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  Her voice trailed off, and Aaraeth stood alert in my mind.

  She’s still holding back.

  I pursed my lips and waited for Calla to tell me more. When she only continued to straighten things on her desk, I asked again, “What are you leaving out?”

  Meeting my eye, she shook her head. “Your mom was never the same after that. It was terrifying and sad.”

  A shiver racked my body, and goosebumps ran the length of my arms and legs.

  “Cheese and crackers,” Liv muttered as an oath.

  I licked my lips before gazing across the desk at my relative. “Ashe told me I wasn’t safe away from the academy, but he’d been vague. I hadn’t realized that there were real reasons.”

  Cocking her head, she tried to comfort me. “No… Honey. You’re safe here. Don’t let this upset you. It’s not like that.”

  Aaraeth swirled over my skin and hissed, she’ssssss lying.

  She’s lying that she thinks I’m safe?

  That and she knows… thingsssssss. Let me pull it from her. Let me dig into her mind and give it to you.

  “No,” I whispered aloud.

  I didn’t want to know more, at least not right now. I needed to process this new information.

  Mentally, I stood on the edge of something terrible and scary. It was all I could do to hold all my broken pieces together. First George, and his cryptic message, then some unknown person trying to claim me, and finding my mother had been abducted. On top of that shit pie was the shit cherry—I wasn’t safe. But safe from what exactly?

  One look at my mother’s cousin told me not to push her anymore today either. She looked just as upset as I felt. Her usually pink skin was pale, and her hands were white from clenching into fists.

  Let me peek… my dragon asked.

  No, Aaraeth. Look at Calla. She’s distraught. This is bringing back bad memories for her.

  She knows more than she’s letting on… she warned.

  I know, but I can’t… not now, I replied.

  Because the last time I pushed someone… it had been George. And I’d learned that he wasn’t my real father.

  I didn’t need another revelation like that right now… or for a while.

  Aaraeth sunk back down around my thigh and back, a snort of smoke coming from my waistband. If I hadn’t been so lost in the moment, I would’ve laughed at that.

  I’d traveled the world with my dad, but I never felt afraid like I did in that office.

  My mother was a Prime with a badass dragon. She knew how to control her gifts, yet she was kidnapped from the Prime Leader’s house.

  I thought this information essential…. Why are you so emotional? Aaraeth chided me. Humans are so weak and fragile!

  Shut up, Aaraeth! I scolded her, pushing her away from me in my mind.

  That evening, I struggled to do my homework.

  I’d been afraid to learn more about Celine but knew I had to.

  What if my life might somehow parallel hers? Apparently, we looked alike and were both Primes.

  You are not Celine, reminded Aaraeth.

  “I know,” I answered, not really believing it.

  I’d been ignoring my dragon. Maybe I was fragile and weak. It was stupid to not get the information I needed.

  I’d always thought of myself as being so tough and strong-minded, but lately, I’d been second-guessing myself over everything and crying at the drop of a hat.

  Punching my bed didn’t make me feel any better—It only made my hand hurt.

  When the video chat from Ashe rang through to my computer, I hesitated to answer.

  I had to get my shit together.

  Taking some cleansing breaths and smoothing my hair back, I plastered on what I thought passed for a casual smile and accepted the call.

  But Ashe’s expression worried me. His lips were pursed, and he sighed heavily as he examined his screen. “Are you okay?”

  Of course, he felt my freakout through the bond.

  I sucked a breath in through my nose before speaking. Clenching my fists out of view of the camera, I said, “Yes, I’m okay. I had a little freak-out, but everything’s fine.”

  I frowned, glancing away from his worried face on my screen. I needed to shield myself better. I hated that I worried him over something stupid.

  “Yeah?” He asked, unconvinced.

  I shrugged. “Aaraeth says I’m being emotional or being a baby. And she’s probably right. I mean, it’s not that big of a deal, so I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  He narrowed his eyes but waited for me to speak. I wanted so badly to tell him about the letter, I’d even thought of telling Eondian. But knowing my luck, the message would be screwed up, and Taya would end up in trouble.

  “I went to see Calla about that year Celine missed from school…”

  “Yeah?”

  “She says that my mother was abducted… or that she ran away. But when I asked her if I was safe, she said yes. But she was lying.”

  He raised his brows. “No. You’re safe where you are—at the academy.”

  I looked down at the two rings I wore—the platinum band from Ashe and the amethyst ring that had been my mother’s. “Aaraeth said that Mrs. Moorhead knows more than she was telling me—she wanted to search her mind. But… that’s illegal, right?”

  “Yeah, well, it’s probably good you didn’t. Technically, it is illegal…”

  I frowned. “But?”

  “But, it’s done, if done very subtly. An experienced Prime could do it…”

  “You could do it?” I asked.

  “Yes, but…”

  I cut him off, “But probably not me?”

  “Probably not until you have more experience,” he said.

  I scrunched up my face, trying to keep my stupid eyes from filling with tears. What if it happened to me? What if I were kidnapped like Celine?

  Aaraeth or Eondian probably spilled my thoughts to Ashe.

