Page 124 of Full Moon
Diaval positions himself in the driver’s seat, his usual confidence tempered with an edge of tension. Torben is up front with him, scanning the desolate streets of Silver Falls. Khal takes the seat by the other door in the back, a quiet, watchful presence. Once everyone is settled, Diaval starts the SUV, and we creep through the abandoned town, its empty buildings and overgrown streets a ghostly testament to what once was.
“To think my people settled here because they couldn’t return north,” I whisper, my thoughts swirling with the memories and revelations we’ve uncovered. “They covered my birth by saying I was dead.” The realization crashes over me, sharp and cold.“The entire town died to protect me.” My voice trembles with the weight of it, my mind racing to piece together the shattered fragments of the past.
Diaval’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, his gaze steady, grounding. “It seems that way, my eternal,” he laments, his voice carrying a sadness that echoes my own.
“Their deaths weren’t in vain. You survived, and you came back to free your people from the usurpers,” Torben offers gently, his tone a soothing against the rawness of my emotions.
“It doesn’t make me feel any better that they died for me,” I murmur, my gaze dropping to the egg cradled in my lap. Its smooth surface is warm, pulsing with a life that’s just beginning. “This one’s mother died raising the mountains to protect my people.”
“And now you’ve awakened the egg and are protecting it. The debt is repaid,” Easton says, his hand resting on the egg, stroking it affectionately with his thumb. There’s a tenderness in his touch, a promise that we’ll keep it safe.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day a mammal would raise a dragon that’s not of their blood,” Khal muses, a hint of amusement in his voice. His comment earns him a light smack from Easton, and I can’t help but chuckle softly.
A small, bittersweet smile tugs at my lips as I gaze at the dragon egg in my lap. “I would raise any species’ baby if it needed it.” The words come out soft but filled with determination. I want to be the mom I always wanted to have, the one who would give everything for her child. Mine gave her life so that I could live. The least I can do is try my best to make her and my father’s sacrifice worth it. The egg in my lap feels like a second chance, away to honor their memory by being the protector they were for me.
