A beautiful song of greeting rang up from the tiny uninhabited island between Japan's most northern coast and a stretch of Russia sticking out from the mainland. A shimmering azure dragon rocketed upwards and Ozin sang an excited greeting in return. His mate barreled into him and they fell from the sky in a loving embrace. Ares started to descend after them. Quin looked to Luna continuing to fly ahead. "Luna," he called through the link. "We're here."

"No." she snapped back. "We're not."

Quin pumped his wings hard, increasing his speed and coming up to cut her off, forcing her to change direction. "We have been flying for two days straight." He scolded. "You will be of no use to either of them if you do not rest."

A high-pitched whine hummed in her throat as they circled their landing spot. She was exhausted. Physically, for the time she spent flying, but emotionally as well. The second time that Nekros had broken through whatever barriers that held him, the emotions that carried his message was near overwhelming. So much fear... so much pain... She knew Quin and the others had felt it too. But her connection to her brother was that much deeper. How much did they really understand?

"We will find them, Luna." His deep voice was a soothing balm to her troubled mind. "No matter what it takes."

She nodded and finally tilted herself towards the ground with Quin following her. They landed on a ridge away from the others. Ozin and Ares were wrestling with Tiamat spraying them with water. Valkyr came bounding out of a cave, an electric yellow gleam illuminating her navy-blue feathers, and launched herself into the fray. Lysander was unseen, but she could sense him nearby. They were all here... together again. There were only two things missing.

Quin leaned his body against Luna's, providing her with warmth and support. She couldn't help but press back into him. It was so rare to see him in his true form these days. Gods be damned he was big. The size difference was less noticeable like this, but it was noticeable. The humanoid shape he took really didn't do him justice. His golden feathers danced with the his overwhelming power, appearing as a wash of blues and greens and white. He was beautiful.

She gave into her desire for comfort and tucked her head into the crest of his throat. He stiffened for a moment before relaxing. She knew he would not return this much affection, but this was enough. She missed the days they used to spend flying together, riding the updrafts until the air was too thin to support them and the earth curved below them. They had been younger. The world had been younger.

"What if we're too late?" she wasn't able to hide the tremble in her voice.

Quin chuckled in a raspy hiss. "Do you honestly believe for a second that Nekros would allow himself to be killed? Would Phoenix?" She tried to meet his humor, but her laugh was hollow and empty. "Come," he said softly. "Let's get some rest."

He pushed away from her and started walking towards the others. Luna watched him go, feeling cold from the loss of contact. She mentally shook herself before following him. She was ice. The cold was her comfort.

Quin avoided the brawling dragons and down the ridge towards the rocky shore. Lysander was tucked between two big boulders, shielding himself from the wind and most of the water. The sun made his multicolored hair glitter different shades of crystalline greens and pinks. "Now, how did I know I would find you here." Quin shifted back into his humanoid form and sat down on a rock facing Lysander. There was a book in his hands. "What are you reading today?"

Lysander looked up, glassy fuchsia eyes shimmering. Slowly he folded the corner of the page and closed it. "The Hobbit," He said in soft, hoarse voice. "The locals keeps calling me Smaug, so I thought I'd catch up on the reference."

"It's a good book." Quin nodded. "They made three movies out of it."

He frowned and looked down at the small book. "Three?"

"You have missed a lot. If there is one thing the humans are better at than coming up with a story, it's stretching that story out to make as much money as possible."

"I guess that's the downside of being asleep for the last three thousand years. Everything I used to know is gone. Even some parts of my family."

"Nekros was a big Tolkien fan." Quin smiled reassuringly. "When we get him back, he'll be happy to tell you all about him."

Lysander's eyes narrowed slightly, and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. He looked back up the ridge where the squabbling dragons were getting louder. "Was it wise for us all to be here?" he asked quietly.

"Why wouldn't we all be here? We finally know where Nekros and Phoenix are, we should all be there to help them."

"But you've left her alone."

"Who?"

