TWENTY YEARS LATER
I stood in front of the temple and gazed out across the barren landscape surrounding the volcano. Small figures approached in the distance on horseback, getting closer with every minute. Purpose and determination smoldered inside me, along with the Fire God’s flames. I’d waited for this day for twenty years and it was hard to believe this moment was finally here.
I turned around and headed back through the temple, where my four mates waited for me. Blane, Roth, Derel, and Falon all wore the red and black robes of the Fire God’s priests and I gazed at each of them with love nearly bursting inside of me. Even after twenty years together, we were still as much in love as when we first came to the temple, if not more so. Every day we’d spent together was a true blessing, and I was so thankful the Fire God chose me—and that these four men had agreed to become my priests.
“It’s time,” I said.
“The new Black Dragon?” Blane asked, arching an eyebrow.
I nodded. “She and her mates are approaching now. They should be here in a few hours.”
“I’ll start preparing a feast,” Derel said. “They’re going to be hungry after they climb that mountain.”
“I’ll prepare the bonding room,” Falon said, glancing back at the room with the altar and the bed that we rarely went into, which had been waiting for the ascendants all this time.
“Thank you,” I told them both with a smile.
“Any sign of the other Dragons?” Roth asked. “Sark?”
“Not yet.” I glanced back at the smoke-filled sky. The Fire God had kept his promise and the volcano had been quiet for the entire time we’d lived here—until now. We all knew what that meant, and were prepared to leave on a moment’s notice if needed. “But I’m glad we sent the children to Sparkport, just in case.”
I’d been blessed with four children, one from each of my mates, which we considered gifts from the Fire God. Our oldest daughter would one day become the High Priestess after me, if she wished to take that role. For now, they were safe at the bakery with Loka and her wife. Once this was over, we’d be reunited again.
Though the Fire God had never appeared to me again, I knew he’d been watching over us, waiting for this day. He’d given me purpose, and over the years I’d devoured every book in the library and studied up on the Dragons, or what little was left about them anyway, while my mates and I prepared as best we could for the new Dragons’ arrival. Change was coming to the four Realms, but if our plans were successful, we would no longer live under Nysa’s oppressive regime. Soon the new Black Dragon would rise, with her four mates at her side. Only then would balance return to the world.
While the men took care of final preparations, I dressed in my ceremonial robes and waited for the ascendants to climb the volcano, much like we’d done years ago. Until, hours later, a young woman with red hair took the final steps onto the summit of Valefire, with her mates at her side.
It was time to meet the people who would save the world.
