Closing my eyes, I nestled against Matteo. I wanted to be as close as possible to him. He sighed softly as he curled into my chest, and I instinctively put my arms around him. The scent of his sweet breath and warm body allured me.
“Thystle,” Matteo said. “Can I ask something about your brother?”
I raised a brow. “Not the post-sex discussion I expected, but sure, go for it.”
“Cobalt said something strange earlier,” Matteo mused.
I yawned as I pressed my cheek to his. “He says a lot of strange things.”
Matteo shook his head thoughtfully. “What did Cobalt mean he said you might ‘throw your life away’?”
“Oh. That.” I sighed, trying to untangle the family drama in my head. “Remember how I wanted to attend the TalonStorm concert? Well, to do that, I had to leave the island. Since I wasn’t an adult yet, I wasn’t allowed.”
Matteo sounded surprised. “You weren’t allowed to leave? But you’re dragons. You have wings.”
A wry smile quirked the corner of my mouth. As an eagle shifter, Matteo understood the intrinsic urge to fly better than ground-dwelling shifters. One more reason he was my perfect mate.
“Yes. But Cobalt thought that just because wecouldfly, didn’t mean weshould.”
Matteo shook his head. “I don’t understand. You were almost seventeen. It wasn’t like you were an immature fledgling.”
I closed my eyes as I nestled against him. “It was Cobalt’s way of keeping us safe. Since he’s the oldest, he considers it his responsibility.” I paused. “And he had a good reason for being cautious. There was an... incident with one of my other brothers.”
“What happened?” Matteo asked.
I was quiet for a moment since I didn’t know how to explain it, or if I even should. Matteo took my silence as hesitation. He caressed my face softly.
“I don’t mean to pry,” he said. “If I’m your mate, then we’re family. So, I want to know your brothers, too.” In a lighter tone, he added, “Maybe once we stop having sex all the time, I can finally meet them.”
I chuckled. “Trust me, you will. But less sex isn’t an option.” I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Do you remember the closing ceremonies last season?”
“Yes. You and your brothers were all there.”
“Not quite,” I corrected. “One was missing. My brother, Viol.”
Matteo’s brows raised. “I didn’t realize. He’s not interested in the Games?”
“That’s the thing. Heisinterested. At least, he seems to be. But nobody ever really knows what he’s thinking, so...” I trailed off with a shrug. “He wasn’t always like that. I remember him being nice when I was little. But he left the island as a teenager, and when he came back, he wasn’t the same.”
“Was he hurt?” Matteo asked, brows knitted in sympathy.
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “He’s never told anyone the whole story. All we can do is guess. That’s why Cobalt banned the younger dragons from leaving the island without a damn good reason until we were older.”
Matteo tapped his forearm, alluding to Cobalt’s scars. “And why he challenged you to prove your will?”
“Yes. Even back then, I knew you were mine, even if nobody else believed me.”
Matteo blushed, then sighed. “Geez. All because of a TalonStorm concert.”
“Hey, it was important to me,” I argued, pouting.
He laughed softly and kissed my cheek. “I know. Just think. Now you’ll have private concerts with Aquila any time you want, and you don’t even have to leave your bedroom.”
I grinned. “And I get to suck you off whenever I want? This is paradise.”
Twenty-One
Matteo
