Free Desolation (Dragonlands Book 4) by Megg Jensen Page A

they do a miracle."
    Hazel spun and wrapped her arms around Connor. "You're still with me. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is."
    "Hazel." Connor stepped away. "What happened to me was horrible. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I'm lucky we're together again, but it was no miracle. Twisted, evil magic brought me back to life."
    "I look at it differently." Hazel cinched the bag closed and set it down on the table. "When you walked into the fog, holding hands with Tressa and swearing you'd be back for me, I wanted more than anything to believe it. I told our boys you'd come home. I kept my back straight and my eyes dry, but at night I sobbed into the mattress. I knew you wouldn't return. I couldn't tell the boys that. I had to give them hope that you would be the lucky one who made it back."
    Connor rested his arm on Hazel's shoulder.
    "When Bastian returned through the fog and told me you were dead, it felt like losing you a second time. I'd already said goodbye to you, but I had to do it again when I saw Bastian was alive and you weren't with him. After I learned everything that had happened to you, I decided whatever had kept us apart was only a stumble. Having you back in my life was all that mattered. I drove Bastian crazy with all of my questions about you when we were in Ashoom. The last thing I wanted was to scare you, so I let Bastian bear the brunt of my concerns."
    Connor’s friend was a kind man, but Bastian wasn't good at interacting with women, particularly not on an emotional level. "Was he understanding?"
    Hazel smiled. "He was, but he kept telling me to talk to you about it. I think that was his subtle way of telling me to leave him alone." She paused and both were silent. "And now Bastian is gone. Unless there's a chance...?"
    "No." Connor shook his head. "I saw Bastian die."
    "Unless what happened to you happened to him," Hazel said. "What if another dragon is out there bringing the dead back to life?"
    "I hope not," Connor said. "Bastian would hate being a dragon. He could barely stand that side of me."
    "Then, for his sake," Hazel said, "may Bastian rest in peace."
    Connor glanced around the little cottage. Soon it would be his home again. It would be the place he'd raise his family—human and dragon—in peace. Unfortunately there was still work to be done before he could count on that dream becoming a reality.
    "Are you ready?" he asked Hazel.
    She took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm about to leave my babies behind and fly off with my husband, the great sapphire dragon."
    "Let's tell them," Connor said, clasping her hand. "We have to do it before you change your mind."
    Hazel squeezed his hand and they set off for the village hall. Connor hoped Pia would agree to protecting the village until they came back. The woman owed him, after all. Without him, she'd still be hiding in her cottage back in Ashoom.

     
     

Chapter Thirteen
     
    Bastian's eyelids snapped open.
    He looked right and left, up and down, but saw nothing other than utter darkness.
    His heart pounded in his chest. His heart! Pounding!
    He was alive.
    But how?
    He tried to move his arms, but they were tied down. The same with his legs.
    Bastian thrashed to no avail.
    "He's awake," a woman said somewhere in the darkness.
    Bastian blinked again, confused. Was he blind, or was it simply dark?
    A sharp prick of cold steel touched his neck.
    "Who were you fighting for?" the woman asked.
    Bastian thought of his daughter first. "Farah."
    "I don't know any Farah." The blade pressed deeper. Blood trickled down his neck. "What color is the dragon you follow?"
    Bastian thought of Connor. "Blue."
    "Interesting," the woman said. The prick didn't go away. It also didn't go any deeper. "There is only one Blue dragon. We do not know his allegiance, though he appeared to fight with the Black."
    The Black. Those were the dragons Tressa had joined. Tressa! Why had it taken him so long to remember her? He had seen the horror in her eyes as he