Gwendolyn.
The monster wasn’t me, but the woman who had done this to me. And I let it happen…
You found me,I whispered across the bond. I buried my face into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent.
I clung to Gwendolyn like a dying man, feeling the warmth of her body seeping into my broken one. I barely focused on anything else around me, my gaze solely belonging to her. Every breath she took reminded me that I was no longer alone.
“Interesting,” Damien suddenly muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing in on a place somewhere on the wall.
“It can’t be,” he said, voice low and certain. I lifted my head from Gwendolyn’s shoulder, the weight of hope almost too much to bear.
“What can’t be?” I rasped…my voice was so rough. I had no idea when I last had water to drink?
Damien turned to face us; his expression shocked.
“I believe I…” Damien stuttered, like he could barely form any words right now. The shock in his body was too strong. “…I opened a portal. It seems to be tied to my dragon magic. That is how Gwendolyn and I were able to find you.”
I gulped. My little brother had opened a portal… and allbecause he’d found his mate, the very person he was destined to be with.
“How do you want to carry me? I’m weak and heavy with my wings, brother,” I stated, and I was covered in bruises and cuts as well. I didn’t want the dirt of my skin to taint theirs.
“I can pass through it in my true form and carry both of you, don’t worry.” Damien sounded far too confident; as a child, he hadn’t explored his powers enough. He was too afraid of not being able to change back, or of hurting someone he loved. That would be the only reason Damien and Gwendolyn hadn’t bonded yet. He wanted her, but couldn’t assess the dangers of his powers.
He stepped on the stone ground, which was muddy and watery, as I felt his silver threads transforming and starting to wander around me.
I wasn’t even sure if Gwendolyn had noticed them, her sweet face still buried against my chest, her eyes closed, like she felt this moment between us just as surreal as me.
After his silver threads broke the chains around my feet and hands, I gripped Gwendolyn even tighter against me, breathing in her hair, her skin, every inch that Leanan had forbidden me to claim. Although we hadn’t bonded physically yet, I felt every single emotion of hers. The most dominant was the worry. I could feel her trembling through our connection.
“What happens to us if we go through it?” she asked, her voice small.
Damien gave her a half-smile which didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’ll cost me energy, love. But nothing compared to leaving Malakai and you trapped here.”
He stepped back, unbuttoning the collar of his shirt, while his eyes stayed fixed on her.
Beneath his skin, faint silver lines started shimmering. It was his ancient magic, the one his father had feared the most.
“It’s going to be all right. I’ll look into the portal first to see where it leads, and then I’ll come back to get both of you,” he said as his body began to shudder, his bones shifting, its sound still sensitive to my ears. In a matter of seconds, my brother’s dragon form took over, his scales gleaming silver-blue.
I watched, almost breathless, as he pressed his claw against the ancient runes. It had been so long since I saw Damien in his dragon form, and yet it was like nothing had changed. The familiarity of my little brother’s powers made me feel like a part of my home had returned. I gripped Gwendolyn even tighter in my arms as we both looked at Damien’s dragon shell.
And it was only possible because my brother and my love had done the impossible—they had found me.
Chapter 24
I ran through the entire castle, searching every single inch of it, my body numb with fear and despair.
Where was she? Where was Damien?
After a while, there was only one place left to check—my brother’s room. My pride hated it, but I had no choice. To find Gwendolyn, there could be no such thing as pride.
I knocked, barely containing the urgency inside my chest.
Sparrow opened the door with his usual smirk. His hair was perfectly styled, and he was dressed in a blue blouse and purple pants.
“Nice to see you, brother,” Sparrow said, grinning.
“I need your help.”
