Thankfully, they seemed to take the news in stride, and Leala really was a wonder with that whip.
In the days that followed, I spent more and more time keeping busy with Ami, Claudile, and Gunduin, while the others took a chilled-out break.
There was always a calm before the storm.
TWENTY-EIGHT
NYFAIN
I sat on the bed in the tower room, looking out at the bright sunlight, only a few clouds rolling through the sky. My attention was focused inward, though, on my bond with Finley. I’d been checking in more often since feeling her reaction to the other alpha, presumably the same one who’d tried to dominate her when she was in the demon dungeon. I knew what he was doing. I could feel it in her confusion, in her dragon’s rising interest.
It was forbidden, what he did. It was also unfair to her, given she didn’t understand what was happening and probably didn’t even know it was possible.
He was fucking toying with my mate.
Rage coiled in my gut. Desperation to get to her, to protect her and defend my claim, blotted out my reason for a moment. Before I knew it, I was up and pacing, my hands curled into fists.
You told her to leave, my dragon accused me, power pumping through us. You did this. You put the idea in her head, and now she has found exactly what you told her to—someone who can lay a claim over ours. Her dragon is responding to his magic and power as any dragon would, and it’s your fault.
White-hot rage stole my breath, but I didn’t deny it. She should replace us. She should find happiness outside of our cursed kingdom. I wanted that for her. I’d given her that opportunity, and when she headed into the mountains rather than coming straight here, I’d figured that fate would be on her horizon. Sure, I could feel her misery, but that didn’t change the fact that she was headed for freedom. For a new life. And while she might not like the idea at first, eventually it would grow on her.
But then she’d yanked me back to her, anchoring me so thoroughly to her that I was helpless to pull away. She’d made her choice—me—and insisted that I honor it.
She was mine. She would always belong to me.
And I knew now that she would come back. She wasn’t going to listen to me any more than she’d ever listened to anyone else who’d tried to govern her life. She was a woman who knew her own mind and desires, which was part of the reason I’d been drawn to her in the first place.
I felt guilt about my immense relief. Guilt…and also a surge of incredible rage at the thought of another dragon trying to lay his mark over mine. Of another dragon trying to infringe on my territory.
With sheer determination, I forced myself back down onto the bed and took a deep, steadying breath. A thrill sang through the bond as Finley flew.
I smiled, leaning forward, wishing I could be there with her. Fly with her. There was nothing more thrilling than twisting through the sky and outmaneuvering your peers. My dragon and I had loved flight training, loved being challenged to do things most others couldn’t and nailing it. Loved the danger…but also the tranquility of a lazy afternoon flight, soaring with the air currents and letting one’s mind wander. While I didn’t regret the sacrifice I’d made to protect my people, I did miss my wings.
Adrenaline fueled Finley, and her stomach fluttered. They were trying something they’d been failing at since their first flying session last week. I wondered what it was. Usually it ended in the dragon and human wrestling for control, followed by pain and frustration.
I laughed every time, and my dragon settled in near the bond, purring in delight. I could envision the struggle they were having. Mostly because my dragon and I had been through the same thing—the push to conquer the challenge, the annoyance that it wasn’t happening, and the blame pinging between human and dragon. Then the rage, the fights, the wrestle for control and, in the end, victory.
Fuck, those had been good times.
She probably had everyone worried she’d kill herself. And when they told her to stop, she’d just keep on trying until she finally mastered whatever she’d set her mind to. I doubted anyone was crazy enough to push her to her limit. It would take someone who understood her true potential to do that—someone who perceived her strength and would turn a blind eye when she faced death over and over.
Pain rolled through the bond, then more frustration. She’d failed again. That would really burn her.
I saw movement through the trees.
My smile dripped away as I caught sight of forms stepping out of the trees. Black clothing. Graceful movements. They could only be the demons. That they were here in daylight meant they were high in power.
Dolion had brought reinforcements. He clearly knew Finley had escaped. Once he realized she wasn’t here, he’d lock this place down tight. Then he’d probably start killing my people out of spite.
It was time to choose a path. Either I trusted Finley to come back and help us, or I pushed the issue and traded myself for the kingdom’s safety.
I wondered if holding out for her was even an option. I’d seen Dolion in a rage. He couldn’t kill me or break me, but he could do both to the people in my kingdom. He’d wiped out the whole court of dragons in a rage.
“Sir.” Urien, my valet, poked his head through the door opening. “Sir, the demons have come. They have the castle surrounded.”
“Get everyone inside and out of sight. Keep them to their rooms, if you can.”
“Yes, sir.” He paused. “Sir, I know you have plans, but…”
Although the staff knew Finley had escaped from the dungeon, I hadn’t shared anything else with them. They didn’t know she intended to come back. What Urien did know was that I intended to make a deal with Dolion. He probably thought the time had come.
Maybe it had.
“I’ve heard this through the staff quarters,” he said, “and within the halls—we hope to fight, sir.”
I tilted my head. “What’s that?”
“We hope to fight. Hadriel—the strange little butler stand-in—made it clear that he and Leala would be back with Finley. We wish to wait for them, and to fight.”
I thought about clearing the air, but another part of me wanted to give my people a way out. They weren’t warriors. None of them were in a position to fight off a demon horde. They had courage, but I didn’t want them to die for nothing. If the worst-case scenario came and I’d need to make the ultimate sacrifice, I didn’t want a lot of people to lose their lives beforehand.
“They’ve moved on,” I told him, not actually believing it. “If they had wanted to come back, they would be here now.”
“Well, sir,” he said, “Hadriel fancied himself a strategist. He was the best chess player in the castle, even before…all of this. And it is widely held that Finley wouldn’t leave us forever. They think she’ll be back, and they wish to wait.”
Even though my father had put them through hell they didn’t want to see me sacrifice myself. They wanted to fight with me, for me.
I couldn’t help my heart swelling at their continued allegiance, after all these years of torture. My people didn’t deserve this.
I watched through the window as the demons advanced. What I wouldn’t give for my wings and my court. What I wouldn’t give to take Dolion and his kingdom on. To teach them what it meant to stand against dragons.