Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Shake the Earth: Chapter 32

I forced my eyes open, though my eyelids felt as if they were made of stone. My entire body ached, and when I moved I realized it was because I was crumpled on the ground on my side. My vision was blurred, but as I sat up and blinked, the world slowly came into focus again.

The first thing I noticed were the bones. They surrounded me, forming a cage around my body just large enough for me to stand inside, and I was pretty sure they were human. The gleaming white bones crisscrossed over and under me, although the sides of my new, morbid prison had large enough gaps for me to see through. Not that there was much to see—beyond the bones was an empty, dark room with a single torch to illuminate it.

I spun around, hesitant to touch the bones after the revulsion I’d felt before. Where was I? The last thing I remembered was fighting Sark and the others, and then Doran grabbing me and pressing something to my face. I’d been unable to stop him, and then I’d woken up here. Whatever he’d done must have knocked me unconscious for some time…which meant I was being held by the Dragons.

I reached out for my bond with my mates, but felt nothing from them. Something was blocking me, like a wall I couldn’t replace my way around. I had no way to tell if they were injured or even still alive. And worst of all, without the bond they’d never be able to replace me.

Could it be the bones preventing me from reaching them? I hesitantly wrapped a hand around one of them, part of an arm from the looks of it, and felt that same horror and repulsion as before. I quickly let go and gasped, stepping back, except there was no escape from the cage that surrounded me.

Footsteps approached from across the room and I tensed. A woman with long, luxurious red hair moved toward the bone cage with confident, deliberate steps. She wasn’t particularly tall, but she practically glowed with strength and power, and even though her skin was unwrinkled, her green eyes held the wisdom of more years than one person should ever live through. She was so beautiful it was hard to look away from her, even though I sensed a darkness within her I’d never felt before…except from the shades.

There was no doubt in my mind who this was—Nysa, the Black Dragon.

My mother.

She stopped in front of the cage and I fought the instinct to shrink back from her. The way she looked at me made my skin crawl, but I wouldn’t cower in her presence. I was the next Black Dragon, and I would stand tall and face her, even if it was the hardest thing I’d done before.

She gave me a smile that was so lovely it made my chest hurt. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Kira.” She reached for me through the cage, as if to stroke my hair. “You’re more beautiful than I ever imagined.”

I flinched back, my heart pounding. “Stay away from me.”

Her hand fell and her smile vanished. “I’m sorry. You must think me a monster, don’t you?”

I didn’t answer, trying to gain control of my emotions. This woman was my enemy, and I was meant to destroy her and take her place, but she was also my mother. Some primal part of me longed to hear those kind words from her and wanted to lean into her touch. Yet I couldn’t forget all the horrible things done in her name, or the misery she’d inflicted upon the world for hundreds of years.

She let out a soft sigh. “Yes, in some ways I am a monster, but there’s a reason for everything I have done, and there’s much you don’t know.” She paused and regarded me with those ancient eyes. “You see, sometimes you must become a monster to protect the world from something even worse.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, and wasn’t sure I could believe anything she said anyway. But she’d kept me alive for some reason, and that meant something.

“What do you want with me?” I asked.

“Right now, I only want you to rest.” She gripped the bone cage in front of me and gazed into my eyes. “As much as it saddens me, your fight will soon be over.”

With those words she turned and walked away, leaving me to wonder what she had in store for me. I desperately reached for my mates again through our bond, but couldn’t replace them. I was truly on my own here.

But I wouldn’t give up. I would fight back. I would replace a way to escape. I would be reunited with my mates again.

And then we would stop the Black Dragon and her men, once and for all.