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Chapter 1

4

Millennia

later

THEO

I

t’s been said

that the greatest love that ever existed is God’s love. He sent his only son to die for our sins. A son who did no evil and never acted with evil intent. A son who rose from death and lived for eternity. They say that everyone who believes in him will earn that same

eternal

life

.

My great-great-great-great-Nanna and her beloved Rubicon shared the second-deepest love ever known, a love that lasted thousands of years. They would’ve died for one another without a second thought. You don’t find a love like that

anymore

.

The saddest part was that she had to say goodbye to him 1,022 years ago. It was his time, but because he had imparted his essence to her, she couldn’t go with him. She was in some ways stronger

than

him

.

Everyone thought that she would die of a broken heart. But her family, a tree with many snaking branches, loved her so much—and she them—that they brought a spark back into her. She found a way to make peace with the departure of her Rubicon. She was content to wait for the day when he would come and

fetch

her

.

I never knew the Rubicon my Nanna spoke of personally, but I’d heard a great many stories

about

him

.

I was born only twenty-eight years ago, but I knew what he looked like because her face lit up every time I entered her room. I was always begging her to tell me stories about the “Big Guy.” That was what she always

called

him

.

Her eyes sparkled as she wove her stories. I knew she loved him truly, even after all this time. I wanted to have a love like that one day. I wished for someone to love me the way she still loved the

Rubicon

.

When I was six, a very special egg

hatched

.

Nanna could hear the thoughts of the dragon inside that egg before the shell even cracked. It was the new Rubicon entering this world. She still had a connection with it, even after the previous

one

died

.

The new Rubicon’s name was Morgan. She was the ugliest baby dragon I’d ever seen. But Nanna had stared at her with so much love and

admiration

.

She’d helped Morgan into this world, guided her to the light. She treasured her always. Soon she saw that I was the lucky one who would claim her when her sixteenth

birthday

came

.

Even the Viden couldn’t see that. So many of them had come and gone, all of them Moon-Bolts. Their Foretellings had guided many to do great things. Some Foretellings magically appeared in a book. These books were housed inside the library. Nanna had her own special book. The words didn’t appear magically, but what she said always came true. She always spoke clearly, never in tongues and never in

riddles

.

She had guided our family through all of our Foretellings. The Viden’s mind couldn’t glimpse of our bloodline’s futures. Only Nanna and a Moon-Bolt named George, who had died thousands of years ago, could

do

that

.

George had been one of their greatest friends. When he died, his Dragonian left this world a few days later. They too shared a special bond, the kind that was so rare, just like Nanna and her

Rubicon

.

When Morgan finally got her human form, it was the opposite of her dragon form. She was a darling blond-haired little girl, with the most beautiful red

brown

eyes

.

She had a sweet soul—smart as hell and as naughty as they come. Although we never went to Dragonia Academy together, I’d been one of her friends from birth. I claimed her six years ago when the darkness inside her started to claw its way into

her

soul

.

She’s known that I would become her rider—her Dent—as Rubicons would never be good without their

Light

.

The pain in my heart grew sharper as I watched Nanna’s fragile body lying on the bed. She still had her spark, but her body was finally giving up. Her mind rambled about things that I didn’t know had passed or were yet to come. She’d spoken about an evil so strong that it ripped her entire family apart. It scared me. I couldn’t find anything in the library about what she could be talking about. She was so old. It would cost me my essence to discover what she’d been talking about for the

past

week

.

She was close to her time. She was going home. Back

to

him

.

I couldn’t imagine life without her. She was the only constant in our family tree, yet even that was coming to an end. Soon she would be

no

more

.

A knock came at the door. Morgan appeared. No longer a little girl, Morgan was stunning. “How is she?” she whispered as she came over for

a

kiss

.

She sat on the sofa next to me. I wrapped my arms around her. Although I couldn’t hear her heartbeat, I knew it was beating at the same pace

as

mine

.

“In and out. She thought I was him a couple times

today

.”

Tears welled up in Morgan’s eyes. She walked over to

Nanna’s

bed

.

Nanna was awake. “My sweet, sweet

Morganna

.”

Morgan smiled. “Don’t leave me,

please

.”

“Shush, child. You know you are not the only Rubicon who

needs

me

.”

Morgan fluffed Nanna’s pillow. “What am I going to do

without

you

?”

“You have Theo. Just think, when I’m gone, the two of you will drive one another

insane

.”

I chuckled. I knew I would start hearing Morgan’s thoughts when Nanna passed. There was that twinkle in her eyes

once

more

.

“You will be fine. I’ve taught you everything you need to know. The rest you must discover

together

.”

She

nodded

.

“Do me a favor?” Nanna

asked

.

“Anything,”

Morgan

said

.

“Go see if his star is

still

gone

.”

