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All of them flocked to me, and I felt beyond relieved to have them there and that they could reassure themselves that I was okay via touch. Not only that, but I was able to reassure myself as well. We were all here and safe, for now at least.
“So, do you want to hear what happened?” I asked tentatively, not wanting to ruin the moment but also eager to get this over and done with.
“Tell us, dove,” Griff murmured against the back of my head as he kept his arms wrapped around me. He slowly inhaled, and I wiggled back against him so I was pressed more firmly to him.
I gave them a brief overview of everything I found out, from the primal dragons to my magic, to not being the first key, to me never being able to go back to the Origin Realm. My throat closed as I said the last part, and they hugged me harder.
“The primary thing here is that we need to have blood from each of the realms dripped onto the temple floor, which will finalize everything. So I guess that leaves it up to you guys. If this is going to be permanent, then you’re the ones that need to bleed. I’ve done everything I can.”
“I mean, that seems like an obvious answer,” Kai grunted before releasing me and popping to his feet. Within seconds, he had his blade against his arm; before any of the others could even speak, there was blood dribbling down his skin and splashing onto the floor.
Dres stood and repeated the motion, followed by Finn. Griff was the only one who seemed hesitant. “Did they say what would happen to you once this was done?”
I shook my head. “They implied I would live my life out here in the United Realms, but they didn’t explicitly state what would happen. I imagine, just like anything, my life could be long or short. That’s not a reason to doom millions of beings, though, is it?” I turned so I could look at him. “I know you don’t want to risk me, but I don’t want innocent people to get hurt. When it comes to this, we have to trust in the caretakers. They gave me an out, told me if I wanted to leave my mortal form behind, I could, but I didn’t. I wanted to be back with you. I have to believe that if they thought I’d just die as soon as this was done, they wouldn’t have even offered that.”
“Okay,” Griff said warily. “But no more disappearing into the dragon’s realm, deal?”
“I don’t know that I have a choice, but I’ll definitely ask them to return me if they take me again.”
Griff frowned but finally grunted, “Fine.” He released me and pushed to his feet. “Before I do this, maybe we should be ready in case the whole place collapses?”
“Good idea,” Dres said as he flared his wings out. He came over and picked me up off the floor like I weighed nothing more than a bag of groceries.
Niall stood by Finn and Kai went and stood next to Griff, shifting into the massive eagle that he’d been before. When we were all ready, even though my fear of another earthquake-like event happening was riding me hard, I nodded when Griff stared at me, seeming to need encouragement.
He sliced his arm like the others had and let it drip onto the floor. When nothing happened, concern built within me. The tension in the room popped like a balloon, and the guys seemed to deflate a little. “Was that it?” Griff asked.
“I don’t think so,” I hedged. “Niall, would you mind?” I wasn’t sure what difference it would make, but I felt like there had to be something missing, and the only thing I could think of was that Dresden and Niall were twins, so maybe we needed both.
Niall just shrugged and pulled a small dagger from his boot before cutting his arm and letting the blood drip down. As soon as it connected with the others pools of red on the floor, the whole place began to shake.
More sections of the floor fell away, and Griff and Finn stepped toward the temple's opening slightly. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited to fall to my death once more.
I would never let that happen.Dres’ voice reassured me.
I know, but I don’t think I’ll be able to shake that fear for a while.I didn’t want him to think I held him responsible for what happened, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to let go of it for a while.
Suddenly my dragons slipped from my skin, which was a surprise considering everything they’d just been through in their own realm. It was also uncomfortable since I was currently pressed up against Dres, but the force of them trying to get free had me springing from Dres’ hold like a hot potato.
The four hatchlings, as the primal dragons referred to them, flew around, each taking a moment to dive down to the floor. Their nostrils flared as they did so, as though they needed to be sure that we’d followed instructions.
Night was well and truly falling by this point, and it was starting to become a challenge to see, at least for me. I knew the guys had better senses than I did, which might have been why they all groaned when the Atlantean dragon shot forth a burst of flame.
Blue fire illuminated the temple softly, but the sudden light made me wince. The flame was directed at the floor and made us all back up slightly as it scorched the stone and the blood as it flew across the open space. The guys all stared in shock, as though they’d never expected a dragon to breathe fire, or maybe they just hadn’t expected it from one so young.
My dragon from Hyperborea was next, its purple flames seeming warm as the cool night air swept into the temple. The dragon from El Dorado repeated the actions of the first two, swooping down and blowing its bright yellow flames across the floor before shooting back up. Finally, the dragon from Agartha took its turn, the green flames burning brightly as they hit the temple floor.
The four dragons chirped at one another, then began to fly in a circular formation as they had when we were in their own realm. Just as I’d suspected, they launched their flames simultaneously, all four flying in a circle and breathing fire onto the stone and blood.
Honestly, in the dark it reminded me of fireworks, the bright sparks of color lighting up the night and making me gasp with wonder. I wasn’t sure how long they went on like that, but when they started to fall to the ground one after the other, my heart stopped in my chest.
“No!” I hadn’t even realized I’d screamed until I launched myself forward and fell to the floor, surrounded by their four little bodies.
There was no life to them whatsoever. Dull eyes stared out at a world they were no longer part of.
A great crack sounded, and one of the guys moved to pick me up and take me away, out of the temple that was starting to fall apart.
“No! Let go of me!” I kicked and thrashed, but whichever one grabbed me held on tight. It was only when my body shifted into that of a dragon that they let go.
