Chapter 46

I found a small bench under a tree and sat down, watching the way the sunlight danced through the branches. I still had so much to figure out, so much I didn’t understand. But for now, I let myself enjoy the peace of the moment, letting the warmth and the beauty of the garden calm my restless thoughts.

Maybe I wasn’t ready to admit to Kaden—or even to myself—that this bond was real, that this strange, new life was something I could grow to love. But as I sat there, feeling more at peace than I had in a long time, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I was ready to start trying.


*****


Every day since the healers had finally given me the freedom to roam, I had taken solace in the palace gardens. Surrounded by lush greenery and vibrant flowers, I could almost forget everything—the fears, the battles, and the constant tension of being in a place that wasn’t quite home. The books I found in the castle library were my escape, a gateway to a world that, while just as dangerous, was confined to the pages I could close at any time.

Today, however, I felt like doing something different. Instead of sitting among the flowers, I decided to read in the conservatory. The moment I stepped inside, I was transported to another world. Sunlight poured through the glass ceiling, illuminating a vibrant landscape of exotic plants, blooming flowers, and creeping vines that hung like drapes of emerald. It reminded me of the magical forest I had read about in the Earth Kingdom—a place of wonder, but also of hidden dangers.

Merilla, was curled in my lap, her soft fur warm beneath my fingers. She had been my constant companion since the moment I arrived, a silent source of comfort in an unfamiliar world. I absentmindedly stroked her fur as I tried to focus on the ancient book in my lap, but my thoughts kept drifting. I wondered what the other kingdoms looked like. Would they be just as beautiful as this one? I’d already seen the Air Kingdom, with its floating islands and endless sky, but the thought of returning there so soon after the attack sent a shiver down my spine.

I glanced at Merilla, finding comfort in the gentle rise and fall of her breathing. She was my anchor in this strange place, and I was grateful for her more than I could express.
Suddenly, a voice cut through my thoughts. “ There’s my sleeping beauty.”

Startled, I looked up to see Kaden standing at the entrance, a smirk playing on his lips. His eyes, golden and intense, seemed to glimmer with amusement. How did he always manage to find me, no matter where I hid? I watched as he walked toward me, his presence commanding yet strangely comforting.

“ How did you find me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. It was impossible to have any peace with him always lurking about.

Kaden chuckled softly, his expression softening as he took a seat beside me. “ I could sense your presence,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“ Sensing my presence? How does that even work?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“ One of the perks of the mating bond,” he explained, his tone light but sincere. “ And, of course, there’s the fact that I can smell your scent.”
I blinked, momentarily stunned. “You can smell me?”

Kaden nodded, a hint of a smile still on his face. “ Yes. It’s part of my dragon form.”

His words hit me like a tidal wave. I stared at him, trying to process what he’d just said. “ Your… dragon form? You’re a dragon?” My voice wavered between disbelief and shock. I had heard of shifters and their animal forms, but a dragon. I couldn’t have imagined it.

“ Yes,” Kaden confirmed, watching my reaction carefully. “ That night, when I saved you, I shifted. It was the only way to pass through the barrier and reach you.”

I sat there, stunned, trying to wrap my mind around what he was saying. A dragon. Kaden was a dragon. It was almost too much to comprehend. I’d thought I’d seen everything this world had to offer—powerful elementals, spirit animals, magic unlike anything I’d known—but this was something else entirely. I thought the book said that dragons were extinct.

“ So that night…” I murmured, the pieces starting to come together in my mind. “ When it felt like I was flying… that was you?” I looked at him, remembering the terrifying yet exhilarating sensation of being lifted into the air, the wind rushing past me as I soared above the cursed lands.

“ Yes, that was me,” Kaden said, his gaze never leaving mine. “ I wasn’t sure I could get through the barrier, but I had to try.”

The barrier. My thoughts snapped back to the ancient text I had read—the one I’d taken from the palace library the night I was captured. I had stumbled upon the book by accident, its worn leather cover adorned with a dragon carving that had immediately drawn my attention. It was an old Dragonian text, filled with tales of dragon shifters and ancient curses.

“ Kaden,” I began, the pieces falling into place. “ I read something about that barrier. It’s in one of the ancient Dragonian books I took from the palace library.”

Kaden’s expression shifted, his casual demeanor giving way to something more serious. “ You read about the barrier? What did it say?”

I took a deep breath, recalling the words that had stuck with me. “ It said that the barrier was created by a powerful witch to trap the dark king, Kyrell, after he slaughtered all the dragons. The curse placed on the barrier makes it impossible for anyone without dragon blood to pass through. Only a dragon or someone with dragon blood can break it.”

Kaden’s gaze was fixed on me, his expression a mixture of shock and disbelief. “ You were able to read one of the ancient Dragonian books? As in, read and understand it?” he asked, his voice tinged with awe.

“ Yes,” I replied, still trying to piece together the gravity of what I had just admitted. “ It was written as clear as day. At first, the words were blurry, like some sort of haze covered them. But then… they all came together like pieces of a puzzle.”

Kaden stepped closer, the intensity in his eyes making my heart skip a beat. He sat down beside me, closer than before. Merilla, sensing the gravity of our conversation, stirred from her spot on my lap and stood, her ears perked up as she listened intently.

Kaden’s expression was serious, and I could tell he was processing this revelation just as much as I was. “ Do you know what that means?” he asked, his voice low and cautious.
I shook my head, feeling a strange knot of anticipation tighten in my chest. “ No,” I said quietly, searching his eyes for answers.

Kaden took a deep breath, his gaze unwavering. “ The ancient dragon books were written in Dragonian, the language of the dragons. Only dragon shifters can read them. I’ve never tried because I didn’t know I was a dragon shifter until recently, and I assumed those texts were lost or unreadable. All my men have tried and failed because they were written in the ancient dragon language. If you could read it… that means you, my little one, are a dragon shifter too, or you have dragon blood in you. That would also explain how you were able to pass through the barrier.”

His words hung in the air, each one sinking into me like stones. Everything started to make sense—the strange sense of familiarity I felt when reading the text, the words that seemed to align themselves for me and me alone. My mind raced, connecting dots that had previously felt scattered. I’d always known there was something different about me, but this? This was more than I had ever dared to imagine.

The thought of being part dragon filled me with a mix of excitement and fear. Could this be the key to finding my biological parents, the missing link that would finally answer the questions I’d carried all my life? We’d been searching through the wrong books, the wrong histories, looking for answers that were written in a language I was never supposed to understand.

But then, another thought crept in—one that sent a chill down my spine. The day of the Harvesting, Kyrell and Hezron mentioned something. Something I had forgotten after everything that happened.