Aras's chest rose and fell powerfully. I couldn't tell if he was about to bolt or attack. He did neither. My mate came to me with slow, sure steps and stared at me. I held that stare, ready to pay for my terrible behavior. My crimes against him and the sacred bond between us. Anything he demanded of me, I would do.
“I'm your mate,” Aras said.
The breath caught in my throat but I forced the word from me, “Yes.”
“I have been for several weeks.”
“Yes.”
“I don't know a lot about Dragon mates, Ly.”
“I know. You've told me. If you did, you would have recognized our mating. I assume it's because of who raised you.”
“Lyrandir.” Aras groaned and ran his hands over his face. “Great Gods, what does this mean?”
I took his hand and led him back to the couch. After we were settled, I explained it all again, going slower this time. My mate was trying to absorb a lot of information quickly. If he needed me to repeat myself twenty times, I would. Whatever he needed, I would do. “It means we are bound magically. You feel me, don't you? That's why you said you thought you were enchanted. You feel my soul inside you.”
“Yes,” he whispered, his stare going soft. “And it's beautiful.” He cupped my cheek. “Fuck, you're beautiful. I didn't know what this was, but now . . . I see you, Ly.” He grinned and dropped his hand. “I think I'll have to change your nickname. You're my truth now.”
My heart nearly exploded with happiness. I pulled Aras into my arms and held on as if he might fight to get away. I wouldn't let him. Not now. Not after watching him burn for me. Oh, fuck. I shivered with the memory. Never again. I would never permit anything to harm my mate. He knew now, so I had reason to be presumptuous with him. Aras couldn't refuse me anymore. He was mine. He had status in my court.
Wait. He didn't. Not yet. The presentation. Then I remembered what I had decided. There would be no presentation. I was the fucking King! I made the laws. What would my dread do if I made Aras a duke without a presentation? Attack me? Done. Or it would be soon. So, I might as well do as I wished.
“Call me whatever you will,” I said as I eased out of our embrace. “As long as you call me your mate too.”
Aras grinned. “I'm yours. You're mine.”
I nodded. “Forever. That's the basics of mating. Our bond is more than a marriage. It's permanent. Nothing can break it. Not even a god.”
“Permanent.”
I hesitated. “Does that please you?”
Aras burst out laughing.
I scowled at him.
“I may not know a lot about Dragons and their mating magic, but I can feel you through whatever this is,” he said. “That cannot be a one-way path.”
“It's not,” I admitted. “But I'm trying to ease you into this. I didn't want to pressure you with our bond.”
Aras took my hands and leaned in. “What am I feeling, Mate?”
I immediately sent my awareness down our link and was met with a brilliant glow. Joy. Pure ecstasy. My mate wanted this. I didn't know if it was the magic influencing him, and honestly, I didn't care. Aras was happy and so was I.
Letting that awareness soften, I focused back on Aras's face. “You love me.”
Aras smirked. “Wasn't I clear when I burned for you? Do I have to explain it as if to a child?”
I grinned back. “Yes. Explain it in great detail.”
“I love you, Ly. I would burn a thousand times for you.”
I lost my grin. “Don't say that. And don't you ever stand between me danger again. My soul makes you stronger, but—”
“Hold on,” Aras interrupted. “Your soul makes me stronger? Physically stronger?”
I frowned, mentally backtracking. “Yes. I believe it's why you were able to recover from the Eye's attack so quickly. You have the immunity of a Dragon now.”
