a call from my best friend, Sylvia Davis, who raved about the excellent night she had had.

The strange thing was, Sylvia could never remember exactly what happened. She would only say that she had had the time of her life, and that she would gladly do it again. There had been no such call this time.

I almost longed for it to happen, so I could have some kind of news about him. Even if it meant living vicariously through my best friend. I was a simple farm girl. My parents raised sheep and sold sheep’s wool to the local clothing factory. We kept a small portion, and Mum used it to sell sweaters in local shops and online.

It was a small, quiet life, but it was mine.

Back in October, when the Endlesses had come home, I’d had the most vivid dream. I had dreamed one of the sheep had gotten loose and ran to the Endless estate. I chased it onto the property without even thinking, only to have Bradley Endless help me catch the little bastard.

I remembered, vividly, talking with him by the fence that separated the estate from my small, farm. Something about a pool party, and a first kiss, that as far as I knew had never happened. Because my first kiss had been Danny Boyle, who was my high school boyfriend and who still is my boyfriend.

But the dream of Bradley Endless, and his lips on mine, haunted me.

Which was why, when he showed up at the pub, sitting at the bar by himself, all I could do was stare at him.

Sylvia sat across from me, looking at me and then Bradley then back again. “What is up with you?” Sylvia asked.

“Nothing,” I answered, turning my attention back to her, “it’s fine.”

Sylvia was pretty, with blond hair, and hazel eyes. It was mid-November, and she wore an orange, sweater dress that showed off her legs nicely when she stood. Even though they were mostly covered by tights, and thigh high boots.

“You don’t look fine,” said Sylvia, “you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Why are you staring at Bradley Endless? I thought you and Danny were madly in love.”

“We are,” I said, “it’s just…. you know how no one can really remember any information about the Endlesses?”

“Yes,” Sylvia answered, “what’s been happening?”

“I keep on having this weird dream.” I leaned in closer. “A dream where we’re talking, by the old fence that borders our properties, and I talk about this first kiss….”

Sylvia raised an eyebrow. “A first kiss? But your first kiss was Danny. At your sixteenth birthday.”

“I know, but what if it wasn’t?” I asked. “I’ve lived next door to the Endless family my entire life. What if I’ve had this entire life with them that I’ve never known about, because their….”

“Because of their what?” Sylvia looked at me expectantly, waiting an answer. “The Endless family is a mystery that no one can solve. Besides, how could they possibly make you forget an entire lifetime of memories?”

“Well, you know the rumors about Edward Endless. That he whisked children away to faerie during world war two, and because he was working with the faerie King, he was able to amass his fortune?”

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “It’s nonsense. More than likely, Edward Endless started spying when he was young, and he made money off of that, along with contacts which is how he was able to go to Oxford.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How is that more likely?”

“You want to know what I think?” Sylvia said.

I sighed. “Go ahead.”

“I think you’re bored. You’re coming up on your seven-year anniversary with Danny. You help your family with the farm. You never went away to college, you completed your degree online. Also, you live here, in this tiny village. Dale is in the middle of nowhere in the British countryside. Of course, you’re going to be bored. Bradley Endless is the only mystery this town has to offer, which is why you are suddenly fantasizing about him.” She smirked and took a sip of the beer that she’d been drinking.

“Alright,” I said, “alright. Maybe you’ve got a point. I hate that you are a psychology major.”

She smirked. “Oh please, I could have told you that with or without a degree. I’ve been psychoanalyzing you since we were ten. Look, if you think that I’m wrong, why don’t you go talk to Bradley right now. Whet your whistle, if you will. I won’t even tell Danny about this incident.”

I bit my lip. Bradley Endless was alone, in a bar, which was a rarity for him. I couldn’t recall the last time I had seen him by himself. Usually, there was a girl by his side, ready, and willing to keep the tall, charming, blond boy company.

“I’m going for it!” I took a sip of my beer, and got up from the booth we were sitting in.

“Adelaide!” Sylvia hissed. “I was kidding! Don’t do that. You of all people know Bradley Endless is a manslut! You’re with Danny! You’re perfect together.”

I shook my head. “Too late. Bradley Endless has been haunting my dreams, and I’m going to find out why.”

“Adelaide!” Sylvia hissed again, but I ignored her and walked straight over to him.

“You!” I said, pointing my finger at him.

He looked at me, smirking in that annoyingly, charming way that he did. “Adelaide March,” he purred my name, like it was the sexiest thing he’d ever said, “to what do I owe the pleasure.”

“You’ve been haunting my dreams, Endless. I want to know why.”

For a second, his eyebrows rose in alarm. But just as quickly, his face became cool, collected, and reserved. “Is that a pickup line, March?”

I blushed furiously. It did sound like a pickup line, I realized. “No. It’s not. I’ve been having weird dreams about you for months now, and I want to know why.”

Bradley straightened, looked me up and down said, “Isn’t it obvious, sweetheart?”

“Isn’t what obvious?”

He leaned down, pushed back a strand of my hair, and whispered, “We’re soulmates.”

Then, without so much as a goodbye, he took a swig of his beer, and left. As if he hadn’t just said the most ludacris, most romantic thing that he possibly could to a perfect stranger. I stared after him, dumbfounded.

Sylvia appeared by my side. “Well?”

I blinked. “I can’t believe…. he…. that…that complete…”

“I need words, Addy,” Sylvia said, “full sentences, preferably.”

I looked at her, wide-eyed, still stunned by what had happened. “He just said that we were soulmates.”

It was Sylvia’s turn to blink. “What the f*****g hell?”

“Exactly,” I said, “I think Bradley Endless has lost his damn mind.”

“Over you,” said Sylvia with a cheeky grin, “When should I start planning the wedding?”

“Sylvia,” I shoved her lightly, “come on, let’s go. I’ve got to feed the sheep in the morning. This already been more trouble than it’s worth.”

Sylvia laughed. “Oh, come on. You’ve just been told what half of the girls in the village of Dale want to hear. Don’t pretend you aren’t at least a little bit thrilled by that. I would be shouting it from the roof tops, and we’ve been f**k buddies for years.”

I groaned. “Don’t remind me. Besides, he was probably drunk or messing with me or both. Let’s grab our stuff.”

We went back to the booth, paid, grabbed our things, and walked home. Besides, it didn’t matter if Bradley Endless thought that I was his soulmate. I had a boyfriend. A kind, loving, boyfriend who had given me all I wanted.

I didn’t need to think about Bradley Endless. Or dream about him ever again, for that matter. And I resolved that night that I wouldn’t. I was an average girl. I didn’t belong in the world of Bradley Endless, and he didn’t belong in the world of Dale. It was all best left forgotten. So, I determined, I would.

Soulmate, hah!