Free Broken Gates by D. T. Dyllin

breath as she continued on. “I’m very near death—I have been for some time now, and I only linger to finish the tasks I have set into motion.” I nodded my head unable to find a response. She was dying, or near death . . . the same thing in my book. What is someone supposed to say to that? “My body is near here, protected by Dragos, who awaits my death to follow me into the afterlife.”
    That got a response out of me. “My biological father is near here? Does he want to meet me?” The real question was . . . did I want to meet him? And what did she mean by follow her into the afterlife?
    The Queen’s face tensed and she turned away from me so I couldn’t see her eyes. “No, he has no interest in meeting you. Although he would never harm you—he blames you for the deterioration of our relationship and ultimately my death, and therefore his death as well.”
    After seeing what I had in my visions I could understand why he blamed me for the deterioration of their relationship, I suppose, but her death? And his? “I don’t understand.”
    “Dragos knows the outcome of my visit here, but not the reasons. As for his death . . . he is my mate and he does not wish to go on without me. It’s even doubtful if he could. Mates such as us sometimes follow each other into death because our bond is so tight.” I inhaled sharply at her words. Was she implying something that would happen today—with me—would ultimately cause her to meet her demise? And my biological father too? He was my birth father and even though I was unsure about my feelings for him, I didn’t want him to die. “I couldn’t let him know the truth. It would have ruined everything.” She began pacing the small area in front of the huge window. “There were so many pieces and one wrong step could have meant the end of this world. It still can. I looked at it from every angle, fought to find another way . . . There just wasn’t . . . isn’t. I sacrificed so much, letting him be with another, it ruined us despite our love, and I still have one thing left to do.” She brought her illuminated golden eyes up to mine abruptly. “I must give my powers, and therefore my life, to you . . . my daughter.”
    “What?” I backed up until my knees caught the edge of the bed and I tumbled back onto it before sitting up so I could look at her again. “You’re not my mother.” But her smile, her face . . . “Everyone always said how much I looked like my mom,” I whispered.
    “That’s why she was chosen.”
    “What? No.” My mind was reeling. And yet her words, deep down, felt right to me somehow.
    “Dragos impregnated who you thought was your mother so that the switch would be believable. No one, not even him, knew what I planned to do. He still believes you to be his half-human daughter—if he knew . . .” She shook her head as if trying to dislodge some thought from her mind before continuing on. “He must never be allowed to know differently. Not that he has much time left, but I foresaw that my child . . . you . . . if I kept you . . . you would have been killed in your tiny crib when you were only five days old. Instead, the other child was, and you were left to grow up untargeted by those who wished to strip the dragons of their future queen.” I felt all the blood drain from my face. I had just learned that I had a half sister and she had been murdered in my place, and that I was apparently the future dragon Queen. Can you say brain overload? “I gave you up so I could protect you.”
    Tears had begun to track down my face and I sucked in one shaky breath after another. “Why are you telling all of this to me now?” I managed to choke out.
    “Did you really think that you could be so strong as a half breed? Your powers took longer to develop as a dragon, that’s why you received your first vision so late. It’s also why your powers call so strongly to ones such as Khol. He only believes you to be