Page 6 of Court of Embers (Dragonesse #2)

“That is what she fears.” Myst lashed lightly at my leg with her tail. “The rejection from her family, her love, dragonblood society. She recovered physically overnight—I gave her quite a bit of my blood, you know. But as soon as she awoke, the mental strain of realization set in.”

“She must know we would never push her away over this,” I said staunchly. “I’m the one who fed her your blood. I wouldn’t spurn her for what I did. It’s utterly unreasonable to think that.”

“Serafina, darling child, you’ve been rejecting an obvious choice for a mate bond for weeks now out of some misplaced sense of independence. Clearly, an unreasonable fear is not so unreasonable when it’s happening in your own head.”

I looked at the floor, chastened, and resisted the urge to elbow Rhylan in the ribs as he chuckled in my mind.

She’s right, you know.

So she is . I glanced at him sidelong. But a few extra scales aren’t going to make you hate Kirana. She should know that.

“Congratulations on your bond, by the way,” Myst added. “It’s about time. You’ll be at your fertile peak in about two weeks—”

“We are not having children right now.” I glared at the back of my Ascendant’s head. “Not if there’s a Primoris about.”

“Well, don’t wait too long. Look at your mother; she had you late in life, and Father Wind knows you turned out a little too stubborn for your own good.”

I had to massage a headache out of my temples as Rhylan’s mental laughter reached a new pitch.

“Is there anything we can do for her?” I finally asked Myst. “Anything to show her that we still care for her. Rhylan will never not love her. I love her like a sister.”

The sister I should’ve had, rather than Yura.

“You can give her time.” Myst blinked her enormous eyes at me. “Give her a few days. If she’s still breaking mirrors and hiding in her closet by the end of the week, I’ll haul her out myself, but right now what she needs is the space to come to terms with her new life.”

She pushed open the door to Rhylan’s bedroom, striding through and leaping up onto the bed like she owned the place, peering about curiously. “I’ve always wanted to snoop around in here,” she muttered.

I sank onto the bed next to her as Rhylan began grabbing clean clothes from the wardrobe.

“Kir gets two more days,” he said, the laughter gone from his voice. “I’ll give her some time, but she’s my sister. She needs to know, sooner rather than later, that there’s nothing that could make me reject her from the family.”

Maybe she does need the time, Rhylan. Even I was scared when I read the book about Naga. I stopped drinking her mixture because I was afraid of what could happen. It’s a terrible thing to contemplate happening to yourself.

He turned to face me, eyes burning. But she’s alive. She could look like…like a giant sea slug and I wouldn’t give a damn so long as she’s still breathing.

But it’s not about how we feel about it.

I raised my brows. It’s about how she feels about it.

It’s her life that’s been upended, not ours.

It’s her body that’s changed into something so outside of our accepted norms that even Viros thinks she’s been cursed.

Her family, and everyone in this eyrie, might still love her—but she knows they’re going to look at her and see something taboo.

Then we force them to change their minds. She’s still Kirana.

You know I feel the same, but it’ll take time. So that’s what we’ll give her, as much as we can . I spread my hands helplessly. How was it possible to feel like I’d made the right choice, and yet regret it so terribly?

Never regret it . The coals in Rhylan’s eyes ignited into scarlet flames.

“It’s so lovely to see you two holding private conversations without me, in my very presence,” Myst said. “I’ve been craving the opportunity to feel left out.”

“Weren’t you on my back only five minutes ago about how I’d been rejecting a nice, private mate bond for no good reason?”

Myst raised her head, eyes gleaming as she opened her mouth to retort, and a dark, clawed hand slipped over her snout.

“Viros is under duress, and requests your presence on the dragon terrace immediately,” Erebos rumbled, holding the thrashing white dragon tightly at his side.

“We just came from the terrace.” Rhylan frowned up at his Ascendant. “What kind of duress?”

“The kind that is your jurisdiction.”

We hardly exchanged a glance before we were running up the stairs.

As we drew closer to the eyrie’s uppermost door, we heard the sounds of something shrieking, a loud crash, and Viros shouting.

“What in the hell is he doing?”

Stay back , Rhylan said, his face darkening. Get behind me. It’s probably not anything deadly, but I’m not taking chances .

He was still feeling the extreme protective instincts of a newly-mated dragon. I fell back a few steps, allowing him to take the lead. Better not to set those instincts off now, while he was still seething from the Judgment deep inside.

Rhylan shoved the door open, his scales already shimmering over his skin, but he halted in his tracks, blocking my view.

What is it? Rhylan?

The scales rippled, shifted, and vanished. He shook his head.

You’re going to love this .