Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,48

what he could easily become, made her feel protected. None of the general’s soldiers would be able to take on a dragon.

Jaxx’s wings lifted slightly. He stared at her before slowly lowering his head, as if trying to make his posture as nonaggressive as possible. Fiora raised her hand and stepped toward him to explore the feel of his skin.

“Hide those jewels, Jaxx,” Salena yelled. “I’m coming.”

Fiora jerked her hand away from his neck before making full contact. Jaxx lifted his head and looked toward Salena.

“Oh, good, you’re ready,” Salena said.

Jaxx nodded his head once.

“I find it easiest to climb on the back and grab the base of the wings,” Salena said, as she picked Jaxx’s clothes off the ground and shoved them in the pack. “Then hold on tight and try not to fall off.”

Fiora nodded.

Salena joined her sister in front of Jaxx. She placed a hand on her arm and took a deep breath. “He’ll take care of you.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Fiora asked, wondering at the strange finality in her sister’s tone.

“No reason.” Salena turned to go, only to stop and come back. “Actually…”

“What is it?”

“I know we’re not connecting like we used to. I thought when we found each other we’d click, like two missing pieces. I thought… I don’t know what I thought.”

“We’re not the same people,” Fiora said. “We can’t be the same young girls we were back then. We’ve been through too much. I’m not the same, and I don’t want to be that girl again.”

“Now I have to ask, why do you say it like that?” Salena crossed her arms over her chest.

“Quite frankly, you were a little bossy. You liked to tell us what to do,” Fiora said. This didn’t feel like the perfect time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her sibling. “I couldn’t lie to you so you always got the answers you wanted. Piera was too kindhearted to go against you. She liked having her decisions made for her. You can lie to us, so you could convince us to do things.”

“I…” Salena’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before she snapped it shut.

“It doesn’t mean we didn’t love you,” Fiora added, not wanting to hurt her sister’s feelings and yet compelled to speak the truth.

Fiora didn’t know what would happen once they reached the city. She was confident her sister had a future with Grier, but her future with Jaxx was unreadable. This might be the only time they had to have this conversation.

Fiora placed her hands on Salena’s shoulders, forcing her to meet her gaze. “And just like I’m not that girl, you aren’t your old self either. We’ve changed. It’s going to take time to find our new rhythm and get to know each other again. I hope we have that kind of time. We can’t expect things just to be what they were, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you or won’t do everything I can think of to find Piera. You will always be my sister, and I will always have that connection to you even if it doesn’t feel the same.”

The heavy thud of footsteps came down the path. Grier appeared in dragon form. Jaxx made a series of low growls in his throat, and Grier answered him. Fiora had no idea what they were saying to each other.

“We will have that kind of time,” Salena stated. “I’m not going to lose you again.”

“I don’t know if that’s true,” Fiora said. “I hope it is.”

Salena leaned forward to hug her. “Sometimes I hate your honesty. I forgot how annoying it could be.”

“And I hate it when you say things to try to make me feel better. I can never tell if you’re lying or not,” Fiora patted her sister’s back a few times before ending the hug. She started toward Jaxx. A tiny headache formed, and she frowned. “Uh, Salena, make sure you pay attention to your dismount today. The ground is going to be uneven, and you don’t want to break an ankle.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” Salena held up the pack she carried. “There is a handheld medic in here if we need it.”

Grier reached to take the pack from his wife. She then climbed onto his back and held on to the base of his wings. Salena gave him a small tap.

Grier pushed up from the ground, beating his wings to lift them into the air. Fiora watched as Grier angled himself upward and