37. Adrianna

37

ADRIANNA

M y tongue is heavy in my mouth, a hazy flurry worming its way over my limbs as I try to move. I manage to twitch my fingers first, and the little movement comes with a wave of relief as my toes do the same.

What the fuck is going on with me?

The moment I think about it, the last memories I have come rushing back to the forefront of my mind.

My mother.

Kenner.

Kryll.

Dragon.

All the pain and anger that came before Kryll spread his stunning white wings and flew into the air with me falls away. He was…stunning, magical, everything.

I can spend more time appreciating him later. Right now, I need to focus. Prying my eyelids open is harder than I would like, but after a few tries, I manage to open them enough to squint. My gaze instantly dips to my arm, the one Kenner ripped into, and I startle at the sight of it. Unharmed.

Why the fuck would he attack me like that if they want me to bind myself with the guys? Why would he not just try to snatch me away and trap me in a room like last time? Probably because last time didn't work out all that well for them. Maybe if I'm injured, they think they have a better chance of controlling me.

Fuck.

Basking in the relief of my arm no longer looking and feeling like a mangled mess, I take in my surroundings. Nothing seems familiar. White drapes hang a few feet away from where I'm lying, the bed beneath me is soft and warm as I snuggle in deeper. Two silhouettes stand on the other side. Whoever they are, they're deep in conversation, but their voices are nothing more than a whisper to my ears, so I don't recognize them.

What surprises me the most is that there's no looming vampire ready to tell me he told me so.

Where the hell am I?

Pressing a hand to my head, my limbs easing with each passing moment, I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I try to calm the confusion running through my body. Kryll will keep me safe. Unless something happened to him, too? But that wouldn't explain my healed arm. I hope.

"You're awake."

The voice comes from my right, startling the hell out of me as I whip my gaze in their direction, earning myself a groan as I pull a muscle.

Fuck.

"Nora," I breathe, squeezing my neck where it aches as I take stock of my sister.

"Hey," she mutters, wetting her lips as she offers a wave. It quickly comes to mind that the last time we spoke, we didn't part on the best of terms, and my heart aches. But more importantly than that, I need to understand.

"Nora, what are you doing here?"

She quirks a familiar brow at me. "Technically, you are here ," she states, leaving me to gape at her in surprise.

Don't hate me. That's what Kryll said, and this is what he must have meant.

Taking another deep breath, I press my palm into the sheets beneath me and try to rise. I manage to shuffle back an inch before I fall backward with a grunt.

"You need to rest, Addi," she murmurs, worry storming her eyes, but I can still sense the animosity that was there the last time we spoke.

"I shouldn't be here," I admit, trying to move again to no avail.

"Why?" Her eyebrows gather as her gaze narrows on mine, and I sigh.

"To keep you safe."

Wood scrapes across the floor as she rises from her seat, the chair discarded as she wades in on me with a pointed finger. "If you keep sprouting crap like that, you're going to need to keep yourself safe from me because I swear to all that might hear me?—"

"Nora—"

"I am not done," she warns, coming to stand over me now. I have no choice but to look up at her. A simple nod from me, and she proceeds.

"We came here without batting an eyelid. For you." I open my mouth, but I don't get a single syllable past my lips before she puts her hand in my face, cutting me off before I can even begin. "We have done what is needed. For you. We will continue to do whatever makes your life easier, but I need you to know how hard it is for us to be away from you." Her voice cracks at the end, tears welling in her eyes, and it cuts me to the bone.

"It breaks me too, Nora," I admit. My voice wobbles as I reach for her, but she doesn't take my hand.

"Then why?" she pushes, and all I can do is be honest with her.

"Because you're all I have." My words linger between us for what feels like a lifetime before she clears her throat.

"But what use is that when you suddenly refuse to see us?"

I try to sit up again, and this time she leans forward, helping me so my back is propped against the headboard. When she moves to take a step back, I wrap my fingers around hers, refusing to let her go too far.

"I wasn't prepared for how dangerous the people in power are." It's the truth. She knows it, but she still shakes her head.

"I spent every day of my life with you up until the day you left for the academy. I knew there would be distance between us, but not like this, and not because of people who shouldn't matter. Screw them."

I squeeze her fingers in understanding. "I wish it was that easy."

"I think you're the person making it harder than it has to be," she retorts, attempting to tug her hand from mine.

"You don't understand," I plead, releasing her hand when she tries to tug it from my grasp again.

She folds her arms over her chest, staring at me with a deepening frown. "You're right. I don't understand because you continue to give me half-assed answers that mean nothing. All I'm feeling is the loss of you. Just like we felt the loss of Mom, only this time, I don't have my sister to help me through it." Tears streak down her cheeks now, her pain coming to the forefront as my heart crushes.

Fuck.

"Nora, I'm?—"

"Don't give me some bullshit apology," she grumbles with a sniff, swiping at her cheeks.

"It's not bullshit," I insist, and she scoffs.

"It's bullshit until we can be together, and you can't tell me otherwise."

Well, fuck. My lips purse as I try to wrap my head around another complex situation, but the only thing I can do is agree with her.

"You're right," I admit, and she snickers.

