Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Kiss the Sky: Chapter 35

After the most incredible experience of my life, Kira and I donned our clothes and made our way to the edge of the temple’s roof while holding hands. Here a thin ledge jutted out into the sky, and if it weren’t for my magic, I might have been terrified of falling to my death as we moved across it over the vast emptiness below.

Clouds swirled in front of us as we waited at the edge of the platform, and slowly they began to coalesce and form something solid. Within seconds the clouds became a vast body with a long neck and tail that filled up the entire sky. Great wings flared out above us, glowing golden under the filtered sunlight. Lightning flashed in the beast’s eyes, while steam billowed from its fanged mouth. It was larger than the Dragons we’d seen before and more primal and cosmic, like something from a dream that you would barely remember when you woke in the morning. As if I blinked, the image might slip away from me completely.

This was the Air God’s true form.

Kira and I fell to our knees while the Air God flapped his wings, sending clouds and wind swirling across the sky. Awe filled me, along with a strong sense of humbleness. I’d been chosen by the Air God and I hoped he would still see me as worthy of being his representative.

“Rise,” he commanded, though his voice was like the wind whispering secrets in my ears. “You have served me well, while my other Dragon has turned against me. For that, I shall grant you three questions. Use them wisely.”

Kira glanced at me with uncertainty, and I nodded at her. I knew what she wanted to ask, even if I had a dozen questions of my own.

“Can you tell me who my parents are?” she called out into the sky.

“You are descended from the Spirit Goddess herself,” the Air God rasped. “She gave birth to the first Dragon using all of the Gods’ seeds, and Black Dragon Nysa was born many generations later in that lineage. You are her daughter.”

Kira’s face paled. “I…I don’t understand. She can’t be my mother!”

“When the Spirit Goddess’s descendant reaches fifty years of age she always bears a daughter, who will replace her when she turns twenty after the Gods choose four Dragons to be her mates. This is how it was done for centuries, but Black Dragon Nysa prevented this from happening, allowing her rule to continue. Until you were born.”

Kira seemed at a loss for words, her mouth opening and closing, and I knew she must be in complete shock at learning our greatest enemy was her mother. But that was only half of what she’d wanted to know. I stepped forward and asked, “Do you know who her father is?”

“No, only that he is not my Dragon,” the Air God said.

That ruled out Isen, but there were three other Dragons, and Kira could be descended from any one of them. Assuming her father was a Dragon at all, and not someone else. I’d always assumed the Dragons were infertile until I’d learned Calla was Sark’s granddaughter. Perhaps they could only have children with normal humans?

Kira needed some time to recover, and though I had an entire journal full of questions for the Air God, we only had one question left—and there was one thing only he could answer. “Why did you choose me?” I asked.

“I chose you for your wisdom, independence, and discipline. I saw that you would be a good match for Kira and would strengthen those traits within her.”

I bowed my head. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to honor you.”

“Your three questions have been answered,” the God said, as he extended his wings. “Now prepare yourselves. Danger approaches, and I cannot get involved further.”

With those words he dissipated into the air, becoming nothing more than a strong breeze and a wisp of cloud. I knew we should replace a way down the temple to prepare for whatever this danger was, but Kira was so distraught I wasn’t sure she could move yet.

“Are you all right?” I asked her.

She covered her face with her hands. “The Black Dragon…I can’t believe it.”

I gathered her into my arms and held her close as a memory resurfaced of the one time I had seen the Black Dragon. She’d been doing a rare tour of the four Realms and had shifted into her human form briefly to speak to my father. I’d only seen her from a distance, but her fiery red hair had been unmistakable. The same red hair that I ran my fingers through now as I comforted Kira.

Kira might not want to believe it, but I knew in my gut that it was true. The Black Dragon was her mother.

“What if Sark is my…” she started, her voice rough with emotion but unable to finish the question.

Before I could answer, a roar burst through the sky, and I spun away from Kira just in time to blast away a burst of fire that had been flying toward us. Red scales and sharp fangs emerged from the clouds above as Sark appeared over us.

“Get back,” I told Kira, as I moved to protect her with my body and my magic.

But then something else moved out of the corner of my eye. I saw a flash of gold before something hit me hard in the chest and knocked me off the platform. As I fell to the ground everything went dark, and my last thought was that I’d failed Kira.