Battle Ground, Indiana

Claire looked over the small stack of books she'd selected. "I never thought I'd be forced to pick favorites," she said, sighing. Her mother chuckled. "It's like I've got to decide which books I'll be content to read for the rest of my life. Kind of like that famous question, 'If you were stranded on a desert island, what book would you want to have with you?' You know?"

"I know." Her mother offered her a soft smile. "But I'm sure they have books there, too."

"Not these books!"

They'd spent the last twenty minutes packing. Her Osprey backpack had gone missing—perhaps already in Dragonwall from her last trip there—so she was using her mother's. How was she supposed to fit all of the most important things in her life into such a small space? Leah was probably facing the same challenge.

She blew out a breath, cheeks puffing. "Do you think I'm making the right decision? By going?"

Her mother was silent, thoughtful. "I do."

"But, why me? You're related to Irelia too. It could have been you that got chosen as the return-queen."

Her mother adjusted everything in the backpack, finding a place for her books. "I think that no matter what a person believes in—the fates, gods, a creator, or otherwise—things happened this way for a reason. It was meant to be you. If I had gone, your father and I wouldn't have met. You wouldn't exist. That would be a travesty."

The tears she'd been trying to fight pooled in her eyes. "I just...what if I'm not a good queen? What if I can't do it?"

"Oh, honey." Her mom moved to cup her cheek. "Do you really think that drengr male downstairs would be here if you weren't worth it? If you weren't special to him, to his kingdom?"

A tear slipped down her cheek, then another. She cupped her mother's hand against her face. "I guess you're right."

"Moms always are," Alexandra teased. She stepped away and glanced around. "Shall I pack that, too?"

Claire looked over at the gown she'd been discovered in. The one splashed across all the tabloids when she'd shown up at the embassy headquarters. "No. It should stay here. I'd like you to have it, to remember what I am, or remember me by, I guess."

"We have plenty to remember you by, honey. But...I'd like that. Besides, you're a queen, so I'm sure you've got hundreds of gowns and jewels waiting for you. You won't miss that one."

A thrill shot her straight in the chest. A hundred gowns? Jewels? She hadn't even considered that.

"Well then," her mother said, sighing. "I think that's everything."

A knock sounded. Her heart fluttered when King Talon poked his head inside. "I thought I'd check on you."

Her mom held her gaze and softly said, "He's good for you, I think."

Heat rushed to her cheeks and she couldn't help but steal a glance at the king, who just stood there on the threshold of her bedroom. Checking in on her. Like he couldn't be away from her for too long. It was obvious in the way he devoured her with his gaze.

"I'll be downstairs," her mom added, giving her arm a squeeze. "Take as long as you need."

Talon steped aside, giving Alexandra room to withdraw, then entered and shut the door behind him. Her heart thrashed in her chest. He was here, in her room. He seemed to feel the same surprise, because his gaze darted over everything, taking it all in. "It's different, seeing it in person after seeing it in your memories," he mused. "You really do have a lot of books."

"I like to read."

"I know," he huffed. The sound of it made her warm all over. He began to move through the space, taking it in. She stood frozen in the middle, a ball of nerves and anticipation. She hadn't forgotten their almost-kiss, hadn't decided if that was a good thing or not.

He stopped at a photo on her dresser. A picture of her and Leah in high school taken at the county fair. They both held giant cones of fluffy cotton candy. Talon's fingers brushed the frame. "You do not wish to bring this?"

"I...no. Since Leah is coming with me, I thought I'd leave it for my parents. I don't want to change my room too much, you know? I thought they'd like it if I kept everything here. So that they can, you know, come in here and remember me if they're ever feeling lonely." Her voice cracked.

Talon was across the room in an instant, pulling her into his arms, wrapping himself around her. She breathed an oof sound as he swallowed her up. She should pull away. She really should. But, it was impossible to resist.

Her body tensed briefly, then relaxed into him. It felt good. She felt...protected.

"I'm sorry this is so hard for you," he murmured. "When you and I discussed our union, when we discussed your choice to become queen, we spoke of this. You coming home. Coming back here was a line in the sand for me. I made it clear that I couldn't risk you to the unknown. Couldn't risk you coming back here because of all that could go wrong. I hated that you were forced to make that choice, to choose between becoming my queen and coming back to your world."

She listened, desperate to hear what he had to say, if only to help her remember. "And...I made the choice anyway, despite that? To never see my family again?"

He made a low humming noise. "It was a difficult decision, but I think deep in your heart you always knew you would choose the crown over anything."

She pulled back, frowning up at him. He didn't release her, but she could see his face better this way. The scars that covered it. "The crown? Or you?"

A flash of something crossed his gaze. A look of uncertainty that he tried to hide. "Me. The crown. Both. It was a package deal."

