Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Ride the Wave: Chapter 11

That evening there was a small funeral for Parin, now that most people had returned from the battle at Salt Creek Tower. As the ceremony began, Slade opened up a large hole in the side of the mountain with a mighty tremble that seemed to shake the entire world. Parin’s body had been cleaned and prepared, and members of the Resistance lowered it into the hole while Faya watched with stoic eyes. Once Parin was placed inside, Faya dropped in the small jade carving of a dragon, meant to represent the Earth God, which Parin’s mother had made. Slade then covered up the tomb with dirt and rocks, allowing Parin to become one with the mountain that housed the Resistance hideout. As the son of the Earth God’s High Priestess, it seemed a fitting resting place for him.

When it was over, there was a somber celebration with food and soft music in Faya’s house. I wanted to offer my condolences to her and to tell her that Parin was a hero, but she was surrounded at all times by other people. I even saw my father speak to her for a few minutes, and I wondered who Faya thought he was. A strange traveler come to join their cause? Just another member of the Resistance?

“Kira,” Brin said, drawing my attention away from my father. She threw her arms around me and gave me a quick squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When the others told me what happened I was worried, although I knew you’d find a way out.”

“I only escaped thanks to my mates and…” My eyes found my father again.

She followed my gaze. “Who is that? I saw him with you earlier.”

I wanted to tell her. In fact, I was desperate to talk to her and have some girl time, but not here. Too many people surrounded us, and I didn’t want them to hear what I had to say. “Would Leni mind if I dragged you off to talk?”

Brin glanced over at her girlfriend, who was speaking with Slade. “I doubt it. Besides, a little jealousy now and then only spices things up, right?”

We walked out of the house, although not before Brin grabbed a bottle of wine and some tiny little cakes and pastries. Once back in my guest room we eagerly kicked off our shoes and climbed onto the bed, sitting across from each other. A pang of sadness shot through me at the memory of doing this with my best friend, Tash, and the reminder that I never would again. Sark had taken that from me, like he’d taken so many other things.

Brin poured us some wine before spreading the desserts out in front of us. She eyed them carefully, before plucking a flaky pastry from the plate. “All right, I’m ready.”

I chugged a big gulp of wine. “The man you saw…he’s my father.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Wait. Does that mean…?”

“Yes, he’s a Dragon. The Azure one.”

“Wow. I’ve never met him before, only Sark and Isen. What’s he doing here?”

“He’s left the Black Dragon and has joined our cause. He wants to protect me and help me defeat her. Or so he says.”

She took a bite of her pastry as she considered this. “What’s he like?”

I picked up my own pastry and eyed it. “I’m not sure yet. He helped me escape and he’s given me some answers about my past, but it’s hard to trust him, knowing what he is. Even if I do learn to trust him and get to know him, it’s my destiny to overthrow him.” My throat grew tight. “To defeat the Black Dragon, I have to kill all her mates first. That includes my father.”

Her eyes turned sympathetic. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet.” I took a bite of my pastry, sending flaky bits all over the bed. “There’s more too. When I was being held captive, I met my mother. She was beautiful, regal, and…she’s a monster.”

I quickly told Brin everything that had happened and what I’d learned about my sisters, including my twin. Brin let me get it all out, and it was so good to talk to someone who wasn’t directly involved, like my mates were. They all wanted to leap over themselves to protect me, shelter me, and make me happy, but Brin could just listen and offer unbiased advice. Sometimes that’s all I needed.

“This definitely calls for more wine.” Brin poured more wine into my glass from the bottle she’d swiped. “Eat another dessert too, it’ll make you feel better.”

“What do you think I should do?” I asked, before shoving a bite-size raspberry cake into my mouth.

Brin tapped her nails against the glass while I chewed. “I think you should listen to Doran and ask him more questions. He obviously has a great deal of information, and he’s probably your best bet for learning how to actually defeat the other Dragons, but keep your distance too. Even if everything he says is true, he’s not innocent in all of this. He’s part of the reason Nysa is in power and the world is in chaos.”

