HAZEL'S POV"Her name was Almathae."Those words rang in my head as silence fell over me. I was Almathae's reborn. No wonder she had been trying to reach out to me."So you knew this whole time, Morwenna?" I asked, the thought pressing heavy against my chest."Yes, but I wasn't quite sure until I tasted your blood that day and saw the mark I had placed on you before leaving.""Why did you leave? Even after you found out about me on the day I was born?" I asked.She was quiet for a moment. Something resolute rose in her eyes."Because it was the best thing to do, Hazel. You were the hybrid, and if anyone from the dragon realm found out, particularly Seraphine, they would have come for your blood as a sacrifice. I couldn't bear that for my child.""So when I had weaned you, when you were old enough to survive, I cast a spell to seal your powers and keep any dragon from sensing you. That included me." She paused. "That day I left you behind and never returned.""It was for the best, Haze

DRAVON'S POVNathan stood to his feet, tossing the gem between his fingers as he circled me. His body shook with rage at my words."Well. We will see about that," he said.My body trembled from the Strauss. I was beginning to shut down, my vision blurring."You do know how to dare someone," he said, coming to stand in front of me."The gem of Drakharis. How did you get it?" I groaned, struggling to hold myself up as my elongated nails dug into the ground."Long story, old friend," he said. "A lot has happened since your sudden disappearance.""You bared the path, Nathan," I said beneath heavy groans."You do know so much. I mean you should. You're a dragon," he said."I believe I was led to the gem for one reason, to destroy all dragons and save my people from their sieges," he said.I couldn't hold on much longer but I struggled to."Not all..." a groan tore through my throat as I fought through the paralysis. Red droplets, my blood, began dripping from my nose onto the ground.Forci

Aiden's POVI hadn't left Voidfang yet, and I wouldn't. Not until I got word from the capital.I sat on one of the highest peaks where I could see almost everything.The night sky spread above me, cold and wide. Below, the city of Voidfang glittered, one of the most beautiful of all the clans of Eldorado.A cold breeze moved through my hair as my fingers turned a small piece of gravel over and over, my boots tapping the ground impatiently.I'd sent a message to Zarin expecting news about my estate. What I got back was eight words."I'll meet you at the Tackarette Mountains."And so here I was. Waiting. No sign of him anywhere.I kept throwing stones into the endless dark below.I'd just picked up another when I finally felt his presence at my back."Zarin," I said without turning."Your Highness." His voice came from behind me."How dare you keep me waiting this long?" I turned to face him, teeth clenched.He exhaled slowly, like he needed me to calm down before he spoke."It took tim

Seraphines aura felt far more powerful than I remembered. Deep red orbs bore into mine, and around her neck hung a pendant just like the one at my own throat, the same red stone, only much larger."You should hand that over to its rightful owner." Her voice was lethal in a way I hadn't heard before."I should leave now, Your Highness." Zarin said."Yes, you should." I didn't look at him. My eyes stayed on Seraphine."You know I didn't steal it," I said, stepping down slowly from my throne until I stood only an inch from her. "You dropped it carelessly in my courtroom the last time you graced this sanctum." I leaned closer, almost to her ear. "And since I found it here, it became mine."I pulled back, meeting her eyes. Her hands had balled into fists."Calm down, my lady." I smiled. "I'm only keeping it safe for you."I turned and walked back up to my throne."Why do you look so much younger and more beautiful than I remember? Don't tell me it's because of that thing around your neck."

MORWENNA'S POVI felt it, the immense power radiating from her. The force flung me against the bed from where I sat, and thankfully it did, because the fire would have consumed me when it rose beyond expectation.She was the imperion Daraenxyn, and had I not birthed Hazel myself, I would have thought she was the one in this room just now."What happened to them?""Where is Dorwen?" she asked, still looking at the ashes on the floor."Who?" I asked."My kind," she said.I looked at her, hesitant to break the news, because the moment I did she would know that danger had already been lurking the moment she stepped into this world."Mother, what befell them?" she asked again."I don't know about them. I didn't hear much, just enough to know they were wiped off." The lie left my mouth easier than it should have. I hated that.She looked deep into my eyes, and I felt like she had seen straight through me."Do you know of a dragon once named Vorthar?"My eyes widened. That name. I hadn't hea