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“In a way, the dragon is a part of you,” Cole explained. “Both your magic and the dragon’s is tied to the mantle, and thus, the two of you are bonded. What happens to one affects the other.”
The dragon roared again. The ground shook.
“When I went to the pits with the mantle… it decayed because of me. It suffered because of me.” How could I ask this creature for anything, when I had been the source of its pain?
The dragon came to the edge of the city and then landed.
“You suffered too,” Cole said, tilting my head up. “You suffered to keep the rest of us safe. There is no shame in that.”
I nodded.
“Then let’s go get your dragon.” He grinned at me and teleported us over.
Up close, the creature was even more breathtaking. I hadn’t been able to process it as anything more than a threat, and a means for survival, when it had attacked the capital. But now, even with a new threat looming over us, its majesty was undeniable.
The dragon didn’t roar again. It stood on all fours, staring down at us as if we were nothing more than mice. Its wings were spread wide, the membranous material letting through the barest hint of light. Its talons were smooth and nearly as tall as I was. Past the rest of its body,its tail lashed from side to side in anticipation.
Waiting for its offering.
I swallowed.
What could I offer a dragon?
Something only you can give, Hecate had said. But what special thing could I give it?
I stepped forward. Being this close to the creature should have been terrifying, but instead, it felt like another piece of me.
“I don’t know what dragons like exactly,” I admitted. I could feel Cole’s gaze at my back, silently promising support. I didn’t break my gaze. Twin slitted pupils looked back at me, assessing. “I could offer you food or mountains of priceless jewels, but for a creature as wondrous as you, that’s nothing special. You can feed yourself as you need, and no gemstone could compare to your own scales.”
I drew closer.
“I would offer you my limbs, or organs, or even my soul, if I thought that might work. Those are things only I can give you, after all. My magic. My very essence. They’re special, in their own way, but I would give it all up to you to get what I want.” I drew a shaky breath. “But you’re not here for a deal. You’re here for an offering. Something given without demanding something in return. So this is what I can give you.” My knees shook as I forced myself forward once more. I drew myself up to my full height, and when I looked up at the dragon, it wasn’t as Queen of the Underworld. It was as Avery Ward, the shifter no one had wanted, the one who had been hurt over and over again by people who considered me less than nothing.
“I will give you two things. The first is an apology, for my actions a hundred years ago. I thought I was protecting the kingdom and thepeople I cared about, but you suffered too.”
The dragon growled, a low rumble in its belly like it was debating opening its jaw and bathing me in fire. At this distance, even with all my healing magic, I would die.
But it deserved an apology all the same. Images flashed through my mind of the undead beast. I wasn’t sure they were all my own—some seemed to come from the dragon’s eyes. Its pain rolled through me as though it were my own. The agony, the loneliness. It would’ve been so easy to turn away from, to reject those feelings. I didn’t do that. I let every emotion hit me, because this was pain that deserved to be felt. There were no words from the dragon, but there was a psychic link, and in it, I finally understood the dragon. It was a guardian of the realm. It watched, and it protected. But when my soul had been torn to shreds, it had been corrupted. The realm it protected turned into a hellscape. Those it cared for now feared it. It slumbered, the only thing it could do to avoid hurting others, and that exile had scarred it deeply.
“I am sorry,” I murmured. “I can’t undo the past. But I can offer you this—a home. A place where you are wanted. No matter what happens, you will always have a place in my kingdom. And if I lose this final challenge, before I go, I will return the mantle so that you do not suffer again because of my recklessness. You will have your home, here, where you are honored and cherished.”
Giving up the mantle would hurt. I hadn’t wanted it in this lifetime, but now it had become part of me. But it was the right thing to do. I would not put this creature through such torment again. Let a new ruler come, take the mantle, and keep the Queen’s dragon safe.
The dragon stared, smoke billowing from its nostrils.
Maybe it hated my offering. Maybe I had just damned all of us.Maybe I really should’ve just offered a kidney and been done with it.
Then it lowered its head down, just a few inches from my face. I lifted my palm to meet it.
The tentative psychic link snapped into a solid connection. Words poured into my mind.I accept your offering. And I will give you the gift you seek.
The dragon lowered its left wing, offering its back to me.
I took a step forward, then turned back to Cole.
“You’ll come with me?”
My husband looked back at me, his amber eyes unyielding. “Always, my queen.”
