Page 82 of Dragon Awakened

"And are being handled as such," Rhiannon interrupts.

Amy's not having any of this. "As I was saying, I didn't register it at the time, but they totally talked about this."

"We'll return to the vault to study them in more depth," Rhiannon says, decisive. At the last minute, she glances at Rook and adds, "Carefully."

A creeping, numbing dread is tingling in my fingers and my toes. "So you're saying this is really possible. King Erembour could literally steal the magic from all of dragonkind."

Rhiannon and Rook share a glance that tells me everything I need to know.

Rook rubs a hand across his brow. "Unfortunately, yes. He has allies in every kingdom. And apparently, he's been amassing a treasure trove of dark materials more vast than even I had realized."

"But that kind of spell must have limits. Consequences." That's how magic works, right?

"I would not put anything past the Shadow King," Rhiannon says grimly. "There is nothing he would not do--no cost he would not pay--to secure that kind of power for himself."

"And his heir," Mariutza says in a distracted tone.

Those tingles of dread shoot straight to my heart. My gaze darts automatically to Storm, and his own eyes are wide and mournful.

"The heir he's going to get on my sister," he grits out, rage curling his fists.

Rook lets out a rough sigh. "Who he will be taking as his bride--on the Dragon Moon."

"So that's it? He's going to get married, sire an heir--" I swallow bile, just the idea of that wretched, ancient creature with Princess Aria making me nauseous "--and then perform some insane, dark ritual to steal the magic from all of dragonkind to enrich himself and his unborn child."

Rhiannon sits back down.

Nodding, Rook drops his hands to his lap, utterly calm except for the way his left eye is twitching. "That about sums it up."

"We will not allow this to transpire." Malik steps forward, his tattoos swirling violently, and his eyes glowing with a ferocity that stirs something in my chest.

Rafe's own gaze burns. "Damn right."

"For once, it would appear we agree on something," Jianyu says, determination setting his jaw.

Beside me, Storm is bristling with an electric rage that is reminiscent of his name. "Ember?"

All four of my mates are staring at me. Our friends are, too, and I still don't know how this happened. How I managed to be the one at the very center of this conflagration.

I flex my wrist, the bracer burning my skin.

Just like before, when I brought the room to attention, light sweeps its way through me. My connection to all four of my mates glows in my veins, feeding into the magic swirling through me. Making my dragon rise within my breast.

"We'll stop him," I hear myself say, and my voice is not my own. It's mine and my dragon's, and it's something deep and new and powerful, just waiting to be awakened. "We'll find the Crown Of Cinders, unite the elements, and defeat the Shadow King. We'll rescue Princess Aria and we'll..." My breath catches, but as I inhale, fresh air flows into my lungs. "We'll bring light to shadow."

"Um," Amy interrupts, one brow cocked, "you realize you'll have to let your dragon out first, right?"

My dragon flaps her wings, dark purple magic scintillating at the edges of my vision, and my instinct is still to shy away. To reject the Shadow Dragon blood that's a part of me, and that has been since the day I was born.

But I don't. I won't--not anymore.

Before I can open my mouth to say as much, though, there's a sudden trembling to the earth. I stagger, and Storm darts forward as if to catch me, but I find my balance. The bedrock far beneath my feet sings in my bones, and I look to Jianyu. His eyes fly wide.

Then tornado sirens blare, and the sky outside the windows goes dark.

"What the--" Rafe stumbles across the room toward me.

Mariutza's quiet, sing-songy voice rings out. "They're here."

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