Brendyn popped in on the girl and found young Pammy sound asleep in her pink ruffled canopy bed. Picking up her phone he quickly scanned it searching for any evidence that she might have shared the texts that Ember had sent her. Relieved that she hadn't, he cast a spell to erase those memories from her young mind.

That done, he magically erased the evidence from the phones and the service provider's records, so the secret was safe once again. He hoped this mistake didn't cause a problem between Dray and his daughter, but the girl had to learn how severe the consequences of her actions could be. The fear of losing her best friend should do it.

Transporting himself back to the castle, he found Dragan standing at the balustrade alone; his shoulders slumped, head bowed in defeat. "The situation has been resolved, my liege," he informed his best friend. "The girl had not shared the information and all record of it has been permanently erased."

"They are leaving, Brendyn," the other man said tonelessly. "You must go with them and fulfill the prophecy."

Despair gripped his heart at the ramifications of that command. "Dray, there is still hope," he insisted.

The best friend that he had ever known turned to face him with dull, lifeless eyes and expression more bleak than he'd ever seen. "All hope is lost, old friend," was the completely emotionless response. "I'm entrusting my mate and daughter into your keeping. Take care of them, Brendyn, as you have cared for me all these centuries."

Tears filled his eyes as the mage lowered his head and pressed his clenched fist against his heart in a show of respect. "It has been an honor to serve you, my liege, and a privilege to be your friend. Rest assured that I will obey your final command as I have always done."

"Then I wish you Godspeed," Dragan said solemnly and turned back to the balustrade to stare into the dark chasm below.

His heart heavy with grief and despair, Brendyn entered the castle to assist his charges by any means necessary. Just as he would always do from this moment forward.

 

***

 

The breath had frozen in Ainsley's lungs as Dragan walked away. Seeing him angry when she arrived had been terrifying, but not nearly as much as this cold, ruthless attitude. He wasn't the gentle, caring man that she had fallen in love with. This was the Dragon King with all of his fearsome power.

His implacable expression had assured her that no amount of reasoning would change his mind. That he was willing to lose them assured her just how serious he was. There was nothing that he wouldn't do to ensure their safety and prevent the secret of dragon shifters from being revealed. Even if it meant harming an innocent child.

The knowledge shattered her heart, and her newfound hope of a happily ever after died a cruel, agonizing death. Choking back a sob of pure despair, she had led her crying daughter inside the castle. Packing their belongings had only taken a few agonizing minutes, and they descended the staircase to find a solemn-faced Brendyn waiting for them.

"The situation has been resolved, Princess Ember," he said gently. "Your friend is fine though she has no memory of the information that you shared with her."

"Pammy is really okay?" Her daughter asked tremulously.

"She is sleeping peacefully in a ridiculous pink ruffled bed," he assured her with an attempt at a smile.

"Thank you, Bren," Ember choked out as she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Would he have done it, Brendyn?" Ainsley demanded. "Would Dragan have harmed Pammy?"

"Nay, my lady, he would not," the mage assured her seriously. "Dray would never condone an innocent child being harmed for any reason, but sometimes the threat of such tactics are necessary to ensure mishaps do not occur again."

"Thank God," Ainsley breathed in relief that she hadn't been completely mistaken about him. Dragan had only used the threat of hurting Pammy to teach their daughter a lesson that she'd never forget. She was so going to kick his ass for scaring them both half to death. And for letting her believe that he was capable of such cruelty.

"I'm going to miss you," Ember told the mage as she released him.

"Nay, Princess, you will not," he denied. "For where ever you go, I shall remain your faithful shadow. You still have much to learn, and it's my sworn duty to teach you."

"You're coming with us?" The girl asked in surprise.

"That I am," he agreed and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"That's not necessary, Brendyn," Ainsley denied since she had no intention of leaving. But she and her mate were going to have a very serious talk about his child-rearing methods.

"I assure you that it is," he contradicted. "Honor will not allow me to refuse my liege's final request."

"His final… What does that even mean?" She demanded as a chill of foreboding danced up her spine.

"Dragan has chosen not to walk the path alone, Lady Ainsley," he imparted sadly. "We must respect his wishes even if we do not agree with them."

Walk the path alone. That was the same phrase that Brendyn had used for dragon shifters who had preferred to end their own existence rather than live without their mate. Dear God in Heaven. Did that mean that Dragan was planning to take his own life? Because he thought she was leaving him?

"Where is he?" She choked out brokenly. "Where is Dragan?" The mage looked toward the courtyard, and she followed his gaze. The man that she loved was standing on the balustrade, arms held out by his sides as she had seen him do before. He's just going to let his dragon loose, Ainsley assured herself.

But she knew it was a lie.

Before she could react, he stepped off the ledge, his body disappearing over the edge just as it had before. "No," she denied and shook her head vehemently. His dragon was going to emerge, and any second he would fly up into the sky. Any second now. He was going to fly. Dammit, he had to fly!

