Page 50 of Dragon Awakened

"Your sister."

His throat bobs, and his jaw clenches. Nodding, he blinks, and a single drop escapes the corner of his eye. "I was trying to do right by my people, but there was nothing I could do. It was all a waste."

The self-hatred in his voice tears my heart in two.

"Why?" I beg, barely a whisper. I try to hit him again, but he holds my wrists, firm.

"I thought I was doing the right thing," he offers, helpless. "But it was wrong. Every part of it. I will never forgive myself."

And, oh. Our new bond is a double-edged sword, tying us together and revealing the innermost workings of our hearts--even if we wish that we could keep them to ourselves. His repentance is savage, his own self-recrimination flaying my insides. The bitterness of his anger burns.

He shakes his head, caressing my pulse-point with his thumb. "I don't expect you to ever forgive me."

"Good. Because I won't." But I don't believe it. Not for a second.

"But I am so sorry, Ember. For everything." He brings my hands back to his chest, placing them over his heart. It's an invitation to hit him again, and a part of me wants to take him up on it.

But another part is going so soft.

"Storm..."

"I can tell you all the ways I've been trying to atone since you've been gone. I have so much to show you." He shakes his head. "I know it can't make up for what I've done." He presses my open palms to the very center of his ribs. "But if you'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you." His mouth wavers. And then he says the word that destroys every bit of my resolve. "Mate."

My entire being suffuses with silver light, fresh wind rushing over the parts of me that he shattered.

And I don't forgive him. I'm mad as hell at him for everything he did.

But I turn my hands over inside his, gripping him back.

The first layer of my pain drifts away, leaving me raw underneath, but maybe--just maybe--clearing the way for the deep wound within to start to heal.

Before we can say anything else, a new voice rings out. "Um, guys, I hate to break the moment, but..."

I know that voice.

I whip my head up, tearing my hands from Storm's. New tears form at the corners of my eyes as I catch sight of my cousin, Brynn, dropping down out of the same hole in the ceiling that Storm's dragon ripped. Her own beast is just receding, her soft ivory scales falling away.

I let out a sob of pure joy as I sprint across the garage to meet her. She holds out her arms, and I throw mine around her.

"I thought I'd never see you again," I gasp, squeezing her tight.

"Same." She pulls away, gripping my arms, real hurt piercing through the bright happiness in her eyes. "You didn't even say goodbye."

Regret stabs through me. "I'm so sorry--but I swear, it wasn't my fault."

"I know, I know, but still." The hurt disappears from her gaze, and she levels me with a glare that's only half-serious. "Next time you get exiled from a kingdom, you tell me, okay?"

Letting out a watery laugh, I hug her again. "Promise."

"And don't even get me started on the fact that you snuck your way in here and didn't come to see me first."

Guilt tugs at me, but I stand my ground. "I didn't want to put you in danger."

She rolls her eyes affectionately. "Likely story."

"Speaking of danger...," another voice says.

The final dragon to join our little reunion has me scrunching up my face in confusion. Then my eyes widen as I recognize Jimmy Ortez, the boy who lived down the road from my aunt, and who my cousin developed a huge crush on once he started to fill out.

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