“Are we ready?” she asked, looking from Vaughn to Constantine.
Con winked at her before meeting Vaughn’s gaze. They nodded at each other, then faced forward.
Rhi linked her arm with Con’s and took a deep breath. “I’ve been waiting for this day. Let it be everything we hope it is,” she whispered softly.
Vaughn held back as the couple walked through the doorway together. He watched as they disappeared from the realm. With one last look around at the Dragonwood, he followed. The moment he stepped across the threshold, he found himself in the other realm. The beauty was indescribable.
Trees reached high into the vivid blue of the sky. There were tall mountain peaks tipped with snow, deep valleys awash in vibrant greens, and flowers running the gambit of colors. Then he heard them.
Dragons.
His knees went weak to once again hear their many roars. Vaughn closed his eyes as emotions crashed into him like a tsunami, pummeling him one after another. For untold years, he’d only heard the roars of the other Dragon Kings—and only when there was a thunderstorm, so it hid the sound from humans. He’d forgotten the different dragons’ calls. Some long and loud, others short and soft, and in every octave imaginable.
The Kings had long feared that their dragons had perished. Despite that, they held onto hope that the dragons were alive. To finally find the realm and hear them was a dream come true.
He opened his eyes and turned in a circle as he searched the sky. It didn’t take him long to find a group of dragons flying nearby. More lay sunning in a valley. He saw Reds, Whites, Blacks, Golds, Silvers, Hunter Greens, and Yellows. There were Jades, Bronzes, Clarets, Ambers, Greys, Browns, and Ivories and even some mixed colors. When he saw his Teals, he dropped to his knees, emotion tightening his throat. His eyes watered as he watched a group of adolescents playing on the side of a mountain, taking turns seeing who could push the others off. It was the most beautiful sight that Vaughn had ever witnessed.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder. He knew it was Con without looking. Vaughn wasn’t sure he ever wanted to leave this realm. Regardless of whatever negative things it held, the dragons were here. A Dragon King needed his dragons to fulfill his duties. Every King at Dreagan had suffered without their clan.
Vaughn finally looked up at Con. The King of Dragon Kings was just as moved at the sight of the dragons. They smiled through their tears, each understanding the Kings on Earth should witness the spectacular sight on Zora.
“Con,” Rhi called.
Vaughn looked at Rhi to find her gaze directed up the slope of the mountain. He jumped to his feet at the same time Con turned and walked to his mate. Vaughn spotted the woman observing them. His stomach dropped to his feet as shock rippled through him.
He knew her.
He could barely draw breath as he stared at the woman he’d been searching eons for. The breeze teased the ends of her long, golden locks that hung to her waist. She stood tall, her bearing regal. Her gaze never wavered as she looked upon Con and Rhi. She was dressed in all white. Her sleeveless top molded to her breasts, stopping a few inches below, displaying the tight muscles of her stomach. The hem of her skirt brushed the grass, hiding her feet as the breeze moved the thin material, molding it to her legs.
Vaughn knew in an instant that this was one of Con and Rhi’s twins. Nor did it go unnoticed that the doorway leading to Zora from Earth had been set in a valley, causing anyone who came through to look up.
“By the stars,” Rhi whispered, her voice shaking with emotion.
Vaughn was thinking the same thing. Was the woman the reason he’d felt such a driving need to come to this realm? Would she recognize him? Would they share the same fiery attraction as the first time they met?
She didn’t come to them. In the end, Con, his arm around Rhi, started toward her. Vaughn followed several paces behind the couple. The climb was steep and awe-inspiring. The more Vaughn saw of the realm, the more beautiful he thought it was. His heart sighed in contentment, knowing the dragons had found such a planet. No place was perfect, but this world came close. It reminded him so much of what their realm had once been before the humans arrived.
Before the war.
Vaughn put all of that out of his mind as they drew nearer to the woman. He didn’t know what to say to her. Thankfully, he didn’t have to since Con and Rhi were there and spoke first.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to meet you,” Rhi told her daughter.
Con nodded, smiling. “Thank you for opening the doorway.”
She didn’t respond. Instead, her sharp gaze slid to Vaughn. It felt as if he’d been kicked by a dragon. He stared into her intelligent, spirited eyes, mesmerized by the various shades of silver. In that moment, in that very instant, he realized that she remembered him and their night together, as well.
Finally, she broke eye contact and returned her attention to her parents. She took a deep breath and said, “I’m Eurwen.”
“Means gold and fair,” Con said. “Which you certainly are.”
Vaughn couldn’t agree more. Now that he knew her name, something else bound them together. The more he stared at her, the more he suspected that his dreams hadn’t been dreams at all. They had been real. Though he hadn’t yet pieced together how that was possible. At least, he had her name now.
Rhi blinked as tears coursed down her face. “I don’t know where to begin, Eurwen. You know more about us than we do about you. We have so much to catch up on.”
“What are your intentions?” Eurwen demanded.
Con glanced at Vaughn over his shoulder. “Rhi and I have come to meet you and your brother. Obviously, we’d love to see the dragons while we’re here.”
“And him?” Eurwen asked as her gaze bored into Vaughn.
He moved a step closer. “You know why I’m here.”
Con and Rhi wore identical frowns as they looked between the two of them. Eurwen broke eye contact with him first. Vaughn felt the dragons before he saw then. They had moved closer as if sensing that Kings had arrived.
“Where is your brother?” Rhi asked. “We want to meet him.”
Eurwen showed no emotion on her face, something she likely got from Con. “He isn’t yet ready to meet either of you.”
“In other words, he didna want us here,” Con said, not bothering to hide his hurt. “I hope both of you understand that what happened was no’ something Rhi nor I knew about until recently.”
Eurwen nodded. “We do.”
“What changed your mind about allowing us entry?” Rhi asked.
“By refusing, we acted like children when we are far from it.” Eurwen jerked her chin and looked beyond them. “Even now, the dragons know who has arrived, without having to be told.”
Vaughn glanced over his shoulder to see a mass of dragons approaching in the distance as more gathered around them—some on land and others in the air.
“I didna come to take over,” Con told her. “Neither did Vaughn. None of the Kings who come from Earth will.”
Eurwen’s lips twisted. “Some things are out of your control. This is Cairnkeep. My home is over the next rise. Come when you’ve finished.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. Vaughn wanted to go after her. He was happy he’d finally found her but confused and disturbed to learn that she knew him. If so, why hadn’t she come to him on Earth? Before he confronted her, he needed to get control of his raging emotions. Besides, Con and Rhi needed time with their daughter first.