Mari Mancusi - Scorched

“So he was trying to protect his children then.”

“Just as the dragon was trying to protect hers,” Caleb concluded. His eyes pierced his brother’s. “So now, Connor, tell me this. Was the dragon who killed our father an evil creature consumed by blood lust? Or a desperate mother, doing whatever she could to save her babies from an evil man who was trying to kill them?”

Connor hung his head. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I just don’t know anymore.” He stared down at his hands, thoughts whirling madly.

“In any case,” Caleb declared after a moment, “you can relax. I’m not going to kill you.” He glanced over at Trinity. “For one thing, she wouldn’t want me to.”

Connor looked up. “She should,” he said with a grimace. “She’d be safer if I were gone.”

His twin shrugged. “She sees good in you,” he said simply. “And judging from the fact that you didn’t kill her when you had the chance makes me think she might be right.” He gave his brother a rueful look. “I should have listened to you about the Dracken,” he admitted. “Deep down, I suppose, I always knew they were too good to be true.” He sighed. “I guess I just wanted a chance to be noticed for once. To be a hero.” He rolled his eyes. “What a duffer, right?”

“No.” Connor shook his head. “You fought for what you believed in—risked your life for it, even. And the fact that the people you trusted didn’t prove worthy of that trust doesn’t take away from what you tried to do.” He gave his brother a crooked smile. “I guess in a way we both came back in time on the same mission, you know? To save the world. Sadly, neither one of us had any real idea how to do it.”

Caleb seemed to consider this. “Maybe we’ve been thinking too big,” he declared after a pause. “Maybe instead of saving the world, we should just concentrate on saving one girl. And one dragon, of course.” He grinned. “What do you think? Think we can manage something like that between the two of us?”

Connor laughed despite himself. “Why not?” he said. “I mean, two of us, two of them? How hard could it be?”

Lyria sank to a quiet landing on the side of the cliff, lowering her wing and allowing Trinity to slide off her back and onto the ground. She nodded her head in the direction of a small cave, cut into the side of the cliff. You will find your mother there , she said in a throaty voice. I hope she can give you the answers you’re looking for.

Trinity reached out, her heart overflowing as she stroked the dragon’s nose. “How can I ever thank you?” she asked. “I never would have made it without you.”

Actually… Lyria started, then trailed off. There is one thing…

“What is it? What can I do?”

Let Emberlyn know how sorry I am. And that I hope one day she can forgive me.

The mighty dragon looked down at Trinity with huge baleful eyes, overflowing with sorrow. Trin gave her a rueful smile, then reached out, wrapping her arms around the beast’s thick neck. “I’m sure she will,” she promised the dragon. “Someday you guys will be reunited again. Just like me and my mom.”

Lyria nodded, then nudged Trinity softly with her snout before unfurling her wings and lifting back into the sky. Trinity watched her go, feeling both wistful and hopeful. If Emmy and her mom could find peace, maybe there was hope for her as well. She turned to the cave.

“Here goes nothing.” And she dove in.

The light from outside dimmed and the walls started closing in as Trinity pushed deeper and deeper into the cave. Soon it was so tight she had to drop to her hands and knees and crawl her way through. A horrifying claustrophobia pressed at her chest, but still she pushed forward. She couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when she’d come so far. Instead, she concentrated on her mother’s spark, just up ahead, and crawled on. She was almost there.

After what seemed an eternity, the narrow passageway finally opened up into a clearing, allowing her to straighten to full height. Relieved, she pulled herself to her feet, sucking in a long, hard breath and looking around, her jaw dropping as she recognized where she was.

Home. Not her grandpa’s home but her mother’s home—the house they’d shared just before that fateful Christmas Eve. The same blue shutters. The same red mailbox. The same bushes sparkling with the same Christmas lights.

She was home. Really, truly home.

Unnerved, she forced herself up the steps and through the front door, déjà vu hitting her hard and fast. When she pushed open the door, she half expected to stumble upon the nightmare all over again. A bloodied corpse. A shotgun by its side.

But that didn’t really happen , she reminded herself. That wasn’t Mom.

And so she dared to step over the threshold, trying to prepare herself for anything.

“Trinity! You’re home!”

She looked up, her eyes widening as none other than her mother herself stepped out from the kitchen, carrying a plate of freshly baked cookies. She was dressed in a red velvet dress, a checkered apron tied to her waist. Her hair was pulled up into her familiar ponytail and she even wore some makeup on her face. She looked fresh and healthy and happy. And not the least bit insane. As she walked over to her daughter, as if she’d seen her just a few hours before, she held out the plate.

“You must be starving!” she said. “Dinner will be here soon. In the meantime, a few cookies won’t ruin your appetite, right?”

Trinity slowly reached out, feeling half in a daze as she took a cookie from the plate and put it to her lips. It was sweet and buttery, just like a cookie should be, and she bit back a groan of delight.

“Good, right?” her mother asked.

“Amazing,” she concurred. But she wasn’t just talking about the baked goods.

After taking another bite, she looked around the room, trying to sort things through. It was all there, identical to how it had been—the same simple furnishings, the same cheery Christmas tree. The only difference was the presents underneath weren’t stained with blood as they had been the first time around. And there was no body sprawled out in the middle of the floor, no head blown to smithereens.

She turned to her mother. She had a million things she wanted to say. Instead, “I thought you were dead!” was all that came from her lips.

Her mother gave a shrill laugh. “Dead? Please. Can a dead woman dance like this?” She flittered around the room, using the plate of cookies as her dance partner. Trinity watched her, tears misting her eyes as she remembered all the dance parties they’d had over the years. Whirling around the room until they collapsed in dizzy glee.

“Oh, Mom,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Her mother stopped dancing, her eyes twinkling merrily. “If you’re buttering me up for Chinese food, you needn’t bother. I’ve already placed the order and your grandpa’s picking it up on his way over here. Extra duck sauce, just as you like it.” She clapped her hands in excitement, bouncing up and down. “Oh, Trinity, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!”

Just like she’d promised.

This was how it was supposed to be , Trinity realized suddenly, things finally sliding into place. This was the Christmas Eve I was supposed to have.

She sank down onto the couch, watching her mother rummage through the presents under the tree. She realized she’d never unwrapped a single one the first time around—she’d been too traumatized and they had eventually donated everything to Goodwill instead. Meaning she had no idea what her mother had picked out for her.