Page 50 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
“Nothing to apologize for,” Henry promised, his voice filled with a warmth I knew he reserved for me. “What triggered it?”
Triggered it? I frowned and rubbed my head. “I honestly don’t know.”
Suddenly, a cold chill rolled over me and I shivered, making Croy stand up as he quickly got a robe. I slipped it on my arms and tried to stand, Henry helping me up despite my shaky legs.
“We should… I should get ready,” I murmured, walking over to the dress and picking it up before looking back at them. I frowned, feeling almost numb and realizing that it may have been the dress in part that triggered thoughts about my real mom and the woman that raised me. My heart jumped as I nodded.
Yeah, that had been the reason for sure.
“Let me help,” Croy offered as he unzipped the dress, and Henry offered me a hand as I somewhat unsteadily stepped into it. I swallowed, feeling a bit off base as he helped zip up the back and I adjusted the waist and cleavage up front. I didn’t look in the mirror, searching the room for heels that I would need to wear. I didn’t realize both boys had gone quiet until I looked up and found both of them staring at me with wide eyes.
Suddenly, I felt self-conscious. “Do I look bad?”
“No.” Henry’s voice was rough. “Fuck no.”
“Maya, you look pale. Are you sure you want to go through with this? We don’t have to go,” Croy insisted, seeming to shake himself.
Finally, I found gold heels and slipped them on, running my fingers through my hair. I shook my head, knowing that not going wasn’t really an option, especially because I wanted to know more about my mother, and the way to do that wasn’t from afar. Plus, having extra help dealing with the coven sounded extremely appealing. As in my mates wouldn’t be in nearly as much danger if we had more help.
Stepping out from the closet, I froze as I caught my reflection in the mirror, realizing possibly why the boys had been staring.
I didn’t look like myself.
I mean, I did, literally, but the woman looking back at me looked like a princess, something that I apparently very much was despite that seeming impossible. There were a lot of factors that played into it, but the dress was… spectacular. That was the only word for it. It had to have some magical element to it that made you look more beautiful than you were. More confident. More self-composed.
Everything that I wasn’t feeling right now.
The actual structure of the dress was far more simple than the other. The bodice was two panels of thick material that were bound in the center with laces. They went over my shoulders and wrapped around the back as well, leaving the sides bare, dipping down to the waist. The thick material appeared to be a satin, but the shoulders were decorated in feathers that started in a deep blue over the gold material and transitioned into shades of purple and then gold where the dress cinched at my waist. From there, the gorgeous tulle skirt went out in a ombre effect in the opposite order down to where it brushed the floor. All of it was dusted with sparkles of pink and gold that seemed to highlight my skin tone. It was a gorgeous garment… and where I should have felt lacking, I instead felt empowered and beautiful.
Brushing my hair back, I considered putting on makeup besides the pink lipstick that I had planned to apply. It was times like this that I wish I’d had someone to help me out like with the dragon council event. I blinked back anxiety as both men offered me concerned looks in the mirror. I didn’t like these looks as much as the ones they’d been giving me before when they’d been staring at me in the dress. I didn’t want to worry them.
“Sugar?” Croy’s voice was warm and soft, making me melt. My skin flushed as I realized I was finally feeling a bit better and in less of an anxiety-induced haze. I breathed in and then out, trying to settle myself. The technique seemed to work to an extent, and I felt a surge of pride for being able to soothe myself, even if it was to a small extent.
“You both look really good,” I pointed out finally, noticing Henry was wearing an almost all gold uniform, accented with the blue that I was starting to realize was common to this kingdom. He looked absolutely gorgeous—both of them did—and it made me a bit worried about the other women that would see them.
“Thanks.” Croy flashed a smile, an authentic one that had the skin around his eyes crinkling, while approaching me. His wolf rubbed against me as I let my head fall back, Henry’s gaze still on my face as I nearly asked him what he saw. I was worried that he read me too well, though. Then again, the man had pretty much direct access to my innermost thoughts, so that wasn’t all that surprising.
“Maya, we need to talk about what happened.” Henry’s voice was soft as my fingers traced over the wolf on Croy’s uniform. The crest brought to mind Jordan and her father’s pack, making my brow dip. There was that persistent, overwhelming urge to go back. I think it was rooted in the realization that there were others like me.
Now that I knew my reality had been unusual, I wanted to save the others. I had to save the others. I couldn’t live with the knowledge that I let them suffer another day.
“I can’t stop thinking about the possibility of there being others.”
Croy stilled in understanding as Henry let out a low rumble, coming up to Croy’s side and tilting my jaw up.
“We have to save them. We have to make this right. They deserve freedom like I got,” I nearly choked out.
Henry examined my expression. “Then we will. When we leave here, we will go and find them. I’m positive your parents are already gathering intel to attack the coven, we just have to make sure that we work into it checking for any other prisoners.”
“Really?” I asked, feeling a surge of hope.
“Yes, really,” he promised, cupping my jaw. “But we are doing it in a way that keeps you safe. I don’t want those fuckers getting their hands on you again.”
Before either him or Croy could say anything else, there was a knock on the bathroom door, causing all three of us to turn to it in confusion.Who would be knocking?Henry strode forward and I tilted my head, surprise filtering through me because it was not one of my mates or anyone I had ever met before standing there. In fact, it was actually one of the first women I’d seen outside of the few in town. Had there been any in the throne room? I had to assume so, although there was for sure a lack of women overall. Was that because they weren’t dragons? Or pure dragons? Hadn’t Croy mentioned something about that?
Taller than myself, probably somewhere around 5’9” or 5’10”, she was wearing a uniform that I’d yet to see before but found somewhat intimidating. It was a dark maroon leather with black and gold across the bodice, highlighting a large dragon that seemed to almost shift under my gaze. I didn’t bother hiding the fact that I was looking over her, curious about why she seemed so different, wondering if it was the uniform. Outside of the color difference between her and my mates, she had a pair of over-the-knee boots, leather with laces, and a dark set of rings that covered her long fingers. Across her chest was a long leather band that attached to a carrying case behind her. Was it for a sword? I couldn’t tell fully.
None of that was what made her unique though. Nor was it the dark tattoo that ran along the right side of her neck or the gold hair that she had pulled back to reveal a stunning but extremely serious face. No. I realized very quickly it was her magic. I didn’t think she was a shifter, but she had a lot of magic, and it seemed to be vibrating through the air and around her in an aura of black energy. Honestly, if I wasn’t so fascinated by the woman, I would have been terrified.
