by Kimber White
Kian was innocent. He hadn’t killed Owen. I knew in my heart he hadn’t killed Adam or Bobby either. Except, now it didn’t matter. He might be lost to me anyway.
“I’m not leaving you,” Astor said. “Not now. He’s still out there.”
A police cruiser pulled up at the end of the street. Soon enough, Sheriff Baines would have questions. Awful though it was, the fire would buy us time.
“Astor,” I said. “I have to get to Chicago. I can’t waste time with a train. You’re not strong enough to travel with me. I told you, I won’t risk any more misunderstandings with Kian’s people. Go to the house you found near San Diego. When the time is right, I’ll come find you.”
His face went blank. I knew what I was asking. I also knew that if I did find Kian in the meantime, if Astor was with me, he’d try to kill him again.
“I’m not asking you,” I said. “And you know you can’t stop me. So, go where I know you’re safe.”
A single tear fell from Astor’s eye. In my twenty-four years of life, not a day went by when he wasn’t with me. I leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“Trust me,” I said. I’d been saying too much of it lately. So far, I’d failed everyone close to me. I just prayed there was enough time to save Kian. With each passing minute, I felt him slipping farther away.
Chapter Twenty-One
Calla
I readied myself to shift. Astor was safely, I hoped, on his way to San Diego. I would fly to Chicago cloaked. Kian’s brothers were easy enough to find on the internet. I could land on the rooftop of the Brandhart Building. Once there, I just prayed that I wasn’t too late. I had no idea what I was even going to say.
The fire was mostly out in Tiger Mountain. Smoke still wafted over the trees and circled the base of the mountain. It broke my heart to see the destruction, but at least it was quiet here. For now, even the wildlife stayed away.
I stood at the base of the waterfall where I’d last seen Kian before his dragon took over. It felt sacred, special. My heart ached for what I’d found and what might be lost forever.
“Kian,” I whispered. “You have to fight. You have to find a way to hold on until I figure out what to do.”
I hadn’t meant to get choked up. Ever since I’d decided on a course of action, I’d felt more at peace. I would figure out a way to bring Kian back. I refused to believe fate brought us together only so I could watch him self-destruct.
He was mine. I knew it. Everything my mother wrote was true. When he came into my life, I knew what he was. He was for me. Even now, the echo of his touch stirred my desire. He’d taught me so much, but I still had so much to learn.
I steeled myself against the journey I had to take for him. I would find him. I would help him fight. It couldn’t be too late. It just...couldn’t.
I moved to the water’s edge and summoned the magic I needed to cloak my flight. Just that little bit of knowledge he’d given me set me free. Never again would I have to suppress the urge to shift. I listened for him. I was met only with silence over the rushing river. Either he was far away, or found a way to shut me out.
“Wait for me,” I whispered to the wind. “And God help us both.”
The wind gathered as I spread my arms wide. I’d never flown this far by myself. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to find my way to the Brandhart Building once I got close to it. I had to believe instinct would guide me.
The magic swirled around me, giving me strength. I would find Kian’s family. I would make them help me.
I barely got off the ground when all hell broke loose. A cyclone formed, churning the river water up into a straight column. The air sucked straight out of my lungs. I dropped back down, stepping away from the bank. I would have dived for the cover of the trees, but they were nothing more than charred stalks and petrified ruins.
I heard the now unmistakable sound of powerful wings above me. Staggering backward, I saw them all. Five huge dragons. Like Kian, but different. Iridescent scales of blue, gold, green, and red. The lead dragon marked their flight path with an orange flame that was familiar to me now. Just like Kian’s.
The Brandharts landed one by one in the clearing on the other side of the river. They didn’t see me at first. I never completed my shift. Terror gripped me as four of the dragons landed. One with shimmering gold eyes let out a roar, calling to his brothers. Yes. His. I immediately sensed these dragons were male. Kian had told me their names. Xander, Gideon, Finn, and Loch.
One of them let up a blast of flame, beckoning to the last dragon still flying overhead. My throat went dry. Could it be?
A shadow darkened the river. The last dragon circled. It wasn’t Kian. She was smaller than the others, but flew with more grace and precision. Tears sprang to my eyes as I watched her. She landed in the center of her four sons. They shielded her, protected her. They stayed in their dragons as she shifted and emerged from the center.
Avelina. Kian had told me his mother’s name. She pulled a black caftan around her. The wind from her son’s magic still whipped around her. Her platinum hair blew back and her eyes shone with a pale blue flame. She was tall, regal, a dragon queen. My heart twisted as I wondered if my own mother had looked like her once.
I stayed frozen in the shadows. This is what I wanted. What I was prepared to journey to all alone. But, now that the Brandharts were here, I found myself scared to death. What if they misunderstood me? What if they had no power to help? What if Kian was too far gone?
Avelina crossed the river. Her sons stayed close. She looked skyward, shielding her eyes. Her expression was grim as she surveyed the charred remains of the forest. She knew. Of course she did. I realized with cold clarity how they knew where to look.
Avelina squared her shoulders. She turned and said something to one of the dragons. I swallowed hard and tried to draw the courage to confront them. Now that the moment was here, I wasn’t sure what the hell to say.
