Page 56 of Dragon Blood

Perhaps it was time to have a long, long chat with her mother and Kane, when all of this was settled.

She needed to know what the fuck was coming for them. Defending Aeleftheria wasn’t just an abstract value. The fate of dragonkind, and the world, depended on it. They would need their allies now more than ever.

Uniting the dragons was crucial, for good, this time.

They moved through the crystal path and stepped into the entrance, lost in deep thoughts of their recent journey.

Looking up, Astred chuckled. Kai emerged beside her, a grin spread across his face. Before them, their dragons lay curled around one another, napping, rainbow threads tangled.

Kai’s tiger slid his body along Astred’s shoulder, drawing her attention to his silky fur. She hesitated, then reached her hand up to stroke between his ears. Calm rooted out the deep sense of fear as she slid her fingers through the tiger’s warm fur.

Astred wouldn’t meet Kai’s gaze, instead considering the entwined dragons.

So many factors.

So much work to be done.

So much at stake.

But there was no longer any doubt. Regina’s words drifted back to Astred:‘Everything will change after this event. You need to prepare yourself. It’s time.’

Regina had known it was coming. The Mother had told her.

Yes, it was time.

Chapter 19

DiscussionswithHeidiBrandt,Odson Blackridge and the Wardens lasted late into the night.

Black River needed to be aware of the increased threat that the Consortium posed to the paranormal community. War was coming, and there was little doubt that the Consortium would be involved. The shifters and the wardens would be ready, should the dragons need to call on them.

The following morning, Kai set up a meeting with Bayn Long in Toronto, while Astred left a message for Joey Kane to call her back.

If Kai was right, they needed to talk to Bayn about the temple in the vision and what it meant.

Astred’s first inclination was to assert that Aeleftheria could resolve her own problems, but she quickly stayed the urge.

She had to wait and see how things played out in the coming days. It was still too early to decide if this could be handled internally.

The visions told her it wouldn’t be.

Though the battle loomed over Aeleftheria in the vision, the combatants were undefined.

Astred needed time to sort through everything she and Kai had witnessed.

And the remnant? Shivering, her gaze sought Kai with fresh eyes.

Where did he learn to do that? To control shadows like that?

If he hadn’t been there to protect her from that thing while she struggled to understand the vision…

She forced her thoughts back to the surface mission rather than the underground journey.

Regina had gone to great effort to show her political stance regarding alliances and unity outside of their own borders.

Astred couldn’t shut that down now. She needed to nurture those relationships, whether she called on them for this immediate crisis or not.

Relationships that Elora, Regina’s closest friend and ambassador, had begun to foster decades ago. They’d set things in motion, and with Regina’s absence, Astred had little choice but to take up the mantle.

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