"Soren arrived in their shifted form, yes. I apologize. It wasnothow I intended for you to find out. I moved quickly to keep you from seeing." Romilly replied honestly.
His mate nodded slowly. He no longer gazed at the scales. Archer was fully focused on Romilly now. The look on the little human’s face would forever stick out to him.
“You were trying to protect me.”
“I was,” Romilly agreed. “You needed to hear the truth from me. Getting surprised by my sibling’s arrival wouldn’t have been good. Plus, Soren was rather frustrated when they came to my office. You did not need to meet them that way.”
Archer turned his focus back to the scales he continued to stroke. “I want you to know first and foremost that I’m not angry at you for keeping this all a secret. If you’d told me any sooner, I would have panicked. Even if I already had some idea…”
“You thought you knew we were dragons?”
"I knew things were different here. The town. The way it felt when I got off the train. My whole life I didn't believe in anything like this. I thought the universe was indifferent at best andactively unkind at worst." A small pause. "But when I stepped onto that platform, I felt… warm. I think I've known since my gut told me to get off the train that this was where I was meant to be.”
Romilly had thought himself prepared for whatever emotions his mate felt after the truth came out. He’d turned each scenario over in his head anytime he wasn’t with the little human.
But this had never crossed his mind.
His mate telling him that the bond had moved in him enough to get off the train. That Archer had followed something pulling him here, something he couldn't explain, and hadn't turned away from it even when it would have been sensible to do so.
His dragon, which had been motionless since the moment Archer touched his scales, made a sound deep inside him that Romilly had never heard before.
This was ancient magic.
The mate bond.
“Do you know why I felt pulled here? Is that part of this too? Am I like a latent dragon or something?” Archer questioned.
Romilly kept his expression steady despite the way he wanted to laugh. His mate was fucking adorable.
A latent dragon? Yeah, that didn’t happen. They were too much a part of us to ever be suppressed.
"There is more I need to tell you. Not today. Today I think this is enough. I will tell you all of it. I don't want there to be anything between us that you don't know."
When Archer merely nodded, Romilly couldn’t tell if he should be relieved or if this was the beginning of the end. Not knowing his mate’s thoughts proved to make life more difficult. He couldn’t wait until they were bonded and he had the telepathic connection with his human as well.
“Are you frightened?” Romilly asked the most important questions floating through his mind.
“For a second, maybe. The scales were startling at first. Part of me understood I should have panicked. It wanted me to run. But then I rememberedwhoI was with. You’ve shown me more kindness and care than anyone else in my life. You would never hurt me.”
“Never. You will never be harmed again so long as I am alive.”
Archer grinned again. This time more mischievous than before. “Oh, really? What about if I stub my toes? Or I get a speck of dirt in my eye? Those can hurt too. You won’t be able to stop them.”
“I will do my best to prevent it all. You should only ever feel comfort, peace, and love when here with me and my family. And if that ever changes, you must let me know. Promise me this, little one.”
“Promise,” Archer said, moving one hand to cover his heart. “Now then… Will you tell me more about the horde? Whatever you’re willing to share is fine.”
Romilly didn’t hesitate to dive into more about his family, both blood and chosen. He explained to Archer how the people of his horde lived alongside the humans of San Noctis. About the layers of old magic that kept the balance. He told him about the different shifter species, about the Fae and their factions, about the wolves, organized and feral both.
He spoke carefully, leaving nothing out except the one thing he was saving. Romilly watched Archer's face with each new fact shared. When he described Hadrian's shifted form, which was enormous and ungainly in a way that matched his personality so accurately it had always struck Romilly as Fate's finest comedy, his mate giggle.
Archer asked a number of questions along the way. Most of it had to do with how they’d been able to live with humans for so long without being found out. When Romilly explained some of them knew and worked to help keep it secret, his mate immediately pegged one of them.
“Belinda is a human!” The victorious shout amused Romilly.
“Yes, little one. She is.”
“And she keeps the secret for you.”
