Kelan erupts into his dragon form and takes flight, his huge wings stirring leaves and dirt, before he disappears beneath the magical cloak.
Ronyn also vanishes in a flash of scarlet scales, wings, and tail.
Ahya makes a small sound in Scarlet’s arms, her tiny hand reaching toward the sky where the dragons disappeared.
Scarlet looks down at her, then up at me. “She wants you to find her mother,” she whispers.
My chest tightens, recognizing how difficult this is for a woman who deeply loves a child who isn't her own. The fear of loss makes her hold the child even closer.
I find Hunter and nod. “Thank you for everything.”
He claps his big hand against my upper arm. “I hope you find your mate. I know what it is to be separated from her and fear for her life.”
“I fear our search will be futile,” I say. “We have no way to follow her trail.”
I take one last breath of the forest and the place where we lost her.
“I will find you,” I whisper. “Wherever they have taken you, I will find you.”
Then I let my dragon free.
Gold fire surges through my veins as I rise, wings spreading wide to catch the wind.
We circle the sky together—black, scarlet, and gold—three storms racing across the dawn.
Below us, the forest grows small.
Above us, the world opens.
Somewhere out there, our mate is in danger, waiting.
27
AURA
I open my eyes.
The room is vast. The walls are smooth and white, and the windows darkened with the night. Beneath me, a circular bed the size of a banquet table sprawls in crimson velvet. Around it, the chamber rises: high ceilings, low light, and ancient-looking decorative objects; everything unfamiliar. In the corner stands a tall column, topped by four carved wooden dragons.
For a moment, I don’t breathe.
I don’t move.
I listen.
But there’s nothing.
I try to sit up, but something holds me back. My wrists are tied in front of me and tethered to the bedframe. The restraint pulls tighter when I move. Panic hits me so hard that my vision goes white.
I flex my hands, but there’s no magic. A heavy fabric covers my body, pressing down like a weighted blanket. Isquirm, trying to get free from the uncomfortable feeling.
My pulse hammers.
I’ve woken like this before, helpless and bound.
Gregory’s rooms. Gregory’s hands.
My stomach twists violently.
