Page 47 of Rejected By Dragons

The instant it's over, I'm utterly disgusted with myself.

I reach for the box of tissues by my bed and clean up the mess, treating myself roughly. The discomfort is small punishment. How dare I think about her? I lost that right when I refused to claim her as my own. I didn't fight for her.

We were together. We were caught. And she alone paid the price.

So much for getting any sleep tonight.

I toss on a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt, then shove on my running shoes. What I probably need is to stretch my wings, but I don't trust myself in dragon form right now. I exit my room, planning to head down the back stairs and out toward the trail that cuts through the woods.

As I do, though, I catch sight of a shadowy figure standing at the other end of the hall.

Ice flashes into my veins. He nods at me, his black eyes glittering in the distance.

I swallow hard and nod in return.

He's not stopping me, though. Just standing guard.

The new security around the mansion grates at me, and not just because I don't like being watched. The dragons stationed around our home are strangers. Once upon a time, they were our worst enemies.

I'm pretty sure, deep down, that they still are.

My stomach churns as I descend the stairs at speed.

My father's made a deal with the devil, and he's sold my sister Aria to seal it.

I hate myself for abandoning Ember, but I was right. I'm needed here at home. I may not be able to stop what's coming.

But I can't turn my back on my sister or my kingdom.

Not without a fight.

Chapter Thirteen

EMBER

"That's it." Amy literally stamps her foot, her hands on her hips and a determined expression on her face. "You've been here for almost two weeks and you've barely left this house."

I glance around, caught off guard.

I'm sitting on the living room couch in Amy and Rhiannon's house. Like usual, I spent the day organizing stuff in the shop. As promised, more shipments have been arriving every day in preparation for the upcoming summit. Even if they hadn't been, I would have had my hands full. Rhiannon wasn't kidding about needing an assistant. There was a massive backlog of inventory to contend with, and I'm only just now starting to get a handle on it.

I figured Amy and I would hang around and watch a movie or something tonight. Most evenings, after work and dinner, I beg off and go read in my room. I'm used to being on my own. But Amy was right, and we've become fast friends while I've been here. She's easy to talk to, and we have plenty in common. When she said she wanted to do something together today, I was happy enough to agree.

Apparently, her idea of "doing something" is slightly different from mine, though. Too late, I notice that I'm wearing pajamas and she's decked out in dark-rinse jeans and a flowy, low-cut pink blouse and heels.

An embarrassed flush warms my face. "I've been to the grocery store," I argue, but I know as well as she does that that isn't what she meant.

She narrows her eyes at me. "We're going out. Tonight. With friends."

My stomach twists with unease. "I don't know..."

"I promise you, my friends are super nice, and you're going to love The Dragon's Flagon. It's trivia night tonight," she pouts, and my resistance starts to crumble.

The truth is that I have been a bit of a shut-in. The past couple of weeks have passed in a blur--in the best possible way. I've felt safe, here at Amy and Rhiannon's house. I have a stable internet connection, and I'm making great progress getting caught up on my coursework. The work I'm doing at Rhiannon's shop is challenging and interesting. My weird fantasy about getting banged by Storm and a whole bunch of other, anonymous dragons hasn't surfaced again, and if I can't decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, well...

None of this has given me any real impetus to get out there, is what I'm saying.

I want to see the rest of the town. I want to meet people and do things.

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