“That was amazing,” I murmur. I shift again, teasing him.
“Gods, woman…” he growls against my neck, his breath hot on my skin. “You’re going to kill me.”
“You’re half dragon,” I remind him with a sleepy smile. “I’m pretty sure you can handle me.”
“Mmm. Pretty sure it’s the other way around. You’re the one who’s going to get handled again if you keep wiggling that sweet little ass against me.”
A warm shiver runs through me. I can still feel the pulse of magic humming between us—the Bond thrumming like a living thread under my skin. It glows at the edge of my senses, and I feel not just Valen’s emotions, but his Drake’s too. I feel their twin hungers…their shared devotion to me…the fierce protectiveness that roars inside them both whenever they think of me.
And underneath it all, I feel a deep, abiding love, steady and fierce, like sunlight on obsidian…like massive claws wrapped around my heart in the gentlest possible way.
They love me and it’s not just lust, though there’s plenty of that, too. They love me with a soul-deep certainty…with the kind of loyalty that never wavers. And I feel it—I feel it—everywhere inside me.
So I wrap my fingers over Valen’s forearm and press back against him once more.
I love you, I think fiercely. And I feel our new Bond shimmer with heat and joy as both of them—Valen and the Drake inside him—absorb it like rain falling on parched earth.
Love you too, baby—so fucking much, he sends back and his Drake rumbles in agreement.
We lie there quietly for a while, just cuddling. At some point, I realize he’s nuzzling my hair.
“So…” he says eventually, his voice low and a little gruff. “We’re going back to the Thornmere so you can train with the Sorceress?”
I nod, turning my head to look back at him.
“I have to. There’s too much magic in me now—and I barely understand any of it. I need someone like her to guide me.”
“She’ll do a good job.” He pauses, tracing my hip with one finger. “I’m sorry I had to kill your brother.”
“You didn’t have a choice,” I say softly. “He killed my father…he tried to kill my mother, too. He would have murdered us both without a second thought.”
Valen stiffens slightly.
“What? Your father? But I thought you said he died of a wasting disease—the same one that was killing your mother?”
I nod.
“I thought it was a wasting disease—we all did. But it turned out to be some substance the Head Healer gave my brother to use. He was putting it on the rim of the Cup of Sovereignty every night when he presented it to them to drink from.” I shake my head. “The Door of Uncertainty showed it to me, only I didn’t understand what it was showing me at the time.”
“I’m so sorry, Princess,” he says softly. “That’s really fucked up.”
“Yes, it is,” I say. “But at least I healed my mother.”
“You did? So the Healing Draught worked?”
“It did.” I nod again. “I watched her heal right in front of my eyes. And she’s being protected by the Captain of the Guard now, so she’ll be all right.” I feel a twinge of sorrow. “She’ll devastated though—she lost two children on the same day.”
“We can try to visit her once you have control of your magic,” Valen offers.
“I’d like that,” I say. “I’m just not sure it would be safe for you.”
“We’ll be all right. You’ll have your magic and I have my Drake,” he points out. “Nobody will hurt us—we’ll come and go as we please.”
“I like that idea,” I say. I think of how I’ve lived my life, always trying to minimize myself—to make sure I wasn’t “too much” because of the way the Nobles turned up their noses and sniffed at my curves and my love of learning. That’s over now and I’m starting a new life with Valen.
I’ll miss my mother, but I can’t say I’ll miss the Court. I’m ready for this new adventure.
“So, did your brother admit what he was doing?” Valen asks, bringing me back to the present.
