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I needed to run.
I found the energy from some reserves I had no idea I possessed. I got up off my knees and sprinted for the doors. I knew mentally I would never be able to escape Julian, but the reflex was instinctive. I made the mistake of looking back over my shoulder before I reached the exit, and I saw the most magnificent sight I’d ever experienced. Julian’s piercing blue eyes were staring straight at me as his body changed form. Scales the color of the most precious black diamonds rippled over his body like liquid silk and covered the pale flesh of his human form.
His dragon was a beautiful machine, his body sleek and lithe—one solid muscle that would have enough strength to propel him through the air. His claws and teeth were vicious, both in sharpness and length, and his tail was thick and could be wielded so it broke every bone in the body.
His body flexed once and then he came after me in a blur of speed. His scales pressed against the back of my body and I screamed. My feet left the floor in a wave of vertigo, and we catapulted out of the chateau and into the night.
ChapterEighteen
My stomach roiled and pitched as we spiraled into the sky. The temperature of the air was a cold shock against my bare skin. We soared higher and higher, and I grew dizzy as he circled with me in his arms—a dance he was leading and I was forced to follow.
He flew us toward the tallest turret of the chateau, and I squeezed my eyes shut as he headed straight for the arched window that seemed impossibly small for a full-grown dragon to fit through.
The cold stone around the open window grazed my skin as we glided into the room. Julian released me with something less than a gentle touch. I stumbled to my knees and crawled across the hard floor as I tried to put as much distance between us as possible. That wasn’t easy to do in a room that was completely round and had no doors and only one small window for means of an escape.
Julian shifted from his dragon form back to his human one, but the expression on his face didn’t make me feel any safer. He was naked, but I stood slowly and faced him defiantly. If I was going to die, it wasn’t going to be on my hands and knees like a weakling.
“I can’t say I’m surprised to see another room that’s full of black marble,” I said to fill the silence.
“It makes it easier to hide any messes,” he said. His accent was much thicker than normal. “You’re a brave woman, Rena Drake. There aren’t many who would publicly defy me. Xana is one, and her betrayal, though understandable, won’t go without punishment. And then there’s you,” he said moving closer. “Do you still deny our connection, Rena?”
He circled around me, but I kept my gaze straight ahead. Fear sliced its way through me, but my dragon writhed in triumph. Julian was calling to her. And she wanted him.
“I felt what you did to me,” he said. “It is a powerful weapon you wield. One that could be my downfall. And if I was more like my father your death would be unavoidable. But I’m not my father. Nor am I naïve in my experience of the female mind and the perception of love. Those are not things I understand completely, but I do understand loyalty.
“I am giving you a choice, Rena, since you are so fond of them. If you wish to keep your life, then you will complete the mating ritual with me and share my fire. You will belong to me, and my family will be your family. I will be your protector. And I will want only you for the rest of eternity as is the magic of true lifemates. And if it appeases your human side, we can say the traditional vows of husband and wife. But if you wish to die, then I swear I will send you to the Realm of the Dead with the honor a true mate deserves. What do you choose?”
I honestly had no idea. Was death better than being mated to Julian? I did know my family was not going to be happy to lose the potential heir to lead our clan to our most hated rival.
“Being mated to me will not be the misery you seem to think.” I felt his breath on the nape of my neck and my flesh pebbled. His human form was glorious.
His expression was arrogant and pleased by my obvious approval of his body.
“All right,” I agreed. “But I have a condition to add to the agreement before we’re bonded.”
This was the strangest business meeting I’d ever been to, and I had the sudden urge to laugh hysterically. I was afraid if I started, I’d never want to stop.
“I can’t promise anything, but I will at least listen.”
I nodded and fought the urge to crack my knuckles nervously. “I will mate with you, but if I’m unhappy here or if my clan needs me, I want the option to return home.”
“As long as you give me the opportunity to talk you out of it.”
“You must also remember that I am the Enforcer. I must fulfill my duties.”
“Rena, my love, how could I ever forget what you are?”
I instinctively took a step back when he reached for me, and then I realized what I was doing and forced myself to stop.
“Then it’s settled,” I said and closed my eyes to accept my fate.
“Not quite.” The sound of his soft chuckle made me open my eyes.
“What else?” I barely managed to ask.
“I have two more conditions. As your mate I will help you search for The Destroyer, but when the time comes it is I who will kill him. Not you. I will take revenge for what he has done to my people.”
“Agreed.”
