“Vexxion?” I whispered.
He didn’t reply.
His soft breathing told me he’d already fallen asleep.
21
VEXXION
Iwoke sometime later and flitted to the town’s aerie, looking into each stall until I found the pen where Madrood lay.
Stepping inside, I secured the gate behind me and leaned against it, crossing my arms on my chest.
He rose to his feet, a towering mass of muscles, claws, and silver scales gleaming in the moonlight through the open entrance on the opposite side. The glint on the sand strewn across the base of the pen created a halo around this beast who would either be persuaded to be an ally or who would remain my enemy.
I thought you’d come,he said.Eventually.
If I didn’t already know that Tempest was my fated mate, our ability to speak in our minds would confirm it. I only could because I was bonded with her.
This is the first chance I’ve had since I woke,I said.
You could’ve come to me immediately after she released you from his collar.
I rubbed the place on my neck, still unable to believe I was finally free of Ivenrail after so many years. I could feel the lack of it, as if a torn limb I’d finally gotten used to had been severed and replaced with the pristine original. I owed Tempest for that if nothing else.
If you wanted to speak with me, you only needed to ask,I said.What is it now?
We need to discuss the past, the present, and the future.
The past cannot be changed.
Nor can the present. But the future . . .
It’s true,I said.I’ve spent most of my life trying to avoid my inevitable fate. Even when I found her, I’m sure I knew I had to be careful. He was seeking her too, and the tendrils of his magic could travel farther than mine.I traced my fingers across the back of my neck, something I’d done so often that there must be a groove back there. Now I only felt the clasp of the new collar. The spiking pain of the other was gone.
You still don’t remember her.
I remember traveling to the fortress with only one mission, to rein in the commander.
Madrood snorted.I bet you killed him.
I shrugged and settled against the wall, leaning on my right shoulder.If I did,I’m sure I had a valid reason.He was supposed to stop draining Nullens. Had something more sinister happened? I sensed it was vital I remember, but I couldn’t find a way through the thick mist blocking off that part of my mind.
Why couldn’t I remember what happened after I arrived?Those drained wandered the ether, and other than Reyla and Brodine, I didn’t know of any who’d been brought back. There was no history anywhere for me to explore, no one to quiz about their experience.
She’s remarkable,Madrood said with pride.You shouldn’t underestimate her.
I don’t believe I ever have.Despite the blurring of time since arriving at the fortress, that knowledge had been seared across my soul.
Madrood backed down onto his haunches, his show of force complete. Our combined need drove this interaction, and neither of us needed to bluster. The time for confrontation, for the push and pull to determine who had the most power, was in the past, and as I said, it could not be changed.
I’ve seen a bit,he said.I’m willing to share.
What will you demand in exchange?I might find a way to form a truce with this beast, but we’d never be friends.
Nothing for this.
Images flashed through my mind. She worked with a golden dragon and kept peering carefully over her shoulder at a fae male standing on the other side of the fence—me. She didn’t like that she couldn’t look away, that she was attracted to me.
