“I’m so sorry.” Kadelynn didn’t know what else she could say. It felt like nothing was enough.
“Don’t be sorry. Be what dragon-kind needs you to be: the keeper of our memories.”
“What?” The clouds opened up beneath her. She saw the Prairie Lands stretching out in all directions, and then she saw a strange mark upon the ground. It was nestled between a collection of trees with huge branches, and red flowers spread out on the hills around the space.
“This is the location of the last dragon eggs with living hatchlings within them. If they aren’t brought to the Pool of Life before the next full moon, they will be too old to be dragons. They will hatch into disfigured creatures like me.”
Then, they spun in the air, going in another direction. They flew faster and faster, the world blurring around them. Suddenly, the end of the realm came before her. She’d never seen it before, but she knew what it looked like. It was a wall of silver that stretched out on both sides in front of her and went all the way up to the sky and down to the ground. A silver screen of moving light that led to who knew where.
They approached it, going faster and faster.
“We’re going to crash into it!”
“No,” the Dragulous said.
And then, they hit it! Only, it didn’t hurt. It was like swimming through muddy water. One second it was dark and the substance seemed to pull at them. And in the next, she was in another realm. Water stretched out beneath her for the briefest moment, and then they were soaring above a huge island of thick trees, waterfalls, and houses made of wood, built on the ground, or in the trees. White sand beaches hugged the entire island, and then they continued past the land.
Then, all that was in front of them was water. Water as far as the eye could see. It smelled fresh, and the wind tasted of freedom. And then, just before reaching the end of the realm, she spotted a smaller island. It was nearly tucked into the corner where two realms met. It was still encircled by water, but like the other island, it was close to where the other realms ended.
“This,” the dragon said, “is where you will rebuild. Where you will begin again.”
In the huge trees, she spotted a few buildings, but it looked as if no one had been there in a very long time. If not for the buildings, the breathtaking landscape of massive trees, pockets of lakes and waterfalls, would all seem untouched by any humanoid.
They turned in the air and circled back, flying even faster until they exploded back through the barrier between realms and returned to the Prarie Lands.
“Do you know now what you must do? You must find the eggs, saved them, and raise them. You are our last hope to keep the magic alive. You are a Dragon Memory, a person given the memories of a dragon. It is sacred. Rare. And a gift.”
She believed him. “But what if I can’t do this? What if it’s too much for me?”
“I have told you all you need to know. I have shown your conscious mind the most important thing. But all the other details, facts that you’ll need, I’ll embed in your subconscious. You will know what needs to be done when it’s time. Trust yourself. Trust my memories.”
“But I--”
“Kadelynn, you are special. I give you my word.”
And then, images began to flash through her mind. So fast that her stomach rolled. So fast that she felt that her mind was aching. It was too much. For her, and for anyone. It roared of sound, of colors, of images, and it kept coming and coming. There was nothing outside of the memories. Not even the beating of her own heart.
From somewhere far away, she thought she heard Acker’s voice. He was begging her to breathe. To survive. But she couldn’t answer him, and then the images stopped, and darkness closed around her.
Even the dragon had given her what she needed to know to save the world, or it had killed her. She didn’t know.
17
Kadelynn
When Kadelynn regained consciousness, she awoke next to a fire and covered with a blanket. An arm held her close, and she winced as she sat up, then looked behind her. It was Acker. Of course, it was Acker, but he didn’t look well. His face was pale, and for one moment, she was afraid he was dead. But then, he drew in a ragged breath.
His eyes flashed open. “Kadelynn,” he said her name like he was terrified, then lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. “I thought… I thought it’d killed you. I was able to get you to breathe, able to get your heart beating, but I couldn’t get you to wake up.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, putting her hand on top of his, her heart aching. “I’m okay.”
“What happened to you? What did it do to you?”
She stiffened and looked away from him. “Where is he?”
“He?”
“The dragon.”
When she looked down at him, he was frowning. “How do you know they’re dragons?”
Instead of answering him, she leaned down and kissed him. The instant their lips touched, Acker relaxed beneath her. They kissed, harder and harder, until it was like her whole body was connected with his, and then she broke their kiss, staring down at him in shock.
“Wh--what was that for?”
“I just needed to know if you were one of the three.” There had been three men in her dream. And for some reason, she needed to know if one of them was Acker. Everything she’d been shown by the dragon, everything with Drazen, it made her realize she was on a path. A path she wanted Acker to travel with her.
And in her heart, now, she knew he was one of the three. But what that meant exactly, she didn’t know.
