“Cyn,” I whispered.
My mate's face twisted, his eyes going horrified, and he took another step.
Could I kill Cyn? No, not even if I was strong enough to overpower him. All I could do was run. The only choice to be made was in what direction—toward the exit or Alcha?
My muscles bunched, preparing to spring toward the priest. If I was going out, I'd try my best to take that fucker with me. Once he was dead, Cyn would be free.
Before I could run, Cyn roared.
Everyone went still. The only thing moving was the mountain, vibrating with the echoes of my mate's anguished cry. Then Cyn bent forward, hunching in on himself.
“Mate,” I called to him. “I love you.”
Cyn's head shot up and his eyes burned green, just like the relic. At first, I thought it was the magic of Tareth's Triumph that burned there, intensifying to get my mate under control. But then Cyn swung his head toward the Shanba and he bared his teeth. That burning was magic all right, but it wasn't the relic's.
Alcha took a step backward while Yanu scrambled to his feet.
Relief rushed through me, quickly followed by fury. Grinning maliciously, I said to the Shanba, “I would run if I were you.”
“Kill him!” Alcha tried once more, the emerald on Tareth's Triumph bursting into light to renew the enchantment. “Kill your mate!”
“There's a magic stronger than any other on Serai,” I said smugly as I picked up a dagger and went to stand beside my mate. “Dragon mating magic. Nothing can make a Dragon hurt his mate. Not even your god.”
“But thank you for your attempt,” Cyn snarled. “It has freed me of your control.”
I looked up at Cyn and said, “Together, then?”
Cyn grinned wickedly at me. “Always, my love.”
Seconds later, the cavern echoed with screams.
They did not end quickly.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
When our fury was sated and the Shanba dead, I collected my weapons and set them on the table. After searching the scattered remains, I found a scrap of fabric on Alcha—or maybe it was Yanu—and used it to clean the blood off my corkscrew dagger. Meanwhile, Cyn tossed Tareth's Triumph onto the cavern floor and blew a stream of fire over it until it went molten and melted into a lump. He picked the emerald out of that smoldering mass and stared at it.
“We can crush it when we get back to Dralbara,” I said.
Cyn tossed the emerald back to the cavern floor, took a dagger from the pile on the table, and crouched over the gem. Angling the hilt downward, he delivered a single blow that pulverized the emerald.
With that done, Cyn stood up. “Let's leave this terrible place, my love.” As he handed me the dagger, the cloak opened.
I couldn't hold back my lecherous grin as I let my gaze wander over that strip of chest and leg he revealed.
“Don't look at me like that here, Ru,” Cyn said. “I will not tarnish our love with this filth.”
“Yeah, you're right,” I agreed as I made a face at the mess. I quickly put my weapons away, then I took his hand. “Let's go home and get the good kind of filthy.”
“Home,” Cyn repeated without smiling at my teasing. “We can finally enjoy our home.”
“And our mating.”
“Oh, I think we've been enjoying that from before I claimed you.”
“Very true.”
We strode down the tunnel, then out to the ledge. Outside, I retrieved my Raltven dagger, the black metal a sharp contrast to the snow.
