Free Unleash the Storm by Annette Marie Page A

only a few days. There was so much she didn’t know about her caste. Their ability to communicate with the ancient elemental power in their territory, their bonds with the silver water dragons, their capabilities underwater, their mysterious telepathy—she knew almost nothing about any of it.
    She, Lyre, and Ash approached the two fish Zwi had plucked from the water. Back in dragonet form, Zwi sat on top of the dead one, head high and mane fluffed proudly as she supervised the second one. It had stopped struggling and lay on its side, gills still pumping. Piper stood beside it, feeling small. It was about five feet long with a jutting jaw full of sharp teeth. She absently rubbed the scales on her forearm as she stared at those teeth.
    Lyre and Ash discussed how best to fillet the fish, neither sounding particularly confident in his skills. She lost track of the conversation, her eyes sliding toward the waterfall. Glancing back at the guys, she drifted away from them and returned to the edge of the pool. The shadows of the fish had returned to their spots at the bottom. Stepping into the shallowest edge of the water and hoping her boots didn’t get too wet, she crouched down until her dairokkan touched the water.
    Her mind overflowed with sensations, but still no hint of a presence or power in the water. She ran her fingers through the ripples, watching the light shimmer across the scales on the back of her hand. Maybe there was a similar elemental power in this world that she just couldn’t sense. Her dominant bloodline was Overworld. Ash had talked before about how his Underworld magic didn’t mesh with the Overworld’s inherent magic, making his presence dangerously conspicuous in that world. Maybe her Overworld magic wasn’t compatible with the elemental power here.
    When Natania had first told Piper about entering the Void to unlock her daemon blood, she’d explained that Piper’s form would depend entirely on her dominant bloodline. If her dominant line was Underworld, coming out of the Void into the Overworld wouldn’t have done anything. Even though she had Underworld blood, she would never be able to unlock it. When it came down to it, she was more half-ryujin than one-quarter Underworld, meaning she would probably never feel that sense of home here that she’d felt in the Overworld.
    She stood and turned. Ash and Lyre were still standing by the fish but they were watching her, waiting silently. Her gaze slid over Ash’s three horns and the dark designs that swirled elegantly wherever scale transitioned to skin. As she understood it, all the ruling families had dominant bloodlines; otherwise, they would have had to inbreed to keep their lines pure. Ash had inherited most of his genes from his father. Even though he and Seiya were born from the same mother, in reality, Ash was barely related to his half-sister.
    “What’s that look for?”
    Ash’s voice broke through her thoughts. She realized she’d been staring at him as though she could x-ray him with her eyes. She quickly shook her head and started toward where the other draconians were setting up the tents.
    “Come on, Piper,” Lyre complained, hurrying to catch up with her, Ash trailing after him. “That was the weirdest look. What were you thinking?”
    She shook her head again. Nope. She wouldn’t tell Ash that she’d been thinking about how he wasn’t related to the rest of the draconians, who were like one big family. She wasn’t that cruel.
    “I don’t think she’s going to tell us,” Lyre commented to Ash.
    “It doesn’t look like it.”
    “Hey, I think she’s blushing. Maybe we don’t actually want to know.”
    “Probably not.”
    “Would you two shut up?” she grumbled, quickening her stride. Of course she was blushing; it was a natural reaction to being scrutinized, but now they probably thought her mind had been in the gutter.
    Lyre chuckled. She glanced back at the two guys walking side by side, Lyre grinning