Page 8 of Dragon Awakened

I swallow, and my throat grates. "King Erembour has his talons in everything."

"Wait--" Rafe pushes away from the wall.

Alarm echoes in my connection to all three of my mates.

I nod, my heart constricting. "The Shadow King is alive and well."

Rafe mutters a curse, while Jianyu scrubs his hands over his face. Malik clenches his fists, and our gazes meet. He may not have known, but after what his mother revealed, he must have suspected.

"All this time," I tell them, "they've been right there, manipulating every kingdom behind the scenes."

Malik catches what I'm not yet saying. "Including the Air Kingdom?"

"Including the Air Kingdom," I agree, letting out a harsh breath. I slowly pick apart what's left of my bread. "One of the things I learned while I was captured--the Shadow King is betrothed to King Zephyr's daughter. Princess Aria."

Her face floats back to me. The terror in her eyes as she was led to the throne room.

But also... Later... While I was escaping with Mariutza and Delaynie, I accidentally managed to open a portal to Aria's private quarters. For a moment, I imagined I might be able to rescue her. But then her eyes clouded, and she raised her face to the ceiling and called to King Erembour.

"I don't know if she's a victim or a willing participant," I admit. "But this couldn't have happened without the Air Kingdom's blessing."

Jianyu shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What could have possessed Zephyr?"

I shudder, unable to control it.

The Air King was always a tyrant. Power-mad and war-hungry. He ruled the Air Kingdom with an iron fist, stoking fear among all of the dragons who lived there.

"What could have possessed any of our parents?" Malik asks darkly, the pain of his mother's betrayal weighing heavily in his eyes.

"Why now?" Rafe rebuts. "They've been in hiding for a decade, but suddenly, they're attacking from all sides. What happened? What's their plan?"

Bile floods the back of my throat, and my stomach twists itself into an angry knot.

Because I know what happened.

"Me," I whisper, and I can't help it--inside I'm bracing for rejection. For each one of these men to recoil in horror, but I can't keep any of this from them for a second longer.

"What?" Jianyu shakes his head.

"They're after me." My voice still trembles, but it's stronger now. I hold up my arm. "The bracer--its magic--it..."

How can I explain? When I scarcely understand it all myself?

"King Erembour wants its power for himself," Jianyu surmises.

And I would be so easy to run with that. It's not even a lie.

"Partly," I say, hedging. The cool metal of the bracer glints against my skin. Its magic is quiet for the moment, but its hum is ever present. I've just gotten used to it, is all. "It's..."

After a moment, Malik brushes his fingertips against my own, sending ripples of warmth flowing through me. "What, beloved?"

"It's the Shadow Queen's Bracer," I confess. But my abdomen is still tight, so many hidden truths still waiting to pour out of me. "It's intended to be worn by the Shadow Queen's Heir."

Jianyu sucks in a harsh breath, and Rafe goes still. My vision blurs, and a single tear escapes the corner of my eye.

"It's me," I blurt out. "I'm the Shadow Queen's Heir. I'm part Shadow Dragon."

"Fucking hell," Rafe mumbles.

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