"Because you smell like him, and he came to save you. He recognizes you," Valentine insisted.
Lachlan looked pleading at the others who gave him encouraging smiles and thumbs up.
"Fuck. Okay," he grumbled and took a deep breath.
Golden eyes tracked as he moved across the grass. When he got nearer, the dragon stepped down off the wall and moved toward him, his head cocking.
Lachlan took another deep breath and smiled at him. "Look at you, baby. You have to be the prettiest dragon I have seen."
The dragon preened and grabbed Lachlan in its talons. He bit down a scream of fright as it brought its nose down to nuzzle at him.
"No, licking, okay? I'm all right, Apollo," Lachlan said as warm, spicy smoke drifted about him.
"Tell him to shift back!" Valentine called.
Lachlan reached out and patted Apollo on the scales between his nose. "We need you to shift back so we can go home, baby. Can you do that for me?"
The dragon just nudged him with his nose again. A rumbling growl came out behind his fangs. "Mate."
Lachlan stilled. "I don't understand."
"Mate," the dragon repeated and brought Lachlan up to hold against the large golden chest plates.
"He's good to be able to talk so soon," Killian said, slowly making his way across the grass. "About time he told you, though his delivery could be better."
Lachlan was still dazed, his heart in his throat. "I can't... He would have known..."
"He did. For fucking months," Killian replied. "Of course he couldn't just say it because he needed to shift into a dragon and be dramatic about it."
A golden tail whipped about to swipe at the Night Prince. He just launched himself in the air on black wings and landed again. "You did too, you little shit! Now, shift back."
The dragon only made a rumbling sound and kept its grip on Lachlan. "Mate."
"Oh, you are the fucking worst, Apollonius Greatdrakes," Killian bitched as he pulled out his phone. "You wait until Taranis gets here, then you'll be in trouble."
It turned out that Apollo, the dragon, cared for orders about as much as he did as a magician. In the end, Killian, Valentine, and Taranis had to create a portal large enough for a dragon to get through. Lachlan dozed in the warmth of Apollo's paw as the portal to Kian's castle in England finally opened. Taranis looked pissed, but Apollo refused to shift back no matter how much he was threatened.
"Why can't you boys follow orders for once!" Taranis complained. He spared a glance in Lachlan's direction. "You okay there, lad?"
"Good enough. He just won't let me go," Lachlan replied.
Taranis snorted, his red eyes glowing. "You're his mate. Of course he's not going to let you go."
"Did everybody fucking know about this but me?" Lachlan demanded angrily.
Taranis only shrugged. "Not our fault you are dense. Put him down, Apollo. We need to go home."
Apollo refused to put him down and instead lifted Lachlan onto his back and walked through the portal. Lachlan felt the air shift and cool, and suddenly, they were behind Kian's castle. He could have wept with relief. He could only watch as the woundedwere helped through the portal and handed over to the fae healers.
"Should we put the fire in the Château out?" Lachlan shouted.
"Why? It will burn away any evidence that Apollo didn't get to," Valentine called back.
They closed the portal, and Apollo began to move. Lachlan hung onto his golden scales, worried that he was about to fly off again.
"Where are you going?" Kian called, looking tiny from so high up.
"No idea. I'm not driving this thing," Lachlan shouted back.
