Chapter Forty-Three

Fiona

I dodged a detachedrooftop, using my tail as a rudder as I kicked through the current. The water flowed swiftly across the island, pulling with it livestock, furniture, and other debris, as well as many, many mortals. My heart ached, for I wished I could save them all, but my daughter's screams beckoned to me like a beacon in the night. I had to reach Safina before it was too late.

As the storm raged around me, I followed the flood out into the deeper waters, dodging rooftops and wagons, roaring in pain when I was struck by something sharp and massive. Still, I didn't let the injury deter me. My dragon eyes discerned four legs splashing in the distance. Could it be Safina and Duncan?

My gaze tunneled on the couple, as I swam with all my might. I didn't see the trolley car until it was too late. I ducked, but not in time to avoid my head and snout from being smashed by the object.

A cyclone twisted inside my skull. I tried to kick forward, but my legs gave out as my world darkened.

Safina!I cried. Almighty Mother, help me!

* * *

Duncan

I HELD TIGHTLY TO MYchild, shielding her from the elements as our makeshift raft raced with the current, pushed to the open sea. I kept my head down as the wind shredded my shirt, exposing my back to the brutal wind and rain that felt like the lashing of a thousand stinging whips.

Safina's chest heaved as she sobbed against the wood. "Almighty Mother, please save us."

I sent a silent prayer to whoever would listen, begging for the storm to spare my daughter's life.

* * *

Fiona

I WAS BACK IN HUMANform. My body felt weightless as I glided across the clouds toward the open arms of my reflection. I was wearing a flowing white gown, and my hair hung over my shoulders in crimson waves. As I approached what I thought was a mirror, I was stunned to see, not my reflection staring back at me, but a familiar pair of green eyes.

"Mother?"

"Aye, my dear child," she said with a smile as she stepped forward, welcoming me into her embrace. "It is me."

"Is this a dream, or am I dead?" I asked as I nuzzled my mother's neck. She smelled of a combination of sulfur and lavender, bringing back memories from centuries ago of my mother cradling me in her arms.

"Neither, Fiona," Mother whispered in my ear. "This is a gift from the Almighty Mother."

Wrapping my arms around my mother's neck, I wept tears of joy. A sense of calm and peace I'd never known washed over me. How many years had I longed to feel my mother's loving touch once more? But tears of joy turned to tears of sadness when I realized I'd failed to rescue my child.

I pulled back, searching my mother's gaze. "I must save Safina!"

"Do not fret." Mother brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "My granddaughter still lives, and so will you." She frowned. "But first we must talk."

A wave of shame washed over me, for I would have to answer for that grievous night of passion with Duncan. Fresh tears ran down my face as I hung my head. "Mother, I didn't know what my mate was before I joined with him."

"Fear not, child," Mother cooed. "I do not hold any ill will toward you." Mother paused, cupping my chin and forcing me to meet her gaze. "Or him."

I gasped. "B-but he murdered you!"

"My child, there is someone I want you to meet." Mother stepped back, holding out her arm.

A man appeared from the fog. He was tall and handsome, with ruddy blond hair and eyes the color of amber.

He looked at me with an intensity that made my heart melt. "Hello, daughter."

My hands flew to my mouth. "You're my father?"

He nodded, flashing a watery grin. Much to my surprise, my mother clasped his hand, looking up at him as if her universe revolved around that smile.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before clearing his throat. "It breaks my heart to see how long you have suffered. I have come to ask you to mend the bond with your mate."

I gaped at him. "B-but he killed my mother."

"Oh, child." Mother looked at her mate as she wrapped an arm around his waist. "My death was a blessing, for I was reunited with your father."

I didn't understand how my mother and father could look lovingly into each other's eyes. Wasn't this the man who'd abandoned my mother after he discovered she was a dragon?

I pointed a shaky finger at my father. "But I thought you abandoned us."

He heaved a weary sigh. "I was a Templar Knight. Though we operated underground, our forces were still strong. Many believed your mother was the devil, Baphomet, and they sent me to kill her."

I was stunned. My father was a dragonslayer, too? How could my mother have mated with him? But then I thought back to the night I gave myself to Duncan, and I understood how easy it was to be blinded by a seductive smile.

My father chuckled as he looked down at my mother. "I fell in love instead." His smile diminished as his fair eyes darkened. "When I failed to bring back evidence of her death, they beheaded me, but because my mortality was tethered to hers, I didn't die. They believed I was a demon and kept my head and body parts separated in metal boxes. I lived that way for thirty years until MacQuoid took your mother's life, ending my torturous imprisonment."

Oh, Almighty Mother! What a terrible fate!

I was filled with a mixture of relief and dread at my father's revelation. I couldn't imagine the torment of being dismembered and locked in boxes, never finding the reprieve of death.

"I thought you'd abandoned us," I said.

He frowned. "So did your mother, but I'd never willingly abandon my mate and child. My intention was to come back after I convinced the Templars your mother wasn't a threat."

Mother looked into his eyes, tenderly cupping his cheek before turning to me. "If Duncan hadn't struck me with that spear, your father would still be in his hellish prison, and I'd still be mourning him. By killing me, your mate freed us both."

My throat tightened with emotion as I searched my parents' gazes. They opened their arms to me.

I fell into their embrace, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy and sorrow, as we alternated between laughing and crying.

Finally, my mother pulled back, lines marring her brow. "Almighty Mother is calling us. You must return to your mate and child."