Lysander's eyes flared angrily, and he stood up sharply. "Rhiannon!" He spat. "Nekros and Phoenix's hatchling! She is without one of us to guide her through her awakening."

"Rhiannon is fine." There was a verbal eyeroll in his words. "My kin are watching over her, and her powers are sealed. She cannot awaken."

"You don't know that!" He whirled around and started up the slope back to the others. "She doesn't know what she is. The kin do not know who she is! You should have found the time to explain it to her when you discovered her."

"She is not our concern at the moment, Lysander." Quin snapped, following after him. "Nekros and Phoenix must remain our priority."

"Luna!" Lysander shouted, a rare moment for his voice to rise to anything above what would be considered a normal speaking volume for someone else. He stopped at the top of the ridge to let Valkyr and Ares roll by in a snarling ball of lightning and flying rocks. "Luna! How are you alright with this?"

Luna shrank back into her humanoid form and skipped forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "I'm not." She said, casting a dark look at Quin. "I didn't want to stop. I thought we should have kept going. We're so close! Another day's flight and-"

"You too?!" he demanded, pushing her back. "She is your niece! Your blood! Our family! And you are fine with leaving her behind and alone, within arms reach of the ones who took her?!"

Luna looked up at Quin with confusion. "Rhiannon." Quin said in explanation.

"Oh for- she's fine, Lysander." She rolled her eyes. "She is living a good life as a human for the moment. It's safer if we leave her be."

"Do none of you understand the gravity of the situation?" Lysander gaped at the other six. Ozin and Tiamat finally looked up from preening each other and the other two wrestling stopped with Valkyr pinning Ares to the ground. "Nekros's message came to us on the back of magic that couldn't have been anyone's but his daughter's. She could be on the cusp of awakening, and none of us are there to help her."

"Keoni is heading in that direction," Ares said through the link while struggling against Valkyr's hold. "He can take care of it."

"Keoni is no good to her if they take her again!" Lysander shook his head and looked up to Tiamat and Ozin. "What if it were your hatchling?" he asked quietly. "What if it were you two that went missing? Would you want us to leave your child alone? Would your life ever come before theirs?"

Tiamat shifted uncomfortably and looked between all of them. "He has a point." She said quietly. "It wouldn't matter how much danger it was in, I would want you to take care of the hatchling first."

Luna rounded on Lysander, her eyes gleaming angrily. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "We are this close to getting my brother back. Are you saying that we should just forget about him and turn back?"

"This is not a black and white situation, Luna. We do not all need to be there to help Nekros. One of us should have stayed behind."

"Her power is locked." Quin said sharply. "Whoever these people are, they have the ability to suppress the magic of dragons. They took down Nekros, Phoenix, and any number of their elite kin. We have no idea what they're truly capable of."

"Nekros and Phoenix were caught off guard." Valkyr pipped up, dancing away as Ares finally wriggled out of her grip and snapped his powerful jaws at her. She shifted seamlessly into the tall, thin blonde and dragged Luna in a one-armed hug violent enough to be mistaken for a chokehold with their height difference. "There is no way they can take us all when we're ready for it."

"Thank you for proving my point, Valkyr."

"Huh?!"

"Quin," Lysander turned back to biggest of the dragons. "I know you're usually right about these things, but I'm telling you, someone needs to be there. One of us. She shouldn't be going through this alone!"

"She isn't going through anything. Her powers are dormant. She will not awaken. We are done talking about this."

"I am not one of your kin that you can control with the bond!" Lysander snarled, little crystals forming around his feet. He looked between Quin and Luna before shifting smoothly back into his true form. "It really should be one of you two."

He turned and launched into the air and turning east towards the United States.

~

It was dark and warm. Feeling slowly started to creep back into her body. Oh, how she wished it wouldn't. Five more minutes of blissful sleep. But it was too late. She was awake and the longer she was awake the more aware she became that she was not in her own bed. The bed was hard and old. The sheet was rough and thin. Her back and neck ached.

