Free Betrayal Foretold: Descended of Dragons, Book 3 by Jen Crane Page A

you two kids know each other?” I asked.
    Bay’s sad smile foreshadowed her dark story. “Forster’s wife and I were dear friends. She was killed during the Steward Massacre. Rose’s loss was a hard one for many of us. She was a unique and vibrant soul.”
    Bay looked up at Forster and shook her head. “All these years I thought both she and Forster had been killed.”
    “So, you’re like us, then?” I asked. “A dragon?”
    A sly grin transformed his face into playful, but no less sincere. “I’m a dragon, but not like you. You’ve a little something extra, don’t you?”
    I flushed, still uncomfortable with my newfound lineage of dragon and omni blood, and steered the subject away from myself. “How did you survive? How did you get here, to Pearl?”
    Forster’s mouth twisted ruefully as he recalled the events of so many years before. “I didn’t come by choice, I’ll tell you that. Bay was right to think me dead; I nearly died fighting the battles after The Massacre. Rose and I were surrounded, exhausted. She fought fiercely until the end, but a blow caught her in the chest.” He glanced at the ground. “It was instant, at least.”
    ‘Sorry’ never seemed enough in times like these, but it was all I had. “I’m so sorry.”
    “The next blow found me. Knocked me unconscious. Next thing I knew, I woke up here. If I hadn’t been so injured, I would have killed Gaspare.”
    “Dammit, Forster. Are we still talking about this?” Gaspare threw his hands out dramatically.
    “I guess I’m just not over it yet.”
    “When do you think you might be? Another couple centuries? You are the most obstinate ba—”
    “It was you?” I asked. “You brought him here, Uncle Gaspare?”
    Blue eyes caught the sun, magnifying their brightening at my endearment. “You don’t usually call me uncle.” He beamed. “I like it.”
    I shrugged and made a face. My choice of words wasn’t premeditated.
    Gaspare patted me on the shoulder and went on.
    “Yes, I found him, thank the gods. And Forster would thank me if he wasn’t so hard-headed. He was nearly dead when I traced him here. When he woke, he put up a hell of a fight, but with his injuries, he could do nothing until he healed.”
    Forster’s hands clenched when he said, “I wanted to go back for Rose.”
    “I know. I know you did, and I’m sorry for that.”
    Forster’s clear eyes clouded and his nostrils flared, but he went on. “I desperately wanted to avenge my Rose’s death. I still do—well, I did.” His whole body expanded on a deep breath, and he looked at Mother and me. “Bay told me what happened last night. You three have done the impossible. You’ve conquered and rid our world of one evil bastard, and I’m indebted to you. We all are.”
    I shifted uncomfortably and nodded my head.
    “So, you never did go back?” Mother asked gently. “To Thayer?”
    “I never did. By the time I recovered enough to fight again, Gaspare brought word the battle was lost. Rose’s remains were returned to me, and I interred her at the foot of the mountain near a ginkgo.” Forster looked to the distance, I assumed to where Rose had been laid to rest. “So many on our side died over the course of the long war. I channeled my despair into helping rescue those who still had a chance, and into building a community here.”
    “I’d love to pay my respects to Rose,” Bay said. “It’s a wonderful place you’ve built here, Forster. I can’t wait to see more of it.”
    Bay’s newfound friends and outlook had done wonders for her appearance. Though Thayerians lived longer and aged much more slowly than humans, her face still held proof of her age. But where before her skin had looked weathered and dull; there was now a pinkness to her cheeks, a shine to her eyes. Seeing Bay happy made me happy, and I was hopeful for this new start, this new place. I was in no hurry to get back to Thayer.
    “Bay,” I said. “Tell us about the other people you met