Page 59 of Taloned Heart

Everything ached. Her soul whispered that she should return to those people and set them free. It would take them a long time to be freed from that prison, if they were not all left there to rot. Perhaps they could unlock it eventually, or perhaps they would remain as skeletons in that horrible place.

But an equally loud part of her said that they got what they deserved. They would not have taken her in as a child, nor did they care if she survived. They only wanted to control her. To see that she led them into a life only the elves would know and that... was wrong.

All of this was wrong.

She stumbled out of the dungeon and into the sunlight with a gasp. Heat played across her frozen cheeks and thawed the ache in her chest. Even though it smelled like blood and guts and all the other scents that came with death, at least they weren’t down there any longer.

Abraxas stopped beside her, staring up at the clouds in the sky as well. “Lore?”

She hummed low under her breath.

“They were never your family.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t. I never had family either, but at least they told me that. They didn’t string me along or give me any kind of hope. I knew my people were dead and that let me move on.” He nudged her shoulder with his own, his arms still full with Zephyr. “Letting them go was brave. I hope you see that for what it is.”

She didn’t.

It took no bravery to walk away from them, not when they had done so much to her that it made her want to scream.

“Someday I might regret what I did,” she whispered. “Someday, I might look back on this moment and see only evil in what we have done here.”

“Or perhaps you will see this as the first moment you allowed yourself to be free.” The sun slanted across his eyes, and he squinted down at her as he tried very hard to understand how she was feeling. “You are known by many names throughout this kingdom, Lore. And the name half-elf is not one of them. Not anymore.”

But should she be known that way? Should she deny who she was when there were so many other children like her out there? So many children who just wanted to be accepted and find a family that wouldn’t look down on them?

“I am a woman who has lived between worlds,” she said. “I have spent a lifetime looking through windows and wishing for the family that lived beyond the glass. But now I have you. I have Beauty and Zephyr and yes, Draven, even though you hate it. I have our children and so much more on the dragon isle waiting for us. Letting those elves go was easy compared to losing any of you.”

Her soul settled back in place. It was the truth. She’d never wanted anything more than all the people who were already in her life. Going back in time and getting the elves’ approval? It was unnecessary.

She had already found her family and her happiness. Why would she need to work to change anyone’s mind about her, when her chosen family already accepted her the way she was?

Turning toward Abraxas, she held out her arms for Zephyr. “Give him here.”

“Are you sure you can carry him?”

Lore leveled Abraxas with a look. “How else are we going to get him on your back? I think we both know I have to carry him out of here. Otherwise, I’ll try straddling you while you change, but who knows where I’d end up.”

Or if she’d end up impaled on one of his spines. Lore didn’t want to try that, or test her magic to see how much it would do to keep her alive.

Glowering at Abraxas, she waited until he handed the young man over. And he wasn’t that heavy. Not even remotely. The bones of his ribs stuck out and dug into her palms and shoulder where she tucked him. His legs were mere sticks that weighed next to nothing.

Her boy, her poor, sweet boy who had grown up in a crypt and looked to her for guidance, had suffered too much.

She sighed, staring down into his limp face that was already swollen and covered in bruises. “I’m so sorry this had to happen to you.”

But really, what had she thought would happen when she left? Of course he would be the easy target. This was all her fault, and she was the only one who could fix it.

A warmth tingled through her body as she started the healing process. Her magic traveled through him, seeking all the hurts and trying to fix what it could. But there was a lot more damage internally than any of them could see. This would take some time to heal, and she couldn’t do it on dragon back.

Still, she could make him a little more comfortable and send him to rest with a little more ease.

“Ready?” Abraxas asked, his eyes still on Zephyr. “He looks like he’s getting worse.”

“I’ll hold him in this state for as long as we need.” But they couldn’t go back to the dwarven kingdom, could they? Margaret would hunt them, and she’d suspect the dwarves. “We need to move.”

Abraxas changed, his dragon bursting out of his skin with more speed than she’d seen from him in a while.

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