Hidden Fate

28

“Now you’re talking my jam. I get the gist of the story. King Arthur was bad and made people think his power was bad, and Thorn here is going to remind them that it’s not the case. Noted and filed.” He stood and pulled Mindy to her feet. “And I have my friend Jared’s password to his Disney+ account, so Star Wars marathon, here we come!”

“He’s going to kill you.” Eva laughed as she and Sol stood with them.

“Eh, he’s human, and we’ll probably never see him again,” Elliott answered as he grabbed his father’s hand and tugged him toward the stairs. “We’re going to be dragon shifters soon!”

They continued talking as they clomped up the stairs, and when the door shut, Thorn connected, Finally. I love our brother and sister, but damn, sometimes, they make things so convoluted. I have a feeling that tomorrow, Elliott will go back to harassing me to change him.

My stomach cartwheeled. I loved the fact he’d called them our siblings. He thought of them like family. Yes, he will.

“To be young and falling in love.” Tia snorted and laid her head on Merlin’s chest.

“You were saying?” Thorn prompted, guiding the conversation back to his grandfather.

“Before King Arthur, two other royals had the same magic. From what I heard as a little boy, they were the ones who saved dragonkind when our numbers were dwindling.” Ryu yawned. “But King Arthur destroyed their memories and instilled fear in his people, which is what you have to overcome.”

Something swirled inside my mate—warring emotions of hope and dread.

“Listen, I hate to end this chat, but we’re up later than normal.” Belinda stretched. “I’m about to fall asleep over here.”

Brenton grabbed the new couples’ luggage, and Cassidy jumped to her feet. She said, “There’s a room upstairs with two queen beds, if that’s okay.”

“That’s more than perfect.” Tia stood. “We can do the old sock on the doorknob thing when one of us is busy. I saw that on some show a while back.”

Saphira laughed loudly. “Oh, gods. I needed that.”

As the others meandered away, Saphira sat next to Hydra. The two of them began talking about Wyvern and things going on back at Hydra and Theron’s thunder.

Thorn led me toward our room. When the door shut behind us, he pulled me into his arms, and a mixture of his emotions overwhelmed me. I wasn’t sure what to do other than hold him.

An emotion settled over him as if he’d made a decision. He pulled back, and I saw something in his expression that I hadn’t expected.

I froze.

The entire time I’d been with Thorn, a heaviness had shrouded him, even when he was happy. Over the past week, that sensation had lightened, but not by much. I’d come to realize what it was—scars. Scars from his magic, his past, and his family. I was pretty sure that ever since I’d rolled into the picture, I’d made it worse because now he feared losing me. Granted, running off while he’d slept to turn myself over to Drake, thinking it would save our loved ones, hadn’t helped.

Now, a look and lightness like hope filled him and stole my breath. His sky blue irises were brighter, the flecks of diamond standing out more, and his face didn’t show the lines of worry that were usually there unless we were making love.

My heart expanded. He’d always been gorgeous, but this version of him was transcendent. “What’s going on? I’ve never seen you like this.” My smile was reflected in my voice.

“I…” He blew out a breath, grinning. “I understand what you’ve been trying to tell me. That this magic isn’t a curse. That was only how I’d been taught to feel about it.”

“Really?” I arched a brow, my heart fluttering. I didn’t care how he’d gotten here, just that he had. I could only hope that his eyes were truly opening to the amazing man he was and was still becoming. “Just now?”

He snickered and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, the sizzle of our connection thrumming between us. He murmured, “I know. I should’ve believed you, since what you think is most important to me. In fairness, it’s the only reason I’ve come as far as I have.” His smile drooped. “But to hear the history that people either didn’t bother to tell me or didn’t know confirmed what you were saying all along. My magic is a gift, and it’s about keeping the balance and ensuring our race doesn’t die off. Helping to heal injured dragons and create new ones so they don’t have to endure what Emily did is also a blessing.”

Balance. Sacrifice. Two words that always seemed to circle magic. “Well, the bad always seems to outweigh the good and instill fear.”

“It does. It has.” He settled his hands on my hips. “And I have a mate standing beside me who never knew about my past, yet she still tried to convince me that my magic could be used for good.”

His love poured into the bond, and I felt as if I could combust from happiness. I cupped his cheek and connected, It’s because I know you. Even before we became what we are now, when everything indicated I shouldn’t trust you, I knew you weren’t bad. You are a pure soul who was misunderstood for far too long, and a fundamental change won’t happen overnight. You have to believe that yourself—I can only get you so far. And I’m happy that the conversation tonight changed that for you. You deserve to be happy and not hate your reflection in the mirror or the mark on your back.

You own me, Everly Woods. His pupils slitted as his dragon peeked through. You have my heart, my body, my soul, and my trust. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I won’t give you up. No matter what, I need you by my side.

Warmth flooded me, and my stomach clenched with desire. You own me, too. No matter what. When things settle, I plan to have Errol sign our marriage certificate so I can take your last name.

That would make me so happy, he replied and kissed me hungrily.

His tongue swooped into my mouth, and I answered each stroke with my own pent-up desire. I bit his lower lip. Growling, he placed his hands on my ass and lifted me to settle against him. He was already hardening as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

He moved forward, his hands kneading my cheeks, and had me tumbling back onto the bed. My hair fanned out around me as he leaned over and paused.