Page 37 of Bound By Roses

He’s standing now—and entirely unharmed. The red lines on his skin have brightened and seem to flow as if full of the liquid fire known to flow through the land of the dragons.

“Jade?” She takes a step closer, and his eyes snap to her. There’s no recognition on his face. No hint of heartbreak hidden behind a cocky grin. It’s as if he doesn’t know her at all.

I move to her side, ready to step between them if his stoicism turns to rage. “You okay?” I ask him. I’d much rather those red-rimmed green eyes on me. “Do you know where you are?”

He looks away from us, scanning the beach. When his gaze falls upon the ocean, his face crinkles in disgust. He says nothing until he returns his attention to Abby, trailing his eyes up and down her body. “Chosen,” he says, the word little more than a growl.

“That’s right,” she says. “You and I are both Chosen.”

The anger I’d been expecting comes all at once and he charges for Abby. I move to block her, but it seems I wasn’t the only one waiting for this. The two other male dragons—Ory and Wyatt—each grab one of Jade’s arms and hold him back.

It’s no longer just us now. A crowd of sirens have gathered, their faces a collage of of fear and disgust. Only Aurelia stands out from them, a look of sadness etched into her features.

Erwyn takes a step forward. “I knew we should have put that beast down when we had the chance!”

Jade slides his gaze to the man and smiles. “You can still try.”

The two dragons holding him back struggle more against him. Jade was always strong, but what new abilities has he gained from Inferna? Even if they can hold him back, he still has powers he hasn’t even begun to use.

“You know what to do,” a soft voice says. I recognize it instantly and scan the crowd until I find my sister eyeing Aurelia intently. What would Aurelia have to do with this? Unless…

The tips of her spear glisten in the sunlight.

“Don’t!” I shout when she takes a step forward. I don’t even know why I said it. I don’t want Jade dead, but this isn’t the Jade we knew. Whatever we brought back wasn’t him. “I won’t let you kill him.”

“I do not wish for his death,” Aurelia says, undeterred by my outburst. She lowers her spear but doesn’t point it towards the dragon. Instead, she presses one of the tips against her own palm and slices deeply. Scarlet blood spills from her hand, falling to the sand in a cascade of droplets. She moves until she stands just inches from Jade, letting the blood fall freely between them. “Blood of mine, hear my words and be calm.”

Jade’s body trembles slightly, but I can tell he’s resisting her blood magic. I’ve only seen magic like this once before, and that was the night Imelda turned me into a monster.

“Blood of mine,” Aurelia repeats, her words firmer. She lays her bloodied palm against Jade’s cheek and winces as her blood bubbles and steam rises. “I know you are in there,” she says through pain-clenched teeth.

Jade stills, and then his body relaxes. Aurelia lowers her hand and steps back, nodding to the dragons. They release him, and Jade makes no move to attack. He’s breathing hard now, eyes cast down to the droplets of blood at his feet. Whatever she did to him appears to be working.

Merrick takes a cautious step forward. “Do you know who I am?”

Jade looks up and studies his face. “Regent.” The word is breathy, but it sounds more like the Jade we know.

“Not what I am.WhoI am.”

Jade hesitates before answering. “I know your face, but my mind is like smoke.”

“That’s okay,” Merrick says, almost sounding reassuring, which is interesting because just a few hours ago, he was on thefence about whether or not we should allow Jade to live. “My name is Merrick. I’m your cousin.”

Jade nods slowly. “Cousins. Okay.” He looks to Aurelia. Whatever emotion I’d seen on her face earlier has been replaced with a hard stoicism that gives nothing away. “And you?” When she doesn’t answer, he looks at her hand and then again at the blood at his feet. “Witch. Blood magic. Curse.” He backs away from her, as if afraid.

“Do you remember a curse?” Merrick asks.

“Maybe. Yes.” I’ve never seen Jade so indecisive. That dragon always oozed confidence, even when he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“It wasn’t her. Aurelia uses blood magic, but it wasn’t her.”

He studies her face. “Blood of mine? Who are you?”

She looks as if she won’t answer, but this time she lets out a heavy sigh.

“I am…your mother.”

My face pales. If Aurelia is Jade’s mom…if he’s the dragon baby from the journal…

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