“One of what three?” Acker asked, stroking her face as she leaned into his touch.
“I’m… destined for three men. They’ve haunted my dreams since I started this journey. I thought it had something to do with killing the Dragulous. But the thing is, it doesn’t. Acker, I was never supposed to kill a Dragulous. I’m supposed to save dragon-kind.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then laughed. “No, the dragons are dead. Destroyed by one fool who thought he could out-smart his enemies.”
“They’re not dead. They’re not gone. One nest of eggs still lives.”
He dropped his hand, sitting up in a rush, and then gripped his head, wincing.
“Are you okay?” she touched his arm.
He shook her off. “If a nest still lives, they’ll never grow to be real dragons. Just Dragulous, like that sad mindless creature.”
“He wasn’t mindless,” she said, feeling suddenly angry. “He showed me the nest and how to help the hatchlings survive. He gave me his memories.”
Acker’s gaze snapped to hers. “No. A Dragon Memory Keeper is almost a legend. Something that has only been done by dying dragons who needed to share knowledge with their Dragon Shadow. Never before with a magicless Stonebuilder.”
“I… I don’t think I’m magicless, and I don’t think my mother was a Stonebuilder. The dragon said I was tasked with saving his kind, and I’m going to do it, with or without you.”
Acker’s mouth drew into a line. “Then, it’ll be without me. I will never again step into that world. Do you understand me?”
“Again?” She frowned. “What do you have to do with dragons?”
Acker opened his mouth and closed it.
“Acker,” her anger grew. “I feel this connection to you. I feel that we’re supposed to walk this path together. But I also know you’ve lying to me, I don’t know about how many things, but I need to know the truth.”
“You know more than enough,” he told her, his voice clipped.
“Don’t push me away!”
Instead, he leaned up and kissed her again, roughly, before jerking back. “Forget this dragon stuff. Come with me. We’ll create a life together. Choose me, okay? The connection between us is real, but all of this other stuff will just destroy this.”
“Acker, don’t ask this of me…”
“You don’t even care about dragons or magic! Choose me!”
Kadelynn opened her mouth,
already knowing her answer, when they heard the sound of horses approaching. Without a word, they both grabbed their swords and stood, ready for the next challenge.
Two riders approached, closer and closer, and it was like a brewing storm. Kadelynn had the sudden instinct to turn and run, like Fate itself was running her down, and it was her last chance to escape. But she hadn’t run from anything in her life, and so, she stood her ground, ready for whatever the world would throw at her next.
As they came closer, she gasped.
It was Drazen. The man from her dreams. Just as she had envisioned him, he came toward her like a prince. His body just as large and powerful as it had been in her dreams, his gaze fixed on her.
She looked to the man riding beside him, and that same sense of fate racing toward her came. Whoever this man was… he was the third one from her dreams. Her entire body reacted to him, and that connection she felt with Drazen and Acker stemmed to him. The strange sensation made her sword tumble from her fingers.
The riders stopped.
“Kadelynn!” Drazen leaped from his horse and came toward her.
A sword was suddenly at Drazen’s throat. She turned her gaze to Acker, and there was death in his eyes. “Not another step forward.”
She grabbed his arm. “No, this is Drazen!”
“I know who he is. How do you know who he is?” Acker said, his voice dangerously low.
“He’s the man I saw in my dreams. One of the men I’m connected to.”
Acker didn’t lower his sword, but he looked to Kadelynn. “No. I won’t allow that. You hear me? It’s him or I. I will never share you with him.”
“Acker?” She didn’t understand, but she needed to.
“Acker?” Drazen repeated his name in shock.
She looked back at Drazen. “How do you know Acker?”
Drazen was staring at the man as if witnessing a dream or a nightmare. “He’s... my brother.”
“Brother?” Her jaw dropped.
The third man came up behind Drazen, his sword out. “He’s also the traitor of our kind. The person responsible for killing the dragons, destroying all magic, and betraying his family.”
She frowned. “No, he couldn’t be. He isn’t connected to your world. He’s a Seer.”
“We all come from the same place,” Drazen said. “My brother must have tattooed his face to fit in, but he’s still our kind. And my blood.”
“Your blood?” Acker’s arm shook ever-so-slightly. “You would have killed me along with the rest of them if I hadn’t run.”
“Acker--”
“Don’t!” Acker lifted the sword, nicking his throat.
The third man growled. “If you hurt him, I’ll kill you.”
