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I don’t even need to think about it. “I never laid eyes on you until I saw you on the ground along the Proxen Road with your hands tied in front of you. If I’d been blessed with a vision, I would have remembered you. I would have known that my Omega was on her way to me and anticipated you every second that passed.”
Isavelle nods. “Mistress Hawthorne didn’t seem to think you should have been able to see me. Maybe another witch who understands visions better will be able to tell me one day what was happening.”
“Sleep the rest of the night here with me,sha’len?” I ask her. “Every night if you want. You’re always welcome in my bed.”
Isavelle glances toward the door. “Won’t there be gossip about us if I spend the night? Couples aren’t supposed to spend the night together before they’re married.”
I laugh softly, tucking her against my body and closing my eyes. “No one cares about that in Maledin. Fated mates are meant to be together, and woe betide anyone and anything who tries to keep them apart.”
29
Isavelle
There’s a chilly mist hanging over the dragongrounds as I cross the stone bridge the following morning. Large bodies and angular wings move in the haze. As I am walking among the dragons, I search for a small, turquoise and gold one, or a large black one. If I find one then I’ve found the other, as Esmeral and Scourge are rarely apart when Scourge is not away with Zabriel.
A man emerges suddenly through the ice-laced air. He’s the color of ice with his pale eyes and white hair, and his eyes widen in shock and every muscle of his body tenses as he gazes down at me. Stesha. I haven’t seen him since he fought with Zabriel, and as far as I know, Zabriel hasn’t talked with him either.
Someone should try and clear the air, so I say hesitantly, “Stesha, can I talk to you? I know you weren’t…”
The white-haired Alpha turns on his heel and strides away without a backward glance. I sigh as I watch him go. I suppose I should have expected that. Zabriel threatened to take Nilak away from him and banish him so he’d never be among the dragons of the flare ever again. The dragons seem to be the only thing that makes Stesha happy. I don’t know how things can ever be made right between the two Alphas.
I’m gazing sadly after him, thinking how hard it must be for Zabriel to lose a friend at a time like this, when something nudges against my hand. A turquoise head is butting against my palm, and when I stroke Esmeral, she trills and clicks and patters closer to me.
With both my hands cupping either side of her head, I gaze into her eyes. Beautiful eyes. Intelligent eyes. Right at this moment, they’re filled with interest and hope. While I’ve been going through a cycle of false heats, aches, exhaustion, and intense desire for an enormous, dangerous male, so has she. While I’ve been hesitating, Esmeral has been hungry for each and every new thing that has come her way.
“I think you’re very brave, Esmeral. You ask for what you want in a loud voice with very sharp teeth.”
The dragon seems to know I’m complimenting her and she nuzzles my shoulder.
“I…I don’t know if I want to fly, but maybe we can be friends if you want?”
Esmeral’s head tilts to one side. Either she doesn’t understand the question or she doesn’t like it. Over her shoulder, Scourge is watching me, his red eyes blazing in the mist. I have the sense that he knows exactly what’s going on, and he doesn’t like it.
Don’t you dare reject my mate. Don’t you dare hurt my mate.I don’t hear those words, but I feel that sentiment from him.
I take a shuddering breath. “I’m trying, Scourge. Please.”
He snorts, and then swings his huge bulk around and paces away down the dragongrounds.
Turning back to Esmeral, I say, “I don’t know if I can fly with you. It’s frightening. It’s…” I hunt deep inside myself for what I’m really afraid of.
It puts me on display.
That feels like the answer. On Esmeral, there’d be nowhere to hide. No place to run. I draw so much attention being the king’s mate, but if it becomes overwhelming, I can hide my face in his shoulder and feel his arms protectively around me, or I can run to my room. It was always dangerous to be seen in Maledin. Catching the eye of the Brethren meant you were about to be punished, and I was singled out almost every single day.
“I’m still afraid of them,” I say under my breath, and Esmeral trills in response.
I stroke Esmeral’s scales thoughtfully, picturing myself on Esmeral’s back.
“Do you think…” I begin and break off as the world wobbles.
It happens just like it did the first time.
The world turns black.
Blacker than black, without sight, taste, sound, smell, or sensation. I’m in an empty void.
Iamthe void.
