Aspen (The Dragon Kings #2)(60)

The next morning Aspen woke feeling giddy. She knew at once that the feeling did not come from her. She rolled over, and Sid was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

“Hey gorgeous, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I don’t even feel sore. What are you so happy about?”

“You and us.” He beamed.

“How come I can’t hear your thoughts?” Aspen asked.

He cocked his head to the side and moved her hair out of her eyes. “When Everett bonded us, I also gained your shield gift that you received from Kairi. We can both read almost anyone’s thoughts but each other. We should visit Anasazi today though to learn how to control his gift. It would be annoying to have everyone’s thoughts in our heads all time.”

“Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do we do then? There was a great deal of urgency to get all of this over with yesterday.”

“The council and I discussed this last night after you fell asleep. You and I are going back to our lives as humans. We will pretend this hasn’t happened yet.”

Aspen was thoroughly confused. “Why?”

“The news of two new dragon kings is going to turn the dragon world into chaos. Very few of us know about the additional dragon kings yet, so we are taking actions but are keeping it secret. If suddenly I am flying around, dragons are going to get suspicious. They know that I am supposed to be human for the next ten years.”

“So what exactly are you all doing?”

“Pearl, Anasazi, and Kairi went north to smooth things over with the arctic dragons. Winerva was their leader. The arctic dragons will be very angry. I expect your killing her will speed things along with the prophecy. Eros and Theo have gone to take care of Valentine. Finding a queen for him is crucial. With the war coming, we’ll need all three kings at their top strength. That can’t happen without queens. Theo’s going to bring him back here, and we’ll help him.”

“Do you know Valentine?”

Sid smiled. “I’ve never met him, but he’s Damien’s son. It’s another reason I pushed for training him here instead of in his home in Hawaii. Damien doesn’t know yet.”

Aspen swelled with happiness. She was very fond of Damien, and she was glad he would finally get the opportunity to see his son again.

“What about the third dragon king?”

“Xanthous and Sequoia are in search of him. He could be anywhere. Until these things are done, there isn’t much we can do. For now, there is peace. Enjoy it while you can.”

“What about Skye?”

“She’ll stay with us. Rumors were already floating around the dragon world that I was misbehaving and she had to come put me in line. It is better for her to stay. Plus, in spite of Skye being a sea dragon, she’s not very good at keeping secrets. We need to keep her close.”

“Except when she dropped me off, she said she was going to stay with her parents. We might not find her.”

“She’ll come back when she finds out we’re both still alive.”

“Can we tell my parents? They deserve to know. Rowan already knows.”

“It probably is best that we tell them. As queen you may have to take a few trips with me, and you’ll be expected to make decisions with me. The only reason we did not consult with you on the decisions we made last night was because you were dead to the world. Your parents are going to have to accept that you are no longer just a teenager in high school. You’ll also have to prepare them for the time when you will no longer be part of this world.”

Aspen’s stomach tensed at that thought. She’d forgotten the promises she made when she agreed to be the dragon queen. At least, with Sid staying human for a while, she’d be able to see them for a little while longer.

Aspen laid a hand on Sid’s chest. “What about all these? Wasn’t the point that you were creating your own council? They’ve got to be angry about that.”

Sid sighed. “They are. I thought about getting Helios to finish the job. It would be the safest thing to do. But it’s not the most diplomatic. By allowing the current council to remain in power, I will have more dragons on my side when the war does break out.”

They got ready and spent a few hours with Anasazi’s mate. She showed them how to open their minds up when they wanted to. Sid turned back into his dragon form, and they flew toward home. Aspen was nervous about telling her parents. They were usually pretty open minded, but explaining that she was now a queen would be difficult.

Aspen opened the door to her house, Sid on her heels laughing and carrying on. They walked into the kitchen and dark feelings filled Aspen’s chest. Fear, anxiety, and grief. Her mother sat at a table clutching a coffee mug. Mom looked up, paused for a moment, then ran to her. She crushed Aspen in a hug.

“Oh, you’re okay. Thank the stars.”

“Mom, I’m fine. What’s up?”

“We went to Sid’s house yesterday looking for you, and no one was there. We’ve tried reaching you on the phone, and you wouldn’t answer. No one had seen you. Where have you been? I thought for sure you’d both been taken. Another ranger was killed yesterday. We’ve been worried sick.”

Stacey paused and looked around the room. “Where is Rowan?”

“He’s not here?”