A legion of guards enters the room in the next blink to find Donovan, uncuffed, covered in blood and hunched over Stefan.
Mate. Stefan was hismate.
“You judge me.”
“No,” I say. “I’m just surprised.”
“It didn’t start this way. We were enemies in the beginning. It’s not always clear to us why the creator makes us love the ones we love.”
My mind is a whirling vortex of confusion and emotions. He was a prisoner! He was a pet! How could he have loved one of our enemies? But I watch the video again, now replaying the quiet moments, the touches, the looks. Two lives intertwined. Two hearts that together brought our people peace for over fifty years. All love comes from the creator, and this one, this peace-bringing love, would have gone on forever if Roman hadn’t ended it.
“I’m sorry.” My voice is heavy with emotion as I thinkabout what I’d feel if the same was done to my mate, my Fiona.
He turns to look at me again. “The end is close now. You must leave and take the girl with you.”
My eyes sting. “No, Donovan.” I shake my head. “We can save you. You have to come back with me.”
His gray eyes turn incredibly sad, and the screen starts to flip like we’ve reached the end of the film. “You know as well as I do that we go where our mates are. I am old, Connor, and my heart is broken. Under the best of conditions, I might have a few more decades before the creator called me home during my alignment. But Roman has bled me to the point of death.”
“We can figure something out. If we move fast. Maybe a transfusion?—”
He shakes his head. “No. I won’t fight this. I want to go. My body is dying. You know what that means. Get out and protect your mate. I won’t be able to stop it when it happens.”
My eyes are wet now, and I don’t care. I place a hand over my heart. “Thank you for your years of service to the brotherhood and your personal sacrifice.” I stand and bow.
He bows his head. “It’s up to you and the others now.”
He means to protect our people. His death, Stefan’s death, and now Roman’s death—it means war. It means that everything changes.
I pull out of his head with a gasp and grab Fiona’s arm. “We have to go. We have to go now!”
“Wait! What about Donovan?”
I don’t answer, just lift her into my arms and start to run. She clings to my neck, trusting me completely although she has no idea what’s going on. I hear the chiff of the flames coming to life behind us just as I reach the stairs.
“What is that sound?” she asks fearfully.
“Fuck.” I plow through the door to the main house as fast as I can and throw my wings around her just as a mushroom cloud of fire blows us out of the stairwell. I howl and leap for the closest window, crashing through with Fiona wrapped tightly in my arms, tightly in my wings.
Shards of glass tear my flesh, but the injuries heal almost immediately. I keep running though. Keep moving as the entire house is consumed as if we’d detonated a bomb in its depths. By the time I reach the hill where Seb, Ellison, Remus, and Vivian wait, the house is completely consumed in fire.
“Donovan?” Seb asks.
I cock my head in the direction of the house. My voice cracks as I say, “He didn’t make it.”
I release Fiona and check that she’s okay. She hugs Vivian, both of them sobbing now. My mate and her friend stand, arms around each other, watching the house burn. My brothers and I take a knee and bow our heads, our hearts heavy with the loss of a warrior, a brother, and our last hope for peace.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
FIONA
Bright sunlight warms my face, waking me from my slumber. We must have left the window open last night. Lord knows when we staggered in from the Compass Point, drunk and shedding clothes like they were burning our skin, we weren’t worried about the window. At least the climate on Cardinal Island is pleasant. The salt air breezes in, blowing back the gauzy white curtains. I move to get up, but Connor’s arm drags me back against his hard chest.
It’s almost embarrassing how fast I settled into my new life with Connor. After watching Roman’s house burn down, we took Vivian home. Connor offered for her to stay with us if she needed time to feel safe. But she insisted all she wanted to do was take a hot bath in her own bathroom, order Indian food from her favorite restaurant, and give herself time and space to recover. She promised though to keep Connor’s existence a secret.Neither of us are concerned. If Vivian has proved anything, it’s her loyalty.
Connor’s condominium felt like home the second I laid eyes on Zaire and Bones. Thanks to dragon energy and Morwyn’s medical care, both are almost fully healed, although Zaire is still walking with a limp. I’ve started to incorporate my things with Connor’s, bringing more of me into the Upper East Side apartment.
I love Diabolique and every member of Connor’s staff, to whom he introduced me as his fiancée. They served us a welcome-home meal I will not soon forget, and Connor gave me a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchen. I love that he can cook considering I’ve never been much of one.
