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They reached the medical wing, andMarcus took a deep breath to center himself before pushing open the door. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted them.

Kai sat propped up against pillows, looking smaller and more vulnerable than Marcus had ever seen him.

“Kai,” Marcus breathed, relief washing over him in a wave so powerful it nearly brought him to his knees.

Kai looked up, those extraordinary eyes widening as they took in all three brothers. “Hey,” he said, his voice slightly raspy. “So… apparently I’m part dragon. That’s new.”

The simple, quintessentially Kai response—understated humor in the face of life-altering revelations—broke the tension. Caleb was the first to move, crossing the room in three long strides and pulling Kai into a careful embrace.

“You scared us,” he murmured against Kai’s hair. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“Which part?” Kai asked, his voice muffled against Caleb’s chest. “The turning into a dragon thing or the passing out for two days thing?”

“Both,” Derek said firmly, joining them by the bed. “All of it.”

Marcus approached more slowly, drinking in the sight of Kai awake and talking, the sound of his voice a balm to the fear that had gripped him for the past two days. When he finally reached the bed, he took Kai’s hand in his.

“How do you feel?” he asked, the question inadequate but necessary.

“Like I’ve been hit by a supernatural truck,” Kai replied honestly. “Everything hurts, I have memories that don’t feel like mine, and apparently, I have fan clubs camping on your property. So, you know, just another day in Cedar Grove.”

Despite everything, Marcus felt his lips twitch into a smile. This was their Kai—snarky, resilient, facing the impossible with dry humor and unexpected courage.

“We have a lot to talk about,” he said gently.

Chapter 24

Iwas running through the forest, my mother’s hand gripping mine so tightly it hurt. The moonlight cast everything in shades of silver and shadow, making the familiar woods seem alien and threatening.

“Don’t look back, baby,” Mom whispered, her voice tight with fear. “Just run.”

But I did look back. I couldn’t help it. And what I saw…

The mist. Crimson and hungry, seeping between trees like living blood, reaching for us with tendrils that seemed to whisper my name. Behind it, shapes moved—wolves and men and things that were neither, their eyes reflecting the blood moon overhead.

“They’re coming,” Mom gasped, pulling me faster. “We have to reach the stones.”

The standing stones loomed ahead, ancient and powerful. Even at thirteen, I could feel their energy, like static electricity raising the hair on my arms. Mom dragged me toward them, her free hand already drawing symbols in the air that left trails of golden light.

“Remember what I taught you,” she said, her voice steadier now. “Focus on your breath. Feel the energy in your core.”

I tried, I really did. But the mist was getting closer, and the wolves were howling, and somewhere in the chaos I could hear people screaming.

“Mom, I’m scared,” I admitted, hating how childish I sounded.

She knelt before me, her eyes—my eyes—meeting mine with fierce determination. “I know, baby. But you’re stronger than you know. You’re special. You have both bloodlines.”

“Both what?”

But there was no time for answers. The mist surged forward, a tendril wrapping around Mom’s ankle. She screamed—a sound I’d never heard from her before—and something inside me snapped.

Heat rushed through my veins, unfamiliar yet somehow right, like a part of me I’d never known was suddenly awake. My hands tingled, then burned, and when I looked down, silver-blue flames danced across my fingertips.

“That’s it,” Mom gasped, even as she struggled against the mist’s hold. “Let it out, Kai. Don’t fight it.”

I didn’t know what “it” was, but instinct took over. I thrust my hands toward the mist, and the silver-blue fire leaped from my fingers like living lightning. Where it touched the crimson tendrils, they shriveled and retreated, a high keening sound filling the air.

The mist recoiled, but only for a moment. It gathered itself, forming a shape that was almost human, with too many limbs and a face made of dozens of agonized expressions.