Page 63 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

But my father shakes his head. "Embrace them. They're a part of you."

"How?" I breathe, but it's too late.

Before my eyes, they begin to fade, and my heart is breaking.

"Mom--" I cry out for them, reaching past the invisible barrier that's separated us. It shivers, losing strength, and my mom strains toward me. "Dad--"

My dad smiles, sad but proud. "We love you so much, pumpkin."

"I love you, too."

My mother's fingertips graze mine, and I try so hard to grab onto her. To just hold her.

"We're always with you," she says quietly.

And then she's gone.

The meadow dissolves into black smoke, and I fall to my knees, there in that awful, creepy orb room. A sob cracks its way out of my lungs, but before I can give into the grief and unfairness and pain, I spot movement at the edge of my vision.

Lord Rook takes a step toward me, and fuck, I forgot he was even here. Great situational awareness.

"Look--" I start.

But his eyes are wide as saucers, ghosts dancing behind them. All of his pomp is gone. "So it's true."

My pulse races. I just had a magical vision where I communed with two lost spirits as I was setting them free. I have no idea how I did it, and I have even less of a clue how it worked. "Um, how much of that did you hear?"

"All of it." There's awe in his voice, though, emotion I can't identify making his words rough. "You're the Shadow Queen's heir."

My heart pounding even harder, I scramble back to my feet. He doesn't seem like he wants to murder me for heresy or anything, the way everyone else in King Erembour's court did. "I mean--"

"You're Pitch's daughter."

The crack in his voice gives me pause. I hesitate.

He blinks, and there's a softness to his gaze.

Quietly, he says, "My niece."

Chapter

Fifteen

EMBER

For a second, my entire world tilts on its axis. My vision swims, only to snap back into focus with a new sharpness, and oh God.

I can see it now. That weird sense of familiarity I kept having with Rook. Take away the beard and the salt and pepper in his hair, and he's the spitting image of my dad.

My entire life, I never met a single member of my father's family. To be fair, my mother's family wasn't a big presence in my early years, either, but I at least knew them. My dad never wanted to talk about his parents; he never even mentioned he had a sibling.

Suddenly, I understand why.

A warmth opens up inside me. I have an uncle. A cool, rich, powerful uncle.

One catch--he's also a freaking Shadow Dragon.

That really shouldn't bug me so much. I'm a Shadow Dragon, too, apparently, but this guy? He's in the upper echelon. He has a title and a place in the Shadow King's court.

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