My heart clenched. I didn't wish to leave my mother and father so soon, yet I yearned for Duncan and Safina, too. "So you truly forgive him?" I asked, then tensed, fearing their answer.

Mother flashed a wide smile that reflected in her sparkling emerald eyes. "I have forgiven him long ago. It's time you did the same. Go now before it's too late." She waved me away, and then I was floating backward, my peripheral vision darkening as if I was being sucked through a tunnel.

"Mother!" I screamed. I wasn't ready to leave her yet.

"Peace, child." Mother placed a hand on her heart right before the light diminished. "We shall always be with you." Her voice echoed in my skull.

I screamed as I fell through a sky as black as pitch. I tried to break to dragon form and fly back to my parents, but some invisible binding force wouldn't release me.

I screamed again and then gagged as I swallowed a salty gulp of water. My eyes shot open as if I was waking from a dream. I had sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I looked down at my talons, which had stirred the sand. Fish darted past me in the current as violent booms and dark noises were heard from above.

My chest ached, my lungs screaming for air. I kicked toward the surface, but it seemed so far away. Long tentacles darted out from the muck, pushing me upward.

Thank you, Graechen,I projected to her.

You are welcome, Dragon Mother,she answered back in a voice that was laced with sorrow.

Surfacing, I gasped for air, pelted by wind and rain. The seas were rough. Wave upon wave toppled on one another so that I couldn't tell where one ended and another began.

A girl's cry for help pierced the night air.

Safina!

I swam swiftly toward my daughter's aid. I found my mate and child riding a tall crest. They came crashing down the wave, their board shattering to pieces. Duncan held Safina as she flailed in the water.

I grabbed them both in my talons, pulling them tightly to my chest. I turned my snout toward the sky and expelled my healing fires. The ashes solidified on the way down, coating me in a hard shell. I spun and spun until the shell completely encompassed us. Then I cradled my family in my arms as our cocoon sank to the bottom of the sea.

* * *

Fiona

AS SOON AS THE COCOONsettled in the sand, I made the transformation, knowing Duncan and Safina would not tolerate the sulfuric smell pouring from my snout for long. Our shell was lit by veins that pulsed a pale yellow. The same veins that gave us breath.

I grabbed Safina in a loving embrace, kissing her forehead. "I'm so relieved you're safe."

Safina looked up at me with watery eyes. "How long must we stay here?"

It was then that I realized my daughter was afraid of being forced to live in a shell again. I flashed a reassuring smile and wiped a tear from Safina's eye. "I won't keep you from your mate too long. We will stay here only until the storm passes."

Safina heaved a sigh and looked at my nude body with a devious grin. "You are indecent, Mother, and there is a man present." She giggled.

Heat flushed my cheeks. I looked beyond my daughter at Duncan, who was looking at his feet. I knew he'd seen me, and the thought filled me with apprehension and excitement all at once.

Safina slipped out of her skirt and shirt, leaving only a thin shift to cover herself as she handed her wet clothes to me. I sat in the crook of the shell, leaning against the smooth surface while draping the billowing skirt across my nude body.

Duncan had no clothes to offer. He'd lost his shirt and his trousers had been torn to shreds, hanging off legs that were battered and swollen.

The cocoon shifted, and we saw the silhouette of four large tentacles resting on top of it.

"By thunder!" Duncan exclaimed before falling to his knees with a grunt.

"Don't worry, Father." Safina giggled as she curled up beside me. "That is only Graechen. She's a friend to dragons."

He let out a low whistle as he looked up at the outline of the bubbly arms that cradled the cocoon. "I have heard tales of giant octopus before, but until now I've never seen one."

I gasped when Duncan spun on his knee. His back looked even worse than his legs, covered with angry red welts and lashes, as if he'd been beaten with a whip.

I narrowed my eyes. "Come here, Duncan. Let me heal you."

He looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "It can wait, lass. You look drained already."

"Father, please," Safina begged. "Your wounds look terrible."

He knelt over our daughter, grasping her hand. "It makes no difference. You're alive, and that's all that matters."

My heart swelled near to bursting. Nothing had ever brought me greater joy than seeing Duncan's love for our child. It was at that moment I realized I loved Duncan with all my heart and soul, and I wanted nothing more than to reconcile with my mate, sealing our bond once more.

I leaned up, holding out my arms as a slow smile spread across my face. "Duncan, please come to us."

He arched a brow. "Are you sure?"

"Aye, I'm very sure." My chest ached at the look of uncertainty in his eyes. How else could I prove to him I wanted to reconcile?

He crawled between us, slipping his legs underneath the wet dress. Heat radiated off his virile body, warming my skin and especially that spot between my thighs. Safina wrapped an arm around his neck, as I forced him to roll onto his side. I ran my healing hands down his back, smoothing scars and watching as gaping wounds faded. After he sank against the wall of the cocoon with a satisfied sigh, I healed Safina's cuts and bruises and used the heat from my hands to dry our makeshift blanket.

Eventually, my eyes fell shut of their own accord. I turned into Duncan as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, enjoying the feel of his chest hairs tickling my nose.

I smiled across Duncan at Safina, who also snuggled in the crook of his arm. My heart warmed when I realized for the first time my family was whole. I fell asleep listening to the steady beating of Duncan's heart, as a new dragon song played in my mind.

"Sleep my child, and when ye wake

The dawn of love again will break

As frosted fields give way to spring

The song of love again you'll sing

The summer rains and falling leaves

Grant the lovelorn slow reprieve.

Slumber all ye hatchling queens.

Two hearts entwine in dragon dreams."