Leaning forward, I hugged her tightly, and she gave me a squeeze in return. “I’ll see you soon,” she said, her earthy scent surrounding me. “And don’t be too hard on Louis. He loves deeply, even if it takes him some time to figure out what he wants.”
I just nodded, because some of what she said was true.
“Back door is that way,” Jessa said, pushing me toward a large blue door near the impressive kitchen. “Josephina is waiting for you.”
Jessa must have asked her to wait, and I was eternally grateful. With one more squeeze, I let go of her hand and turned, hurrying from the room. I could feel Louis’s energy closing in, and with it the warm sensations in my chest increased. It was his presence … our bond tugging us together.
My pace picked up and I practically burst out the back door. In the clearing a little ways away was a huge golden dragon. She sat still, watching me closely as I moved toward her. Her eyes were wide and ancient, filled with knowledge and wisdom so far beyond anything I’d ever seen.
Hurry.
The word filtered through my mind and I picked up the pace. Magic started to build around her, and I reached her side just in time for the peak of her energy. We were then hurtling toward Faerie, and I was zooming away from Louis.
This had been my choice … my plan … but in that moment my heart broke a little.
This was the best thing for everyone. I had to believe that.
12
Louis
The dragons surrounded me, each of them filtering thoughts to me. They were heading back to Faerie now. Maximus was handling his new bond without issue, and while they’d stayed an extra day to argue with the council members, the current situation here on Earth was not their problem. This wasn’t their home.
Josephina did leave me with one warning though.I fear that this is going to lead to war. The humans are not dealing well with this new reality, and it has only been a few days and minimal exposure. If you stand any chance of returning things to what they were, now is the time. Tomorrow might be too late.
She was right. I already knew we were balancing on the edge of a situation I could not control. Very soon there would be too much exposure. Now was the only chance we had.
But I also had another situation I needed to deal with: my mate.
My anger and pain at hearing her cry had not faded; my energy roiled angrily inside of me, wanting a place to go. Thankfully, the darkness remained buried under the light, so I didn’t have to worry about that, but I was a little concerned by how volatile my emotions already were in regards to Tee.
We needed some time together to explore this bond. I hadn’t lied to her before; I still wasn’t sure that I was good enough for her anymore, too old and broken from the pains of the past, but we both deserved a chance.
Tee was wrong about one thing, though. I never abandoned her. I’d known exactly where she was all of these years. I’d kept an eye on her, missing my friend. I figured when she was ready to forgive me for Regina, she would come and find me, but she never had.
We’d both wasted so much time, each of us punishing ourselves.
There was one irrefutable truth though: losing Tee again was not something I could deal with. At the moment, as long as she lived the darkness was contained. Which was what had me hesitating about deepening the bond. I was scared to lose control of myself again if I felt even more deeply than I did right now.
Would it really make any difference though? Even if she died right this minute, I would be destroyed.
I was already fighting not to go back to her.
“Come on,” Braxton said when we’d been standing in the clearing for some time, letting nature soothe some of the ragged edges. “Jessa is waiting for us.”
Jessa had basically kicked her mate and me out the door, saying she’d talk to Tee. Make sure she was okay after the crying. Probably a better idea than blasting the door down, which was what I’d wanted to do.
“You seem a little out of control,” Braxton said as we strolled along. I could feel his dragon hovering close to the surface. “I thought your energy had calmed since the true mate bond.”
I didn’t answer immediately. I hadn’t forgotten the way Braxton had called me “brother” when I was filled with darkness. The fact that he had finally accepted me into his pack meant a lot to me, because Braxton did not do that lightly.
“The darkness is contained,” I told him. “But my emotions are a mess. The true mate bond might have saved the world, but it’s also not something I want or need in my life. Tee… It was her sister that I chose as a mate, that I settled with, that I lost...”
We had so much history between us already. So much pain.
“The mate bond was what drew you to that family in the first place,” Braxton said, his intelligence second to none. “You chose wrong. Now it’s time to make it right.”
The dragon shifter saw so much of life in black and white, and normally anyone suggesting that Regina waswrongfor me would have pissed me right off. But now … now I somewhat agreed.