"Dragan," she screamed brokenly before a debilitating pain nearly ruptured her heart. It felt as if it were being cleaved in two, much as his must have felt when he severed it. For her. The pain of losing him was so intense that it felt as if her soul was dying. Or that the other half of her soul had died.

Wave after wave of excruciating despair washed over her. She was consumed by grief so thick that it choked the breath from her body. Tears were streaming down her face, and she could barely think for the agonizing screams ringing in her head. The sound of her soul crying out at the loss of the man she loved more than life itself.

Ainsley collapsed to her knees, hands reaching out, blindly searching for something to ground her. "Are you all right, Lady Ainsley?" Brendyn asked urgently, concern shining in his blacker than night eyes. He grasped her hands, and raw power flowed from him into her, the letter singeing her tender flesh as a charge of electricity crackled through her veins.

The world began to turn upside down and sideways before she was flung into a realm of spirit and shadow. A woman with long white hair dressed in medieval garb stepped out of the darkness, her eyes pure white and devoid of color as they stared right through her. 'Heed me, Ainsley,' her melodic voice commanded.

'Who are you? How do you know my name?' She queried in confusion yet she did not fear the woman or the unknown place.

'I am Meriwin Pyrrhus, and you hold my son's heart,' she imparted solemnly. 'Guard it well lest all hope is lost.'

'I don't understand,' Ainsley responded.

'Since the dawn of time, every dragon king's mate has been given the gift of foresight,' the older woman explained. 'Accept it, heed the prophecies, and they will serve you well. Ignore them at your peril.'

'What does that mean?' She demanded urgently as the older woman began to fade into the shadows surrounding her. 'Please tell me what it means!'

'Behold the future, Ainsley. Ignore the gift and all hope will be lost,' the voice said inside of her head as the image faded from view. 'All hope will be lost.'

"All hope will be lost," she sobbed the words aloud as images began to flash through her mind. Images of the life that lay ahead of her. In a matter of seconds, she saw it all. Every detail of a future filled with heartbreak and loneliness without the man she loved. She even felt the pain, the anguish, the absolute desolation that Dragan would experience.

"Please, my lady, tell me what is distressing you so," Brendyn's concerned voice demanded from far away.

Ainsley watched her daughter, their daughter, grow up without a father. The father who would have loved and adored her. They would all experience so much pain and suffering because of her foolish insecurities. And they were foolish. Because Dragan loved her. Maybe even more than she had believed possible.

The majordomo's voice soothed as if from a great distance, "Please, my lady, try to calm yourself."

The vision faded away like a mist upon the breeze, and suddenly she was back in the castle. Disoriented and disturbed by what she'd seen, she cast a frantic look around and saw that the mage looked as distressed as she felt. "What just happened?" She demanded, her voice sounding slightly hoarse as if she'd been screaming.

"You're trembling, Lady Ainsley," Brendyn replied solemnly, "I believe you had a vision. Your eyes turned white, and you seemed to be in a trance. I haven't witnessed the likes of that since Dragan's mother was alive."

"A vision," she repeated in awe and was somewhat bemused to realize that thirteen years had not passed. The crumpled letter clenched tightly in her fist attested to that. She was still twenty-one. She didn't have a daughter. And she had never left Dragan.

She couldn't leave him, because if she did, it would destroy them both. She had seen it, felt it and she knew it was real. The prospect was as liberating as it was terrifying. Because there was no reason to leave. Not now that she knew the consequences. She could stay with her beloved dragon shifter and live this beautiful fairy tale existence forever.

"Dragan," she gasped and quickly rose to her feet. "I have to see Dragan."

"My liege cannot be disturbed," the man insisted as he rose as well. "Please, tell me how I can assist you."

'I came up the stairs with my heart in my hand and received the news that you were gone,' she heard Dragan's voice ringing in her head. The dungeon. He was in the dungeon cutting his heart out. For her. She bolted for the stairs as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels and raced down them at breakneck speed.

"Dragan," Ainsley called anxiously as she stopped at the edge of the cavernous room. "Dragan, where are you? I need to see you," she insisted as she peered into the pitch black passageways that led in every direction. "Please don't hide from me, Dragan," she pleaded as she walked deeper into the stygian darkness.

With a soft whoosh of air, a small flame was blown toward a torch mounted on the wall. It caught fire and flickering light danced along the stone walls, chasing the darkness away. Ainsley blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light and then she looked up, way up, to the dragon staring anxiously back at her.

Relief flooded through her that he was alive and well.

The wary look in his eyes assured her that her beloved dragon shifter had no idea how she would react to seeing him in this form and she didn't have the heart to make him suffer more than he had already done. A brilliant smile lit her face as she rushed forward and embraced his massive body as best she could.