Opening her eyes was like pulling open stiff Velcro. A dimly lit, paneled ceiling hung over her. This was not her house. Where was she? When she moved her head to look around, something tugged at her face. An oxygen mask? Oh god... she was in a hospital!

What the hell happened to her? She closed her eyes again, trying to remember... anything. She had been at work, talking to Ian waiting for a call to come in. She had been telling him... what? What had they been talking about? Why couldn't she remember anything?! Had she blacked out? Was there an accident? Why was she in a fucking hospital?

She sat up, her joints cracking ominously, and pulled the mask away. An I.V. line pulled at her arm. Adrenaline surged through her at the sight. She ripped out the offending tube before her training and sense could come through. Fire shot up her veins and she bit down on her dry lips to keep from crying out. She didn't want anyone to hear. They were just going to stick the damn thing back in.

She looked around the room and found what she was looking for. Bathroom. Using the wall to support her shaky legs, she stumbled through and closed the door. She barely made it to the toilet before heaving violently. Nothing came up, but it left her choking and gasping. She heaved again. Sweat beaded on her forehead and tears welled up in her eyes.

She sat back and leaned her head back against the cool wall and took several deep breaths. Her body felt strange. Her skin was hypersensitive can could feel every irritating seam of the gown. The light was a lot harsher in here than the main room and seared her retinas. The cleaning staff must have recently been in because all she could smell was sickeningly clean scent of every hospital. She closed her eyes again, trying to block out the endless stream of information her body was taking in.

With her eyes closed, she started to hear the voices from outside her room. Damn, these walls were thin. "I don't know what to tell you, Nolan." Came a male voice. "Her vitals are stable, we've taken her off all sedatives... All we can do right now is wait for her to wake up."

"I know, Mithras, but she's been unconscious for two days." Nolan's voice was pleading and full of desperation. "There has to be something more you can do."

"I'm sorry." The male really did sound apologetic. "Have you reconsidered calling-"

"No." Dáithí's voice now. What was he doing here? "She doesn't need him. She doesn't need any of them. She's strong, she'll wake up on her own."

"That's not your call to make, freak." Mithras snarled.

"Call me a freak again, dog." Dáithí snarled. "I've been dying to show you pets what we can do without the dragons holding us back."

"Stop!" Nolan barked. "Go get him, Mithras."

"What?!"

"I can't wait anymore, Dáithí, if he can do something and she hates me for it, then gods be damned it will be worth it just to know she's fucking alive! Go get him!"

Damn. She had never heard him so upset. She needed to get back to him. Show him she was okay. She reached out and grabbed the edge of the sink to haul herself back onto her feet. She had to close her eyes against the dizziness and fresh wave of nausea that rushed through her. "Come on, Rhia, you're stronger than this." she hissed to herself.

Her voice was hoarse. Her throat was dry. She opened her eyes and stared herself in the mirror. They widened as she realized what she was seeing.

Nolan stopped shouting as a shriek came from Rhia's room. He rushed back inside. The bed was empty. The bathroom door was closed. In a flash he was there and grabbed the handle. Locked. "Rhia!" he called. "Rhia, are you alright?"

"No!" She shouted through the door, her voice cracking.

"Rhia!" Dáithí all but threw himself against the door and pounded on it with his fist. "Open the door!"

"Hell no!"

Nolan grabbed Dáithí's shoulder. "Just give us a minute." He pleaded.

Dáithí's lip curled in a snarl but he eventually stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Nolan turned back to the door, leaning his forehead against it. He could smell her distress and hear her racing heart.

"Rhia, sweetheart." He tried to get a hold of the shaking in his voice. "It's just us now. You and me. Please... open the door."

There was only silence for a minute before he heard the clock of the lock turning over. Nolan took a step back and the door opened. She was staring at the ground. The tent-like gown hung loose against her body and she stared at the floor. "Where are my clothes?" she asked in a low, shaky voice. "I want to go home."

Nolan felt like a weight had lifted off his lungs, allowing him to take the first deep breath since Sophie had called him. He had to fight his urge to drag her into his arms and never let go.

