Page 57 of Dragon Awakened

Fresh waves of guilt threaten to sweep me under. "How is she?"

"All right, I think?" Ember's mouth twists downward. "But she's...under his thrall or something. I thought I had an opportunity to rescue her, but she called out to him instead." Her throat bobs. "I'm sorry--I wanted to get her out of there."

A dark laugh burns the insides of my lungs. "Believe me. I've tried."

Over and over, I begged my father to reconsider; when those requests only drew his ire, I had to become more subtle. But I've never stopped trying to bring Aria home.

And now it might be too late.

Hanging my head, I rake my hands through my hair. As much as I want to sink into the misery of yet another of my failures, I can't let myself dwell on it right now.

Ember sits up more rigidly, picking at her nails and chewing her bottom lip in a way that's achingly familiar. My abdominals flex. Once upon a time, I would have pulled her into my arms and held her until she was ready to tell me what was eating her up inside. Our mate-bond screams at me to do exactly that, but I don't dare. Not yet.

"What else happened?" I finally ask.

Her eyes well up, and she looks down at her own hands.

The rest of her story comes out in a flood.

Every revelation wants to wash me away. Talking to her parents' spirits, meeting her uncle. Finding out that she's the heir to the Grand Throne, descended from all five kingdoms.

That she's mostly Shadow Dragon, at her heart.

Worse, she's terrified of her fate--of her own powers and of herself.

"I know it's true," she whispers, "but I keep waiting to wake up and find out I made it up. Because I can't-- How can I be--"

I feel her fears, echoing through our bond. I understand them, because they're my own.

But one look at her--

One glimpse inside her heart--

And I know.

My own voice surprises me with its ferocity. "Nothing about you has changed."

Her head jerks up, and her shining gaze meets mine. "How can you say--"

And I'm helpless to her. Just like always. "I know you, Ember."

Yes, I fucked up everything about our relationship. Especially the ending. But deep down, she was mine, and I was hers, even before I looked into her eyes and felt the threads of our fates knit into one.

"You're exactly the same, good person you've always been." And I can't resist any more. I reach up and brush her hair back from her eyes. My fingertips crackle with the electric pull of our bond, but I force myself not to let the contact linger. "Finding out your father wasn't exactly who you thought he was doesn't change that."

She lets out a rough ghost of a laugh. "I don't know. His being a Shadow Dragon isn't the same as him, like, being a mob enforcer or something."

"Still." I dare to place my hand over hers, and the rightness of touching her again blows me away.

She turns her palm over in mine, intertwining our fingers, and it's so much more than I deserve.

Her voice drops even lower. "The power I have scares me, Storm."

"Nothing about you could ever scare me," I assure her. I give her hand a gentle squeeze, working hard to lighten my tone. "But it should sure as hell scare Erembour."

"I don't know about that."

"I do." I huff out a breath. "He's terrified of you. For weeks now, he's had all of his forces out looking for you. You're basically target number one."

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