by Max Andren
Tarrin and Tauric had appointed themselves Dreah’s protectors and sat on either side of her. Her courage at the warehouse had been impressive and something to behold. The twins had bonded with her in that moment. They would protect her with their lives, exactly as they should. She had fallen asleep right where she sat and was resting up against Tarrin. I smiled over at him.
We went around the room several times sharing stories or events from our lives. Cipriano told several about Scotland, the old country as he liked to call it. It was clear he missed his homeland, but loved his adoptive country too.
Ian and Isabella shared how they met, finishing each other’s sentences as they told their story. They shared how they knew they were mates the moment their paths had crossed.
“I wanted nothing to do with having a mate,” Isabella said laughing, when Ian pinched her, “but, you can’t deny what is fated to be and mates are destined,” she finished, acceptance and gratitude evident in her voice.
Only mated dragons could produce offspring, Cipriano had told me before. This was one reason why there were so few dragons now. I wondered if that would turn out to be true as I looked at Dreah and contemplated her power.
Our dragon essence ran through thousands of brethren—freely given to aid a normal attached to a particular dragon. Once given, it remains part of that normal for the rest of their lives and is passed down to their children. But as the generations and centuries progress, that initial essence becomes so diluted its virtually imperceptible.
Unfortunately, these were the children that were being terrorized and suffering at the hands of the drampires seeking immortality. So in an effort to help their ancestors, the dragons had done their offspring a disservice.
I would find a way to rectify this, even if I had to hunt down every single drampire and decimate their clans as they have destroyed our dragon brethren.
Cipriano cleared his throat, pulling me from my brutal thoughts. I looked around the room and saw that everyone was watching Dreah.
She had a faraway look upon her face as she approached me, as if she were sleep walking. She picked up my hand and placed it over her ring once she reached me.
Looking at her sweet little face, she seemed lost in her mind. Perhaps she really was sleep walking, but I knew, as well as felt, that wasn’t the case. It was something else.
Her eyes were glowing from within, like light shown through amber glass.
“Look, Phoenix,” she told me in a prophetic voice much older than her age, “look and know what shall be.”
And with that pronouncement an incomprehensible future was laid out before me and me alone. Potential outcomes—various avenues of discovery and ones of destruction. Nothing was written in stone, yet outcomes predicated by my decisions would ultimately affect the entire dragon race.
The visions stopped and Dreah collapsed before me. I managed to catch her and cradled her in my arms. I wiped her sweaty brow with the hem of my shirt, while Tarrin draped a knitted throw over us.
The questions started, one after another, everyone wanting to know what was going on…
“What just happened?”
“What did you see?”
“What was Dreah talking about?”
“Is she okay?”
I surrounded her in healing light, but I knew she was fine and just sleeping.
“I would say that our little Dreah has the gift or curse of foresight.”
“But she’s so young, too young for that kind of responsibility and knowledge!” Tarrin and Tauric exclaimed.
“I imagine she wasn’t to have inherited the gift until she was older, but…”
We all knew what that signified, the torture and death of her parents. Poor child.
“What did you see?” Cipriano asked.
I took a deep breath to collect myself, there had been so much and it would affect us all.
“A lot of what I saw were potential outcomes to choices that will be made now. But one choice that stood out among all the others has to do with you, Cipriano.”
His eyes widened, “Please tell me.”
“You have to leave, not immediately, but soon. You need to find Aiden, it’s imperative. I have an idea of where you need to search, but I cannot tell you more than that.”
“No, Charani, I will not leave your side. You still have much to learn. I need to mentor you.”
“I know my brother. You have time, but then you will leave and bring Aiden home to us. Bring him home to our family.”
“I will do as you say. You are the Phoenix, Charani. Please accept this, for all of our sakes. For the future of the dragon clans, you must.”
I nodded my head to him, “I accept all that I am and all that I will become. I am the last true Phoenix.”
THE END
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A Note From Max Andren
Thank you for picking up this first book in the Phoenix Dragon Collection! Not only did you read my book and my words, but you’re taking the time to read this note as well. I’m truly humbled.
I’ve wanted to write for more years than I care to admit, but in 2014 I finally began this journey—at long last! Thank you for joining me as I travel down the many roads of my imagination.
People talk about writing and being a writer as a solitary endeavor, but I don’t see it as such because I have all of you walking beside me.
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Max Andren
Also By Max Andren
Urban Fantasy
A Phoenix Dragon Novel 01: Renascent
A Phoenix Dragon Novel 02: Coalesce
A Phoenix Dragon Novel 03: Everlasting—Coming Soon
Acknowledgements
I could not have finished this book without the help of my Mom. She was with me from that one sentence idea—through the development of the plot and all the way to the very end.
Thank you, Mom, for the great plot ideas and for listening to me read the ENTIRE book out loud. Even when I couldn’t read through the tears, you patiently waited and encouraged me to finish. Thank you for loving my story!
Thank you, John, Ann and Jacquie—My family by choice.
Thank you, Rachel and Fleur—for your patience while I labored over finishing the story, the cover design, formatting, and getting the BLURB written just right! You guys are the absolute best!
Thank you, Trina for all the wonderful treats!
xx Max
About Max Andren
Max Andren writes Fantasy and Urban Fantasy and her first novel, Renascent, was featured in a USA Today Bestselling anthology.
The Phoenix Dragon Collection: Renascent, Coalesce, and Everlasting are the first books on her journey and the foundation for the world she’s creating.
She started her professional career as a Registered Nurse in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. She continued in school to become a Nurse Anesthetist. She still works in the medical field today but writes every day and night.
Max was born in the Midwest, but raised in Southern California. She’s living back in the Midwest with her husband, their son and daughter-in-law, and their 10 year old Shih Tzu, Meme.
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A Phoenix Dragon Novel 01: Renascent—2nd Ed
Copyright © 2017 by Max Andren/ AnCor Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Cover: Deranged Doctor Designs
Interior: AnCor Press
ISBN 978-1-944599-08-9
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