"Because I have one head instead of three?" Valentine tried to joke lamely. He rubbed at his chest. "I feel different."
"Your whole damn aura is different. I haven't seen you like this since Mom," Reeve cut himself off. His breath whooshed out. "You bound your dragon after Mom died, didn't you?"
Valentine nodded, feeling wretched. "It's a long story, and Dad and Bas and Apollo should be here before I go through it. I only want to do it once because you’ll all yell at me about it. I thought if I let the dragon out, I would go crazy. You know the way everyone goes on about the Greatdrakes curse."
"Except your actual family has never seriously thought you would go crazy or dark lord on us, bro."
"ButIthought I would. Now that the dragon is loose, I feel more sane than I have in a long, long time. I'm sorry it forced you to shift, Reeve. If I had known..."
Reeve poked Valentine's leg with his toe. "Stop it, Val. You can't blame yourself for every damn thing that happens to us. I couldn't shift on my own. I couldn't figure it out. It scared me and Charlotte, but it was what I needed to let it out. Taranis soothed it as soon as you left, and I ended up being able to shift back in under an hour. Heaps quicker than Bas and Apollo."
"Maybe because you've been mated the longest, your dragon was already synced with you," Valentine said, rubbing his chin. "Something to think about."
Reeve ran a hand through his long hair. "You want to tell me about Yelena? I know something more than a dalliance is going on there. I mean, I knew you liked her since she started writing to you, but..."
"She's my mate," Valentine blurted out because he needed to talk to someone, and Reeve was his brother and knew him best. "I just saw her sing and dance as a dragon, and something happened. It's like she reached into me and rearranged my insides, and my dragon just knew she was my mate, and I don't..."
Reeve's whole face lit up. "Val, you're babbling."
"I know!" He got up to pace because he needed to move. "I've always hated the idea of having a mate forced onto me, but with her..." He trailed off, still struggling to find the right words.
"You don't hate it? It can be a bit of a smack in the face when you realize what they are to you. Makes sense. You and Yelena are kind of the same. Lots of power, hard for you to make friends, you know, all that," Reeve replied with a slight wave of his hand. "Does she know?"
Valentine paused his pacing. "I don't know. She might? She's kind of sneaky." He let out a helpless laugh. "Fuck, I don't know what to do. She deserves a better mate than me. I'm not normal, Reeve!"
"Yeah, but neither is she," Reeve pointed out. Valentine whirled on him, and Reeve tossed a pillow at his head. "Don't glare at me like that. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Shereallyisn't like other girls, because she's a dragon for a start, and her magic is as insane as yours. It's no wonder you are mates. No one else could handle either one of you."
"I don't know how to do feelings and relationships," Valentine said, picking up the pillow and putting it back on the armchair.
"Does anyone? You are very smart, big brother. You will be able to figure this out. I know it's hard for you, but try not to overthinkthis to the point you talk yourself out of it before it even starts," Reeve replied. He got off the couch and stretched. "Worry about it later. We both have a meeting to get to."
Valentine hesitated a moment before he pulled Reeve into a hug. "I am sorry I made you shift as a result of my spell."
Reeve hugged him back. "You are my big brother, and you are a pain in the ass, but I love you. I'll wait till Bas and Apollo are here before we give you a good kicking for binding your dragon, so consider yourself warned. You're going to need three heads to try to stop us. Gods, three heads. Only you, Val."
Valentine laughed and let him go. "Don't be jealous that I'm three times smarter than you."
His youngest brother only rolled his eyes. "More like your brain is split three ways, and so you're a bigger dumbass than normal."
Valentine flipped him off. "Try to wear something that doesn't have holes in it to this meeting. Taranis is worried, and we shouldn't add to it by being unprofessional."
"You're up to something," Reeve said, narrowing his eyes.
Valentine shrugged. "When am I not?"
27
By the time Valentine had showered and changed, people had already started to gather in Taranis's meeting room. Valentine didn't recognize four of the fae there, but he saw Lord Afon with them and figured they must be the other lords.
The knights were there too, flanking Quinn, Charlotte, and Reeve. Yelena was sitting by Avallach, and the chair opposite her was empty. Valentine slid into it before anyone else could. She was wearing blue, but it was a few shades richer than her usual pastels. He had a feeling it was as close to a compromise as she would make for the time being.
Afon was staring at her in a calculated way that made Valentine's magic itch. Afon's eyes slid to Valentine, and they narrowed further.
Valentine wanted to ask what the asshole's problem was, but he bit it back. He didn't want to embarrass Taranis by being the uncouth stray Afon thought he was. If Yelena could tolerate his shit for decades, Valentine could do it for a single meeting.
Taranis greeted everyone as they came in, his hand resting lightly on Quinn's shoulder. Valentine didn't know if it was to reassure himself or his queen. He knew he would have felt better sitting beside Yelena.
Something curled around his ankle, and he glanced down as casually as he could. A silver wisp of her magic was wrapped around him. He covered his mouth to hide his smile and risked glancing across at her.
