Page 23 of Dragon Awakened

Half Shadow Dragons themselves.

She nods tightly, releasing my shoulders but giving my hands a soft squeeze before letting go entirely. "And they know that you know, too. I took all the blame for it--told them I swore you to secrecy."

Well, that's a relief. I hated knowing more about my best friend's heritage than she did.

But I understand why Rhiannon kept it from them. From personal experience, I've discovered that it's a hell of a burden to bear.

But it's not a burden I have to bear alone.

"Rhiannon." I blink hard. "I found out--I'm..."

"I know," she says quietly.

And yes. Of course she did. She always knew that I was part Shadow Dragon. She was just too kind to tell me before I was ready. I'm so grateful that I got to find out on my own terms, but something about it irks me, too.

My parents were also kind, holding back information about who I was and what I would face. I was a child at the time; I probably wasn't ready to hear any of that, either. But they took their knowledge to their graves.

I'm getting tired of being the last one to know the truth about myself. I'm not going to accept being kept in the dark anymore.

Freya brings my attention back to the larger group by clapping her hands. The rest of the introductions have clearly been made while I've been distracted. Amy's girlfriend, Sister Grace, a human magic-user from the Stone Kingdom, as well as Jianyu's friend Ben and Rafe's friend Cael are engaged in a lively conversation with Obi and Zahra, but they all hush up as Freya requests everybody's attention.

"Rooms have been prepared for you at our town's finest hotel." She leaves out the fact that it's the small town's only hotel. Raising a brow at me, she adds, "The Presidential Suite will be to your liking, I assume?"

An uncontrollable shudder of arousal rolls through me. The Presidential Suite is where Rafe, Jianyu and I first consummated our new bond--over and over and over again, on pretty much every possible surface and in every position I could imagine. I've learned a few more since then, a few of which I'm still dying to try out now that I have three men.

My mates' reciprocated desire is a warm wave washing over our bond. Rafe comes over and briefly curls an arm around my side. I revel in the open affection. Last time we were here, we had to hide our relationship status; it was beyond complicated, being mated to two dragon princes.

Being mated to three--with a fourth presumably joining our ranks soon--is even more complicated, but with us all being fugitives, I guess the ban on PDA has been at least a little bit relaxed.

"That'll do just fine," Rafe tells Freya, before tipping his head toward Malik. "Though we'll need an extra set of towels this time."

Malik shoots Freya a tight smile. "We are grateful for your hospitality."

"Shall we?" Jianyu asks, looking to me with unbearable heat in his eyes.

I glance at Amy and Rhiannon.

"Go on," Amy urges me, her eyes sparkling. "But after you all get your groove on, you're mine for the night. I have so many plans.” She starts listing things on her fingers. "We're talking pedicures, chocolate martinis, boy talk--" she darts her gaze among my mates.

"Heteronormative," Sister Grace interrupts in a sing-song voice.

Amy rolls her eyes, "And girl talk, but there's nothing new going on there, while there is clearly a lot of new stuff going on in the boy department."

Malik clears his throat, blinking rapidly. I pat his arm, glancing at my extremely enthusiastic friend and murmuring sotto voce, "You'll get used to this."

"Oh," Amy continues, "and a thorough discussion of various kidnappings, fleeing from hostile kingdoms, and next steps for sticking it to the Shadow Dragon King." She punches the air for emphasis.

"Um, I think we'll want be involved in that last part," Rafe says.

"Oh, hush." Amy shoos him away. "Tonight is girl time."

"Don't worry," I promise, brushing the back of my hand against Rafe's. "Co-ed Air Kingdom infiltration and general Shadow Dragon King ass-kicking starts tomorrow."

One corner of Jianyu's mouth curls up. "Can't wait."

Chapter

Seven

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