I know what I am now.
Even if I don’t knowwhoI am.
Even if I don’t understand why I said another woman’s name while making love to this one.
Even if everything is still broken between us.
I know what I am.
And somehow, that’s enough for tonight.
I rest my head against the wall beside Mara’s pallet. My hand still holding hers.
And I wait for morning.
For answers.
For the rest of my memory to return.
For Mara to wake up and decide whether she can forgive me.
Chapter 15
Mara
The dreams come in fragments.
Men in uniform. Hands grabbing. A cloth over my face that smells chemical and wrong.
Then: fire.
Not consuming. Protective.
Golden flames wrapping around me, shielding me from… What? Bullets? I see them hitting an invisible barrier and dropping harmlessly.
Wings. Massive. Gleaming scales that catch moonlight and turn it to liquid gold.
A roar that shakes trees and sends men scattering.
Something huge and terrible and magnificent descending from the sky like vengeance given form.
Dragon.
The word surfaces. Certain. Undeniable.
K.
I try to reach for him, but the dream dissolves. Darkness rushes in, thick and absolute.
I claw my way toward consciousness, fighting through layers of fog.
My eyes open.
Stone ceiling. Firelight dancing across rough walls. The small dwelling in the village.
Safe.
I’m safe.
