His black hair was swept back off his face. But it was the gray eyes, which caught and held her gaze, that made her shiver. There was something… wrong with him. Something terribly twisted inside.His gaze swept over her and then dismissed her just as quickly. Then, he turned and stormed down the hallway. Without a backward glance or a question of his direction, he just left.Scales.Maya jumped from her place against the wall, cursing her right leg for falling asleep underneath her. She shook it out, but that only made it worse. Pins and needles trailed down her leg. She winced with every step.“Excuse me,” she croaked, finally getting her voice back.He didn’t slow down or stop or even look back at her.She gritted her teeth against her dead leg and pushed herself into a half-hobble, half-jog. “Excuse me, Prince Fordham.”That got his attention. He pivoted with strict military precision and looked at her with those ever-changing eyes.“Hi,” she said a little breathlessly. “I’m here t

Maya looked down at her hands and jolted. She was just a ghost of herself as well. She couldn’t exactly see through her hands, but it was close. They had a hazy outline to them. She wasn’t solid any longer.“Where are we?” Maya finally managed to get out. Fear coated her words.We are on the spiritual plane. He hesitated, as if in incomprehension. You pulled us both through.“I did?” she asked. “How?”That I do not know.“Scales,” she whispered. “What do I do? How do I get us out? Is this normal?”We will assess how to get out when it is time to depart. Gelryn paused over her other questions. This has never happened before.He said it like an admission.They were silent at that realization. Maya had done something that no one else had ever done before. That Gelryn knew of at least. All because she had been too stubborn to let go? Or was there another reason?“Why did this happen?”Truly, Maya of the House of Dragons, I do not know.She was stunned. “You have never entered the spiritua

Then, we’d better use it, huh?”saw the hesitation in Amber’s eyes. “Never mind,” Maya said at once.Amber was the youngest of seven siblings. Her parents were farmers, north of the valley. And at the end of the day, they just hadn’t been able to afford a seventh mouth to feed. Her father had packed her up, taken the donkey into the big city, and deposited her on the steps to Draco Mountain. He’d done it out of love. She’d have a much better life here than where she had come from, but that didn’t make it any easier.Amber still felt the pangs of hunger and poverty, just as Hadrian did. Maya… had never known such. She had only seen it secondhand on the streets and from her friends. Though she would have preferred to have grown up with someone like Amber’s parents. Who had left her out of love… not shame.“No, no,” Amber said with a sigh. “Wear the powder. It will look lovely with your dress.”“Are you sure?”Amber nodded. “That’s why I got it, isn’t it?”Maya took the small pot of powd

The House of Dragons had given her a new life.She couldn’t turn away from that even if she wanted to.“Thank you,” Maya said when Tavry finally landed back in the aerie. “I’ll always remember this last flight too.”You are always welcome with me, Maya Argon.Maya shuddered at the sound of her full name in her mind. Of course the dragons knew.Still, she dipped into a low curtsy and then retreated from the rooms. A tear trickled down her eye as she left the aerie and flying behind.“I know. I know,” Maya gasped.Aurora and Amber were looking at her as if she’d just sprouted wings. She waved her hand at them as she hustled into the back of the line.She was obviously the last of the twenty-three Dragon Blessed who were attending the ceremony today. Mistress Moran shot her a disparaging look before turning back to face the front of the line.Maya took that opportunity to rest her hands on her knees and take a deep breath.“Where have you been?” Amber asked, flustered. “You’re late. We’v

“Thank you, Master Bastian.” She demurely lowered her lashes. “I appreciate you coming to speak with me.”“Please, let me know if there is anything that I can do.”She nodded and suddenly wondered if there was something that he could do. Not here or right now. But later, when she put a plan together. Perhaps Bastian’s kindness could be beneficial. She would put him in her back pocket like a card in Dragons Up.Bastian tipped his head at her and then disappeared back into the crowd.Maya had had enough of the party. She dropped her drink off on a nearby table and then stepped lightly onto the balcony. The summer heat had dipped uncharacteristically cold while still hanging on to every ounce of humidity. It wasn’t a good combination. But it did mean that the balcony was unattended. Or so she had thought.Her feet stilled when she found Fordham Ollivier leaning his elbows against the railing and staring wistfully out into the city beyond.“What are you doing here?” she asked.He slowly t