my mating bonds, and even Marco seemed to be treading hesitantly. Unintentionally, his action also gained the others’ attention.
“Commander Moretti,” the red haired man’s sharp voice rang out. “What is the meaning of this? Our briefing was for tonight—”
“They are here with me. My mates brought me here to the Dreki Realm.” I blinked away tears as Cyra inhaled sharply at the sound of my voice, the sound seeming to make everyone pause as it echoed through the silent hall.
Before I could blink, she was in front of me, staring at me from almost the exact same height. My eyes widened as her hands wrapped around my shoulders and everything jolted inside of me. A blast of sonic power, scorching with heat, hit my own magic, and my heart stuttered at the connection between us. The one that was almost unbelievable yet undeniable. Emotion crowded everything, making me dizzy enough that I couldn’t focus on anything but the ringing in my ears. Unimaginable pain and loss slammed into me as a heartbreak that had been long buried exposed itself.
“Sol.” Her voice was broken. “Baby, is it really you?”
The name ran over me with familiarity as I found my voice. “I… how is this possible?” I just couldn’t believe it.
“What’s possible?” Sai’s voice brought me back as I turned my head to look at them, even Marco who had removed his arm despite staying in my space.
I whispered my realization. “This is my mom.”
I had believed for so long that I had lived in the basement my entire life. I had never given full thought to where I’d been born. Rather the opposite—I tried to avoid those thoughts because they were met with the sad realization that a monster like my mother had given birth to me. That had been the hand fate had dealt me.
So I had thought.
Now though, the small dreams and nightmares I had were starting to piece together, and my instincts, my phoenix, were telling me that there was only one truth here… Queen Cyra was my mother.
Unlike my mates, who were connected in a subconscious bond that surrounded me with my wolf and I in the center, my connection with her was a vibrant blue piece of cord that was slightly frayed but solid in the center. The more time we stood in proximity to one another, the more intensely it began to glow, as if my magic was feeding off her own. A wave of memories, short flashes, began to invade everything. Gold eyes. Warm hugs. Flying. Large glass ceilings. Even the smell of her natural scent, a rose and sea salt, became familiar to me. These had always appeared in my dreams, but I had assumed they were simply fantasies to distract me from the far more depressing reality that I’d been locked in the basement from before I could remember.
My phoenix let out another excited sound as I felt hers begin to radiate a magic so pure and strong from her chest that it actually had me feeling as though I was in the presence of a goddess. Tears flooded my face once again as suddenly she pulled me into a hug that was so tight I felt like I was burning alive. Yet I hugged her back, through the small sob of confusion that left my throat.
“I don’t even know what to say.” Cyra pulled back, tears streaking down her cheeks as well. “I don’t understand… we thought… I mean we looked everywhere, for months. We still have a scouting team on Earth realm… yet here you are.”
My throat worked as I tried to find the words that I needed.
“I was locked up,” I admitted softly, and I felt the energy turn darker in the room at my phrasing. I had no idea how else to explain what had occurred, though.
“Locked up?” Her voice was choked. “Where?”
“In a basement,” I rushed out. “I thought it was a church, but apparently it’s a coven. Pastor Malcolm knew I was a phoenix.”
“Did you say that you were being held by a coven?” A masculine voice had me jumping as Cyra tightened her hold on me. I could feel my mates were on edge and very close behind me, but they didn’t try to step into the moment between her and I. I was finding that I wanted them closer. Everything was growing overwhelming, and I was trying to breathe through it, but it wasn’t easy. It didn’t help that the man now standing over