Page 22 of Dragon Awakened

I knew she was okay, but I haven't seen her since I accidentally abandoned her in the Fire Kingdom after nearly getting murdered by a horde of Shadow Dragons.

"I was so worried," I admit.

She laughs and squeezes me even tighter. "Pfft, you're one to talk."

And yeah, okay, I've had my own harrowing adventure in the meantime.

"You have to tell me everything." As she releases me, she casts a meaningful glance over my shoulder, waggling her brows. "And I mean everything."

I follow her gaze to Malik and roll my eyes in a vain attempt to cover up for my blush. Letting her go, I gesture in his direction. "Amy, this is my mate, Malik. Malik, Amy."

"Charmed," Malik says, though he's a bit taken aback when she throws her arms around him. As he allows himself to be bear-hugged by a complete stranger, he passes me my bag, which I left in the Jeep.

I sling the bag over my shoulder, but as I do, a ripple of mystical energy lights up my bracer and my chest. My bag is practically pulling itself off my arm.

And then I remember.

The final Soul Sphere I liberated from the Shadow King's creepy orb room is in there. I released the spirits trapped inside the rest of them when I escaped, and it was their energy that took down the tower of the Citadel. But this last one refused to be set free.

It whispered the word, Amethyst.

I suck in a breath. Amethyst.

Amy.

Of course.

Before I can fully articulate my sudden suspicion, I'm pulled out of my reverie by Jett clapping me on the shoulder in greeting. "So, we're all still alive, eh?"

"For now," I agree.

"Let's try to keep it that way." Jett's mate Freya brushes him aside to pull me into a hug. "It's good to see you."

Freya is more reserved than Amy by nature; it took her a lot longer to warm up to me, so her showing me affection like this means a lot.

"You, too," I tell her.

As Freya lets me go, I glance over her shoulder, and my gaze connects with a pair of warm, gray eyes.

My breath catches. Amy's mother, Rhiannon, is secretly a Shadow Dragon--the first one I'd ever met, as far as I knew. She was the one to introduce me to the Shadow Queen's Bracer. She brought the artifact to Unity, hoping to wield it herself. But when it called to me, she recognized the significance of what was happening. She warned me of what was to come, but nothing could have prepared me--for the sorrows or the joys.

As Freya moves to stand by her mate, Rhiannon beholds me for a long moment. There's a lump in my throat. Now that I've met the Shadow King and learned the truth about my lineage, all of Rhiannon's talk about destiny and the fate of the dragon world feels so real.

Suddenly, I feel utterly, pathetically inadequate. My mouth crumples, and I falter.

Between one breath and the next, Rhiannon steps forward and wraps me up in a hug that hurts my heart. My mother is well and truly gone, but there's something so maternal to Rhiannon's embrace. I draw in a hiccupping, watery breath and lean into her.

"You are so strong," she tells me, ferocity lying just beneath the mild timbre of her voice. She pulls away, but only to grasp me by my shoulders. "To face the Shadow King and live to tell the tale."

Mist forms at the edges of my vision, but I blink it away, forcing a laugh. "It was a close thing."

"I'm sure it was," she replies, a gravity to her tone. I might be trying to dismiss my visit to the Citadel, but she isn't going to let me.

Our gazes hold for a long moment. As a Shadow Dragon herself, Rhiannon alone understands the weight I'm grappling with right now.

She tips her head toward Amy and Jett. Quietly, she confides, "I told them. About me."

Oh. "So they know that they're..."

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