Avelina gathered her skirt in one hand and began to climb up the riverbank. Two of her sons shifted. Their resemblance to Kian took my breath away. They were handsome, broad-shouldered with hard-cut muscles and glimmering eyes. Both of them had thick, dark hair and square, chiseled jawlines. Their expressions were somber. One of them had red-rimmed eyes as if he had been crying.
The other two stayed in their dragons on the other side of the riverbank.
Avelina stopped. She tilted her head. A slow smile spread across her face. She turned and looked straight into the shadows where I hid.
“Well,” she said. “What do we have here?”
Her sons sensed my presence at the same time. The two dragons let out a warning roar. The men beside Avelina flanked her and took a ready stance. They sensed danger. That danger was me. I straightened my back and walked toward them.
The air crackled with heat and energy. I felt the full weight of five pairs of dragon eyes staring straight at me. My spine tingled. My own power began to surge.
One of the dragons at the river lifted off. My hair became a cyclone as he churned the air. I felt that great sucking sound as he drew breath and armed himself, ready to blast a column of flame if I posed a threat.
“Loch!” Avelina shouted. She lifted a hand. Her son circled, then landed near her. My own dragon stirred. The urge to shift tingled through every cell in my body. Such power. Such energy. I was growing drunk from it.
She gestured to the others. Loch and the other dragons shifted at her command. Now, Avelina was flanked by all four of her sons in human form. They were tall. Formidable. And yet, I knew my strength and power matched hers. I was something unlike anything they’d ever seen.
“My son,” Avelina said, her voice catching. “He did this?” She lifted her hand and gestured toward the burned-out woods.
I felt an odd sense of protectiveness toward Kian. The Brandhart men were a gathering threat. I saw menace in their eyes, sadness in Avelina’s.
“Tell me the truth,” she said. “We’ve seen what’s left of Shadow Poin
t. And...I can smell him.” She stepped forward. Her eyes searched my face. I had the urge to shrink back. That old self-preservation instinct kicked in. Hide. Run. Never let anyone get too close. But, when Avelina Brandhart reached for me and took a lock of my hair between her fingers, I stood my ground.
She gasped. Her face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions. Confusion. Shock. Fear. Grief. Then...understanding.
“You?” she said. “It’s been you?”
I didn’t get her meaning. A shudder went through her. All color drained from her face. Her despair did something to her sons. They were connected, their senses intertwined.
Avelina’s legs seemed to give out. She started to sink to the ground, shuddering. Loch reacted to his mother’s distress, sensing me as the threat. He reared back. Scales shimmered across his chest and he drew in a breath, ready to let out a blast of flame to push me back.
My own instincts kicked in. I put up a hand and blocked the blow. My own flame met with his, mine glowing green.
“Christ!” One of the other brothers cried.
“No!” Avelina shouted. “Stand down. All of you. You don’t understand!”
Loch took a step back. His eyes narrowed and he let out a growl. So did I.
“What have you done to our brother?” one of the others asked. I knew him. I saw him through Kian’s eyes the way he described him. This was Finn. That left Xander and Gideon. They were the two who had crossed the river at first with their mother.
“She’s…” Xander said. He came toward me. The same realization seemed to cross his face as it had for Avelina. “You’re his?” he asked me.
“Wait, what?” Finn said. “You’re Kian’s? You're his mate?” His face broke into a smile. He let out a choked cry and came toward me.
My dragon reacted. I pushed him back with a new blast of flame.
“I won’t hurt you,” Finn said. “It’s just...where is he? My God. We thought...we came to…”
Avelina was weeping. She buried her face in her hands as she rose again. “Come here, girl,” she said. “Is it true?”
I didn’t know how to do this. Finn was happy. He didn’t realize what happened with Kian.
“He’s gone,” I said. “I was...I was coming to find you. Yes. Kian did this. There was...a threat. He turned. He burned Shadow Point to the ground. Or tried to. He needs help. He told me if anything happened to him, that his brothers would know what to do.”
The joy in Finn’s face dissipated. Xander and Gideon stood like stone walls. And Loch? He dropped his head and let out an anguished cry.
“You came to help,” I said. A cold chill went through me.
“You’re his mate?” Loch asked. “And he still did this? He still lost control?”
Avelina broke through. She came to me. Tears streamed down her face. She reached for me again. The instinct to push her away burned through me. But, I stayed still as stone. This time, she cupped my face with her hands. Her heat seared me. I could sense her power. She was ancient. I had to know. She might…
“What is your name?” she asked in a whisper.
“Calla,” I said.
“Calla what?”
I pulled away from her grasp. “Calla Lazar.”
Avelina took a step back as if my words struck her. She put a hand over her mouth. “Lazar? No. It can’t be.”
“Avelina?” Finn asked. “What the hell is going on? If this woman is Kian’s mate...if they found each other, he should be in control now. It’s over. We don’t have to do what we came here for.”
“What you came here for?” Kian’s words thundered through me. He said his brothers would know what to do. My God. I saw the answer written in the looks of Gideon, Xander, and Loch. They’d come here to take Kian out.
