The answer rumbled from deep in his chest, guttural and raw, the last piece of his control snapping like a frayed thread.
Because you are mine.
The thought exploded in every cell in his body, but he did not speak the words, certain they would frighten her. Vector sucked in a sharp breath, his chains rattling as he fought the instinct to drag Raven against him. And he could. The chains held him trapped in the dungeon, but did not restrict his movement well enough to prevent him from taking her. These dragon chains would not save her.
The fire in his blood was worse now, an unbearable, molten need that burned straight through his veins. She was too close, her feminine warmth weaving through him like a spell, her touch a torment.
And yet, he stayed still. Held himself in check. Fought his dragon.
Forher.
Forcing his body to obey, he tore his gaze from her face and looked at Erik instead. His voice was a ragged snarl when he finally spoke. "Why are you doing this?"
Erik didn’t answer right away. His glacial eyes, cold and calculating, flicked between Vector and Raven as if weighing his words. Then, finally?—
“Because she remembers everything.”
Fuck. The vampire’s mind tricks didn’t work on her? That meant?—
“Prince Alrik is on his way.” Erik’s decree made Vector’s mind spin. “The safest place for her now, is with you.”
The world tilted.
A muscle jumped in Vector’s jaw as his dragonroaredinside him, a burst of searing rage threatening to consume him.
Alrik.
The prince of the Dark Elves. The enforcer. The dragon executioner.
Vector’s fingers curled into fists, his nails biting into his palms. The meaning behind Erik’s words was clear.
Alrik would eliminateanythreat to the Secret Kingdoms.
Which meanthim—if he couldn't rein in the madness clawing through his veins.
Andher.
Raven. Draquonir law, the same law that applied to all species in the Secret Kingdoms, was absolute and without mercy or exception. No free, unmonitored human was allowed to know about their existence. Not even a beautiful, innocent female who’d done nothing more than risk her life to save his.
If she couldn’t be made to forget, she would be eliminated.
His chest locked up, his pulse a brutal, punishing rhythm. If Alrik arrived and deemed Raven a liability, she wouldnotleave this castle alive. Even if he tried to shield her, to fight for her, it wouldn’t matter. If they couldn’t erase her memories of Vector—and now of this place—she would be silenced. Permanently.
Unless—
Unless she was already claimed. Already bound to him. His mate. Under his protection. For that to happen, she would have tochoose him.Consent to his claim. Choose him—and his dragon—in return.
The thought sent a fresh wave of heat crashing through him, dark and possessive. His dragon sank its claws into him, a deep, guttural growl curling in Vector’s throat.
Mate. Mine. Mark her.
The only way to ensure her safety was to take what already belonged to him. Claim her body and soul. Pour his dragonfire into her and hope she accepted him, hope she was strong enough, brave enough, to survive. To choose him. To love his dragon. To save him in truth.
His entire being focused on the lightness in her touch, the way she was still caring for him, how the damp cloth glided over his shoulders and back, erasing the remnants of blood and dirt. Her fingers brushed the ridges of his ribs, lingering just a second too long. A shiver racked his body.
His voice came out hoarse. “You shouldn’t be this close to me.”
She glanced up, her storm-gray eyes filled with something wary. Something…curious. “You keep saying that,” she murmured. “And yet you haven’t hurt me.”
