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“The Dark King Ramses knows as well. It seems that initially, it had been about Erebu’s quests to redeem his soul. But then Ben took them over instead. And now, though there are no more quests instigated by the Jade Emperor, dragons seem to manifest on earth, then be recalled to the Celestial Realm, where, presumably, they were originally created. Have I got the gist of it?”
“You’re a quick study,” Annie praised, impressed.
“I’ve had practice,” Sophia said with a small smile.
“We have thwarted the Jade Emperor on the objects of his quests many times by now,” Cloud inserted.
“It seems that the common denominator for all of them is dragons.”
“And their Mates,” Annie said.
“Ben and I have debated this. We think that the real goal of every quest is for a dragon to find his or her Mate. It is always at a critical moment that the dragon manifests, triggered by the endangerment of his Mate.”
Cloud cocked his head slightly as he looked at Arthur.
“That would be you, king of old.”
It wasn’t a question.
They all turned to Arthur then, who looked down at the table before taking a deep breath and meeting Cloud’s unwavering, laser blue gaze.
“Aye. I Claim Lancelot as my Mate.”
Cloud inclined his head just barely, as if nodding in approval.
“I need your help to get him back,” Arthur beseeched the group at large. “I will forever be in your debt.”
Sophia waved her hand in dismissal.
“There is no debt. This is what we do.”
“I’m going with you,” Wolfe and Merlin said at once.
Tristan reiterated his position on the subject as well.
But Aella, the Pure Ones’ Strategist said, “While I understand why Merlin and Wolfe might help with the search, and Rui as well, given their familiarity with the Celestial Realm’s terrain, I would advise against more dragons going back there en masse.”
“We’ve broken in and out successfully before,” Merlin said.
“True enough,” Aella allowed. “But you can’t continue to count on the rulers and keepers of the Celestial Realm not bolstering their defenses to stop you. Already, if my information is correct, one door to the other realm has been shut forever.”
“The Mirror Pond, you mean?” Annie asked. “It’s true. We haven’t seen or heard from the mysterious Seventh Sister again.It was so much easier when she helped us from the inside, so to speak.”
She turned to Aella’s Mate, who used to be a celestial dragon himself, before hischimuwas removed for choosing to stay on earth with a Pure One.
“Cloud, do you know Miss Seventh well?” she asked.
“Not enough to call her friend,” the warrior answered. “She has been part of the Celestial Realm from before I was created. As long as the Jade Emperor, it seems. But she has always been unknowable, though amiable.”
“If she is called Miss Seventh, does that mean she is the Jade Emperor’s seventh daughter?” Annie asked, curious.
“That would be a good guess,” Cloud said. “Though I have never met the others, as far as I know. Any daughter of the Jade Emperor’s would be a god herself. As such, they can take any number of forms. I do not know if the form of Miss Seventh is her real one, or simply an appearance she takes.”
“In any case, we can no longer count on her aid,” Rui stated. “It is not clear why she’s been helping us in the first place.”
“I agree,” Aella said. “Until we know her motives, we must remain skeptical. I also hear that Erebu broke through the invisible forcefield that surrounded the Celestial Realm in the sky. Surely, that chink in the Jade Emperor’s armor must be repaired by now. It is no longer viable.”
“That would be my guess as well,” Wolfe spoke up.
