Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Ride the Wave: Chapter 24

We spent a week at the Water Temple, which was good for everyone. We hadn’t had a chance to rest since we’d visited Slade’s village, and while there we were constantly worried the Dragons would show up and attack. Down here we could truly relax, although we did miss sunshine and fresh air and were all starting to get a little sick of eating fish at every meal.

My mates and I spent our days training with Doran and discussing strategies for the battle at the Spirit Temple. And our nights…we spent those strengthening our bonds together, both as a group and one on one. Sometimes I would share a bed with only one of my mates, since I sensed that they needed their alone time with me. On other nights, two of them would join me in bed. And on our last night together, they all did, taking turns to please me over and over.

And then it was time to leave.

We stood outside the temple, with all of our supplies packed and ready to go. Opea moved forward and embraced me. “Good luck on your journey. We shall be praying for your success.”

“Thank you for everything,” I said.

Opea’s handsome priests bowed before us, while her daughter clung to her skirts and peered out at me. I’d considered asking for their help at the Spirit Temple, since Opea had been blessed with magic from her God like the other High Priestesses, but I was too worried about her young daughter growing up without a mother.

I turned toward my mates and was immediately swept up into Jasin’s arms. He gave me a kiss so full of passion that my cheeks grew red at the thought of my father watching us. I laughed and pushed him back. “I’ll miss you too, Jasin.”

“Be careful,” he said, before stepping away.

Auric embraced me next, before giving me a warm kiss that was a lot less embarrassing but still wonderful. He’d spent much of his free time scouring the temple’s library, but he hadn’t been able to find any real information about the Spirit Goddess. “I’ll be counting down the days until we meet again.”

“Me too.”

Slade gave me a strong hug next, his muscular arms squeezing me hard. I was so proud of him—Slade had worked day and night to practice flying alongside Reven, and Doran had decided they were both ready to travel. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips, and then he rested his forehead against mine as he simply held me close.

“Come back to us,” he said.

“I will.”

Reven was last and he stepped forward slowly, then took my face in his hands and kissed me hard. “I’ll see you soon. Watch your back.”

His words were casual, but I knew what he meant. “I love you too,” I whispered to him.

He gave me a wry smirk, before stepping back. My chest tightened as I stared at the four of them, wishing we didn’t have to be apart for so long. But my bond with each of them was stronger than ever, and even though we’d be far away, we’d still be together.

My mates said goodbye to each other next, while I turned toward my father. He was already in his dragon form, and one of Opea’s priests had fastened some of our supplies to his back. He swung his head toward me. “Are you finally done with your tearful goodbyes?”

“There were no tears,” I said, as I climbed onto his back. He snorted, and then we watched as my mates transformed too. As they stood before me, four glorious dragons with a rainbow of shimmering scales, pride and love filled my chest. Saying goodbye to them and sending them into possible danger was tougher than I expected. Okay, now the tears might come.

My father dashed into the water before I could start crying, preventing me from saying any more sentimental words to my mates. He was probably worried if I stood there any longer, I’d call this whole thing off. I wouldn’t, even though the idea was appealing.

The bubble of water surrounded me as Doran swam up toward the light. My mates followed, with Reven and Auric shielding Slade and Jasin. We breached the surface with a huge spray of saltwater, with Doran leaping straight from the ocean to the sky. I heard the others emerge and climb onto the small island, and soon we were all flying high.

At the sight of so many wings catching the wind currents, I longed for my own dragon form too. Soon, I hoped.

We circled each other in one last goodbye, and then everyone took off in separate directions. I watched my mates as their shining bodies got farther and farther away, until I could no longer see them at all.

Doran and I headed south toward the Fire Realm, where he said the elementals had their capital city. I wasn’t thrilled to go back to the Fire Realm, which held some bad memories from our encounters with the Onyx Army, but Doran had assured me we wouldn’t run into any trouble there.

Over the next few days, Doran soared high in the clouds to avoid anyone catching a glimpse of us and reporting back to the other Dragons. They were still out there somewhere looking for us, and I could only pray that my mates were staying out of sight as well.

When we weren’t flying, Doran spent a lot of time training me to use my magic, especially water and earth since I’d had little chance to use them yet. I had the easiest time learning water, which Doran said was due to his blood running through my veins. I wasn’t sure if that was true, or if I’d just gotten better at magic overall after using three other elements already.

While we ate, Doran told me stories about his childhood and his life as a pirate, alternating between making me hang onto his every word as he spun a thrilling tale and laughing as he recounted some trouble he’d gotten himself into. I especially liked his stories of his sister Kira, and I could tell they’d been very close all those years ago. But he hardly spoke of anything after he’d been chosen by the Water God and said little about his time with Nysa and the other Dragons. I couldn’t tell if the memories were too painful, or if he was purposefully hiding things from me about them.

He asked me a lot of questions about my own past too, although he already knew a lot about it. He’d watched my entire life from the shadows, including during my childhood in the Water Realm, my time with the merchants and the bandits, and when I’d lived in Stoneham for the last few years.

“I saw you once,” I said, one night over supper. “When I was fourteen.”

“Ah, yes. I was making sure those merchants were looking after you.”

“And if they weren’t?”

He shrugged. “I would have found a new place for you.”

“When I saw you, I was terrified. The only Dragon I’d seen until then had been Sark, and I worried you were looking for me so you could finish his job. I ran away the next morning.”

“Yes, I remember. It took me some time to track you down again.” He sounded almost…proud. But his response only made me angry.

“For the next few years I was on the run, all alone and living in fear, struggling to find my next meal. Why didn’t you help me at any time?”

“I wanted to, many times. All parents want easy lives for their children. If things were different, I’d have made sure you were raised in a palace, with everything you could have ever desired, but I knew that would harm you in the end. An easy life wouldn’t have prepared you for what you’re going through now. You had to learn to be a survivor and a fighter on your own. So I stayed back and let you find your own way, even though it was torture for me.”

I sighed. “I understand, but I can’t help but wish I’d known you all my life. Even if I didn’t know you were my father, it would have been nice to know someone was on my side.”

“It was too dangerous. I couldn’t risk Nysa or the other Dragons finding you.” He reached over and patted my hand. “I wish things could have been different, but I’m happy I get to spend this time with you now.”

He didn’t say it, but I knew underneath those words was the sentiment that our time together would be short. My throat closed up and I had to look away before I started crying. I was starting to wish he would betray us—otherwise there was no way I’d be able to defeat him when the time came.

And if I didn’t? Then Nysa would win.