“Lazarus,” Avelina said, finding her voice. “Your name was Lazarus. Calla, where is your mother? Where is Giselle?”
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. She knew. Had Kian already reached out to her? How could she know?
“I don’t...I can’t…” I took a step backward. Avelina came to me. “You know? How could you know? She’s dead. My mother’s long dead.”
Avelina’s smile was both comforting and tragic. She opened her arms, beckoning me to step into them. I couldn’t. It hurt too much. It was all...too much. I couldn’t let her make me feel. I had to keep my head on straight if we were ever going to get through this.
“Avelina,” Xander said. “You maybe want to tell us what the hell is going on?”
“It’s all right,” she said to me. “Calla, I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.”
“Something’s wrong,” Loch said. “She’s...she’s different. That’s why Kian’s not better. It’s a trick. A trap. She’s not…”
My anger rose. I didn’t like the way Loch was looking at me. I didn’t like what I sensed about their purpose. And Avelina’s grief threatened to undo me. I could not give in to my own.
“She’s the one,” Avelina whispered. “Can’t you see it? Can’t you all feel it? Calla isn’t like any of your mates. She’s no ordinary shifter. She’s not a witch. She’s not human. She’s… My God. My child. She’s a dragon.”
A tear fell down my cheek. I had to stay strong. For Kian. For myself.
“Is there a way?” I asked. “Yes. I think Kian is my mate. But...if you’d seen. He shut me out. Please. Tell me there’s still a way to save him. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Avelina dropped her arms to her side. She was full on crying. Her sons were still in shock. But, deep down, I knew they believed. They knew what I was.
“Maybe,” Avelina said. “But, you have to be willing. All of you. I’m going to have to ask you to do things that will test your faith and your strength.” She took my hands in hers. Her power flowed through me and mine went back to her. I felt her. I knew her.
“Are you ready, my child?” she asked.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes.”
She stiffened her spine. “Then let’s get started.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kian
Death was strange. I thought it would be dark and quiet. I thought I would finally find peace. I thought there would be an end to my fire after I’d destroyed it all.
Instead, it just kept coming. The fire bubbled up and threatened to burn me from the inside out. I wanted to let it. If only it would have sucked away what was left of me.
I stood at the edge of the cliff. Lava churned far below. The mountain belched white flame. Tucking my wings under, I lifted my head and let out a blast of fire, joining it with the molten river.
Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I remembered what Avelina said. She warned us never to give in to the urge to let the lava take us. It would work. It would end everything. But, the magic that shielded this volcano from the town of Knoydart far below would break. They would finally see the fiery mountain that had lorded over them for thousands of years in secret. Either way, the day would change their lives.
I prayed, marveling that I still had the presence of mind to do it. That there was still enough of me left to think of anything other than the fire and how good it would feel to just let it come.
I was on the ground somehow. Maybe an hour passed. Maybe a day or a year. A shadowy figure came toward me.
Calla.
She was so beautiful but so sad. Her dark hair flew around her. She was smiling and she reached for me. It was good that she was the last thing I could see. She would help me into the pit.
“I love you,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry. I left you to clean up the mess.”
Calla smiled. I expected her to be sad. I had broken her heart, after all. She was my mate. She was the only female dragon in the world besides my mother. And Calla had been made for me. All those years. If only the wizards hadn’t stolen her magic. She could have been born in time.
“Kian,” she whispered. She was standing on the other side of a river of lava, but her voice felt like she was right next to me.
“Be safe, my love,” I said. “And don’t be sad. My mother will look after you. She’ll know what you are the moment she sees you.”
Calla laughed. Her eyes flashed like emeralds. Green fire. My mother never told me other dragons breathed different colors. I’d only ever known gold and red. But, I never thought to ask.
Calla reached for me. She shimmered. In my dream, I saw her dragon from one angle, and the woman from another. I wanted her to come to me. I knew I didn’t deserve it. I hadn’t earned a moment of peace after what I’d done. The lava wouldn’t kill me. That was the secret my mother never told. It would destroy me. It would keep everyone else safe. But, I would feel the pain of it until the sun finally gave out.
“Kian,” Calla’s image called to me. It was a trick of light. My last gasp of sanity. I had to latch on to it. I knew in my heart that when Calla disappeared, there would truly be nothing of the man inside of me left. I couldn’t trust that I’d have the strength to heave myself over the side of the cliff then. So, it was time to say goodbye.
“I never got to tell you I love you,” I said. “I do. I knew it from the moment I saw you. Before that, even. I just wish I hadn’t been too late.”
Her lips were moving. She was speaking, but I couldn’t hear her anymore. I could only hear the fire. She had something in her hand. It glimmered, reflecting the fire. She raised it. A stone. An opal. She brought it to her lips and kissed it.
Calla turned. She was talking to someone, but there was no one else there. She was just a mirage. And now, she was going away.
I clawed the ground, pulling myself closer to the edge. One more inch. I could let gravity do the rest. I looked back where Calla should be. She was gone now. It was time for me too.
Then, she was there. Standing over me. It was no opal in her hand. It was the shimmering light of dragonstone. The one thing in the world with enough magic to kill a dragon.
