Advanced Dragon Studies (Ember Academy for Magical Beings Book 1)
Page 15
“No, I wiped your memory of him, and we agreed that it would be best if you never visited the Dragons’ city again, in the hopes that it would stop him from finally forming the bond. I knew that we had time – it was common practice back in the Vulcan Plains for Great Dragons to talk to potential brides when they were young, but it was only briefly, and they would not attempt to form the bonds until the brides were older – and I thought that keeping you away would help. It seems that I was wrong.”
I just stared at her. “You wiped my memory? And that’s... That’s why you kept me away from the city? I thought the Dragons thought I was too weak. I thought they didn’t want me.”
Fire crackled over my skin as I realised that everything I had been so worried about had all been a lie.
I hadn’t been unwanted at all, Nyssa had been the one keeping me away.
“Skye, Xiatyan nearly destroyed Clara. We all agreed that this was best to keep you safe from him. Your fathers and I would keep you away from the city, and Hell would stay there full-time with Renan to find a way to sever the bond.”
“That’s why Auncle Hell stopped coming to see me? Not because zie didn’t love me? Not because zie thought I was getting too close to zir?”
“No, Skye... Why would you think that would drive zir away?”
“Because zie’s my biological parent, but zie gave me up. I thought... I thought that I was getting too close for zir comfort and zie wanted distance.”
Nyssa sighed. “No, Skye... It broke Hell’s heart to leave. Zie was glad that you had your fathers there as your full-time parents, but zie always wanted to be part of your life as well. But zie worried that Xiatyan would follow zir to you through zir connection to Renan.”
“So... It was all just lies?”
“Lies meant to keep you safe.”
“Except it didn’t work, did it? Xiatyan still found me, and because I didn’t know to stay away from him, I formed the bond anyway. So, what? Can he get inside my head and take over as well?”
“No. The bond isn’t yet strong enough, and Persephone told me how to protect you. Or at least, gave me enough cryptic information to piece it together. I think I can cast a ward on you that will keep him at bay, and it can draw on your connections with others to remain strong.”
“Connections with who?” I asked, not sure that the ward would be all that strong if it relied on my connection to Nyssa right now.
“To Naveen, James and Lorelei. They’ve all already agreed to the spell, they just need me to cast it.”
“And that will keep Xiatyan at bay?”
“For now. I’m not sure how strong it will be, or how long it will last, but it will at least give you a fighting chance.”
“Then cast it. I don’t want to be anyone’s pawn.”
Want to continue on to Book Two? You can check it out here.
Dear Reader
Hey, so, how are you enjoying the new series?
Apologies for the cliff-hanger, but I promise, I am hard at work on Book Two and the wait will not be long.
Speaking of, I should get back to that, but if you’re eager for more Ember Academy in the meantime, I wrote another series set several years before this one that you can now read all six books of.
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