"If I had to guess, I chose you and agreed to take the crown only so that I could have you."

His eyes widened.

She knew it was the truth, that what she said was correct. She knew herself enough to know she'd never choose a crown, never choose power, for the sake of it. That there had to be a deeper reason. He was that reason. "I chose you, Talon, and now I'm starting to see why."

His expression crumbled. It was more emotion than she'd seen from him all day. His throat bobbed but when he opened his moth to speak, nothing came out. Her eyes fixed on his lips. This felt like the moment they were supposed to kiss. Her stomach erupted with butterflies as he leaned down towards her—

"Oh! I...oh." Leah stood in the doorway. "I just thought I'd tell you I was back and ready to go."

She expected Talon to release her, to spring away. Instead, his eyes stayed locked with hers, lips hovering inches away. "We'll be along in a moment," he said. His words felt like a command. Leah got the message loud and clear. She shut the door, leaving them alone. "Would you be terribly angry with me if I kissed you?"

Her words failed. She almost refused—he was a stranger to her! But...they supposed to be married? So...it couldn't be bad. Or, maybe that was just the umbrella she used as an excuse to shake her head. Because she wouldn't be angry, not even a little bit.

He leaned closer, giving her every opportunity to pull away. She held her breath. Time stopped as his lips pressed against hers, soft but tentative. She gasped at the feel of him, the press of him, the warmth of him. The rightness.

When she didn't pull away, he kissed her in earnest. She responded, melting into him, moving her lips in time with his. A hand came up to cup the back of her neck, holding her there with no chance for escape. She tipped her head back and he took that as an invitation. He groaned, his tongue slipping in and roving hers with desperate need. He kissed her like he'd been starved. Like she was the first meal he'd had in weeks. In a way, she supposed that must be true.

Her abdomen clenched. But her desire was quickly replaced by images darting behind her eyelids. She felt transported. As if she were in a different place. There was a castle by the sea. Walls of stone with arches and turrets and rich furnishings. She caught a glimpse of of Talon in his throne room, staring down at her with an unreadable expression on his face. And another glimpse, holding his hands at the base of the dais, staring into his gaze—

She gasped.

Talon immediately pulled away, looking down at her. "What is it?" His drawn brows puckered the scars on his forehead.

"I..." She frowned. "I thought I saw something. Us? Memories?"

"You got your memories back?" A surprised huff parted his lips.

Disappointment squeezed her chest. She shook her head. "No...I...maybe some of them?"

He stared at her a long moment. "What about Cyrus?"

"Was he the one that died?" Her head tilted.

"Yes. You don't hear him speaking to you yet?"

She shook her head, biting her lower lip. Talon's shoulders fell. "Whatever Kane did to you, he's got you locked up tight. You can't hear my voice in your mind, or Jovari's. You can't hear Cyrus, which means he must be in whatever cage that the sorcerer placed around your memories and your magic."

Fear turned her blood to ice. "What if he didn't cage it? What if he just...took it?"

The question she didn't voice was the loudest. What if she never got her magic back? Never got Cyrus back? Never remembered? Would Talon still want her?

Talon's jaw clenched. "I refuse to believe that for so many reasons. Namely, Kane would have needed to extract those things from you, and there's no undoing the gift Cyrus gave you. No, Kane enchanted you, used a potion...somehow. I was in your mind when it happened, but I was just as quickly ejected."

"So...you think I will get everything back then?"

"I think we already know the answer to that." A wicked smirk pulled at his lips. She hadn't see him smile, not really. But this? It made her pulse skip. "My kissing you made you remember something. So, seems the best way to fix all this is to just keep doing it."

She gasped as his mouth crashed down against hers. There was no hesitation this time. He claimed her with a possessive need she felt straight to her core. When he pulled away, they were both breathing hard.

"Anything?" he asked.

She bit her swollen bottom lip. "I...I thought I saw a forest, maybe?"

A smug look crossed the king's features. "Good. Well, then there's hope. We've solved the issue. I'll be sure to kiss you at every available opportunity."

"Talon!" she hissed. "This isn't some kind of...of..."

"Of what?"

"I don't know. This is serious."

"Of course it is, which is why I'm being perfectly serious."

"No, you're acting all...all smug about it. Like you couldn't be more excited to kiss me."

"Am I not supposed to be excited about kissing my mate? My queen? My wife?"

"No, I mean, yes. That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Are you always this difficult?" she snipped, irritation burning her cheeks.

"Oh, just wait until you remember how often we used to fight." There was a gleam in his eyes, like he couldn't wait for that. "Maybe next time I kiss you, that will be the memory you discover."

She clenched her jaw. Of course she liked kissing him, and she barely even knew him, so that was saying something. It just felt like his excitement about kissing her, about using his kisses to bring back her memory, felt like a front. Like a convenient excuse to have her. Like her lost memories were suddenly a good thing, so that he could have his mouth on her whenever he wanted.

