Page 14 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

I might not be able to give her my blessing, but I won't stand in her way. I won't make this any harder than it is.

"What I feel for him," she struggles to explain, glancing between me and Jianyu. "It's the same as what I feel for you. Well, maybe not the same, but..."

Real distress swirls around her.

Shit, she wants our blessing.

Even Jianyu, the stubborn oaf, begins to soften. "But we've had more time together."

"I need to spend some time with him," she agrees, clinging onto what Jianyu's just said. "And if I do..."

"Don't say it." I snap my mouth shut, but the words are out. I know what's going to happen. I'll accept it if I have to, but I can't listen to her telling me about it.

She puts her hand on my heart. "It changes nothing."

"It changes everything," Jianyu says, and he's right.

I look to Malik again. I can't imagine him becoming a part of our trio, but for Ember's sake, I'll try.

"It doesn't change how I feel about you," Ember promises, putting her hand to my cheek and drawing my attention back to her.

I melt, just a little. She beckons me closer, and I dip down to press my lips to hers. The kiss starts soft, but it grows quickly. I can't keep my anguish to myself, and I open my mouth, probing forward with my tongue, trying to claim her in the only way I can.

She breaks the kiss too soon, turning to Jianyu. Their gazes hold for what seems like an eternity before he exhales. With a tight nod, he quietly tells her, "I understand."

Well, that makes two of us. It's not quite a blessing, but it's close.

He kisses her with more restraint than I could show, but he's just as broken.

"That's enough," Malik grinds out. He sounds menacing as fuck, but he's still pitching a tent, so whatever.

"I'll make him see what we have," Ember vows, pulling away. "What he's a part of now."

Malik reaches into the cage and takes her by the hand. I don't punch him in the face, which demonstrates that I have restraint, too.

She lets him grab her, but she's still talking to us. "I'll fix this."

The instant she's exited, the air shivers, and the magical barrier re-forms in the empty space.

My good will disappears instantaneously. "So, what? You just leave us here to rot?"

"Of course he won't," Ember tells us, but Malik doesn't seem so sure. "Just give me some time."

I'm not sure all the time in the world will be enough to convince him. But I don't doubt Ember. Our bond is too strong. My father and my siblings and my kingdom...they all might abandon me. But never Ember.

"Come back as soon as you can," Jianyu tells her. Somehow, he manages to put on half a smile.

"I will." She extends a hand back toward us, but Malik is already leading her away.

A sudden despair crashes over me. No one knows where we are. Hell, no one knows this place exists. No one's coming for us. Somehow, with their magic, the water dragons have stripped us of our powers and of our ability to shift.

Our only hope is Ember.

And she's chosen to trust the very man who has imprisoned us.

He looks back at us with contempt in his eyes. "I don't share my women," he announces.

He means it, too.

---