Page 73 of Betrayed By Dragons

"It was the Fire Kingdom. All along. I knew it."

Angry heat pours off of Rafe. "Watch yourself," he warns.

"All this time." Jianyu sweeps an arm out to the side, but his attention--and his accusation--is still clearly directed at Rafe. "All the blame you threw at the Stone Kingdom--"

"Dude." Rafe lifts a hand in front of his chest. "The Stone Kingdom literally chased us with tranq darts, like, less than forty-eight hours ago. They're not exactly innocent."

"Gentlemen," Freya says through the screen, trying to call everyone back to order, but it's too late.

"You have a Shadow Dragon in your midst," Jianyu spits, and again, I can't understand the way his invective stings. He takes a step toward Rafe, cold fury in his eyes. "What else have you been hiding?"

"Nothing," Rafe says, and it's true, isn't it?

Jianyu runs a hand through his close-cropped hair, shaking his head. "I can't believe I was starting to trust you."

The rippling fire of anger in Rafe is so hot it burns. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean."

But it's entirely too clear. The past is surging back with a speed that takes my breath away.

Jianyu spent years believing that Rafe betrayed him as a child. Rafe insists that he was framed, but the mistrust between them was too deep to have been smoothed over by a few weeks of sharing a mate and a bed.

Deep beneath our feet, there's a quivering in the rock. Jianyu takes another step toward Rafe, and Rafe's fire flickers before roaring into an even hotter blaze.

And I can't take this. I won't.

"Stop it," I yell, shoving myself between them. I fling a hand out in both directions, and all at once, it's as if lightning strikes me from above.

Only that's not true. The power ripples through me from below, the stone foundation of the castle pouring into me--heat from deep within the earth rushing its way into my veins.

I gasp as the hand I extend toward Rafe catches fire. My other hand, pointed at Jianyu turns to white rock. The Shadow Bracer on my arm pulses darkly, and within my chest, there's a rustling of black wings.

Staggering, shocked, I drop my hands. The energy falls away, but something inside of me has changed. There's a throbbing, dark energy in my core that tastes of ash and dragonfire.

And then it's gone--but not forgotten.

The entire room has gone silent. I force my gaze up.

Rafe and Jianyu both stare at me as if they've never seen me before. Their animosity toward each other lingers, but it's been pushed aside by whatever the hell that little display of mine was.

"Ember?" Rafe asks quietly.

"Just." My throat is raw. What the hell is happening? "Please. Don't fight." The corners of my eyes sting, and I hate the way this always happens. Any emotion rises inside of me, and I'm immediately on the edge of tears.

I want to fall into my mates. I'm confused and exhausted and weirded out, and fuck it all--I'm scared. Of the Shadow Dragons and of the fact that my mates can't play nice for more than three freaking minutes.

I'm scared of this bracer that still won't come off my wrist.

I'm scared of something--something changing inside myself.

Letting out a ragged breath, I turn around. "I need some air."

And then I'm pushing past them all. Out the door of the room and down the corridor. My bracer tingles with a memory of magic. Inside my chest, my dragon's wings flap wildly, and I want to laugh. She's always felt elusive before--like I was trapped by my own body, unable to reach her. But now, it feels like she's trapped inside me, and she wants nothing more than to burst forward into the darkness.

And despite all the time I've spent longing for her...

Something about her terrifies me.

Chapter Eighteen

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