Chapter 13

I found a way to pray to the deity of Twilight.

It will take my soul, but I give it willingly and wish for only one gift.

M y feet dig straight into the sand as I sense Ziven on his dragon, right before I hear the telltale flap of wings. Maeve roars, her anger only fuelling my own as Brythan lands with a thump, sending sand dust up into my face. I keep my eyes on the sea, on the waves touching my feet and how cold they are. I always imagined the sea would be warmer than it is. I don't bother looking at Ziven as he comes and sits down next to me, his boots sinking into the sand as the waves wash against them.

"It's not safe for you out here alone."

I grit my teeth and dig my nails into the cold, damp sand. "Lies, on lies, on more fucking lies. I'm tired of being used by royals and thinking for a second any of you are different!" Ziven reaches for me, but I move away. "Don't."

His hand lowers. "I didn't lie to you. I couldn't know for sure that you were entwined mates, and if you want honesty? I fucking prayed to the deities he wasn't, because he had you." My chest moves fast as we stare at each other. "You were around him so easily, and when we were together, you outright hated me. You were the key to getting the few people I had alive out, and I shut my mouth for them. I stayed away from you the best I could for them and convinced myself Daegan was doing the right thing. I tried again and again to convince myself that it couldn't be true that Daegan was your mate too. I tore myself apart with the lie until I fucking believed it. It wasn't a lie. It was a prayer to deities who set this all up in the first place."

My voice breaks. "Did you know about the Chilgrave sickness and what Daegan was doing?"

"What about the Chilgrave sickness?" I search his confused eyes, and my shoulders drop. I don't think I could handle being anywhere near him if he knew about it.

"Every time Daegan opens that book, that is what causes the outbreaks. The death of fae from the sickness feeds the book. It's a payment and Daegan knows. He still opens it."

The way Ziven goes still and pure shock registers on his face tells me enough. He really didn't know. Ziven runs his hands over his face before meeting my eyes. "From the beginning, I knew the deities were screwing with us. Atilia suspected I was her entwined mate, and she wouldn't drop the idea. I was not. Daegan was, and he happily used her, and it broke her. He refused to become her mate and marry. It's not uncommon for royals to not marry who they were entwined to, even kings and queens ignore the will of the deities in the face of duty, but they don't usually make their entwined mate suffer by making them fall in love. That bond was not there between me and the princess, I assure you of that, but she was my friend. I liked her and trusted her."

A wave of stupid, irrational jealousy fills my chest. Ziven doesn't like many people, and something bothers me about him ever liking her enough to call her a friend.

"I suspected you and Daegan were linked, because of how easily you two…" He pauses. He can barely say it, and his hands clench. "Unless Daegan screamed it from dragonback, I wasn't going to tell you something that I wasn't sure about. As for the sickness, I didn't know, but it doesn't surprise me that it was something that was caused by the Sun Dynasty. I believe Hettie is the only good soul to be born of that line."

"What happened back then to cause this hate between you both?" I know this feud between them goes back to his sister, back to Hettie, and I only have Daegan's side, which I don't believe now that I know Ziven. "Daegan told me his brother went into heat around your sister and they shared a night. He told me you killed his brother for it."

"That's not true. Not all of it." Ziven's voice is hoarse. I take his hand and move closer to his side, needing to touch him as he tells me. I knew it wasn't true. "My sister was the kindest person I've ever known. She would spend all of her time with the animals in the greenhouse, and she loved to care for them. Everyone said she was the twin of me in looks, but I know she was every bit of my mother. They both had this kindness to their souls that made them vulnerable in this world. It was my job to protect my sister, like my father protected her and my mother." He lifts our joint hands and closes his eyes. "I never told you about my sister, about everything that happened, and I think it's time you understood. Daegan's older brother, Teritus, was a monster. A spoiled, prancing prince who got everything and anything he wanted. There were no limits, no rules when it came to him. He took what he wanted and didn't give a shit. Then he set his eyes on my sister who he believed belonged to him and that they should marry."

Coldness leaks into my blood as he continues. "I said no. That it was her choice who she married, and she was waiting to meet her entwined mate. Later that same day, he raped her and claimed it was because he was in heat. He brutally beat her and left my kind sister a shell of a person." His teeth clamp down. "At first, she wouldn't tell me about the rape, only that she had been beaten and she didn't see who it was. The fucking bastard was bragging to anyone who would listen that he'd had her, and she broke down and told me everything." He looks out across the sea like he can't look at me as he tells me the next part. "That night I went and found him. I tortured him for hours for what he did to my sister before I killed him. I marked his body with the moon to make sure everyone knew."

The rage I feel is only slightly dampened now I know Ziven got revenge for her. "Good. He didn't deserve anything less."