“Of course you will, Talin. Still my brother’s pet? Still loyal to a fault?”
“This isn’t about us,” Drazen began, gently. “I’m here for Kadelynn. She is the one destined to save dragon kind.” He looked at her. “Come with us. You know it’s what you’re meant to do.”
“No,” Acker said. “She’s not going with you. She’s staying with me.”
“The dragons--” she began.
“It’s him or me!” Acker’s voice shook. “Choose!”
Choose? No, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Visions of them on that island, raising the dragons, living and laughing together filled her mind. They were supposed to be together. That’s what they were destined for. How was she supposed to choose?
“Kadelynn!” Acker’s voice was angry.
“Kadelynn,” Drazen said her name gently.
And then she looked at the third man, Talin, and his gaze held hers. “I won’t go anywhere with that traitor.”
She stepped away from all of them, heart in her throat. Old dreams came rushing back to her. Dreams from her time at home that she’d forgotten, but now they awakened within her.
They were her destiny.
So how could she choose?
Somewhere far away she sensed the tiny voices of the dragons within the eggs calling out to her. They were afraid. Something dark was coming for them.
She would have to choose.
A tear slid down her cheek, and she closed her eyes, knowing that sometimes doing the right thing came at a price. And this price, it might cost her her heart.
To be continued...
Also By Lacey Carter Andersen
Guild of Assassins
Mercy’s Revenge
Mercy’s Fall
Monsters and Gargoyles
Medusa’s Destiny *audiobook*
Keto’s Tale
Celaeno’s Fate
Cerberus Unleashed
Lamia’s Blood
Shade’s Secret
Hecate’s Spell
Empusa’s Hunger
Shorts: Their Own Sanctuary
Shorts: Their Miracle Pregnancy
Dark Supernaturals
Wraith Captive
Marked Immortals
Chosen Warriors
Wicked Reform School/House of Berserkers
Untamed: Wicked Reform School
Unknown: House of Berserkers
Unstable: House of Berserkers
Royal Fae Academy
Revere (A Short Prequel)
Ravage
Ruin
Reign
Box Set: Dark Fae Queen
Immortal Hunters MC
Van Helsing Rising
Van Helsing Damned
Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow
Karma’s Spell
Karma’s Shift
Infernal Queen
Raising Hell
Fresh Hell
Straight to Hell
Her Demon Lovers
Secret Monsters
Unchained Magic
Dark Powers
Box Set: Mate to the Demon Kings
An Angel and Her Demons
Supernatural Lies
Immortal Truths
Lover’s Wrath
Box Set: Fallen Angel Reclaimed
Legacy of Blood and Magic
Dragon Shadows
Dragon Memories
Legends Unleashed
Don’t Say My Name
Don’t Cross My Path
Don’t Touch My Men
The Firehouse Feline
Feline the Heat
Feline the Flames
Feline the Burn
Feline the Pressure
God Fire Reform School
Magic for Dummies
Myths for Half-Wits
Mayhem for Suckers
Box Set: God Fire Academy
The Icelius Reverse Harem
Her Alien Abductors
Her Alien Barbarians
Her Alien Mates
Collection: Her Alien Romance
Steamy Tales of Warriors and Rebels
Gladiators
The Dragon Shifters’ Last Hope
Claimed by Her Harem
Treasured by Her Harem
Collection: Magic in her Harem
Harem of the Shifter Queen
Sultry Fire
Sinful Ice
Saucy Mist
Collection: Power in her Kiss
Standalones
Worthy (A Villainously Romantic Retelling)
Beauty with a Bite
Shifters and Alphas
Collections
Monsters, Gods, Witches, Oh My!
Wings, Horns, and Shifters
About the Author
Lacey Carter Andersen is a USA Today bestselling author who loves reading, writing, and drinking excessive amounts of coffee. She spends her days taking care of her husband, three kids, and three cats. But at night, everything changes! Her imagination runs wild with strong-willed characters, unique worlds, and exciting plots that she enthusiastically puts into stories.
Lacey has dozens of tales: science fiction romances, paranormal romances, short romances, reverse harem romances, and more. So, please feel free to di
ve into any of her worlds; she loves to have the company!
And you’re welcome to reach out to her; she really enjoys hearing from her readers.
You can find her at:
Email: [email protected]
Mailing List:
https://www.subscribepage.com/laceycarterandersen
Website: https://laceycarterandersen.net/
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Dragon Memories: A High Fantasy Reverse Harem Romance (Legacy of Blood and Magic Book 2) Page 14
