With those six words, all the tension between them evaporated. There was nothing left but their unbreakable bond.I couldn’t help but smile. It was heartwarming to see them reunite.
Then Saffron pulled back with a dreadful expression. “Uh, I should find that phone before Cobalt kills me for polluting the water.”
“Oh, shit. Good idea,” Aurum agreed. “Mylo, you’re a hunter of small stuff. Help us out here?”
I grinned. “On it.”
Nineteen
Aurum
After an exhausting day,I carried Mylo back to my room. It didn’t feel right to dump him at the hotel after the emotionally charged shit we’d been through together. I wanted him with me, inmyspace. Besides, since he was my fated mate, he needed to get used to the castle, right?
As we flew back home, Saffron’s wing tip brushed mine in a silent display of solidarity. I nudged him right back to say ‘I’m here.’ I couldn’t put into words how amazing it felt to bury our beef. It already felt like it happened a millennium ago. What had we even been arguing about? In the grand scheme of things, it was unimportant. I was just glad to have my twin back in my life.
Mylo was wiped. It had been a huge day for him—the challenge, the custom tailoring session, the shower sex, Jade’s little ‘horseback’ misadventure, and finally, the blowout with Billy. Vindication surged through my body when I thought about that asshat. I blamed myself for not understanding Saffron’s suffering. I should’ve taken my head out of my ass and paid closer attention to his pain. But I understood now. After falling headfirst into love with Mylo, I finally grasped Saffron’s desire for a fated mate. It was really goddamn special. WheneverSaffron sought to find his mate in the future, I—and Mylo—would be there for him.
We landed quietly on the dragon-sized clearing in front of the castle, then shifted before sneaking inside. Mylo was so exhausted, he’d nodded off in my paws during the flight despite the cool night wind in his face. I carried him in my arms bridal-style so he didn’t have to walk on his tired, sore feet.
“Put me down. I’m too heavy,” Mylo protested weakly.
I snorted. “You are not, dummy. How dare you doubt a dragon’s strength.”
When he flashed a brilliant grin, I saw the moment of anxiety vanish from his expression. I felt proud whenever I did that. No matter how many times it took, I’d crush Mylo’s self-doubt until he finally realized just how special he was.
Saffron and I ducked into the castle, glancing around like a pair of nervous mice watching out for a hawk.
“What’re you two doing?” Mylo whispered.
“Oh, nothing. Jade will just have a fit if he catches us sneaking you in,” Saffron supplied.
“Yeah, this is super not allowed, probably,” I agreed. “But it’s fine as long as we don’t sleep in and miss the third challenge.”
Mylo sighed, rubbing his weary eyes. “Why am I always getting you into trouble?”
Saffron smirked. “Don’t worry about it, Mylo.We’rethe ones getting us into trouble.”
“Anyway, he’s already punished us tonight with the horseplay.”
Saffron snorted in amusement. “Didn’t know he was into that.”
“Dude, I’m telling you, he’s a freak in secret. Remember those BDSM books we borrowed from his library that one time?”
Mylo’s eyes widened. “BDSM? Are you... into that?”
“Nah, not my cup of tea. We were just curious.” I smiled down at my mate. “But hey, if you’re into kinky stuff, I’ll try anything once.”
Mylo waved his hands. “N-not me. At least, I don’t think so...”
He was so damn cute, I had to press a kiss to his forehead. “We’ve got the rest of our lives to think about it, right?”
“Yeah,” he replied wistfully.
We crept up the staircase as quietly as possible. It was late. Usually our brothers were in their respective rooms at this hour. As long as we didn’t cause a commotion, we wouldn’t draw Jade’s ire. He’d snuck off the set at one point during the evening, leaving Gaius and the crew to handle everything, so his location was a terrifying mystery. Was he milling around his office, jerking off to paperwork—or was he lurking in the shadows, waiting to punish us for our millionth misdeed?
Thankfully, the halls were empty. We reached our room without a hitch.
Until we stepped inside and found it occupied.
