Page 78 of Rescued By The Dragon

We stopped at the food vendors on Main Street, and Amara grabbed a blueberry muffin. She seemed distant, noticing everyone staring and growing uncomfortable.

I gave a few of them a look until they turned the other way. I wasn’t in the mood for nosey neighbors or anyone judging her. “Dorran,” Amara whispered, touching my forearm.

“Coming.”

We walked into the main office, and the lady behind the desk perked up. “Mr. Dragon Prince. It’s so nice to see you. How can we help you today?”

“My mate needs to obtain her birth certificate. Can you help her?”

“Absolutely,” she said, pulling out a few forms. “I need a picture ID, and you to sign this for me.”

Amara pulled her driver’s license out of her purse and signed the form. “I’ll be right back,” she said.

The lady came back several minutes later and slid the birth certificate across the table. “Here we go,” she said.

Amara glanced down at the piece of paper and stalled. “I think there has been a mistake. This isn’t my last name.”

She checked the name and clicked on her computer. “Ah, your name was changed when you were five to Tremaine. Before that, you were Aelius.”

Amara became very still. “Where was I born?”

The lady glanced at the birth certificate and stared at the space where the location should be. “Well, maybe there is a mistake, or you were born at home with a midwife. I’m not sure.” She glanced up. “Can’t you ask your mother?”

Amara ran her finger over her mother’s signature on the birth certificate. “No, I can’t. Thank you for this.”

She grabbed the paper and walked past me, rushing out of the door. I sensed her distress, following it toward the alley between the buildings. She stopped and bent over. She braced her hands on her knees.

“Amara,” I whispered, sliding my palm up her back. “Are you okay?”

When she stood up frustration lined her features. “I’m so confused. I don’t even know who I am.”

Palming her neck, I angled her face upward. “You’re Amara,” I whispered. “The most beautiful girl in our kingdom. The sweetest and my mate.”

She closed her eyes and smiled. “What if my dad isn’t my dad? Or my mom ... I have no idea who I belong to?”

I slid my thumb down the center of her bottom lip. “You belong to me,” I said in a harsh whisper. “Always. We’ll figure out who your parents are, but it won’t change that you’re mine.”

“Promise?”

Leaning forward, I kissed her forehead. “I swear.”

“Where do we go from here?”

“We are going to go home and spend the entire day together, have dinner with Sasha, and then I’m going to send someone into your stepmother’s house to find an answer or a clue. In the meantime, we’re going to keep you calm so that you don’t burn any part of me with your badass powers.”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “Yeah, sending Toby across the room was way better than floating. Maybe even better than shooting fire.”

“Don’t push it.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Amara

Aetius. I’d never heard that name in my entire life, and it was my birth name. What I would do to ask my parents for the truth? I couldn’t trust Helena to tell me anything, and I wouldn’t believe her if she did.

I’d spent my entire life believing a lie. Why hadn’t someone told me? Why was it a secret? What were we missing? I’d spent the entire day with a fake smile on my face, trying to make sure Dorran didn’t sense how much anxiety I had inside of me.

After tossing Toby across the room on accident and finding out my entire life was a lie, I felt exhausted. Maybe having Sasha over would help me feel normal.

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