  “Don’t do that. You’re not your mother. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let it. Besides, your mom didn’t have a dragon mate, and you do. She was alone, and you aren’t.” His tone brokered no argument.

  I stared at him on my screen, wishing he could hold me, wrap me in his arms and let me fall asleep like that. But my daydream was just that—a dream.

  Ashe tilted his head, his voice soft, “You’re going to be okay.”

  I nodded. “I just don’t feel the same after New York.”

  “Do you regret going?”

  “No…”

  He waited, watching me.

  “I miss you,” I whispered.

  “I miss you too,” he told me in hushed tones.

  “What if we had completed the bond in New York?” I asked.

  Ashe made a low rumbling in his throat, “Hmmm. It would’ve made some things easier but overall a lot worse. It’s stupid to go against the council. Besides, a year is nothing really.”

  I sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. “What could they even do? The council, I mean.”

  He lowered his chin, a sarcastic curve to his lips. “They’d give me over to the mundane justice system. I’d be marked as a sex offender and charged with a crime… Do you still think that would’ve been a good idea?”

  I pushed my lips out in a pout. “What if we just left everything behind and traveled? We could live in hostels and work for our stay. I’d be safer with our bond complete. More powerful, maybe have more control with Aaraeth.”

  He laughed, taking the seriousness out of our conversation. “You tempt me, you really do.” The smile slid off his face. “But I have commitments, family… besides you. I can’t just run away.”

  I puffed out my cheeks. “I’m not going to be able to change your mind, am I?”

  He shook his head. “Try to focus on school and stop digging into things that are making you freak out…”

  My eyes widened, and I bolted up straight on my bed. “I just feel like you’ve given up. You’re j
ust giving in to them.”

  He shook his head and gave me a tight expression. Anger and frustration surged through our bond from him with his words, “I haven’t given up. We had an agreement. Last week you agreed on waiting. What’s changed?”

  “No, Ashe, you said we were waiting. What am I supposed to do? I can’t force you.”

  He ran his hand over his face, his voice gravelly, “I can’t go round and round with you on this. I’m trying to take care of both of us, and this isn’t helping. Are you still upset about everything that happened in New York? Maybe all this stuff about your mom is a distraction. Maybe you need to come to terms with George. What he did is not your fault.”

  I groaned, “I don’t know about that.”

  Ashe cocked his head to the side, “I’m just trying to help. Search yourself and decide if you want answers, or you’re using those questions as a crutch. Besides, you might not want to go down this road into your mother’s past. There might be skeletons better left buried.”

  After talking more about school and the algorithm he was working on, we said our goodbyes and ended the chat.

  Ashe was wrong about me deflecting. Something about my mother called out to me, begging to be explored. I wasn’t sure what it was or why I felt that way, but it seemed urgent, as if she was reaching out to me from the grave wanting to be known.

  What will unearthing secrets bring you? Ashe tries to protect you, and you fight him, Aaraeth hissed.

  Just go! I spat. Go to the dragon realm or wherever the fuck it is you disappear to!

  No neeeeeed to get angry, she hissed. These are things from the depths of your mind. We are one and the same.

  We are not the same, I spat at her.

  As you say, agree to disagree… she replied as her presence faded away.

  7

  The path toward Wyvern Hall was marked by little yellow circles of light leading the way in the dark. Leaf remnants that had survived the winter and little frozen shards of remaining snow swirled in the air across the quad, battering me like small flaky projectiles. Above me, stars twinkled in a clear and moonless sky.

  My eyes scanned the quiet night looking for threats in the darkness, but all I heard were crickets and the faint sound of voices coming from no particular direction.

  Even though I was still kind of mad at Aaraeth, I called on her. When she slid off my skin and sank into the muddy grass beside me, I reached out to stroke her head in apology. Those swirling, multifaceted eyes gazed back at me in understanding.

  This was truly unconditional love. I’d never had a dog before, but I imagined it would be like this—just not as deep. Aaraeth was all things that were good. But dragons were a strange mix of wisdom and ignorance. When it came to important things, Aaraeth was usually right, but give her a human social thing, and she was clueless.

  I smiled as I watched her prance around. Her rear paws squished into the wet ground as she stretched her wings wide. With some firm flaps and a little jump, my dragon was in the air.

  She circled above, surveying the area with her superior senses. I heaved a sigh of relief. I was safe with her watching out for me.

  While she scouted the area, I made my way across the open space and up the steps of the school building. Aaraeth circled back around before tear dropping carefully beside me on the concrete in front of the school. She neared me and leaped in my direction. I braced myself but still gasped as she dove into my chest, joining me once again.

  I opened the heavy door to make my way toward the library. The old building creaked and groaned, making it seem even more ominous this night. It wasn’t that late, but the place was eerily empty.

  I usually felt safe inside a library—something about the quiet and the earthy scent of books.

  Striding over to the yearbook shelf, I searched for the book. But, as I continued to look, frustration and anger surged through me. The yearbook was gone!

  Stupid Calla Moorhead. She was the only person who knew I’d been looking for information on my mom. Why would she take the yearbook?

  After standing there slamming books together, I attracted the attention of the elderly librarian who wheeled her cart up beside me.

