She was my mate, fated to be my queen. I just had to remind myself to be patient, that the timewouldcome. A quick glance down at the silver bands around my forearms reassured me.
Run as she might…
Destiny couldn’t be fought forever.
“You’ve been making great progress, but I want to see how you fight against more than one opponent at a time.” Titan was telling her as I tuned back in. I shook myself, knowing I couldn’t afford to be distracted.
Asteria wiggled her brows up and down, giggling slightly, “So, you think you can take me?”
I raked my eyes up and down her body. She was small, for all her presence took up much more space in a room. But with over a foot on her, she only came up to my shoulder on a good day.
All our dragon-scale armor was sculpted using the fallen dragon scales from thousands of years of dragons in House Erebus. We shed them semi-regularly, and new ones would quickly replace them. Using the discarded scales gave our warriors the same protection as a dragon, and they hugged the body, since they were meant to shape and form the moving mass of a flying dragon. They were flexible, if impossible to penetrate. It gave us a huge advantage in battle.
But now, those dragon scales that had fallen from my forefathers were hugging Asteria’s breasts in a way that made me want to rip them off one by one and replace them with my own. She should only ever be covered byme.
Her cleavage in the armor, since the women only added a breastplate to them during battle, preferring the comfort this version offered, was frankly obscene.In the best way.I wanted to sink my fangs into the flesh offered up, feel the lifeblood seep from her plump breast into my mouth, and taste her essence dripping down my throat.
I blinked, shocked and vaguely disgusted with myself at the route my thoughts had taken. I’d heard stories that claimed mates used to share blood between them, but it was something that, if true, had gone out of fashion many years ago. Our fangs were supposed to be purely ornamental, growing when angered or aroused, but more so used for intimidation.
Shaking the errant thought away, my eyes continued down to take in the tight cloud leather encasing her thick hips and the slope down to her thighs. I wanted to lick that path down her body, worshiping her as I showed her exactly what I could do with more time than one night had offered us.
I licked my lips before curling them into a smirk, and was rewarded with her breasts heaving over the sweetheart-cut neckline of her armor as her breath caught.
“I think I’m up for that particular challenge,” I purred, and caught Titan rolling his eyes beside me as Asteria bit her lip, eyeing me like she wanted to devour me as much as I did her.
“We’ll have you two fight first since you’re unfamiliar with Calix’s style,” Titan instructed Asteria, but she kept her gaze on me for a moment, the stars in her eyes sparking to life before she forced herself to look at Titan.
He grunted, looking between us pointedly before continuing, “I’ll jump in when I deem you ready. And remember not to let yourself be distracted.”
Asteria huffed, rolling her eyes fondly, and I realized that Titan had clearly grown fond of her as well since they began training together. He looked at her with a soft, fatherly smile that I’d seen on his face many times.
I watched as Asteria bounced over to the swords on display, reminding me that I needed to get her a better sword. One befitting her status. Ideas ran through my head as I watched her reach out for one. The arm bands she wore looked unfairly sexy on her, too. I’d seen women wear them millions of times, and never had they turned me on in any way. They were practical.
The design allowed a plate to be added to the shoulder in battle, and the material of the glove itself protected and gave flexibility to the arm so it could bend and move. The fingerless aspect allowed for full range of motion when wielding a weapon while still shielding the hands. But something about the tease of skin where it stopped on her bicep, and the fingers peeking out…
Fuck.
I clenched my hand, concentrating on suppressing the change before my talons started to appear.
Asteria, meanwhile, picked up a sword and turned to face me with a dramatic flourish. I couldn’t help the small smile that slipped out, relieved to see her playful side emerging again. It was a side of her that showed itself the longer she’d been here, and I found myself hoping to see more of it.
I wanted to know every side of her, who she was when she wasn’t being shoved into a box and made small by others.
Now, she could finally be as large of life as her soul demanded.
I raised my sword to face her with a smirk that she matched. But she was smart, and I found myself impressed with what she’d picked up thus far. She was smaller, so she waited for me to make the first move, knowing she wouldn’t have a chance rushing me straight on.
So I gave in, swinging at her and watching as she twirled away gracefully. Titan had mentioned she fought like a dancer, able to twist and bend with ease. Even before we’d found out she was Fae. It made sense now, knowing her Fae abilities had been simmering just under the surface, repressed.
“I thought you wanted to actually fight me,” I taunted after a couple more moves where she danced around me. Asteria narrowed her eyes, a gleam forming in them. I shrugged my shoulders casually. “All I see is you running away.”
That did it.
She met my next strike with surprising strength. Even as a Fae, I was much bigger than her. But she was able to parry my blade, and as I twirled it back around and down at her, she met it with her own straight across, stopping the downswing in its tracks.
“That’s more like it.” I smiled slowly.
“If you wanted me to embarrass you, you should have just said so.” She smirked haughtily as she raised a brow. She kicked out at me, and not suspecting the move, it caused my leg to buckle.
