Chapter 7

“He’s a titan?” Emrys questions, running his hand over my palm and the mark there, like he can wipe it away. It doesn’t hurt anymore.

“Yes, I read about him back on Earth. My grandmother told me a lot about him too, and I got the impression she didn’t like him much. He is basically the king of all the gods, and Hera thought he was dead.” I tuck away a piece of my damp hair behind my ear. Cronus scared me. Deep down in my soul, and even looking at him, felt so wrong. He has too much power, and none of his power felt good. Emrys patiently sits at my side, his hand resting on my knee.

On the other side of the room, listening in, are Alpha Theodorn and Princess Ember, who came in when they heard a scream. Queen Mai has left to go unlock the doors to the prison so I can see my mates tomorrow. Apparently, it takes a few hours to unlock the building wards, and the place is deep within the forest. Ember stands up from the chair she was sitting on. “I’m going to go after my grandmother. Maybe she knows something about this Cronus. If she doesn’t, one of my twin brothers might know as they study far more than I ever did in the libraries. I feel like if Cronus is here in this world, it’s something we all should be aware of.”

I clear my throat. “I have to go to him, and soon.” I glance at my hand, hearing Terrin upstairs in the shower. After he was reassured that I was okay, he went back up to shower so that we’re all ready to go when we need to.

“I won’t be long,” Ember vows, inclining her head. For a crown princess of a mirror world to our own, I like her. I think we could even be friends. She kisses her mate, and we look away to give them a minute before she leaves.

Alpha Theodorn inclines his head too. “I’ll be outside the door if you need me.”

He goes out and shuts the door, leaving me and Emrys alone. I rest my head back on the sofa. “It’s one thing after another. I feel like leaving this world is not going to be easy. I didn’t tell them something, though.”

Emrys leans in curiously. “What?”

“Well, he said that my father promised that I would come here. I was going to come to him, something like that, but he definitely said my father.” I remember the words over and over. I shake my head. “But how would my father have had any contact with someone from here? Let alone a titan?”

Emrys frowns. “How did your father turn his whole court into dragons with magic that has never been seen in our world? That day, he had power like no other. He must have done something. I think he has a lot more secrets, and I’m sure we’re going to be figuring them out soon. Maybe you were meant to come here.”

I look up at the ceiling. “I feel like I keep unravelling more secrets about my parents. All I want to do is go back to Earth and see if my mum’s awake yet. She could be and she could be looking for me.” A sob threatens to escape my throat. “I spent every single day of my childhood wishing to be held by her just one more time. To see her smile, to just be around her. It was just my grandmother and me for so long,” I whisper softly. “Phobos was my uncle, but he wasn’t there often, and when he was, it was all about training. I knew my grandmother cried just as much over my mother’s loss as I did.”

Emrys strokes my arm and I close my eyes, letting him comfort me in the way only Emrys can. “If she is anything like you, she will fight to wake up and find you, too.”

“I hope you’re right. Maybe she knew what my father did, but I feel like I won’t be able to leave this world to find out yet. Not with this pull, this magic hold Cronus seems to have over me. I don’t think Cronus will let me leave.” I lower my eyes to Emrys.

There is nothing but love and sheer protectiveness all over his features. “Whatever he wants, we face it together. No harm is coming to you again, my mate. I love you.”

My heart softens, and I lean into him as he runs his hand down my cheek. “I love you too.” It’s only then that I notice something changes about him. It’s like a shift, like the colour drains out of his face.

His eyes flash the brightest of red, and his expression shifts from the loving, kind Emrys I know to a bitter anger that frightens my soul. His skin goes stark white, and black veins crawl around his face like snakes. “There’s the bitch that tried to kill me. Finally…” he snarls right before wrapping his enormous hands around my throat and slamming me back on the sofa. I can’t scream. I barely make a noise as I blink in shock at him.

My mate is trying to kill me. At the thought of hurting my mate, my magic doesn’t even seem to come to me, even as he hurts me. “Em-Em-stop-p.”

He doesn’t. He tightens his grip, his red eyes blaring at me. Next thing I know, there’s a wolf jumping across us, knocking Emrys straight off me over the back of the sofa, which tumbles over. I roll to the floor, gasping for air as I clutch my throat. I glance over just as Emrys snarls, red buzzing magic almost dancing around him. Alpha Theodorn shifts back, lifting a statue of a wolf off a side cabinet and whacking Emrys on the head. Instantly, he crumbles to the floor, the colour coming back to his skin and the black veins vanishing. My heart feels like it is breaking as I breathlessly stare at Emrys on the floor. Theodorn grabs a blanket off the side, covering himself up. “What the fuck just happened?”

My voice is hoarse, broken. “I-I don’t know.”

Terrin comes running down the stairs, fury in his eyes as he jumps in front of me, all but growling at Theodorn. “Did you hurt them? You’re dead.”

“No!” I touch Terrin’s arm, making him look down at me. “No, he just saved me. Terrin, Emrys just tried to strangle me.”

Terrin looks as confused as I feel, but more than that, he is shaking with anger. He touches my neck, looking at Theodorn. “Do you have a healer here?”

“I’ve already called for one,” Theodorn claims, tapping the side of his head to explain. They must have a way of communication between themselves. “Something is wrong with your mate, and for your safety, I am going to restrain him.”

