Page 4

I told Kai everything.

Violet’s true identity. The Diamond Royals she had sent me to find.

And Killian, my boyfriend, was trapped somewhere in this realm with a dragon of his own.

He’d taken the last bit in stride, or perhaps I’d noticed a touch of disappointment. Maybe I’d misunderstood his flirtations with Violet as nervous energy, but from the moment I mentioned my bond with Killian, Kai had gone quiet.

We walked through the ruins in silence as we followed the glimmering trail. Hopefully, it would lead to the physical egg belonging to a new Diamond Royal that was out there, somewhere.

And I hoped that she wasn’t hurt, but I suspected whatever had captured the egg would keep it alive.

It was the soul they’d be after. And if the body was killed, well, the soul wouldn’t be sticking around and I wouldn’t have a gem in my bracelet that was sucking out my Goddess energy.

“Do you think Violet is one of the queens from the old stories?” he asked. He kept his voice low as shadows curled over craggy rocks. There weren’t any glorious crystals here, but their memory remained if I looked hard enough.

Everything Kai had told me was true.

“I think she’s the queen,” I murmured.

Solstice keened in protest, and I patted her. “You’re a queen too, girl. I know.”

Kai paused mid-stride. “That’s one of Violet’s sisters?”

I laughed harder than I intended too, which earned me another wave of irritation stemming from my bond with Solstice, as well as a strong nip on my ear.

Fine, I deserved that.

It took some explaining, but I told Kai it was a term of power when it came to ranking dragons. Solstice didn’t rule, but she was capable of leadership and stronger than a typical dragon would be—it’s why Nera had wanted her.

Maybe Solstice had ruled a kingdom long before I had been alive—but now, she was with me helping dragons and people everywhere. Keeping the realms safe was a full-time job.

She would never turn into a human like Violet and some of the other dragons I knew did. Lily being a prime example—she was a graduate and a human-dragon in her own right.

Some I shared with Kai, some information I decided to withhold. Sure, at first I hadn’t trusted him, but after facing death together, I felt like I understood him a whole lot better. But some things weren’t my stories to share.

And, Kai was the one who had faced death with me and refused to run away. He’d demonstrated his ability to work as a team, even after professing that he was used to working alone.

He was a candidate for Dragonrider Academy, if he played his cards right. Then, he’d learn everything there was to know.

Pain shot through my chest and I fell to my knees as Kai crouched, searching the darkness for any sign of danger.

“Are you okay? Did something hit you?” he asked. He kept his voice low, but the sudden alertness in his tone said he was ready for anything.

A vision of a small settlement with a massive crystal tower in the center of it flashed through my psyche.

“Killian,” I whispered, knowing that he was hurt, or in danger. That’s the only thing that would be strong enough to show me what he was seeing through our bond. It had been broken, or at least blocked. I hadn’t been able to feel or reach him at all, until now.

Something had changed that, and I had a feeling it wasn’t anything good.

“A purple crystal tower?” Kai repeated after I had told him what I’d seen.

“I know where he is,” he said grimly. “It’s not far from here. But I have to warn you, Vivi, he might not make it by the time we arrive.”

Steeling myself, I refused to accept that sort of conclusion. “Which way, Kai. Tell me which way to go.”

Because I wasn’t going to give up hope, not now that I had a lead.

Kai pointed down a shadowy path that seemed to go even deeper into the darkness.

I curled my fingers as I drew to my feet. “Let’s go.”