I nodded. “We need him to get to the Water Temple. I’ll try to learn more on our journey.”

“And when the time comes to defeat the Dragons?”

I stared into my wine. “I’ll do what I have to do, I suppose.”

Brin leaned forward and gave me a squeeze. “You’re strong. You can do this.”

“Thanks. There are some days—okay, a lot of days lately—when it all seems overwhelming and impossible.”

“Just take it day by day, step by step. Like crossing things off a list. Step one: get to the Water Temple and bond with that sexy assassin of yours.” She nudged me with her elbow. “At least you’ll get some action from Reven finally.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. Trust Brin to find the bright side if it involved sex. “I am looking forward to that part.”

“I don’t blame you. If I liked men, I’d be drooling over him too.”

“How are you and Leni doing, anyway?”

Her face lit up at the mention of her girlfriend. “We’re good. Really good. From the moment we met I felt this spark, but sometimes that goes away quickly. The spark with Leni hasn’t burnt out yet.” She leaned back and smiled, her face relaxed. “Now that I don’t have marriage to Auric hanging over my head, I’m truly free to be who I want to be, and I can be with the person I want to be with.”

“I’m happy for you. I really like Leni.” I swirled my wine in my glass. “What are you going to do now? Do you want to come with us to the Water Temple?”

“I do, but I think I should stay here. The Resistance lost a lot of people at the Salt Creek Tower battle and Parin is gone. Leni and I can do some good here if we stay. For once, I feel like I’ve found somewhere I can be more than just a rich noble, attending parties and flirting with dignitaries. I can do some good here. Make a difference.” Her voice had turned serious and now she shook it off with a grin. “Besides, you don’t really need me. You have your four muscular mates and the Azure Dragon too.”

“I always need you as my friend, but the Resistance is lucky to have your help.”

She sat up a bit. “I actually have a specific idea for something I wanted to run past you.”

My eyebrows shot up. “What is it?”

“Rumors are beginning to spread about you and your mates. I’d like to encourage them.”

“Why?”

“It gives people something to fight for, and it’ll spread hope. The world is ready for a change in leadership, and people have been oppressed for too long. New Dragons rising up to challenge the old ones? The Resistance would be overflowing with new recruits.”

I brushed crumbs off myself and the bed. “I see your point. Do whatever you think is best. We’re not hiding anymore, and you’re right that it’s time the world knows about us.”

“Exactly. Although we need to call you all something else. We can’t have two Crimson Dragons, and so forth. That’s just way too confusing for the general public.”

I hadn’t thought of that before, but Enva had mentioned she’d been called the White Dragon, so it seemed the names were changeable. “You can call us the ascendants. That’s what the priests and Gods say.”

“That works, but I think we need something more too.” She tapped her lips in thought. “What if we use gemstones? We can call Jasin the Ruby Dragon, for example. It’ll distance him from the Crimson Dragon’s reputation, which would be a good thing. Crimson makes one think of all the blood Sark has spilled. Rubies are regal, beautiful, and passionate. Then we can use emerald, citrine, and sapphire for the other men.”

“I like it, but not sure the men will. And what will they call me?”

“The White Dragon? It has a nice contrast to the Black Dragon.”

“No, that’s what my grandmother was called. How about the Silver Dragon?”

“Perfect.” She clinked her glass against mine. “Trust me. This is what I’m good at, and with the support of the people, you’ll have a much easier time rallying people to your cause, and maintaining order once you defeat the Dragons.”

“I hope it goes that smoothly.” Great, something else to worry about. I’d spent so much time trying to figure out how to defeat the Dragons I hadn’t stopped to consider what would happen if we won. All I knew was that I didn’t want to rule, not like my mother. I just wanted peace.

“It will all work out,” Brin reassured me. “Just promise me you’ll come back after the Water temple and fill me in on everything.”

“I will. I’ll probably need someone to talk to after dealing with my four mates plus my father.” I groaned at the thought. “I think this is going to be a long journey.”