Hidden Flame: Bound to the Triplet Dragon Kings

**Avery**

This is insane. All of this is insane. I locked my door and rested my back against it. I could hear The Trio quietly talking in

the hallway on the other side of my door, but I couldn’t make out what. They were happy and excited no matter what

they were discussing. They all want me to forgive them but Cassius. He wants to prove himself. Should I let him?

Not thinking, I throw open my door. “What am I to you?” In unison, they said, “Mate.” I abruptly slammed and locked my

door before I pressed my forehead to it. Mate? How? Oh, fucking god! I pulled out all of the historical books in my room

and some of my romance books too because some truth always lies in fiction if you are willing to read between the lines.

In my human history book, there is a section on mythology. In Babylonian myths, Tiamat was the goddess of all dragons

and she was believed to bring chaos and violence as well as create monsters. What if she didn’t bring those things but was created from them? Next, I found an example in Chinese culture. There was a woman named Longmu. She and those

dragons that she bonded to are believed to have created devotion and parental love. I wonder if she is the one

responsible for the mating bond. I picked up a romance book called The Flame. I rented it by accident because it is about

dragons.

Shakily, I began to turn the pages and read. In this fictional book, the female lead never knew who her parents were. She

was found as an infant near death along the shore of a frozen river by an elderly dragon woman. She raised the girl as

her own. The girl had a strange mark on her right hip. It turned out that the mark was from a royal lineage of dragons

dating back to their creation.

all of my lights, I grabbed a hand mirror

body.

they looked different. Yes, there was still a dragon’s clawed handprint

dragon’s mark. Maybe my nightmares of that day in the forest when I was

it marked me. But

I have looked everywhere except between my legs. I sit on my toilet seat

Next, I lower the mirror. On the inside of my upper right thigh is an iridescent triquetra with a dragon’s

dropped the mirror and it shattered into a million pieces on my cool tile floor. I smell

suddenly I am not alone

Cassius asks as he rushes to me

toilet, falling onto the shards as I grab the

say something but Asher stopped him. Asher took a hand towel

his eyes. “Avery, let me help.

and carried me to my bed. I suddenly remembered

Lenore and the other Hags tried to kill me.

in allowing myself to be vulnerable

the way to my bed. He gently laid me down as he said, “Guide

me that you can do

the full experience. You won’t find

else. Happy reading!

hands to where the shards are protruding from my body. It hurts, but I am used

the fuck out or

see them leave but return with their eyes covered. Conner fumbles

them out. Now I need you to guide my

I did as he asked. “Now,

read and what I saw. “Avery, we need to see it,”

you, don’t make me regret it.” Without hesitation, they all nodded and fell to their knees at the foot of my bed. I inched closer and they clasped