"What happened?" Deloria cried.
Rubbing a hand across my chest in an attempt to ease the burning there, I forced myself to focus on the facts. “A wild dragon and his human ally set this all in motion,” I growled.
Deloria’s hand covered her mouth as she gasped, but thankfully didn’t interrupt me.
The rest of the story was relayed to them, quickly and precisely, finishing with finding Justice like this. "I don't know the specific details of what happened when she left the barrier, and the fact I wasn't able to be with her is my greatest regret. She shouldn't have had to fight them alone. But she saved us all. Saved the world, because if that ley line or Stratford’s power was taken…"
We all knew what would have happened.
Deloria stroked a hand across her daughter. "My darling. I'm so sorry that I didn't support you. Please don't leave us."
The royal couple were touching the ruby, and I felt their power as they tried to find a way to free her, but whatever had her encased, it was beyond their knowledge. We needed someone who had dealt with this before, we needed…
"Josephina," I murmured, nodding as the idea grew stronger. "Yes. We need to get her to Josephina." And hope like hell it wasn't too late.
The king and queen jerked their heads up, staring at me wide eyed. "The queen of the dragons?" Jepati asked.
"Yes."
He was already shaking his head. "No. No, it's far too dangerous."
I didn't want to fight them on this, because Justice wouldn't want that, but to save her life, I would not hesitate. "She has freed me from a ruby tomb before," I told them. Already moving forward to retrieve my mate. "It might be her only hope."
Deloria’s face was wreathed in stubborn lines, just like her daughter's when Justice set her mind to something. "The ruby fields are our best bet. If they can’t free her, they will return her to the great mother in the sky."
Yeah, that wasn't happening. Not on my watch.
"I'm not asking permission," I said, working extra hard to keep my voice even. "She's my true mate and I will do everything in my power to save her before she's surrendered to the fields."
Deloria opened her mouth and barked, "You don't get to make this decision—"
She was cut off by the king, dropping a hand on her arm. "Love, we have to let her mate try and help her. This is his duty now."
Tears sprinkled Deloria’s eyes, trailing silently down her cheeks as she fought against motherly instinct to release her daughter to the world again. Every single time she had done that, the world had hurt her child.
I understood this motherly love and would fight for it to be part of Justice's life now, but I was her mate. I needed to do my part as well. True mates fought to the bitter end for each other, and I hadn't even begun to fight.
With a tearful kiss to the opaque ruby over her daughter's face, Deloria released her hold, relinquishing her greatest treasure into my hands.
"I'm going to have to transport her in dragon form," I said. "Unless you know a quicker way to call the dragons?"
The royals exchanged a look. "It was rumored that if we rang the largest stone, in the ruby fields,” Jepati said, “it would send a signal to the original shining ones."
I can get us back there, my dragon whispered to me, and I felt his need to fly in the lands of his ancestors. Again, I decided to trust him. One undeniable lesson I’d learned recently was that I needed to reduce the emotional and mental distance between us. It was time to take the steps forward as a single unit.
"My dragon believes he knows the way, and it will be quicker for us to fly,” I told the royal couple. “Let's save the ruby bell for another time."
They nodded, stepping back.
Lowering Justice to the ground once more, I moved away and shifted. Within seconds, she was in my claws, my wings flapping powerfully as we zoomed away. I heard shouts of “Goodbye,” and “Good luck,” fading as I left them behind.
We started off at a fast pace, and somewhere just past the jeweled lands, entered another shimmer. On the other side was a familiar place. I'd only been to these wide-open fields a few times, but it felt like home.
The queen is waiting for us.
He moved faster with not an ounce of fatigue. I had a sense that the dragon, if he paced himself, could fly for days through this land made up of rolling plains, light warm breezes, and a sense of eternal sunshine.
It was the sort of world my beast longed for, and as much as I wanted to allow him the time to frolic in a land built for dragons, we had a precious bundle that needed all of our attention.
