Awkward as fuck conversation to have with one's parent, but I refused to let them downgrade our bond because there was no visible joining yet.
A panicked look crossed my mother's face as she reached out and clutched her mate's arm. "A ruby princess cannot be mated to someone that’s not even from the jeweled lands. It's never been done. I don't…"
For fuck's sake.Like, this shouldn't even be a conversation in this day and age. It was akin to racism, sexism, ageism. Time to remind them who their daughter was.
"When I returned, I told you that I would learn about my world … that I wanted to be part of your lives, but I never said that you could control me or my choices."
I moved forward to the edge of my chair, eyeballing both of them. "And my private life is not even remotely up for debate. I've been forced into many things over my years, had to endure the worst of the worst, and when I was finally free, I promised myself that I would never fall to the whims of another person. I would make my own choices, be my own person and accept the consequences of my actions … instead of having to suffer for another person's choice."
I was out of breath, mostly because of how hard these topics were to speak about.
"Jacob is important to me. He’s going to be part of my life, and you either accept him or you lose me forever."
Deloria exchanged a look with Jepati, and it was not a reassuring one. "What?" I snapped. "What does that look mean?"
"Now that you have bonded with the jewels, you must also answer to them," my mother told me. "So you can spout on all you want about making your own choices, but if they don't accept Jacob, then you will no longer hold the connection you do now."
My father cleared his throat. "And the rubies have never accepted someone who wasn't a jeweled fey. It's why the royal family is very particular about who their mates are."
I turned to Jacob, wanting to see his reaction to this news.
His face was grim, and I shook my head. "I don't care."
Murky green eyes met mine. "You would have to choose between being a ruby princess and me," he said, voice threaded with darkness. "I'm not going to force you to lose a part of yourself like that."
"I don't care," I repeated, meaning every word.
My mother opened her mouth; I saw it from the corner of my eye, and I swung around to halt her. "You don't get to speak," I said bluntly. "If you can't support my happiness, then I remove myself from your toxicity."
Something I'd learned the hard way: family didn’t get a pass for toxic behavior. No one that stole from your happiness deserved your time or energy.
I got to my feet. "Come on, Jake," I said softly. "I never wanted to be a princess anyway. That's not my dream, and it's actually easier this way."
He stared at my hand, and for a moment I thought he was going to try to talk me out of it again, then he wrapped his long fingers around mine, and got to his feet beside me.
"I support you, no matter what you choose," he murmured, leaning down so his face was right beside mine. "And maybe you won't even have to make the choice. There's always a first time for the jewels to accept an outsider."
Deloria laughed, a brittle, bitter sound. "There's no chance of that. I hope you're happy that you've now taken our only heir and the ruby princess away from her people."
She launched to her feet, ruby energy arcing around her. Jacob didn't even flinch, he just angled himself in front of me—bastard was always doing that, and I kind of loved it—and shook his head.
"I'm not here to fight you. Not unless you force my hand. I'm here for Justice. I want to do whatever it takes for her happiness. If you're not on board for the same, then I guess that might explain why this night hasn't gone the way you wanted it to."
The queen’s face screwed up as she screamed a long, guttural cry of pain and loss and fear. I hadn't seen her react this way, not even when I'd first returned and she was acknowledging the many years lost between us. "You won't take my daughter," she howled, and then … she attacked him.
"No," I shouted, knowing the insanely destructive power of the jewels. Jacob was powerful, and I rarely had to worry about his safety, but I wasn't sure if he was strong enough for this.
25
Jacob Compass
My dragon rose to the surface in a shimmer of green scales and ancient magic. The dragons … guardians of the gold, bonded to the shining ones, did not like being disrespected. And if our mates were in danger, that was usually a mistake one didn’t get to repeat.
Don't kill them.I warned my beast, before I released him from his hold. I also used my power to move Justice out of the way so she wouldn't become collateral damage in this battle between her parents and me.
I heard her angry protest as she was shuffled out of the door, but there was no time to worry about that.
Protect our treasure.
