The King glanced at him before turning back to me. “There is much more to it than that. A mating bond is unbreakable. It's an exchange of souls.”
“An exchange of souls?”
“Not all of it. We give our mate a little piece of ourselves.”
“Even when you mate someone who isn't a Dragon? Or can you mate outside your race?” My heart sped up.
“Yes, we can. In such a situation, our mate cannot reciprocate, but that doesn't matter. With our souls in them, we are united. We sense things about each other. Even if love doesn't bind us when we form the union, it will come. It's inevitable. You see, our mates are chosen for us by the Goddess Ensarena. She knows best who will love us truly and make eternity worthwhile. Without our mate, we are incomplete.Many of us have gone centuries, waiting for the Goddess to bless us. Immortality begins to wear upon us. But Ensarena never fails us. She saves us with her guidance, wisdom, and love. She gives us what we need to survive right when we need it.”
“But . . . what if you fall in love with someone who isn't your mate?”
“That can happen, but the love isn't as strong as what comes to a mated pair.”
“So, the Dragon will leave their lover for their mate?” My stomach clenched. Another tragedy loomed over me. What if I fell in love with King Raventar and overcame my trauma to be with him, only for him to then meet his mate?
“Yes, a mate will always win against everyone else in a Dragon's life. Even family doesn't matter as much as a mate.”
“And how do you know when you've found your mate?”
“There is a sexual response.”
Instead of being shocked, I was intrigued. “You must have sex with them to know who they are?”
“Yes.”
“How limiting.”
One of the knights laughed and then coughed to cover it when the King glared at him.
“It's why we tend to be promiscuous. We don't have to fall in love to find our mate. Just—”
“Fall in lust,” I cut him off.
The same knight—Sir Foxren—chortled this time.
The Dragon King didn't glare at him. Instead, he joined in. “Yes, Eliel, we can fall in lust and find our mate. But love will come.”
“You say there's a sexual response. What type of response?”
I couldn't be sure, what with the firelight playing on his face, but I thought the King blushed.
He cleared his throat. “It's . . . an, um, extended climax.”
“How long does it go on?”
“Quite long. And even after it stops, it's only a pause until the Dragon or Dragons are revived and must go through it again. The process can last several days.”
I gaped at him.
He cleared his throat again.
I leaned toward him. “You . . . you'll have sex for several days? Without pause?”
“There are pauses to see to our basic needs, but, yes.” With a wincing expression, he turned to look at me. “It's said to be the most beautiful and savage time of a Dragon's life. Exhausting, but wonderful.”
A chill ran over my arms, lifting the little hairs there. “Savage?”
“We don't hurt our mates, Eliel,” the King said firmly and a little chidingly. “We cannot hurt our mates. We'd sooner die.”