"Ruthless, my Storm," he murmurs, kissing my knuckles. The simple way he uses my in front of that nickname has my heart pounding like a drum. "Daegan was furious the next morning, and suddenly the new king of the Sun Dynasty. He didn't want that. A war broke out between us, and a lot of people died because of what I did. I don't regret killing him, he deserved it, but the war? It was messy and my people were surprised. I hadn't been the king that they'd deserved. I hadn't trained them, and I let my people live as they wished. My people were weak and spoiled, too. The war finally ended when Hettie was born. Daegan and I came to a truce in her name. We'd lost enough people that we felt that we were even. For the sake of the innocent baby that had been born into this bloodshed, it should be stopped. I warned him not to come anywhere near Hettie and that she would be mine to protect, along with my sister. He agreed."

That's why he trains them every morning. That's why he made me train…all of it because he doesn't want to lose anyone again. I once thought the Moon king had no heart and maybe there was just a rock, like what I suspect the moon in the night sky is made of, in his chest. I think it's all a ruse to hide the golden heart he does have. I love that he doesn't hide who he is from me anymore. "And then my sister got sick. I couldn't save her, and I lost everything except for Hettie. She kept me alive, raising a toddler and then a small child. I…I admit I'd given up on wanting to live."

My throat dries. "I felt the same. I understand why your sister became a shell, because I did too. The first time…when I lost my virginity." I pause, barely able to get the words out. "I wanted to die more than I ever did before because I felt disgusted with myself. I wanted to tear my skin off and hope that would help with the feeling."

Ziven cups my cheek. "Tell me you don't feel like that anymore. The only disgusting thing is him . Not what he did to you."

His words ring through me, and even when I've said them to myself, they mean more when it's someone else speaking them. When it's him. "There was a time, near when I escaped, that Kyrell's boyfriend got killed trying to save me from the queen when she stopped an escape. I watched him die, and she tortured me. She broke me with the prince." I gulp past the feeling of pure fear that engulfs me. "Kyrell was my Hettie. He saved my mind and then every other part of me by getting me away from him. I made a decision when I ran through the forest that I'd never be a slave again and I'd always fight. I'd try to find a future, freedom and a life. I found you."

I can never fully read Ziven's eyes. Maybe they are too beautiful for me to ever be able to, but right now I can see how he feels about me. Love. The simple word doesn't seem to be enough for what lies between us; it's too powerful and wild to be described with a single word. Tears fall down my cheeks as I stare at him with every bit of myself open to him. I don't hide anything, any vulnerable part, nothing. He has me, completely, and I want him back.

"I'm so sorry about your sister and for all the people you lost. You were the first person I ever chose or wanted, Ziven. Even when I claimed I hated you, it wasn't true. I wanted you and hated that it was you, the man who seemed hellbent on calling me weak or a traitor, forcing me to train and be in a dragon riding test. I wanted you, Ziv."

"Fuck, I wanted you too. I called you those things because I felt weak for how I felt. I have never felt like this for anyone." He tugs me to him with a growl. "I feel like I'm losing my mind when I'm near you, when you touch me or shout at me. I want anything you will give me, and I want you forever."

"Forever is a big promise," I whisper, clutching at him as I stare into his silver eyes. "I love you, all of you, even the parts you try to hide from me. I see it all, Ziven, and I want to be at your side too. This is more than just the bond."

"It was always more for us, and I'm never letting you go, so I'm glad you feel that way." He grins playfully at me and his smile takes my breath away. "Entwined mates…being fully together like that is risky when you can't control your powers. I want you, fuck, I want every inch of your body and soul as mine, but first you need control."

"Spoilt sport." I stick my tongue out at him.

"I know a very good use for that smart tongue, Storm," his husky voice vibrates across my entire body. He goes serious for a second. "I know you're not aware of much of what mates are, but it's not always for love, it's not always what we have. Sometimes, entwined mates are two people that are destined for a great impact on each other's lives. Daegan, I hate the fucker, but there must be a reason the deities bound your soul to the Sun and Moon. Why you saw red and claimed the most powerful Twilight Dynasty royal dragon ever known. Why you have been circling the royals of this world for your entire life. Story…" He almost never uses my name, and each time he rarely does, my body comes to life for him. "We need to tell everybody about what Daegan has done with the book. The sickness took my sister and my people, but it's killed hundreds of Sun Dynasty fae. If they knew…maybe they will see what is happening to their king."

"You almost sound like you care," I point out.

His lips tighten into a thin line. "You care about him, Storm. I saw it today." So he cares too. He won't kill him because of me. "What did the book say to you?"

"It wants the other book. Its sister, apparently." I shiver even when it's not that cold.

Ziven wraps his arms around me. "The princess hid it outside, somewhere in the world that's far from here. She was the last one to have the books together. I don't know where it is."

