Page 161 of Crown of Slumber

He answered by nipping at my lip, and I laughed. He kissed me again and again, bringing his mouth to my throat, my jaw, my collarbone. For what felt like hours, we stood there, holding each other and making up for lost time while the dragons chased each other in the grass. We still had foes to face and conflicts to resolve, but here in this moment, we were simply two people in love, eager to spend the rest of eternity together.

Fennand I returned to my court to find Kade on the brink of succumbing to her hibernation. The remaining dragons flanked her like soldiers, prepared to defend her if necessary.

We brought a pouch of stardust with us to break the curse. But by the time we reached the castle, I could already tell the enchantment had broken with Rosalina’s death. Servants bustled about, and shouts of concern and distress echoed throughout the castle.

Before I faced my people, I sprinkled a smattering of stardust around Azure, the dying Blue Amethyst. Fenn and I had already put plans in place to bring back her mother, whom Sonara had chained up in her dungeon. She was too wounded to fly, but once she had healed, she could be reunited with her youngling.

But for now, the stardust would heal Azure. Already, I could see her tiny form wriggling toward the stardust, sniffing around with interest. Her tongue lapped up a few of the crystal flakes, and color was already brightening her eyes.

With a small smile, I left Mal in charge of the pouch of stardust, indicating he needed to knock over a few more piles of it whenever Azure looked like she needed more. Then, Fenn and I made our way to the castle.

I went to the tea room first. As I made my way down the hall, trying to shove back the memories of when I was here in Rosalina’s dreamscape, the echoes of tearful shouts met my ears. When I reached the doorway, I stood there for a moment, taking in the scene before me.

Gigi and Mother sat on the sofa, embracing one another tightly,both of them weeping. They looked up at my approach, their mouths falling open in shock.

For a long, tense moment, we only stared at each other. I stood there, enduring their scrutiny, waiting for them to send me away, to shudder at the monster they knew me to be. My powers were no longer bound; I was the Dragon Queen, and I was dangerous and deadly.

Gigi reacted first. She jumped to her feet and flew toward me, barreling into me with a fierce embrace. Her arms wrapped around me, and she sobbed into my dress, her shoulders trembling.

“I knew you could do it,” she said, her voice muffled as she cried. “I knew it!”

I held her, my own eyes pricking with tears. Gods, I had missed her! We clung to each other with all the desperation of two sisters who had almost lost one another. Though we were not connected by blood, she would always be my sister.

My grip on her relaxed as Mother approached, her eyes moist and full of hesitation.

“You—You know everything, then?” she asked in a solemn voice.

I withdrew, and Gigi positioned herself next to me, clutching my hand in hers. “Yes,” I said softly.

Mother nodded once, a single tear racing down her cheek. She sniffed, then released a shuddering sob. “Oh,Aurelia.”

Then, she was holding me, cradling my head against her chest. Gigi joined us, and Mother’s arms gathered both of us close to her as if we were both her children. As if she had raised us both from the womb.

Gigi was her flesh and blood. And I was not.

But in this moment, I felt as loved, as cherished as if I had been born into this family. As if we had lived and loved together.

And that feeling of intense joy and love and relief blossomed within me until I felt as if the broken remains of my memories and past lives could be healed in this singular moment.

I didn’t bring up our plans for the future. Not yet. The time for that would come later.

Mother and I saw to the needs of our people, sending the healer to inspect those who had been under the curse, and reaching out tothe nobles in the outer cities who hadn’t been affected by the enchantment to assure them all was well in the castle. There had been riots and skirmishes, and it would take a while to quell the unrest that had risen from the ordeal. But for the most part, the kingdom was safe.

I had been avoiding my father. I let Mother bring him up to speed, knowing I was not yet ready to face him.

When I could put it off no longer, I sent word to the witch clans, politely requesting Samiria’s presence. I wasn’t sure if she would come, after everything that had happened. But, to my surprise, she did—and so did Ruby, Jade, and Sapphire. Together, we met with my parents and sister in the throne room and outlined everything that had happened. The three Midnight witches lifted the spell that had bound Samiria, finally allowing her to speak about it. And for hours, we discussed what had happened and what to expect from my newfound power.

“My great-grandparents thought your power would protect us,” Father said to me, his voice stoic and as unfeeling as ever. “It was the only reason they took you in. The only reason we continued to keep your secret from generation to generation.”

“But,” Mother interjected, shooting him a worried glance, “we came to love you, Aurelia. We still do. When it was clear your memories wouldn’t come back, we began to see you as part of our family, not—not?—”

“A weapon,” I finished in a hollow voice.

Mother flinched, but Father met my stare.

“We did what we had to do,” he said softly. “For the good of our kingdom.”

“And promising my dragons to Tyrone?” I asked, unable to keep the bite from my voice. “Was that for the good of the kingdom, too?”

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