"Please..." she said quietly. "Take me home."

"Rhia," he took a tentative step towards her. "Look at me."

Her eyes slammed shut and she shook her head.

He could feel her despair rolling off her in waves. He reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. She was shaking as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. Her hair was greasy and tangled. She smelled of sweat and blood and magic. He waited for her to move, either to look up or push him away. Forcing her to do anything wouldn't help the situation. But gods, it took all of his will power not to make her look at him.

She buried her face in his chest for a long time before tilting her head back to finally look him in the eye. The same deep, emerald colour he'd grown to love had gotten even more intense with the awakening of her magic. Her pupils had turned into perfect vertical slits. It was a second before he realized he'd stopped breathing. She was beautiful.

The truth finally sank in. It hit him so hard it felt like a punch to the gut. She was dragonkin. She was one of the few near-immortal creatures. For the first time he faced the prospect of settling with one person for the rest of his life. Fuck, did he really want that for himself? Yeah, now in the beginning of their relationship while things were hot and heavy, they wanted each other... but forever was a long fucking time.

Rhia blinked and looked down again. "Where are my clothes?"

"Your brother brought you a bag."

"Oh god, you trusted Maddy to bring me clothes? You might as well dress me in a garbage bag." she managed a small laugh and followed his gaze to the couch. She stared at the bag and the smile slowly slipped off her face. "Do they... know?" she asked in a whimper.

"Yes." What else was he supposed to say?

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh," she breathed. "Okay... Well... I guess now Richard has a legitimate reason to hate me. Who else?"

Gently, but firmly, Nolan guided her onto the couch. She stared at her hands in her lap. Absolute misery was written all over her face. He took her chin and tilted her head up so he could see her eyes again. "The dragonkin, obviously." He said softly. "By now, the Counsel, probably."

Her eyes widened in horror. "The Counsel?" she squeaked. "How..."

"Your partner, Ian, was the one who brought you in. The fae picked him up, and by now he's told them everything. It's only a matter of time before the humans get a hold of the story."

Her jaw went slack, and her breath hitched in her throat. "Oh my god." She choked. "Oh my..." She stood up suddenly, running her hands through her hair and gasping for air. "I need to get out of here, I- I- I can't stay here..."

"Hey, hey, hey," Nolan stood up after her and took her face in his hands, dragging her eyes back to his. "It's alright. I'm going to take you somewhere safe, okay?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Safe... but not home? Why?"

"Things are a bit tense right now. The dragonkin are unwilling to let you let you into the city."

"The dragonkin can kiss my fucking ass, where are you taking me?"

"A shifter from the counsel, Atticus, he's an old friend of mine. He has a property out in Tuna Canyon near Malibu. It's quiet and secluded... a perfect place to think."

"Think about what?"

She wasn't getting it. This was too much for her. "This... What you..." He sighed. "You're yfeerie. The dragons have to complete the binding process in person. The shifters have agreed to protect you until you decide whether or not that's what you want."

"No." she gasped. Her hands shot out and she grabbed his hand, holding desperately tight. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. "I don't want to be bound. I don't want to be one of them. Please, I just want things to be the way they were before."

Seeing her so upset broke his heart. He tried brushing the tears away with his thumb, but they just kept coming. "I know, sweetheart." he said softly. "But they can't. Everything's going to be different now."

"No, please, no..." she whimpered and threw herself into his arms, crying into his chest.

Her words became unintelligible. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. How was he supposed to help her? He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her into a tight embrace.

After a minute he pushed her back and rubbed her shoulders. "Get dressed." He kissed her forehead. "Let's get you out of here."

She answered by pulling off the hospital gown. He knew he should give her privacy, but he couldn't help but stare. By Dáithí's account of the story, he'd expected her to be covered in bruises. Her skin was flawless. A little paler than usual, but otherwise completely unmarked. The imperfections in her tattoo were gone, along with the surgical scars it had been designed to hide.