Page 3 of Court of Dragons and Ashes

Hope steps forward. “We shouldn’t waste any more time.” She looks right into my eyes. “They will need us, now more than they ever have. I don’t care if this is what they wanted for you. We all know you won’t leave them there, right?”

“I’m furious with them for making a choice I didn’t ask for or want, but I would never leave them to the fate they have woven to protect me.” My statement lingers in the air. “I haven’t met Aphrodite, but she has them. I wish they had told me about the deal.”

Arty clears her throat. “I believe the deal was to be your mate, all four of them, before the time was up. I believe they wanted you to make the decision yourself, not feel forced.”

I feel as uncomfortable as I can possibly get when everyone looks right at me, like I’m meant to have all of the answers and know everything to do now I remember. My grandmother watches me with interest. “Are you dating one of them? How could she expect you to mate all four kings when…” Her gaze drifts off. “Ah, fate has been interesting.”

“They belong to her.” Hope waves her hand at me when I can’t answer. “All four of them, and they are fools for not being honest.”

My grandmother’s face creases. “In all my time, in all my immortal life, I have not met one person who isn’t a fool in the name of love. It is not a sin, not a mistake, and they wished to protect you. I like these kings already.”

“I want you to meet them,” I softly reply.

She smiles brightly. “Then you best go back to your world and get them. You are a princess of the Spirit Court, granddaughter to the goddess Hera, and more powerful than anyone I’ve known. Never forget it, never let anyone try to steal your power and light.” My heart races. It’s almost like she knows what almost happened to me, what is haunting my every step. “Just come back alive. I’ve already lost nearly my entire family in that world. A world I can’t even step in to help.”

I can’t promise her anything, but I nod once, and she kisses my cheek. Hope leans on the counter next to us. “Why is that?Why can’t you go into Ayiolyn but Aphrodite and Ares are there? And trapped?”

My grandmother sighs. “Ares entered Ayiolyn first, pulling along Aphrodite after a few hundred years of destruction and pain. The people in Ayiolyn had their own magic, and they blocked anyone else after Aphrodite because they knew their world couldn’t handle another god. They couldn’t get rid of them, but they did their best to make sure no gods could enter the world again. As for being trapped there, I believe Ares and Aphrodite are lacking in their magic, and once they are strong enough, they won’t be trapped in one world for long.”

I shiver, thinking over that horrible thought. Hope still has more questions. “And were you originally from Earth? Born here?”

My grandmother picks up a teacup, her tea lukewarm now. She sips some before she talks. “No. We’re from another world. A world where gods originated from. A few of us left and came to this world hundreds of years ago. We were searching for another, and many left. I decided to stay on Earth. So did many of the gods. But others, like Ares and Aphrodite, decided they needed a world they could conquer much more easily than Earth. People here don’t believe so much in magic anymore, and our power is weak here. Ayiolyn is a world of magic, soaked rich in its land and people.”

Hope continues, “Do you miss it? The world you’re from?”

She smiles at her. I think she likes Hope, mostly because Hope is respectful to her, and it’s the first time I’ve seen Hope be nice. “It’s not much different to Ayiolyn. There are wolf shifters there, angels who feed off blood. There were a few gods there when we left, causing their own problems.”

Livia smiles brightly. “Angels are real?”

“Yes. They have massive wings. The people of Lapetus believe in gods, the old ways and fated mates. Things that arenot here on Earth any longer.” My grandmother turns to me again. “Just come back, my granddaughter.” She looks over her shoulder at Arty. “If the daughter of Aphrodite is lying about your mother, kill her. If she is not, tell your mother how much I love her and miss her.”

Arty’s eyes nervously flash but she stays silent with Kian at her side.

“I will.”

She kisses my cheek once more, touching my shoulder. I straighten my back and lift my head. It’s time. “Are you coming, Arty?”

Arty whispers something to Kian, who holds her hand a little too long before letting her walk to the garden door.

“I’m not coming with you.” We all turn to Livia, who shifts awkwardly, with Jinks by her feet, brushing his head against her leg, and I glare at him for a second. He looks right up at me, and I raise an eyebrow. He innocently meows. “I’m going to stay on Earth. I’m no use against the gods. I can’t really fight, and I don’t know the courts. There is nothing for me to do in that world to help you; I’d just be a liability. I wanted to get back to Earth, and now I’m back. I’m sorry, I just want to go back to my family.”

I walk over and hug her tightly. “Thank you for being at my side for so long. It’s not wrong for you to want to go home. Don’t apologise to me. You’re my friend.”

“What about your dragon?” Hope snaps. “Do you think your dragon will be cool with you being a coward and running?”

Livia steps away from me. “I’m no coward, and my dragon would only be in danger trying to help me. This is how it’s got to be,” she says firmly. “I hope to see you again soon,” she adds.

Hope huffs and turns away from her, her shoulders pulled tight.

“I’ll help her find her family,” my grandmother claims, placing her hand on Livia’s arm.

“I should come with you,” Kian states to Arty, a hint of possessiveness in his tone. He wants to keep her safe, even when he knows everything she has done. I don’t know what to make of the strange thing going on between them.

“No,” the queen all but shouts, stepping in front of her son. “Without Lysander, you are all that is left of the Water Court. They locked you up last time; they might use you against Lysander if they catch you again. Worse, they might kill you.”

I meet his eyes, eyes so much like his brother’s. Something cuts deep within my chest when I look at him. Something I’m not ready to admit. “She’s right. I will find Lysander.”

He looks at me suspiciously. “You hate him.”

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