Page 142 of Crown of Slumber

“I am.”

Before I could talk myself out of it, I stretched out my hand, pricking my finger on the sharpened point of the needle. The room around me went blurry, and I felt myself falling, falling, falling into utter darkness.

I was floatingin a sea of memories, sifting through them one at a time. I saw the moment Aurora Briarcliffe Gaelania was born into this world, a babe among the witch clans, sired by a soldier passing through the kingdom. She had pale orange hair and freckles covering her entire body. When she first opened her eyes, they were a vibrant green with vertical black slits, marking her as the first dragon shifter the clan had seen in over a thousand years.

The next memory I fell into was the moment Aurora’s powers came into fruition. She was able to call blue flames at will and direct them as she wished. Her aim and level of concentration was impeccable. The sage declared she would be the most powerful weapon the clan had ever seen.

After that, hundreds of years passed as Aurora Briarcliffe Gaelania’s powers grew. She became a healer in her clan, using her knowledge of herbs to help her fellow sisters. But when a tribe of witch hunters came, slaughtering half her sisters—her mother included—she unleashed all the horrors of her magic and wiped out the entire tribe without another thought. This was the first sign of her dangerous and deadly power.

The next memory was her journey to become the sage of the witch clan. Several witches objected to this, as Aurora’s gifts were volatile and dangerous, but overall, she gained her sisters’ approval and was granted the gift of Sight.

Decades later, a prophecy came to her mind. It revealed the true nature of her powers, and the two sides of the coin that was her soul. If she mastered her powers, they could be used to unite therealm. But if she did not, she would be the cause of the realm’s destruction.

At first, Aurora kept this prophecy to herself, knowing her sisters would oust her if they discovered it. But when she came across a village in desperate need of assistance, her dragon unwittingly took over, and she accidentally set the hamlet ablaze. Nearly every soul in the village perished from the accident.

After that, Aurora confessed to her closest sisters, Ruby, Jade, and Sapphire. She asked for their help. Together, they concocted a plan to bind Aurora’s powers but to let her live another life. A safer life.

One witch in the clan was opposed to this idea. She wanted to harness Aurora’s powers and use them to destroy their enemies, to conquer other witch clans and expand their territory. Her name was Rosalina.

After much discussion, the clan decided to bind Aurora’s powers instead of utilize them. Rosalina lashed out, attacking her fellow sisters until she was cast out from the clan, never to be seen again. The clan heard rumors that she had disguised herself as a human, living among royals and keeping her identity a secret. But no one knew for sure what became of her.

Ruby, Jade, and Sapphire helped Aurora initiate the spell, but it was Aurora’s blood that finally sealed it, bringing it to life. After this, her life as a sage, a healer, and a witch was no more.

A blinding light overtook me, blotting out the memories I’d been enveloped in only moments before. I found myself sitting in the tea room at the Emerald Palace in the Summer Court. A cup of mint tea was in my hands, warming me to the bone. I looked around, confused at finding myself alone. I could have sworn that, only moments ago, I’d been speaking with Gigi.

But she wasn’t here.

Humming to myself in thought, I sipped at the tea, thinking perhaps my sister would join me shortly. My gaze fixed on the window, through which I could barely make out the forest where the nesting grounds were. I missed my dragons. Perhaps, after tea, Iwould venture that way and take one of them for a ride. Perhaps I could check in on?—

My thoughts faltered at that, and an unusual stab of unease worked its way into my gut. I swallowed, blinking rapidly to clear my mind. I wasn’t sure why, but the thought of my dragons and—and?—

Which dragon was I thinking of? He had black scales and golden eyes, but the more I thought of him, the more the details flitted away like petals in the wind.

Another slice of pain, and I hunched over, groaning. Burning suns, what was this? Was something in my tea? I set the cup on the table, then rubbed my temples.

Perhaps I needed to retire early tonight. My nightmares of witches and spells and prophecies had plagued me for far too long. If I sought out our healer for a sleeping tonic, I was sure to have a dreamless sleep tonight.

I rose to my feet, smoothing my palms along my skirts before turning to leave, only to find a figure standing in the doorway. He had wavy brown locks and vibrant green eyes, and the look on his face was so intense with longing and grief that it brought back that familiar ache in my stomach. I tilted my head at him, wondering why he was here.

“Aurelia,” he breathed, the sound a low rasp.

I blinked. “Who are you?”

He drew closer until his large form was only a few inches away, warming the space between us. I found my throat dry, though I wasn’t sure why. I had never seen this man before.

“You must remember,” he murmured, taking my hand in his. His palm was so warm and familiar, and when he laced his fingers through mine, it felt like an echo of a past memory. A past life.

My brows knitted together, and I jerked my hand away. “What—What are you doing to me?”

“I’ve come to bring you back.”

“Bring me backwhere?” My voice was shrill. “I’m already home.”

“Aurelia, this isn’t real. You’ve been trapped here for too long. If you don’t come with me, it will be too late for you.”

I laughed. This man was clearly insane. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know you, and I’m not going anywhere with you.”

I tried to step around him, but I froze at the sight of the black dragon in the hall. His wings were spread wide, making him too large to fit through the doorway. As he looked at me with one golden eye and one milky eye, I felt my breath shudder within me.

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