Page 24 of Betrayed By Dragons

There's no real time to dally, afterward, of course. Jianyu and I reluctantly part, then clean ourselves up the best we can. Dressed, we stand there together at the river's edge, staring at the wall of rock we made.

"Do you think we can...magic it away?" I ask.

"I have no idea."

It's kind of nice that we're both clueless in this respect, but it's also pretty annoying.

As far as he knows, High Priestess Fang is giving me etiquette lessons, not magic ones. The confession tugs at my lips, but I'm still not ready to explain the Shadow Queen's Bracer to my mate. I still barely understand it myself.

At his prompting, we join hands. He adopts a stance much like the one the priestess showed me. Hiding my familiarity, I copy him.

"Imagine the stone sinking back into the earth."

I close my eyes. My efforts at summoning protection bubbles and portals this morning were an absolute bust. But it feels different now, my mate by my side, his power flowing beside mine.

The ground shakes, and when I look again, the wall we created has subsided back into the surrounding rock.

"Huh," I murmur.

"Indeed." His brows crinkle. "We'll have to ask the High Priestess about this."

I nod my agreement, half figuring we'll do that right now. But when I move to return to the path that leads back to the temple, he catches my hand and pulls me into his arms. He kisses me softly before drawing away.

"I need to go find Li. Warn him. Figure out next steps."

My throat bobs, anxiety tightening my chest, but I don't argue with him. "Be careful."

"I will."

He brushes another kiss against my knuckles before letting go and taking a few steps back.

I watch in awe as his human form fades away, flesh and clothing giving way to silver scales and claws. I have to brace myself against the rush of air as his enormous wings propel him up into the sky. Shielding my eyes with one hand, I put my other to my lips before brushing my kiss in his direction.

For the sake of dragonkind, I hope he finds what he's looking for.

For his sake, I just hope that he stays safe.

* * *

By the time I make it back to the palace that afternoon, I'm exhausted. I've had no word from Jianyu about his efforts to hunt down Bedrock's leaders--despite his father's command. Worry tugs at my gut.

Needless to say, my post-lunch efforts at opening portals and creating protection bubbles was a giant bust. I was too distracted to even think about asking High Priestess Fang if she'd ever heard of a mated pair amplifying each other's magic and making big stone walls appear out of nowhere.

I'm so distracted as I enter Jianyu's suite, in fact, that I fail to notice Rafe standing smack dab in the middle of it until he rumbles, "Ember."

I startle, dropping my bag. "Jesus." Bending down to grab my stuff off the floor, I mumble. "Sorry. Just."

"Didn't see me there?" There's this tinge of hurt to his tone that stops me short.

Rising, I look up at him. His mouth is pinched, his large arms crossed over his chest.

I exhale roughly. Rafe is a lot of things, but stealthy isn't one of them. My head must really be in the clouds, and he's got every right to call me out.

"Something like that." I toe off my shoes and set my bag on the counter before approaching him. He's still giving off this weird vibe that I don't quite know what to make of. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he says, too glib and utterly unconvincing.

Yeah, he's definitely not fine.

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