Page 9 of Rhadan

He looked down at the milky green eyes of his mate. “They are gone.”

Tempest pursed her lips. “I think you need to explain your power to me in more detail. That was... scary.”

CHAPTER 6

Tempest held Rhadan’s arm as he led her back inside the store. When she touched him, the surrounding emptiness swirled with color, but she couldn’t make out specific images. It was strange, welcoming, and a little scary after getting used to the darkness. “Where is everyone?” she asked. The store remained quiet though the tremors had stopped.

Warmth spread over her skin as Rhadan’s power pulsed around her. The colors that swirled around her changed and became more distinct before returning to the haze of muted color.

“I have removed the memory of the earthquake from the humans’ minds. They are all seated in the cafe. Mara and Legion are on their way here to help us. We will remain in the store until they arrive.” He led her back to the couch, but sat next to her when she settled.

She turned toward him, and their knees touched. Her breath hitched in her lungs, but she ignored the visceral reaction of her body, needing to understand this dragon’s unique power. “Tell me about radiance. Is the similarity to your name a coincidence?”

“No. No dragon has ever possessed a power like radiance. When it began to emerge, my mother explained how I was affecting those around me. She said I radiated the power of love and acceptance. The way she described it, made it feel like a gift, but that was because she already loved me. In time, my brethren began to call it radiance as well. That was before we learned the dark nature of this gift.”

“The mage has found a way to block you, but his tone was still... loving. It’s hard to describe. It was as if he admired you.”

“Yes. He has used an ancient mage spell to buffer my power. He becomes more susceptible to me the longer he is in my presence. This is true of all living creatures and the reason I limit my exposure to them.”

She picked at the seam of her dress. An action she did often when nervous. “Limit your exposure? Even with your family?”

The sadness in his voice made her heart ache. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to avoid the ones you love. I can never let my guard down when I am with other people. I have to constantly monitor those around me.”

Her mind inevitably returned to the early days at the mansion. When her mother was hopelessly in love with Devlin and believed he was her soul mate. She could look back now and hear the lack of emotion in Devlin’s voice. The lies he spoke when he told her and her mother they were his world. She’d never been truly comfortable with anyone except her mother after her father’s death. Going blind had made her retreat into herself. How easy she had made it for Devlin to control her. “I isolated myself as well, but it was because I was self-conscious about my surroundings. I had the best of everything, but I wasn’t secure in who I was. A lot of people lose their sight, and they handle it better than I did.”

“Mara said you were a child when you went blind. May I ask how it happened?” he asked.

“A car accident. My father was driving, and he lost control in the rain. He died instantly, and the impact took my sight.”

“It’s traumatic enough to lose a parent, let alone your eyesight. It is understandable that you took time to heal from the trauma,” he said.

“May I ask about you?”

Rhadan took her hand in his. “You can ask me anything, Tempest. You can’t conceive what it is like for me to... get to know someone and not have to fear being in their presence. To hold someone’s hand and not have them... obsessed with me. Though, the longer I am with you, I may reconsider that last one,” he teased.

Her lips twitched while she tried not to let his teasing affect her. “What was it like growing up? It was a different time, and well, you are a dragon. How did you learn about your power?” She had always wanted to know what it was like to fly, but she hadn’t felt comfortable enough with any of the dragon men, despite them being nothing but kind to her. She knew they would lay down their lives for her, but she couldn’t return the trust they had shown her.

Rhadan ran his thumb over her hand gently. She shivered, but she wasn’t cold. “Power builds slowly in my species. It isn’t like the emergence for druids. I began to notice subtle differences in my friends’ behavior toward me.”

“What kinds of differences?”

“Thorn and I would dare one another often. It’s common among the young to try to...”

“One up one another? You are describing many teenage boys.”

“True, but we were not yet teenagers when my powers began to bloom. I did not have my fledgling wings, but my friends began to do the things I asked. If we were trying to decide on that day’s adventure, my idea was always chosen. When I dared Thorn to jump off the fledgling cliffs, and he attempted to try when he had no wings, I realized something was different about my power.”

“Thorn had no wings?”

“He was only nine at the time. We were too young.”

“What did you do?”

“I told my mother, and she performed a spell. It revealed my power, but we didn’t know exactly what it did or how it would mature. She warned me to be careful what I asked for, and I was more reticent after that.”

“You didn’t make any more suggestions?”

He winked. “I was a child. I still made suggestions, but I waited my turn. I understood that when I asked it would come to pass and that day’s adventure would be mine.”

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