Page 32 of Dragon Awakened

Chapter

Nine

EMBER

Idon't know what Jianyu said to Sister Grace last night at the bar, but whatever it was, it had an effect. As my mates, Grace, Amy, Rhiannon and I gather in the desert again, Grace's gaze meets mine. There's a new, appraising quality to the way she regards me that makes me stand up a little straighter.

And it's a good thing, too, because inside, I'm trembling.

"Is everyone ready?" Rhiannon asks. She usually dresses fairly sensibly, but she's channeling her inner, dramatic Shadow Dragon this morning in a long black dress with fluttering sleeves.

Underdressed in my own black T-shirt and jeans, I swallow hard and nod. Grace does likewise, and Rhiannon pulls in a deep breath.

Rhiannon looks to Amy. "Would you like to join us?"

Amy blinks rapidly, as if she really wasn't expecting to get called on. "Um. On which side?"

"Either, or both," Rhiannon answers calmly, but her voice is infused with meaning. "As is your birthright."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Amy toes at the ground. She's rarely looked so uncomfortable. "I think I'll just watch this time."

Something flickers in Rhiannon's gaze, but she manages a tight smile. "As you wish."

She beckons me and Grace closer. Together, we stand in the patchy shade of a palo verde tree. Rhiannon flicks her fingers, and it's so subtle, I might miss it if I weren't paying attention. But the shade blooms, the sun growing just a little bit less harsh. Grace frowns, but doesn't comment.

A shiver passes through me.

This is the old magic, I remind myself. The kind Mariutza used to spread light through a cold, black-rock prison cell. Rhiannon is manipulating shadows, but she's doing so to bring us comfort. Darkness isn't evil, in and of itself.

I keep repeating the reminder in my head as Rhiannon extends her open palm toward me. She's positioned herself to my left, so the hand I place in hers is the one that bears the Shadow Queen's Bracer.

The black metal hums with warmth, power gathering within me. My dragon lifts her head, and great, scaled wings stretch themselves against the confines of my ribs.

"Are we sure this is safe?" Rafe asks.

He and my other mates stand behind me in a solid wall of support. Malik shifts his weight, and Jianyu clears his throat.

I push as much confidence as I can into our connection. "It's safer than flying into the Air Kingdom, guns blazing."

Malik snickers, and Rafe glowers.

Rhiannon raises an arched brow. "Shall we proceed?"

Exhaling roughly, I nod. Only... "Where do we start?"

"Think of the last time you created a portal."

I close my eyes and try to focus. "I was in the Citadel. Trying to escape, and I... I imagined the feeling of where I needed to go."

In a desperate bid to find a way out of the castle, I tried to tap into the Air Dragon in my blood. I reached out with my senses for the feeling of the wind.

And I ended up in Princess Aria's room.

My stomach turns, regret tugging at me. Princess Aria--Storm's sister--has been betrothed to the Shadow King in a mad effort at breeding another heir to the Grand Throne. For a brief moment, I imagined I could rescue her, but then she lifted her gaze to the sky and called to Erembour.

"It--" My throat catches, but I force myself to work past the tightness in my lungs. "It didn't go the way I planned."

"Don't worry about the destination," Rhiannon reminds me. "Only about the feeling of reaching through the fabric of the world."

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