Page 10 of Dragon Awakened

"What does it all mean, though?" Jianyu asks.

Oh, boy. That's opening a whole new can of worms.

Exhaling roughly, I glance at each of them in turn. "I don't know, exactly."

"But you do know something," Malik prods.

I tense, my throat tightening. It all sounds so ridiculous.

"You can trust us." Rafe's hand drifts to my shoulder, sending more warmth traveling down my spine.

They've already taken such a leap of faith for me. Over and over, they've proven themselves. They're accepting and loyal and just...perfect.

I push aside my fears of abandonment and rejection. Rafe is right. These men are my mates. I can trust them.

So I do.

Chapter

Four

JIANYU

The tension radiating off of my mate has my own pulse racing. I want nothing more than to sweep this table aside and pull her into my arms.

It's been days since I've properly held her. The ache within me is unbearable.

Ember is gathering the courage to tell us something, though. Something big.

And I have a sinking feeling that it's something that will change everything.

Finally, she lets out a long, slow breath. "There's this...prophecy."

That word alone has me on even higher alert. Dragonkind is superstitious by nature. We have thousands of years of traditions and rites. In the Stone Kingdom, the High Priestesses would often bend my father's ear with auspices and mystical counsel.

A true prophecy, though? Those are rare--and powerful.

"Supposedly," she continues, "there will be a dragon born of all the great dragon kingdoms."

"You mean you," Rafe interrupts.

She nods tightly. "I mean me. But before I knew that, I'd heard the legend."

"We all have." I press my calf into hers beneath the table.

Malik rubs her hand. "The heir will bring light to shadow."

Rafe nods in agreement.

"Exactly." Ember bites her lip. "But there's more to it than just--" She lifts her hand from the table and flicks her fingers outward. "Poof! Magical dragon from all the kingdoms shows up and voila, the Shadow Dragons are defeated."

Of course it couldn't be so simple.

"What do you have to do?" I ask.

She squirms, and there's more of that shameful, fearful discomfort seeping into our bond. My lungs prickle with indignation. What will it take? What do we need to do to prove to her that we are hers and she is ours? Forever?

"I don't have a lot of details. But step one is to bring forth my dragon." She lets out a low huff of a laugh. "Apparently, my mom and dad knew that might be difficult for me. They thought they'd have time to explain it all to me--to help me through it." Her voice goes rough. "But they didn't."

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