Page 28 of Dragon Awakened

As if that's her cue, Rhiannon steps forward.

"Thank you all for joining me here, at the crack of noon." Rhiannon gives a special smile to her daughter, who's slipped on a pair of shades against the bright sun. "I know this is all quite cloak and dagger, but I wanted to be certain we would not be overheard." She glances around. "As I alluded to last night, I believe that I may have a way for Ember to slip into the Air Kingdom undetected."

I knew that was why she'd summoned us all out here to the middle of nowhere, but my stomach still does an unconscious flex.

"We have a number of possible strategies as well," Malik interrupts.

Zahra shakes her head. "Your highness..."

"Ember has proven that she can create a portal," Jianyu offers.

I bite my lip and cross my arms, digging my fingers into the skin just above my elbow. "Not reliably."

I managed it when we were about to get slaughtered by a horde of Shadow Dragons in the Crimson City, and then twice more when I was trying to escape the Citadel's dungeons. I didn't end up quite where I expected to any of those times, though, and it took just about all the magic I had.

"Perhaps not yet," Jianyu says, looking to me with utter faith in his eyes. "But with more practice..."

"Why are we even trying to sneak in at all?" Rafe asks, cracking his knuckles. "I say we fly right in there."

Zahra covers her mouth with her hand, but her eyes are despairing.

"Or," Amy interrupts, "you could all be quiet and listen to my mom."

Rhiannon smiles, and all attention returns to her. "Thank you, Amethyst. I would not presume to weigh in on any of your ideas, but I do have another option. One that calls on old magic."

A shiver runs up my spine. The elderly Shadow Dragon I met in the Citadel's dungeon, Mariutza, used a similar phrase.

"Ember," Rhiannon continues, "your powers are strong but unstable. Once you find your fourth mate, they may become easier for you to control, but I would propose that we take the guesswork out of the equation."

"And how is that?" Malik asks.

"By harnessing it now, in a controlled environment."

"Don't love the word 'harnessing'," Rafe says, an edge to his tone.

And yeah, I'm not entirely sold on her phrasing, either. I trust her, though, so I put a hand on Rafe's arm. "Hear her out."

"There is a ritual to bind a bit of spellwork to an object. Legend has it that that is how the Shadow Queen's Bracer came to be imbued with its power in the first place."

As if it can hear her, the bracer warms on my arm, a ripple of static humming over my skin.

Grace speaks up, her voice tight. "That is Sister magic. Performed by humans--not dragons."

"It is," Rhiannon agrees. She intertwines her fingers. "But in Shadow Dragon tradition, dragon magic and witch magic have long co-existed."

A shiver seems to move through the group. Ignoring everyone's reaction to her invocation of Shadow Dragon tradition, she looks pointedly to Amy.

Yeah, my hunch last night was right. Rhiannon definitely overheard at least some of what Amy was saying about her frustration with being part-dragon and part-witch.

Perhaps oblivious to the subtext, Sister Grace shakes her head. "This is forbidden."

"In the Grand Stone Temple, yes, I imagine it is." Rhiannon sweeps a hand out to the side. "But we are far from those hallowed halls now."

Glancing between the two of them, I ask, "What exactly would be involved?"

"Ember and I will utilize the power of the bracer to create portal. We will have time and space to do it safely."

"But--" I exhale roughly. "What if I can't?"

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