Then again, she did like the idea of his mouth on her. A lot. Damn it.

Now she was all jumbled up.

"We should go." He stepped away, snatching up her backpack before holding out his hand. She hesitated. It was a simple gesture, really. Something that came from habit. She wondered how often he'd done that exact thing, hold out his hand for her. Wondered how often she'd simply stepped up to him and laced their fingers together. Except this time, she merely glared at him and marched right on past. His gruff huff followed her out of the room.

The others were downstairs. Leah had a similar backpack, which she'd slung over her shoulder. She and Jovari were glaring at one another. A curious desire to know why had her glancing between them. She'd have to ask Leah about it later.

Irelia had only a small bag of belongings. She stood off to the side and looked surprisingly nervous. Much like she'd looked the entire dinner, when her eyes would occasionally snap up in surprise towards one of the drengr, as if they'd said something to surprise her, when they hadn't said anything at all.

She went to her father first, lingering in his arms. They'd said everything they needed to earlier, so she merely squeezed him tight. "Be careful, Kiddo. Trust your gut. You'll do fine."

"Thanks, Dad," she managed.

"You make us so proud," her mother whispered when they hugged. "I can already imagine the kind of good you're going to do in their kingdom." The words brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away.

"Take care of her," her father said, a stern, unforgiving note to his voice. Talon merely nodded and said, "I will."

A few more hugs were exchanged between Leah and her parents, then they were out the door, emerging into the darkness. Talon pulled her aside. "Are you open to flying with me?"

She blinked. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He hesitated. "Before we mated, the only time our minds connected was when we touched—your skin to my scales. I'm not sure if that will happen now, but if it does..."

"You mean that I might be...like, in your head?"

He nodded. "And I will be in yours. We would share thoughts, memories, everything. Perhaps it might even unlock your memories...somehow." He didn't sound all that hopeful about it.

Her stomach squirmed. Sure, they'd kissed. Yes, it was the best kiss of her life (that she could remember). But, did she have the courage to grant him access to her thoughts, her memories, her life?

"I have already seen everything, love." His words were low, gentle.

She chewed on her lower lip. "Right. But I don't know if..." She shifted on her feet. The expression on Talon's face shuttered. He saw her answer before she gave it. Guilt gnawed on the corners of her mind. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that, regardless."

"Even if it might work? Even if it might unlock your memories?"

Her pulse raced beneath her skin. "I...I don't know if I'm ready to share my mind like that."

He gave a quick nod, his face wiped clean of emotion. He was so good at that, hiding what he felt. "Of course. I understand. Why don't you fly with Jovari then, just in case, and I'll carry the others."

"Are...are you sure?" A weight lifted from her shoulders, even though the guilt remained. She'd half expected him to protest. To beat his chest in typical male fashion and demand she ride with him, because she was his, or some such. He didn't.

He reached for her, brushing a fingertip along her cheekbone in a gentle caress. "It will be all right. When you're ready, we will fly together."

"Thank you." Her words were soft.

He moved away, conversing quietly with Jovari, who glanced in her direction with a look of surprise. Discussion over, they transformed into hulking dragons. She couldn't help her gasp, even though she'd seen it earlier. Their belongings were secured to harness straps. Claire and Leah helped Irelia climb upon Talon's back first. He had to press his belly on the grass, but it was still a struggle to get her into place. Leah did a little better, settling in and tightening the leg straps for both her and Irelia.

Only once they were secured, did she confront the beautiful sapphire dragon before her. He was noticeably smaller than Talon, but no less mighty. She managed to climb into place on her first try. She couldn't help but wonder if the motions were engrained within her. Some form of muscle memory. How often had she flown astride a dragon before this?

That thought made her glance over her shoulder. Her gaze lingered on Talon in his drengr form. Even in the darkness his iridescent scales glittered with a range of colors. His large head was turned towards her, eyes fixed on her. She felt like a mouse under his gaze. Jovari shifted abruptly. She lurched, grasping at the harness to keep from falling. A tiny, surprised squeal fell from her lips. A warning growl sounded low in Talon's throat. Jovari answered it with an amused huff.

Her parents waived at them from the porch, calling their goodbyes. There was a lurch, the press of gravity, and then they were springing skyward. She gasped, pulling in a breath as the ground fell away. Nearby, she heard both Leah and Irelia give similar cries of surprise. Then, they were flying. 

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Dear Reader,

Well then. That's that. Things are happening. It's time for another adventure across Dragonwall...except with different players this time. And on that note, it's time to see what's happening with all of our Dragonwall friends. 

Next week's chapter is from Koldis's POV. See you then! 

--Mel