  Giving me a friendly smile, she asked, “Sydney, dear, do you need any help?”

  I blew out a breath. “A yearbook is missing. Can these be checked out?”

  She shook her head and came to stand beside me, adjusting her glasses to read the spines. “Well now… don’t get upset. It’s bound to be around here somewhere. No one is allowed to check those out; they’re considered reference material and must stay inside the library.” Meandering back to her cart, she said, “Follow me, let’s see if anything has shown up at the reference desk.”

  With slow movements, she wheeled the cart back to the main desk.

  Once there, I leaned on the counter, watching as she searched through two trolleys of books. When she disappeared into the library back offices, I tapped my fingers impatiently on the desk.

  When the librarian finally returned empty-handed, I knew I was right. Someone had taken the book.

  She patted my arm as she rounded the massive library desk. “Well, dear, it doesn’t seem to be here, but no worries, I’m sure it was just placed on the wrong shelf. We’ll find it. I’ll keep my eyes out.”

  “Thank you,” I told her before making my way back to the yearbooks.

  My fingers traced over the shelf's glossy wood carvings while my eyes scanned the dates on the spines.

  If only these wooden cherubs could talk. Their little faces had lost almost all detail from years of polishing, or maybe students like me touching them.

  I began going through every single book, one by one, pulling them out and double-checking the date.

  But the one I wanted was gone.

  Shelf after shelf from the first year and nothing—no book—nothing.

  “Calla took it,” I growled to Aaraeth under my breath.

  Why do you believe it is she? Aaraeth asked.

  I breathed out a defeated breath. “Yes. I should’ve followed your advice and squeezed her like an orange. Do you have any idea what she was hiding?”

  No, but I didn’t look too deep. Her attempt to block me from seeing her deception would not have worked… a mere wyvern can’t hide from us.

  Sitting there in front of the yearbooks and attempting to shake off my frustration, a stray thought entered my head.

  “No,” I whispered. Was I grasping for straws?

  I needed to check that genealogy book again. My uncle Durand was about thirty years old, and my mother had been kidnapped precisely thirty years ago. What if that year she’d taken off from school had been for a pregnancy? Could Durand be my brother and not my uncle?

  I strode to the spiral steps and down to the basement. The quiet, muffled space of the library usually soothed me, but not today. My hands were shaking in excitement. There were so many mysteries lurking in the Dragonborn community. Had I just uncovered one of them?

  While walking through the basement's central aisle, I heard a shuffle behind the stacks against the back wall and froze.

  Hesitating, I didn’t call out. Instead, I walked along the edge of the shelves, peering between each to catch a glimpse of whoever was occupying the Dragonborn section with me.

  Aaraeth hissed, use your other senses.

  Reaching out with my mind, I felt the cool tones of my own house—Drake—and then recognized the Prime power signature before rolling my eyes.

  Who else would be down here but Logan?

  Rounding the last row, I spotted him as he typed away on his laptop. He wore a backward baseball cap and his usual black school uniform sweater, with our house colors of blue and green, in a twisted stripe around the V-neck and cuffs.

  I was tempted to say hello, but I was on a mission. If I was right, this revelation might change the way I saw Celine and the Lamberts forever.

  Backing away from the Prime, I gazed up at the shelf for the genealogy book I’d l
ooked at before. However, I’d pulled out so many books, I couldn’t find it. I’d have to look up the call number again. Impatiently, I hustled over to the card catalog and began flipping through it. Spotting the book, I scrawled out the call number onto a scrap of paper using one of the tiny pencils. Then, I returned to the shelf.

  The rumor was that Dragonborn books were written in an ink that only the Dragonborn could see—like dragon sight. But, I hadn’t been able to prove it one way or another.

  The narrow-slanted counter below the shelf ran the length, and chairs dotted the space so that we didn’t have to take these old and precious books far.

  A box of cotton gloves lay on the counter, and I donned a pair before searching out the book. With my eyes dancing over the spines, I spotted the call number near the top. I’d just looked there but had missed it before.

  This shelving section had an attached ladder that could be rolled along a bar to access the higher books. Grabbing onto one of the lower rungs, I tugged the thing along. The sound of its wheels made me cringe as they broke the silence of the room with their horrible noise.

  Rechecking the call number, I climbed up the ladder. Running my cloth-covered fingers over the spines, I slid the book out: Lineage and Connections of Modern Primes.

  Gingerly climbing back down, I laid it on the counter. There was something about the feel of this book—hearing its old leather spine crack as I opened it, examining the handwritten scrawl and pictures drawn in the margins.

  I found the Lambert page quickly and leafed through to the page where Durand would be. Using my phone, I snapped a quick picture.

  Trailing a finger down through ancestors' names, I found my grandparents, and below that were Celine and Durand’s names.

  Have I just uncovered another dark secret?

  I bit my lip in anticipation as I read his birth date, then laughed aloud. Durand had been born a year before the abduction.

  I’d been so sure.

  How could I have been wrong? Inside me, I felt a connection between me and my mom’s abduction, my uncle Durand, the Stygian Ritual, George, and the fire at Harrow House.