I turned on my side to face him. “Would you agree to wait on the city wall? You could still watch the battle. Just promise me that you'll leave if I . . .”
“Die?” he growled. “You want me to run if you die?”
I grabbed his throat and yanked him closer. “Do you know what they will do to you if I lose? You're my mate.”
Aras pushed my hand away. “No one knows that.”
I winced.
He scowled at me. “Who knows?”
“Every Dragon who has come within smelling range of you knows.”
“They can scent it on me?”
“Yes. And so will the nobles.”
Aras rolled onto his back and slammed his head onto the pillow several times. “If you fall, I don't know if I'll have the mental capacity to run.”
I understood. If I saw Aras killed, I would go on a rampage of killing that wouldn't end until someone killed me as well. But I didn't want that for my mate.
“I will make a compromise with you,” I said. “If you stay, you will have two Dragon escorts. They will take you to safety if I'm killed.”
“Ly, no.”
“The compromise is that you can stay. I'll also offer you this—if it becomes clear that we will lose, I will call for a retreat. I will lead my forces to safety and take you with me.”
Aras let out a breath. “All right. But what about my crew?”
“Send them away now. Out to sea. If my crown is taken, Morilren may be our only refuge.”
“I'll send them to dock in Latur.”
“That may be too close.”
“That's why I want them there. They can reach it in a day and we can send someone to take them down to Shasenai if we lose.”
If we lose. I had contemplated losing my kingdom many times, but now the idea hurt more than before. I wanted to give my mate the life he deserved, not the life of a couple ofrefugees in an undersea kingdom. A man provided for his mate. And Aras had mated a king. There were expectations. Mine, not his. I knew Aras didn't expect anything from me. He'd only just learned who he was. Still, I wanted to give him the world. After all, he had rejected the moon.
“All right,” I said. “Send the Tiger's Claw to Latur. But choose a coastal town as north as possible.”
Aras nodded. Then he smirked. “Can we get back to making love now?”
“Is that what we were doing?” I smirked back at him.
“This is the first time we're going to have sex while knowing how we feel about each other. So, yes, that's what we were doing. It's what we're going to do right now.”
Aras grabbed the back of my head and yanked me into a kiss.
He was right. Of course he was. Love rose between us immediately, finally acknowledged and verbally exchanged. Words have power. They hold vibration, intention, and a little bit of magic. Speaking our feelings had engraved those words into our hearts and given our bond additional strength. Nothing could part us now.
Nothing but death.
I pushed away the thought. There had been enough talk of a terrible future. Now was the time to rejoice in the wonderful present. Aras was mine at last, and I was his. Things were as they were meant to be. The Goddess may not interfere in the war, but she had given me Aras, and she had shown her support for me. How many men could say they had spoken to the DragonGoddess? Not many. The God, certainly. Karadas had made himself available to all. But Ensarena was more secretive. More reserved. She had been hurt by her lover. Betrayed. Now, he was mated to another. She had reasons to be bitter and aloof. And yet, she had held me in her heart. She had granted my request and spared Zixin. I had to have faith that she would see me through this war.
Her and my Sea Dragon allies.
I growled into my mate's kiss and ground myself against him. Even that, the mere beginning of intercourse, was magical—the build-up beautiful. Every brush of fur against my skin heightened my pleasure and brought fresh joy to my heart. Elation—that's what I felt. Elation and ecstasy that had nothing to do with sex. Well, not entirely.
