Epilogue

Angelika stood to the side of the hangar in the mountain stronghold of Ararat. The room had been transformed into a banquet hall, glorious with twinkle lights, elegant place settings, and jasmine everywhere, the scent of it filling the air. One of many rooms transformed for Meira’s second mating ceremony. This one to Samael Veles, the onetime captain of the guard for the man Meira had originally made vows to.

Rather than wait months, they’d rushed the ceremony forward while all their allies were gathered together in the mountain. This time, Angelika got to stand at the front with her sisters. Her secret was out now, thanks to her father. Holding the ceremony might seem a bit backward to others, given that Meira already bore an intricately knotted mark, the design both her mate’s family and elements from the Zilant and Hanyu crests of their parents. Samael’s own brand had changed…to match Meira’s. But Angelika understood it. Her sister and her mate were making a statement, but also giving their people something to celebrate after a long patch of trouble.

Smart and also full of heart. Just like Meira.

At least they appeared to be supremely happy. Meira deserved that. Angelika had never seen her sister light up like she did around her mate. She practically glowed without the need for her fire to make her.

Just like Kasia. Just like Skylar.

Now it’s my turn.

Angelika played with the glass of wine she’d been nursing. Without Jedd and the wolf shifters here—now that her secret was out, they’d gone to seek safety among the Federation of Wolves—she might have felt at loose ends, but she’d never been one to be shy with strangers.

Her sisters were occupied elsewhere, so she’d been enjoying herself, getting to know new people. Not that the dragon shifters had all been welcoming, but they’d come around.

But now she stood by herself, finding herself alone for a moment. Something that gave her—sometimes unfortunately—active imagination a chance to kick in.

She gazed around the chamber and tried to picture it before. Picture where Maul had died. Picture the scene of her own father’s second death—a moment she had not been here to witness.

Pain speared her through the heart, and she gasped silently, breathing through it. Something that had happened out of the blue several times since she’d learned of it.

She should have been here. She should have had a chance to say good-bye to him. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the promise she’d made herself. She might have no fire, no power, but she was going to make a difference. She wouldn’t sit to the side anymore.

A man walked away from the tables. Here, with the Black, Gold, and Blue Clans together, along with a handful of dragons from the White Clan who’d chosen to leave and pledge themselves to the cause, he didn’t stick out as much. His short white hair and broad shoulders on a frame still too slender after his captivity, however, stood out as a beacon to her.

Airk.

Without making the conscious decision to do so, she started moving on a course to intercept, already able to see that he was leaving. He didn’t like being around so many at once. She knew that from the way he only stayed as long as he had to.

In the hallway leading behind the city at the base of the atrium to the human tunnels that would take him up to his chambers, she caught up to him.

“Airk.”

As he turned, his expression gave nothing away, as usual.

“Angelika,” he acknowledged.

She licked her lips, suddenly nervous. “I have an…offer to make you.”

Hands clasped behind his back, he faced her more fully, gaze taking in her serious expression, not a single emotion in his eyes. Not even a flicker of curiosity. “Yes?”

“Have you decided what’s next yet?”

He cocked his head, but no confusion lit his eyes. He remembered their conversation. “It seems to me,” he said in his slow, even tones, “my clan needs help determining what is and is not true about the High King they currently serve.”

“They need a new king.”

He said nothing, but he didn’t deny it.

“I think I’d like to help you with that.” She pulled her shoulders back. “For my father.”

“And how do you propose offering this help?” Airk asked.

Damn, she wished she could read him better. “Well…I am the daughter of the previous king, and a phoenix.”

“With no powers.”

She crossed her arms and offered him a chipper smile.

He frowned slightly at her reaction. “Am I wrong?”

“No.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Though only a few are aware. We want to keep that a secret as long as possible. But I’m smiling because you’re wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“Yes. You seem to think powerless means I don’t have the ability to make a difference. Such a dragon shifter way of thinking.”

He glanced down between their feet, thinking, then raised his glacial eyes to her. “I still don’t see how that helps me.”

“If we were to mate…”

Airk’s eyes narrowed. The biggest show of emotion she’d seen from the man. “I see.”

But did he? “It could work—”

“No.” One word. That was it. A harsh rejection in a shotgun of a word.

In a jerking motion, Airk spun away from her, striding down the hall. Angelika, shock rooting her feet to the ground, let him go.

But she wasn’t giving up. That wasn’t in her blood. Even without powers, she knew she could matter in this war.

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