Morgan rushed to the windowsill. For the past week the Southern Star had been missing from the night sky. It had been written that the day the Rubicon died, a star would appear in the South. It was the brightest star, even brighter than the North Star. Books spoke about the North Star that guided everyone; even the Bible spoke about the North Star, never the

Southern

Star

.

It hadn’t left the sky for the past thousand

years

.

They all believed it was his star. His soul watching over her. It was so far-fetched, so silly. But seven days ago, that star had just vanished. Did it fall? I didn’t know. But Nanna truly believed that it was him coming to fetch her. The myth didn’t seem so silly

anymore

.

Since that star disappeared, Nanna had grown weaker and weaker. It was as if she was giving up. She’d made peace with it. We hadn’t. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Who would keep the peace? Who would they go to if they couldn’t make a decision? Nanna was that person. Sure there were other old Dragonians, but Nanna was the wisest of

them

all

.

I couldn’t say goodbye to her yet. Not with a world looming over my shoulder. I was the next in line; she’d given the crown to me and not my father. I had no idea if I could do it the way she had with her

Rubicon

.

She said that was the reason she’d given it to me: a great king never knew he was a

great

king

.

I wasn’t

so

sure

.

E

LENA

I

t was late.

I faded in and out of different timelines. I’d said goodbye to loved ones so many times. Watched them return to the ground, become the dust they were made of. So many had died before my eyes. First my father, then

his

wife

.

Then my friends, their faces forgotten, the

memories

weak

.

Blake had always been at my side, making it easier…and then he’d gone, too. I thought I was going to die myself, but I found love again through so many

things

.

Especially the new ones who came into this

world

.

New ones for me to love, to hold, to guide, and to say goodbye to

again

.

One might say it was cruel. That it must be too tiring to open your heart again to love another. But for me, it was natural. It was my life. It

felt

full

.

I’d helped many. I’d guided plenty. I’d loved many. But had I ever truly loved the way my

father

had

?

I didn’t know anymore what had truly happened and what hadn’t. Trying to recall where they fit together was

impossible

.

Morgan came tonight again. She’d confirmed it. His star was still gone. He was finally coming

for

me

.

I heard a sniff and opened

my

eyes

.

Theo leaned back on his haunches near my closet. The sweet boy was a spitting image of my Blake. He laughed it off every time I told

him

that

.

What is he doing here? Why doesn’t he go to bed and sleep?

I’d taught him the most. He was ready even if he didn’t believe it himself. He was

ready

.

He finally looked up. It felt as if my soul was on fire. A new kind of life filled me. My stomach

fluttered

.

His eyes were soft with compassion. I hadn’t been looked at like that for almost a thousand

years

.

Not

Theo

.

Blake

.

“What took you

so

long

?”

“I told you before. Time works differently on the other side,” he said

softly

.

He was so handsome, always had been, right up until the day he’d left

my

side

.

“I’ve missed you so much,” my old voice said.

Lucky bastard. He’d gotten his young

body

back

.

“I missed you more,” he

whispered

.

“How long do

I

have

?”

“One more day,

Elena

.”

I smiled. One more day. Then I was going to

go

home

.

“Your mother is quite the organizer up there,” he joked. “I had to keep on helping her get things ready

for

you

.”

I smiled. “Our first shopping spree?” His face fell, so I asked, “Why the long face,

my

love

?”

He touched my rumpled cheek. “You need to remember what truly happened,

Elena

.”

I swallowed. I knew what he was talking about. I’d struggled with that for the

past

week

.

“You need to tell Theo what he has to do. Otherwise they will be stuck with the wrong

future

.”

“What do you mean?” I spoke

softly

.

The timelines, the different stages of my life, all jumped back into place as his finger brushed my temple. The one that had truly happened, but only the two of us remembered…and another one that everyone else believed was the

truth

.

“They can’t be stuck with that past. You need to tell him what he

must

do

.”

It didn’t make sense. But then it came back to me. The night Blake had run into our room and uttered a horrible

truth

.

“That was…Theo?” I

asked

.

He

nodded

.

A tear welled up. “But you said it

was

you

?”

“I was wrong. I wish I wasn’t.” His expression held immeasurable

compassion

.

“So I did…” My lip started to tremble. I couldn’t even finish my

sentence

.

He nodded

again

.

“She was an innocent baby,

wasn’t

she

?”

“Shh. She understands, Elena. She knows why we had to do it. Silho is waiting for you, too. She cannot wait to finally meet

her

mom

.”

I

sniffed

hard

.

“Will I remember this

tomorrow

?”

“It will hold.” He

smiled

.

I returned his smile, although it didn’t reach my eyes. “Still a master. I hope I don’t have to kill other women up

there

.”

He laughed. “It’s a kill-free environment. And I only have eyes for you. You know that. Sleep, my sweet love.” His lips brushed across my forehead. “I’ll be back

tomorrow

.”

I closed my eyes and waited for the last day of

my

life

.

What was I going to choose tomorrow…my daughter or my entire

family

tree

?

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