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“They’re not too bad. Just a little tender.”
“Have a seat and take off your blouse. This won’t take long. Julian is quite anxious to speak with you.”
“I noticed,” I said dryly. There was something unfamiliar inside of me. The feelings bombarded me—anticipation, rage, sadness. I knew they were Julian’s emotions, now a part of me forever.
I took a seat on a small chair and unbuttoned the blue silk blouse. I slipped it from my shoulders and draped it over the back of the chair before unsnapping the front clasp of the black bra Julian had dressed me in. Esmerelda removed a small silver dish from the mantel of her fireplace. It was octagonal in shape, and the engravings around it were beautiful. It looked incredibly old, but the silver wasn’t tarnished.
“It belonged to the Fae side of my family. It was my grandmother’s. She was a great healer.”
We were both silent as she lifted the silver lid and touched her finger at each point of the octagon. Her lips moved and her eyes were closed, and the sheen of the silver grew brighter. I couldn’t help but let my thoughts wander to Julian. I hated being apart from him now, and I needed the reassurance of his touch.
I shook my head, hoping some common sense would rattle loose. I didn’t like the feel of neediness that came over me since we’d become lifemates. The worst part of it was that Julian obviously wasn’t as affected. He’d been able to walk away without any problems at all.
“You should be more understanding,” Esmerelda said. “His path is a hard one, filled with obstacles and tragedy. You could be a light to his darkness. Rule beside him as an equal. But your own demons are swallowing you whole.”
“What demons?”
“Everyone’s are different. But we all have them. You know what you struggle with. And though you and Julian have mated, your path is not forged yet. There are forks in your road that lead in many directions. You’ll have choices to make.”
I looked down at the tattoo that was supposed to represent everything Julian and I meant to each other. The writings were there, but the meaning was empty. Though the gods outdid themselves with the artistry. The scrollwork truly was a masterpiece.
“It is, isn’t it,” Esmerelda said. She pulled up a padded footstool and sat across from me. “This is the first time I’ve seen the writing of the old lands outside of the ancient Drakán scrolls.”
“Do you think it is written the same for everyone?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I would think so. These are the sacred vows of our people, much like the vows in a human marriage ceremony. But these vows are more precious because they are bound by magic, not just words. It is tradition for mated Drakán to read the inscription to each other on their first mating anniversary, or theYiun.”
I wasn’t sure that Julian and I would be together in a year. Or if we were I wasn’t sure we’d have anything to celebrate. We’d had a pretty rocky beginning so far. Not to mention I wasn’t sure I’d be alive in a year if The Destroyer had his way.
Esmerelda rubbed the salve between her fingers, and the sharp scent of eucalyptus leaves and something else permeated the air.
“This is also magic,” she said. “When you heat the salve with your dragon fire it releases the magic, and the healing can begin. When I enchant it with the words of Faerie, it will also help prevent future injury. I find being a half-breed Fae Drakán has its uses every now and then.”
I smiled and then hissed between my teeth as the salve touched the burn. It seemed to get hotter, and the tattoo came to life. The scrolls undulated and moved like waves down the entire left side of my body. The scrolls glowed from beneath the skin with golden light.
“The sting will only last for a moment,” Esmerelda soothed. “It’s drawing the heat out of your skin.”
The scrolls stopped moving and the glow dimmed. The heat of the salve dissipated and left my skin cool to the touch. It was over. The pain was gone. Not only from the burns, but also the bite mark on my neck and all the aches, pains, and bruises I’d suffered from making love on ceilings and hard floors all night.
I put my shirt back on and thanked Esmerelda for the salve. “Do you know where I can find Julian?”
“I do not. But you are his lifemate. Your souls are tied together. If you open yourself to him, you will always be able to find one another.”
“Keeping myself open to anyone seems like a good way to get hurt.”
“Perhaps,” she said, smiling. “Good luck with your demons, Rena.” She turned around and went through a door I assumed led to her bedroom and left me standing there alone.
I didn’t have a choice but to do as she suggested. I lowered my walls, and the thread I’d used to put out Julian’s fire the night before was even stronger, no longer a thread but a rope. I closed my eyes and my dragon came into view. She was always happy when I thought of Julian, and she rubbed against me approvingly. I pushed her back and followed my instincts.
I could see him clearly in my mind. He sat behind a massive black desk, carved with Drakán images. His face was serious, and at first I thought he must be terribly sad, but the clenching of his fists made me rethink my assessment. Angry fire burned just beneath his skin.
I followed my vision and our invisible link down the stairs, all the way to the bottom floor of the chateau. I ignored the guards and their curious stares, my focus absolute, as if I were in a trance.
When I walked through the double doors of the great room, I had no idea what had led me there. It had been cleared of the tables from the night before. The blood had been cleaned from the floor. There was nothing in the room. It was completely empty. Yet I didn’t turn around and walk out. I dropped my shields all the way this time. His emotions were raw and hit me with a force that made me stagger. The tug between us grew stronger—the invisible rope thicker.
I remembered back to the first night—the night I had met Julian in his dream. He’d appeared from the shadows against the wall. But it hadn’t really been shadows. It had been a door.
I walked across the room, one foot in front of the other, and placed my hand against the cold wall. I didn’t know what compelled me to push my magic into the black marble. I just knew I had to get to Julian, and that he was on the other side of this wall.
