Adara pressed her lips together. Her eyes darted about the room, meeting everyone’s gaze but mine, before landing on Lady Axlya. “I need time to think about it before I can decide.”
Time?I barely stopped myself from shouting the word. What in the blazes did she mean, she neededtime? Was she seriously considering marriage to Prentis as a viable option?
“There has to be another way,” I said to Lady Axlya, the words coming out just shy of a growl. “Some other way Adara can prove her loyalty to you that doesn’t involve a loveless marriage.”
“Who said that it would be loveless?” Axlya gave Prentis a fond look. “My niece and nephew might not know each other very well yet, but there is no reason love couldn’t grow between them eventually, providing there isn’t a meddlesome figure around to break up their marriage.”
She gave me a pointed look, and I stared right back, neither challenging nor denying the accusation. I couldn’t promise that I wouldn’t do everything in my power to stop Adara from marrying Prentis. She was mymate. As a dragon, I couldn’t allow it.
Even if it was the quickest way to getting what she wanted
“Besides,” Lady Axlya continued, “this marriage isn’t a test of loyalty. Try as she might to deny it, the fact is that Adara’s dragon heritage weakens her claim to the throne. Marriage to a prominent member of the water fae nobility will help strengthen that claim and discourage the other houses from questioning it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. They will question the claim, regardless. You know that.”
Axlya tilted her head at me. “If this is a matter of jealousy, there is no need, Einar. Adara can simply take you as one of her consorts, just as I have done with my own paramours.” She gazed fondly at Kalis and Ilsa. “Prentis might be her husband, but there is no reason you can’t remain a part of Adara’s life… if she wants you to be, that is.”
She looked at Adara, who was blushing furiously now. Prentis looked torn on the subject, which I suspected that had less to do with Adara having multiple consorts and more to do with the idea of having to share her with a dragon.
“Again,” she said firmly, as though her face hadn’t turned a brilliant shade of scarlet, “I need time to make my decision.”
I spun on my heel and strode out of the room, the heels of my boots snapping against the marble tiles. Fury roared in my ears, so loud that I barely noticed my surroundings, and it was only until I was halfway back to my room when I realized Adara had followed me.
“Einar.” Her small hand circled around my wrist, pulling me to a stop. “We need to talk.”
I stilled beneath her touch and took in a deep breath, trying to control the maelstrom of emotions swirling inside me. “We can’t talk about this right now,” I said, the words coming out rougher than I intended. “I need to calm down.” I could feel my skin rippling beneath my clothing, muscles straining against bones that wanted to elongate, fangs threatening to punch straight through my lower lip. My inner beast was raging against the potential loss of my mate, and I needed to get myself under control before I did something I would regret.
I might want to burn the entire castle down, but this was a water fae stronghold. Not only would my attempt be ineffective, but it would likely result in my death, regardless of my connection to Adara.
And I couldn’t afford to die, not when my very life was tied to the safety and security of my people.
“Einar.” The pain in Adara’s voice cut me to the bone, and I fought against the urge to turn around. I knew that if I looked into her lavender-blue eyes now, I would lose what little resolve I had left. “Einar, youbitme. And we haven’t had a chance to talk about it, but I can still feel your fangs in my skin, and whenever I see you itthrobs, and I don’t understand because it’s not pain, but—”
I whirled around and grabbed Adara by the shoulders, shocking her into silence. The moment my hands touched her body, my beast reared its head and roared with the need to claim her. Scorching lust raced through my veins, and my fangs punched through my lower lip. Adara’s eyes widened as blood gushed down my chin, and her pink tongue darted out to swipe across her own lips. The thought swirling in her lavender-blue eyes was clear as day—she wanted to lean in and lick the blood from my skin.
I couldn’t let that happen.
Shaking my head, I backed away from Adara, then dove through the nearest window, heedless of the glass. The window shattered, shards scraping against my skin, but I hardly noticed, already caught up in the shift. I plummeted through the sky, wings unfurling, tail elongating as I took my dragon form for the first time since we’d fled the earth realm.
I’m sorry,I said through the bond. It tried to tug me back to her, and I closed my eyes against it, knowing that I couldn’t give into the urge.
If I did, I would be taking the most important thing Adara had away from her.
Choice.
21
Adara
Iwasn’t sure how long I stood at the window, fingers gripping the sill hard enough to make my knuckles ache, eyes burning as I stared at the sprawling cityscape. Einar’s form had long-since disappeared from the horizon—he’d shifted into dragon form as he’d fallen, then taken wing, flying somewhere my eyes couldn’t follow.
When he’d vanished from my sight, the throbbing from his bite mark also disappeared. I should have felt relieved by that, but a hollow feeling had replaced the sensation in my chest, as though a piece of my heart had been scooped out.
He’ll come back,I told myself. The last time he’d taken off like this, when we’d woken up after crash-landing in the Gaoth Aire mountains and I’d freaked out after kissing him, he’d returned within minutes.He just needs to calm down. That’s what he said, right?
The shock began to fade, and I shook my head, pulling away from the window and walking the rest of the way back to my rooms. Of course Einar would come back. He’d promised to protect me, and he wasn’t about to leave me in a castle full of fae he didn’t trust. I still wasn’t sure what was between us, exactly, but Einar obviously had feelings for me. He also loathed Prentis, so the idea that I might actually marry him had clearly pushed him over the edge.
I turned the corner and stopped short at the sight of Prentis leaning against my door. “You,” I said, my tone flat.