Terrin looks down at me, picking me up and kicking the sofa back up. He puts me down on his lap, and I can’t look as Theodorn cuffs Emrys to the wall. “I sensed something wrong too, from the moment I saw him in the sky. I should never have doubted my instincts.”

A woman comes running into the house, a white cloak falling off her slender shoulders. “Alpha, I am here.” She rushes to my side, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders. She bows her head. “May I heal you?”

Terrin watches her warily, and I elbow him before nodding. She touches my neck, and her hand glows a vibrant blue for only a second before the light vanishes. The pain is gone. In fact, I feel fine. My eyes widen. “Thank you. Ignore my mate, he is a sweetheart underneath the scary.”

She blushes, bowing once more and nodding to her alpha before leaving. Terrin leans into me. “Explain what happened.”

“His eyes went red, and his skin went pale with black veins moving under his face and neck. But he knew me, and I could see he hated me. When Theodorn knocked him off, he had red magic around him. That’s not his power. I don’t know what it was.”

“Maybe something about being in this world?—”

I shake my head. “No, he was like this before. I swear I saw his eyes turn once before when he got angry at a healer. Again, Emrys never gets angry at anybody. The healer said there was something wrong with him, but I chalked it up to him being tired.” I rub my neck, the memory haunting. Only then do I realise that Terrin’s hair doesn’t brush down on my forehead. I look up, smiling as I see he’s cut his hair. His dark brown locks are a lot shorter now, still messy and wavy on top of his head, and his beard is gone. I might miss that. I run my fingers across his very chiselled jaw, noticing how it makes him look even more handsome.

He can barely smile back though, as he runs his finger over my neck. “You’re not to be alone with Emrys.”

My heart feels like it’s been smacked. “He’s my mate.”

“Whatever’s wrong with him is causing him not to act like one. It’s important you’re not alone with him.” I look down, knowing he is right. It feels like hours, but it’s probably not that much longer before Emrys wakes up. He has gold handcuffs on his wrists, and he is tied to the wall at the back of the room.

He frowns, looking at both of us, just sitting on the sofa staring at him. Emrys cautiously looks at Theodorn, to Terrin and then to me. “Why am I tied up?”

He doesn’t remember. Terrin leans forward. “Do you remember what you did?”

Emrys shifts slightly, bending his knee up. “No. I just blacked out. What happened?”

I know it needs to come from me. “You attacked me…you strangled me, Emrys.”

The look in his eyes is heartbreaking. Emrys, who I know, who I love, would never, ever hurt me. I’m certain of that…but whatever happened can’t again.

Pure horror leaks into his voice. “I wouldn’t. I’m sorry…but I would never hurt you. I’m not saying you’re lying, but I’d rather die than lay a finger on you.”

Tears fill my eyes. “I know. It wasn’t you. I just don’t have an explanation for what happened. Your eyes went red, and you had this strange red magic around you. You’ve not been well, not since the Air Court test. Maybe it’s something to do with you dying and Arty bringing you back. I don’t know, but…something’s very wrong.”

He looks crushed, and I just want to run to him. “I’m sorry,” he says, sounding crushed.

“Don’t be. It wasn’t you. It’s not like you intended to hurt me, Emrys.” I know he didn’t intend to hurt me.

He looks at Terrin. “Do not leave me alone with her. Ever. Do you understand? If I try to hurt her again, then kill me.”

“NO!” I shout, pushing off Terrin’s lap and running to Emrys. He flinches away from me, but I cup his face, well aware Terrin is right behind me, ready to pull me away. “You are not dying anytime soon. You are mine, my air king, my dragon. We will figure it out, but he is not accepting what you just said.” I kiss him softly, just once. “We have fought for each other so many times, over so many battles, and this is just one more.”

“She will not be alone with you.” Terrin is firm. “Therefore, I will not need to stop you from hurting her.”

Emrys nods once, and I back up. He doesn’t look at me, and my heart feels like it’s breaking. We wait, only for about an hour longer, before Mai and Ember come back. Mai is followed by a massive man who takes up all the space in the doorway. Mai introduces us. “This is my mate, Silas. I came back before I finished unlocking the prison.”

Silas heads straight for Emrys, and Terrin pulls me aside. He only sniffs the air. “He smells like the gods and dark magic.” He looks at me. For such a big, scary male, he doesn’t come across as cruel. “I cannot tell you what has happened to him, but it’s not from this world.”

Mai comes over, touching my shoulder. “Cronus, we are aware of his existence in this world, but we haven’t been able to find him.”

“Hades says to let sleeping giants lie,” Silas warns.

“Well, he is awake and making me come to him,” I answer.

Mai and Silas look between us before Silas talks. “We have scholars researching the titans, and there are many books about them in a research town just outside our capital city. It is to the west of here. We can stop at the prisons first.”

Ember steps forward. “Why don’t you both go ahead, and I’ll escort the court princess to the prison and then to the city? I am capable of unlocking the prison on my own now.”

“I will escort with my wolves,” Theodorn adds. Mai and Silas both agree to the plan, talking outside with Ember and Theodorn as I endlessly stare at my mate who won’t look back. How do I save him from himself?