I don't dare tell him all the other creepy things the book told me. They can't be true. It's a book, not a future-telling magic being. It wanted to scare me into helping it, and that kind of did work. "The only way we are going to get the barrier down without my death is with that book."

He brushes his lips across mine. Teasing. "I don't want you near that book again, Storm. There are legends about it, and none of them are nice fairy tales. The book is evil."

"I have no intention of going anywhere near it again." Ziven kisses the tip of my nose in a cute way he has never done before, only making me want to push him back onto the sand and see what places I can kiss he might find more than cute, but he stands up, offering me a hand. "Finally, you're agreeing with me and not arguing. I'll make the most of it with some training while we are alone. You've been slacking in your training."

I shake my head after standing up. "You're all work and no play, Moon king."

He curls a hand, with a smirk on his pretty lips. "Land a hit and I'll play any game you wish, Storm."

Heat burns through my body at his promise. It doesn't take long for Ziven to let me hit his arm, and he smirks as he runs his eyes down my body. "Come with me?"

I frown, wondering where he wants us to go, but I trust him. We fly our dragons back to the mansion, and Ziven leads me into the Moon Dynasty rooms, right past my room and what I assume is his. He opens it up and I go inside, looking at the dark room. The walls are a deep silver, matching the fourposter bed with silver swirling wooden posts. The bedding is black and there are crescent moons embroidered into a comforter on the end of the bed.

Ziven shuts the door behind me, not before I see the full-length mirror on the other side of the room. "You stay with me now. I wanted to give you some space, but move in with me. I might actually get some sleep rather than sleeping on that shit bed of yours."

I smile at him, looking at everything in his room. There is only one chest of drawers, and his crown is casually thrown on top of it. He follows my gaze. "Has Hettie given you my mother's crown back yet?"

Spinning, I face him. "Your mother's? Why didn't you say?" I wouldn't have traded it for a cake otherwise.

He walks to me, pulling me up against his chest. "I didn't think you'd wear it if you knew it was a thousand-year-old crown only worn by Moon Dynasty queens. Hettie is fine to have it for now, but it belongs to you."

I push him away and walk around him, rubbing my arm. "You're right, I wouldn't have worn it. That's a lot of pressure and I'm not?—"

"Not what?" he challenges.

I wave a hand at myself. "I'm not born for this. I'm not a royal princess or anyone you should consider, really. You've seen my body; I'm ruined and I can't be?—"

"Come here." He tugs me in front of a mirror. I gasp as he tugs off my top, then my bra and leggings until I'm bare in front of him. I can barely look, instead I choose to stare at him.

His hand runs across my stomach, across every one of my scars. I flinch, looking at us both in the mirror. He is flawless and beautiful. I'm broken and scarred. How can he want me like his? How can he desire me?

He roughly grabs my chin, forcing my gaze back to the mirror. "Look at yourself, Storm. See how fucking beautiful you are? These scars make you beautiful. They show me how you survived every bit of pain they were caused by. I want you to keep your eyes on your body as I fuck you and show you exactly how breathtaking you are. Don't for a second think any less of yourself. You. Are. Mine." He throws me onto the bed, on my knees above him. I'm forced to watch in the mirror as his tongue sinks into me, and I cry out, digging my nails into his chest. My eyes close on instinct, and he stops. "Eyes open and watch yourself. You are my queen. Not some broken thing you believe yourself as. The crown belongs to you just as much as I do, so be a good girl and watch the mirror as you come on my face. I want to taste my queen."

I blush, but I don't dare take my eyes off the mirror as he sucks, licks and teases me until I'm shaking with pleasure. He doesn't let me finish, not until he wants me to, and when he does, I cry out his name as intense pleasure vibrates through every tiny part of my body.

"Ziven," I moan as he pulls me off him. He pushes me down on my hands and knees, tugging my ass up and plunging every inch of his thick cock into me. I'm still shaking from the orgasm as he slams into me with a vengeance, just as punishing as it is perfect. He tugs my body up, my back to his chest, with his hand curling around my neck to hold me to him while his thick cock sinks in and out of me. I can see us in the mirror, my hair flowing around his arm, his hand on my neck and hip. His cock driving inside me, over and over. He reaches down, parting my folds and running his finger across my clit. It's like magic, like some control he has, and I moan as he pushes me into another orgasm and my body tightens around him. He roars, gripping my hips as he finishes, filling me as his head falls to my shoulder, his dark locks of hair touching my cheek.

Breathless, he turns my cheek so I face him. He softly kisses me once, twice. "I will never not want you, Storm. Never. Stop thinking I will."

He lays me down, only to begin kissing my stomach, and he spends hours showing me that there isn't an inch of my scarred body he doesn't love. With each kiss, I start to believe it, too.