Offering a small shrug, I blushed. “Wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world.”
More like the best.
“Anytime you want to see me naked, kitten, just ask,” Sai promised, his bright smile causing me to shiver as my hands slid up his chest.
Before I could form a response to his statement, my chest lit up and my mating mark from Ledger pulsed as the sound of his dragon echoed through the space. My eyes widened as I followed two massive dragons speeding towards us, one a bright emerald shade and the other sapphire in coloring. I stepped away from Sai and smiled up at the twins, glad that Bella was in Sai’s arms as a hard body suddenly hit into mine, Anani having shifted without stopping and pulling me right up against him. I had expected the impact to hurt, but instead he held me against him with such a gentle touch that the only thing that had force was the way his lips pressed down on mine in a demanding greeting. He pulled away, flashing a playful smile that showed off his normal good mood. There was still a level of darkness there from the hotel, but there was far more light than before, making me hope that I had at least something to do with that.
Ledger was circling ahead as I looked up, and Anani shook his head. “His dragon wants to meet you.”
I stepped closer to the edge and motioned for him to come down as his dragon landed, the ground shaking. I immediately ran my hands along his scales as I wrapped my arms around him—well, as much as I could—his low rumble making me smile. A purring began to start as I pulled back and looked into his dark eyes.
“Shift back,” I encouraged as he brushed his nose against my stomach, making me jump slightly before a shimmer of blue magic ran over his skin and Ledger landed gracefully in front of me. Immediately pulling me into his arms, I pressed my ear against his chest as the pattern of his heartbeat had me sighing with contentment. Cupping my jaw, he tilted my head back and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead without any words. Marco’s voice finally sounded and drew me back to the reality that, once again, there were others around us.
“We will go when we are ready to.” Marco’s sharp retort had me feeling a bit guilty, if we were being honest. I now realized that these men were waiting to escort us to wherever we were staying, and I had to admit, I hadn’t been in any rush to walk into the gleaming city behind us, especially if it meant spending time with my mates and their dragons. They nodded at Marco’s harsh tone as he offered them a dismissive gaze before looking at me, his eyes jumping with amusement.
“Oh,” I squeaked, realizing that he was waiting for me to be ready to go. Would he have waited all day? I had a feeling Marco would have been completely content with that. I moved forward and took the hand he offered, his emotions once again firming up and sealing off as he faced the other soldiers.
“Where are we staying?” I asked curiously.
“In the castle. All the command teams that serve the royal family have quarters there,” he explained. “Plus, the royal physician serves the queen directly, so access to her will be far easier.”
I nodded as we stepped through a pair of large golden gates that were lined with even more guards, a weird sense of recognition running over my skin as I stared at the magnificent city that stretched ahead of us towards the castle. I swallowed as the strange feeling crashed into me, my brain freezing up as Marco led me towards four large golden carriages that were being drawn by beautiful white horses with stunning golden wings that had legitimate glitter covering them. They were nearly enough to distract me from the overwhelming emotions I was currently feeling.
“Marco?” I whispered as he helped me into the carriage before Henry joined the two of us, the others spreading out amongst the others, if I had to assume. Considering how large these were, you would have thought we could fit more, but my mates were without a doubt large individuals, and it had never been more clear than while sitting in the enclosed cabin.
“Yeah, baby girl?” He frowned at my expression, my eyes darting toward the window where the city sparkled under my appraisal.
“I think…” I swallowed, feeling nervous. “I think I’ve been here before.”
8
Maya
“You think you’ve been here before?” Marco clarified, his brow dipping as I tried to figure out a better way to express the weird surge of faint familiarness I felt for this place. It wasn’t memories, specifically. It wasn’t even that I recognized anything. It was an internal, almost instinctual gut feeling that told me this place was familiar. It had been the same way when I first met my mates. Despite not recognizing them—as in I’d never met them before—they felt like home.
This place didn’t feel like home, not exactly… but it felt familiar.
Trying to explain something like that to Marco was difficult, though, because I barely understood it myself. As the carriages began moving, I nibbled my lip and tried to figure out the best way to express myself to him.
“Maybe,” I hedged. “Or maybe it’s not that I’ve been here before, but it feels familiar. Maybe I have been somewhere similar? I don’t know how else to describe it.”
The feeling was only solidified as we began traveling down the main street, shifters stopping to watch us, the majority of men dressed similar to my mates. I saw their eyes widen at seeing me, which made me feel a bit awkward, so I turned my attention to the large sandstone and marble buildings that we passed, gold gilded decor and large open windows and doors only adding to the opulence.
It wasn’t that I even liked this place. There wasn’t a sense of comfort associated with the familiarity. Maybe a bit of wonder… but mainly just that I recognized it. Although the hard-set expressions of everyone we passed and the formal air to the space was dominant enough that I found myself straightening in my seat, wondering how such a contradictory place existed. It looked like somewhere that should have been filled with softness and beauty, but there was an underlying current that felt very sharp and formal. My head spun as I tried to sort through the emotions this place was causing.
The few women that we did pass weren’t dragons fully, their scents and energy radiating a different type of magic. They were beautiful though. Tall and lean with hair that seemed to fall to their waists, almost all of them wearing similar dresses to myself, despite carrying swords at their waists or arrows on their back. How did they fight in such heavy dresses? I didn’t fight, so maybe it was possible, but somehow I felt like it would get in the way, right?
“We need to understand what is going on better before we arrive at the castle,” Henry insisted, his eyes flashing with legitimate concern.
“Maybe I saw a picture of the realm when Croy was going over everything? Or he described it to some extent? Or I heard one of you talking about it?” I offered several options but then shook my head. “It just feels extremely familiar.”
“It could be connected to her phoenix somehow,” Marco pointed out as Henry’s hand intertwined with mine, his lips brushing over the top of it.
“We will figure it out,” Henry confirmed, and I had absolutely no doubt he meant that. When my mates wanted something accomplished, they almost always were successful. They were just amazing like that.