Page 51 of Dragon Awakened

"Wow. Jimmy." I blink rapidly.

"Emergence was good to him, huh?" Brynn murmurs.

I nod dumbly. Forget starting to fill out--since the last time I saw him, he's hulked out. He's a huge wall of muscle now.

A low pang fires off in my gut, though. "I'm glad the last Emergence was good to some people, at least."

A fresh wave of guilt and apology pours off of Storm, and I shoot him a look that's more mournful than pointed, despite my best efforts to stay mad.

"All right, all right," Jimmy admonishes, "I get it, I'm not a shrimp anymore."

"You were never a shrimp to me." Brynn saunters over to his side, and he curls an arm possessively around her waist.

"Seriously, though," Jimmy says. "Imminent danger?"

"Right." Storm shakes off the haze of our fresh mating, but I feel the struggle, both in my own skin and in the blaze burning deep within his heart. He looks around, frowning at my other mates, and yeah--that's going to be a real party to explain. But we have bigger things to worry about right now. "We need to get out of here."

"We have a plan," Brynn tells me. "It's risky, but we think we can get you out."

I glance from her to Storm. "Wait--since when is there a 'we'?"

"There's a lot to fill you in on," Storm says gravely.

I manage not to laugh. "Same."

"You can ride on my back." Storm's dragon begins to rise to the surface of his being again, and my own dragon flutters within me, eager to see the transformation.

Over in the corner of the room, there's a gravelly sneering laugh.

Fury is awake again, though he's got a hell of a bruise rising up the side of his face. He tips his head toward the open ceiling of the garage. Cruelly, he grunts, "Too late."

My stomach turns as I glance up. A half dozen dragons are barreling down on us, ready for war. A fierce wind whips up.

Storm swallows hard, silver scales climbing his throat. His pupils narrow into vertical slits. "I'll fend them off."

Before he can launch himself into the sky, I grab him, my heart pounding. "You self-sacrificing idiot--"

"Go," he roars.

"No." I flip open the locket, and a galaxy of black and violet swirling magic pours out.

My bracer crackles with power, the tenor of the magic deeper and stronger than ever before. Something within me has locked into place.

"Come with me," I entreat, and it's a growl--a voice I didn't even know was inside me.

It's my dragon.

And as eager as she is to rip a handful of Air Kingdom soldiers--not to mention Prince Fury--apart, she's most concerned with getting everyone she loves to safety.

Wisps of tender, purple-black smoke begin to drift out of the locket.

My gaze meets Brynn's. I glance between her and Jimmy. "You in?"

They share a look of their own before she takes him by the hand. She nods firmly. "You're not leaving me behind, this time."

My heart squeezes, so grateful.

But they have to understand. King Zephyr has always been clear about the laws, binding his dragons to this land. "You may not be able to come back."

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