"I always am."

"You're also a pain in the ass," I grumble, and she offers me a watery smile.

"You're welcome." Her sass is back in full force and it warms my soul.

"I love you, Nora," I breathe, the words coming straight from the heart.

"I love you too, you big goof. Now stop thinking you have to suffer to protect everyone else," she states, wagging her finger at me once again, and I roll my eyes.

"That's too much wisdom for me right now." A yawn parts my lips, confirming my words.

"I have more loaded up," she offers with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"You always do," I muse, and a comfortable silence descends over us. Slowly, she inches back to the bed, lacing her fingers through mine in comfort, and I take the quiet moment to appreciate my sister's presence.

The two silhouettes are still on the other side of the drapes, piquing my interest. "Is Dad out there?"

"Yeah," she answers, squeezing my hand before settling her gaze on mine again. "Kryll said Mom was there?"

Well, that's not where I was aiming this conversation.

Clearing my throat, I nod. "She was."

"How was she?"

I sigh. "I don't know. I was too busy being mean," I admit, acutely aware that I really was bitchier than usual.

"Good. I taught you well," she says with a smirk, and I gape at her. "What? Just because Dad gives you the whole calm and collected speech doesn't mean it's something I live by, too," she adds, a grin spreading across her lips, and I shake my head.

"She gave me a letter."

"This?" She pulls the envelope from her cloak pocket, and I nod. "Do you want to open it?"

"Nope," I answer without missing a beat.

"Fair enough." She tucks it back into her pocket, no further questions necessary, and I silently thank her for it. Her thumb strokes over my knuckles as she smiles down at me. "You seem…different," she offers, and I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as I nod.

"I feel different."

"I can't put my finger on it, but I think the academy is changing you." That's an understatement if I've ever heard one, and I don't know how I feel about it. "Whatever it is, I think it looks good on you."

"You think?" A warmth spreads through my body as I smile at her before my eyebrows gather and my gaze narrows on her. "Something is different with you."

She sighs dramatically. "I thought you were never going to notice," she flicks her hair over her shoulder, fluttering her eyelashes at me.

My heart rate skyrockets, my mind finally paying full attention through the hazy state, and then I spot it. How I didn't sooner, I don't fucking know, but it floors me.

"Nora, how the fuck are you standing on two feet right now?" I blurt, a sob bursting through my lips as I fling myself from the bed. She cackles, taking a step back as I fall to a heap on the floor beside her. The jolt shoots from my knees to my hips, but I ignore it as I stare up at my sister. "Nora," I rasp, tears coating my cheeks as she twirls in front of me.

Fucking twirls.

My sister.

"It suits me, right?"

"Nora, how?" I rasp, watching in awe as she dances around the room. She's been standing beside my bed this entire time and I didn't pay enough attention to realize.

Holy fuck.

"Kryll, well, his mother, but?—"

"Kryll did this?" I gasp, falling backward. My back hits the side of the bed as my eyelids press closed, unable to believe what I'm seeing.

"What's going…You're awake." My father's voice carries into the room with purpose, and when I find him in the opened drapes, a soft smile touches his lips.

"Hey," I rasp, and Kryll appears beside him a moment later.

"August?" He calls my father's name in confusion, but his sights are set on me. "Princess." I've never heard a word filled with so much relief in my whole life. I have so much I want to say to him, but I can't seem to move my damn tongue. "What are you doing on the floor? Let's get you up," he insists, cutting the distance between us before he slowly lifts me back onto the bed.

"Addi," my father murmurs, walking around to the other side of the bed.

"Dad," I croak, relieved to be in his presence. I might not have wanted to come here, but now that I have, it's the best place in the world.

"Are you okay?"

"I've been better," I admit.

He nods in understanding. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too. Especially Nora," I add, waving my hand in her direction as tears clog my eyes again. "You did this?" I ask, turning my attention to Kryll, who scrubs at the back of his neck nervously as he nods. "Thank you."

It's not enough. It will never be enough, but it's all I've got right now.

"Don't give the drama queen any more attention than she's already been getting. Her ego won't withstand much more," my father muses, earning a gasp and a chuckle from Nora, who sits at the foot of my bed.

"How have you been?" I ask, enjoying the smile lines outlining his eyes as he grins at me.

"Good. Really good."

"He has a lady friend," Nora blurts, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"A lady friend?" I push, surprise clear in my voice.

"I do not," he insists as Kryll nods eagerly.

"She makes him blush," Nora whisper-shouts, and I scoff, watching my father blush at the mention.

"Where have you brought my family, Kryll?" I ask, giving him a pointed look, but he sees the humor and winks.

I've never felt a moment like this before.

So full of love, happiness, and…hope.

"There's something different about Dad, too," Nora states, pointing a finger at him, and the man in question turns slowly.

"Your stone…it's gone."

"Stone?" My father says with a smirk, shrugging as he turns back to me, and my eyes narrow.

"Don't play dumb. You said that stone was locked in unless a…" My gaze widens as I turn back to Kryll, whose sheepish look only grows as a pink hue colors his cheeks.

"You're not just a dragon. You're an Aeternus dragon."