Page 87 of Destined By Dragonblood
Chest aching, I closed my eyes, wetness dripping off my chin.
Primrose had prepared Dahlia’s body for eternal rest—and flew her to the mountain’s base where she buried her beneath a deep pile of rocks.
“You can shift?” I gasped.
Primrose pulled her hand away from mine but held my gaze, her calmness like a sea of glass beneath sunbeams of golden light. “Yes.”
Strong.
My body slumped in my chair as I stared across the table. “Can…” I swiped at my wet face, ecstatic by the truth of my bloodline yet baffled by her existence. “Can you cloak yourself?”
She frowned, her puzzlement clear through the bond we had created.
I bent the light around me to explain, shimmering out of sight.
Her eyebrows shot upward, her giddiness making me smile. “How did you do that?”
I grabbed hold of her hand again, showing her through the blood bond between us, my ability creating the same within her as a Blood Born descendant learned from their elder—as I had from Father centuries earlier.
Instantly, she winked from existence but squeezed my hand. “This. Is. Amazing!” A heartbeat later, she reappeared, flashing a dazzling smile that made her look no more than a teenager.
“I’m twenty-two,” she replied before I could ask the question that popped into my mind. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
I peered into her eyes since I could see them again, noting the wisdom and knowledge of one who had lived a long life rather than her handful of years. “How old were you when Dahlia passed?”
“Eighteen. How old are you?” she asked, her head tilted to the side again. My granddaughter was beyond beautiful, a kind and caring spawn any Blood Born would be proud of.
I grinned, my chest swelling. “Four hundred and twenty-seven years.”
Her jaw dropped open. “Will I live that long?” she asked, her voice breathless.
I pulled my hand away from my granddaughter’s as her memory of Dahlia’s aged face flitted through my mind. I reached for the serving spoon left in the skillet, needing to distract myself from what I’d lost. “Longer than a human, I’m sure, but not nearly the years I’ve had.”
“Because I’m not a full Blood Born.”
Once my plate was filled with chicken and potatoes, I glanced over at her. The tiniest bit of insecurity lay beneath her exterior. “How much do you know?”
“Not nearly enough.” A hint of anger reached through the blood bond, causing my inner beast to whimper. Want to soothe and help Primrose rushed through us both. “You’ve visited the library—can you read the ancient language?”
She picked up her fork and stabbed her chicken. “No.”
“Would you like to?” I asked, retrieving my own flatware so I could cut a bite off the breast on my plate.
“You’ll teach me?”
“Easily.” I found myself smiling, the ache of lost years and my mates left behind lessened by the opportunity ahead of me.
“Like how you taught me cloaking?” Primrose grinned and shimmered out of sight, her young, quick mind grasping what had taken me years to properly learn.
She’s amazing.
“Yes.”
“In that case—” she reached her hand over the table, fingers wiggling with the anticipation I could feel flowing off her like rocks tumbling down a mountainside “—show me everything.”
Dinner forgotten, I gave my granddaughter the remaining knowledge, all the wisdom I had collected over the centuries, wondering how much was actually true.
Chapter 24
