Inodded and ran my hand gently over his cheek and laced it through his long, silver hair.
“Iwould understand if you cannot forgive me for it,” he confessed, crestfallen.
“Abraxas, how couldIblame you for something like that?Youdidn’t even knowIexisted.”
“ButafterIdid,Istill continued…”
“Mylove,Iaccept you as you are.AndIaccept your mark.Thankyou for bringing me down here.”Ismiled at him and ran my hand over his bite again. “Ihave much to learn about dragon society, don’tI?Doesthis mean all your old scars are from other dragons as well?”
Heaverted his eyes, andIsaw his fingers trace over the scar that ran around his ribs absent-mindedly.
“Abraxas… how did you get that scar on your ribs?”
Colorrose into his cheeks. “Idon’t want to tell you.”
“Yousaid no more secrets,Abraxas!”
“It’snot a secret, it’s… embarrassing.”
“Nowyou have to tell me.”
Helet out a long sigh. “AsIsaid, whenIwas young,IassumedIhad no mate.Thisput me in a…uniqueposition amongst dragons.WhentheWarofFlamesbegan, dragons were killed, and many lost their mates to the cleanse.”
“Whatdoes this have to do with your scar?”
“It’simportant you know the context, impatient one.Dragonsare monogamous, but with the cleanse, things changed.Dragonswere losing their mates, andIwas a young male with no mate who was more than willing to… offer my assistance.”
“Areyou telling me this really was a sex injury?”Ihad been joking, but it seemed the joke was on me.
“Onedragon,Levania, had just lost her mate in one of the first battles of the war.Shewas beyond distraught.Iwent out to comfort her.Don’tlook at me like that.Ireally was just trying to help.Shewas in pain.Idid whatIcould, but she was beyond consolation.So,Idid what she needed, and well… a raging dragon isn’t gentle, as you know.”
“It’sa huge scar!Shemust have nearly killed you.”
Helet out a soft chuckle. “Thatshe did.Butthat’s in the past now,Tori.Sheand the others arelong gone.”
Icould feel my face heating. “She’slucky she is.”Dragonfirelicked at my arms at the thought ofanyonehurting him like that.
Hegave me a sad smile and pulled the dragonfire away from me, toying with it in his hand and staring deeply into its depths, like he might be able to see the past if he looked hard enough.
“I’msorry.Ishould not have—”
“Itis alright.Iactually quite like seeing you this jealous, my love.Faelike yourself are natural wanderers, so knowing you have some loyalty to me is comforting.”
Igripped his face in both my hands. “You’remine,Abraxas.You’rethe only one for me, now and always.”
Chapter 50
Abraxas
ToriandIspent the night with my treasure.Istayed in my fae form to hold her through the night, stroking her hair and just reveling in the feeling of her warmth against me.Inthe morning, she buried her face in my chest, her voice muffled with sleep as she grumbled about needing a mattress if this was to become a regular affair.
Icarried her up to our room and made excellent use of the mattress there until late into the morning.Asshe dozed peacefully after,Itraced my fae hands down the beautiful curve of her back, placing small kisses all along her spine.
Ihad a kingdom to run and couldn’t linger with her all day, despite how muchIwanted to.Idrew the curtains tight to let her rest.
Afterweeks away,Isat through hours of briefings and updates.Mymind continued to wander back to the beautiful woman sleeping in my bed, and maybeIwasn’t the only one.Tori’spresence dominated the war room even though she was peacefully sleeping elsewhere.Myofficers spoke of her with the utmost respect.Ialmost wondered if they had even missed me.
AsIstrode back to my room, a peculiar sight caught my attention.Oneof the castle balconies was littered with small songbirds.Theyhopped on their tiny feet, and sang harmoniously, a sightIhad never seen before.
