Page 13 of Rejected By Dragons

"We'll have to go into town and find you something special for it," Aunt Helena tells Brynn, her expression softening. Not even the harshest harpy can stay cynical in the face of Brynn's sunniness. Believe me, I've tried.

"Ooh." Brynn claps her hands. "Can we?"

"Of course."

Brynn shifts her gaze to me. "We'll have to pick out a new dress for Ember, too."

I blink, nearly dropping my glass I'm so surprised to have the focus back on me. "Um..."

Brynn smiles. "You're going to be flying, aren't you?"

Spontaneous dampness floods my eyes. My skin prickles.

I flash back to Storm begging me not to try again. I was all geared up for a fight here at home, too.

But no. After all this time--after all my failures...my cousin still believes in me. So I'm going to keep believing in me, too.

My heart swells. "Damn right I am."

Chapter Four

EMBER

"You know," I say, running my hand along the silky black fabric of a particularly cute dress I've been eying. "In the Fire Kingdom, they hold their Emergence Ceremony over the lava fields."

Over on the other side of the rounder, Brynn laughs. "Well, there's some motivation for you."

My aunt Helena mimes spitting on the floor, just at the name of the dragon clan across the sea. "Savage beasts."

I huff out a sigh. "Oh, please." This is an argument I have no desire to revisit, but apparently I can't help myself. "As if we aren't descended from them."

Everybody is, if you go back far enough in the family tree. Once upon a time, dragons made a pointed effort to interbreed. Fated mates were found among the other clans more often than not, leading many to believe that the gods intended us all to be mixed. The legend of a descendant of all four dragon kingdoms bringing light to Shadow had parents working overtime to breed a whelp who might win the Shadow War.

To hear my mother tell of it, our family actually managed to achieve it. She claimed to have the blood of all four clans running through her veins.

If she was right, then my aunt does, too. Try telling her that, though.

Helena hisses, looking around to make sure no one overheard me pointing out the uncomfortable truth about our heritage. "We can't be held accountable for what our ancestors did a century ago."

"Really? I thought holding grudges was what dragons did best."

My aunt goes a little red in the face. She lowers her voice even further, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Believe me, if it were, I never would have taken you in." She shakes her head. "Not after what your mother did to me."

She pulls away, and for the first time in years, I'm tempted to reach out and draw her back in. I knew she and my mom had some bad blood between them. Helena disagreed with my mom's decision to leave Wynrath Crest. She sure as hell disagreed with her choice of mates. But the vehemence with which she's speaking now is different. I want to know more.

She stalks off before I can ask, though, and Brynn comes around, clearly unaware of the bombshell my aunt just dropped. Her eyes light up when she catches sight of the dress I was admiring.

"Ooh!" She pulls the hanger off the rack and holds it up against me. "This would be perfect!"

She steps a little bit out of the way, and I glance past her to find a mirror hung directly across from me on the wall. Warmth rises in my chest.

She's right. The dress would be perfect. It's knee length, sleeveless, with a cinched waist and pleats, made from a gorgeous fabric with just the right amount shine. Black on top, its hue shifts in a stunning ombre effect to a deep red skirt.

It's also way, way out of my price range.

"I don't know..."

"Just try it on," Brynn urges.

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