Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

EMBER

I wake up to the sound of hushed voices. Groaning, I roll over onto my side. The dull ache in the back of my head makes me wince. I'm sore all over, but not in a good way.

Then it all comes back to me. Being kidnapped by the Shadow King's forces. Escaping the Citadel and bringing the black stone tower down around me. Crashing into the sea, hopeless.

Only to be rescued by my mates.

My mates .

My eyes sting, and my heart leaps out of my chest. Those voices outside--they're the voices of my mates. My incredible, amazing, brave, downright heroic mates.

Prince Malik of the Water Dragon Kingdom. Prince Rafe of the Fire Kingdom and Prince Jianyu of the Great Dragon Kingdom of Stone.

My bond to each one of them flares to life within my veins. An invisible string reaches into the tender space between my ribs and tugs, and I force myself to blink my eyes open and sit up.

The bedroom I find myself in is only vaguely familiar. I rub my temples as more of the previous night comes back to me. After sinking into the icy waters beneath the Citadel, I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on a beach, surrounded by my mates, their worry and terror and love flooding our bond.

I had something important to tell them.

The truth.

About me, my parents, my magic. My destiny.

And about my plans.

I know where I need to go next--and what I have to do.

Before I could tell them any of that, though, I faltered, my strength flagging. My mates leapt into action, basically shushing me. I tried to protest, but they refused to hear any of it. They had a safe place where we could go.

I hug my knees into my chest. It was so pathetic. I've never been able to shift into my dragon form, but it was still mortifying to have to allow Malik's dragon to scoop my frail, injured, traumatized body into his enormous talons. He set me atop Rafe's back. I barely had the strength to hold on to his sleek, crimson scales, but I managed. Jianyu hovered by Rafe's side the entire time, poised as if waiting for me to fall.

That was probably a good thing. We flew for what felt like forever. By the time we arrived on a windswept, gray, rocky coast, my fingers were ice, my vision blurring around the edges. Malik almost had to pry my grip free from Rafe's scales. Returned to his human form, Jianyu carried me into a little cottage overlooking the shore. He tucked me in and left a soft, lingering kiss on my brow.

Between one blink and the next, I was out.

And now I'm here.

Sitting up straighter, I rub my hand over the sheets. They're nice but basic--nothing like the bazillion-thread-count luxury bedding from my mates' homes. The rest of the room is simple, too, with plain cream walls and understated, dark wood furniture. Thick curtains cover the windows. I rise and peek out around the edges.

Outside, there's nothing to see but gray sand and gray ocean and an overcast, gray sky.

I let the curtains fall back into place.

On the other side of the room, there's a door leading to a tiny en suite bathroom. Just spying the little stall has me running my hands through my salt-encrusted, tangled hair. I feel gross--I desperately need a shower and a change of clothes. There's a dim memory rattling around in my skull of Malik suggesting both last night, and me basically ignoring him in favor of crashing face-first into a bed.

My connection to my mates yanks at the inside of my chest again. Nearly every fiber of my being tells me to go to them. To put my hands on them and reassure myself that they're really real and here and not actively trying to kill each other.

Nervous energy prickles just beneath my skin, though. I have so much to tell them, and I need a minute to collect myself.

Exhaling roughly, I head to the bathroom. I strip off my clothes--the simple tunic and pants I've been wearing since I woke up in the Water Kingdom after my magical night with Malik. That was--what? Yesterday? I don't even know.

I turn up the water in the shower as hot as I can handle and step in. As I stand there beneath the spray, the magnitude of everything that's happened to me over the past few days begins to sink in, and I shudder. My hands shake, and I close my eyes against harsh flashes of Shadow Dragons swooping over me, of the cold, dark stone of the Citadel, of the rippling, decaying visage of the Shadow King himself. My breath catches, and I almost choke on a half sob.

But then there's warmth. Gold and silver and aquamarine light.

My mates reach out to me through our bond, well aware by now that I'm awake and that I'm freaking the fuck out. Their tenderness seeps into me, fortifying me.

Steadying myself, I open my eyes.

I'm okay , I try to tell them through our connection. I've been able to send them short, psychic messages in times of imminent peril, but our communication beyond that is untested.

For now, they settle, and I take advantage of my time alone to scrub myself down, making use of the random soap and shampoo and conditioner I find on a shelf set into the wall. As the dried salt and fear-sweat dissolve and are swept away, I start to feel more and more like myself.

Determined. Ready to step into my mates' arms.

And ready to tell them everything.

RAFE

I'm wearing a hole in the carpet--and if this drags on much longer, my dragon's going to burn a hole in the wall.

I glare at the door separating me from my mate, as if the power of my impatience alone will make it disappear.

"You're not helping," Jianyu mutters.

" You're not helping," I retort, because I'm not above acting like a freaking fifth grader.

Raking a hand through my hair, I turn and pace the length of the room yet again.

This little seaside cottage is a safehouse Malik and his grumpy Water Kingdom friends were able to secure for us. It's cold and gray and located in a neutral territory, unclaimed by any of the four dragon kingdoms, and I hate it.

I shoot another glance at the bedroom door.

We arrived here twelve hours ago, and Ember's spent pretty much all of them sleeping. We've taken turns lying with her, and it's been tense as fuck. I grabbed a little sleep, and I think Malik and Jianyu did, too, but we've been too worked up to truly rest.

I stop my pacing and stare at the door once more, an invisible hand wrapping around my heart and squeezing.

We were so sure we'd lost her.

But she's alive. She rescued herself, taking down an entire wing of the goddam Shadow King's Citadel on her way out. We were able to swoop in at the last possible second and fly her to safety. And now she's here. Safe. Awake .

"I'm going in there," I growl.

I've been waiting out here for long enough. We all retreated to the main room of the cabin a couple of hours ago to talk strategy and next steps, but we didn't intend to leave her to wake up alone.

It happened anyway, though. Ever since she came to, our bond has been awash with emotion, and I've been ready to tear down that fucking door to get to her.

But there was this hesitance rippling through her end of the connection. She needed some space, so we gave it to her, but enough is enough. She may need space, but she also needs us. We need her.

I need her.

I glance around at the other two men in the room. At my outburst, Malik stands, seemingly ready to follow me in. Jianyu shakes his head, and I swear I'm actually going to punch him this time if he tries to stop us.

But he doesn't. He just raises a brow and shifts his gaze back to the door.

It cracks open, and my ribs do, too.

Ember . My mate, the piece of my soul I almost lost. She's standing there, dressed in the only clothes we had, and it doesn't fucking matter. Even in a man's white T-shirt and oversized black sweats, her hair wet and tangled, she's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

Our mating bond lights up the inside of my chest. I only have eyes for her, but the brightness in the room is undeniable. She's lighting up Jianyu and Malik, too, and I don't care. As much as Jianyu annoys me and Malik enrages me, being here with them... With her... It feels right .

"Sorry," she says, her voice raw and hoarse. "I just--"

Malik shakes his head. "Take all the time you need, beloved."

"You must be starving," Jianyu observes, finally getting up to guide her toward the cottage's tiny kitchen.

"We don't have much," Malik says. "Obi and Zahra are out scouting for supplies as we speak."

Ember manages a weak smile. "I don't need much."

She meets my gaze, and my stomach drops. There's something she needs.

Something she needs to tell us.

And it's something that none of us wants to hear.