Chapter 16

16

P ine threw up a wall of deflecting fire as Toro's flames shot his way. He pushed Neve and Briar aside, desperate to stay between them and danger.

His mate and his sister. Everyone he loved. He would not let Toro destroy them.

Their flames collided in midair, making a spectacular show of heat and light that momentarily blinded everyone on the rooftop.

"Stand down, Toro!" King Venin roared, his voice carrying the weight of his authority.

But Toro was beyond reason. His eyes were wild as he launched another volley of fireballs, this time aiming not just at Pine, but at everyone present.

Including the king.

Fool.

Pine leapt forward, meeting Toro's assault with his own barrage of flames. Fire danced around them. The heat was intense, but Pine barely noticed it, his focus solely on protection.

"Enough of this!" the king shouted, striding forward. "You dare attack a royal in his own palace?"

"I attack a traitor," Toro snarled. More flames roared towards Pine. There was only one way to defend everyone, even if it was against the law to shift form in front of the king without permission.

He let the change wash over him, shifting from man to beast in the space of a breath.

He grew and shifted, stretching out into his dragon form. Wings unfurled, claws dug into the stone. Pine roared, showing Toro the full extent of his power.

And then, he charged.

Toro leapt to meet him, shifting in midair. Their bodies slammed together in a tangle of scales and teeth and flame. Pine's claws sank into the softer underside of Toro's neck, drawing blood.

But Toro was strong. He twisted in Pine's grasp, lashing out with his tail. Pine let go, dancing out of range.

They stared at each other for a long moment, hovering in the air and weighing their options.

Pine didn't want to kill Toro. He might have been trained as a soldier, but he'd never killed anyone before. But if he had to do it to protect his mate, he wouldn't hesitate.

Toro growled, low and dangerous. Then, he lunged, talons extended.

Pine met him in the air, grappling with him. He flew backwards, avoiding Toro's teeth, then he reached for the other dragon's wing. He gripped it firmly, pulling and twisting.

There was a sickening snap, and Toro screamed in pain.

He plummeted from the sky, hitting the ground below them with a crash that sent up a cloud of dust and debris.

Party goers rushed out of the ballroom to gawk at the injured dragon, then—almost as one—they looked up to see Pine in the air. Cries of alarm went up even as the king's guards rushed to circle Toro.

Pine retreated and dropped to the rooftop, shifting back to his other form and bowing before the king, not daring to move.

He wanted to look up and make sure that Neve and Briar were alright, but he feared that even a flinch might be seen as an act of aggression. The king could execute him for shifting shape and fighting with Toro.

"Rise, Lord Pine," the king's voice boomed out over the rooftop.

Pine rose.

The king surveyed him with a steady look. "You have done me a great service today, young lord. Go and enjoy the rest of the party. I think you have a bright future."

* * *

The king had demanded that they enjoy the party, but Neve wasn't surprised when Pine tugged on her arm an hour or so later, and they snuck out to catch their carriage and head home.

What a night.

Treason.

Fights.

A mate.

Her mind was in a whirl. All of Toro's plot had taken less than an hour to fall apart, but Neve was still shaking on the inside, sure everything might come crashing down if she looked away from Pine for more than a minute.

They didn't speak. She couldn't think of where to start.

Had Pine suspected the plot?

Had he known she was his mate?

Was she still supposed to go home?

Everything within her rebelled at the thought of leaving him behind. But how could she stay? Sure, she didn't have the most exciting life back home, but she couldn't just leave it behind.

And it wasn't like she could ask him to go with her.

They ended up in Pine's quarters. Neve had been sleeping in there every night, and it was beginning to feel just as much like her room as his. She wanted to sink into the mattress and never move again, but she was still on edge.

She'd controlled fire. How the hell was that even possible?

"Is Lord Toro dead?" It was just about the last thing she cared about, but she needed to break through the silence.

"No," Pine said. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. "He'll live to see the king's justice."

"And what's that going to be?"

"Banishment, most likely. He won't trouble us again." Pine sat at the edge of his large bed.

Neve slipped out of her shoes and sat beside him. "Now would be a good time to explain that whole mate thing." She held her hand out, palm up, and summoned his fire. It was easier now than it had been when they were locked up together, almost like the fire was her own.

Pine let his hand hover above the flames, and they didn't seem to bother him at all. She closed her fist and extinguished the flame.

"My fire cannot harm you. Your fire cannot harm me. When I'm in my dragon form, we can speak mind to mind. We are bound by fate."

"Did you know when we met?" She thought back to every moment of the past few weeks, from the disastrous meeting to the brief first kiss, their fight at the Yule Ball, and then all of those wonderful nights together. Had Pine been keeping this from her the whole time?

"I swear to you I didn't."

There was more to say, so much more, but exhaustion was pulling hard at Neve, and she couldn't stop the yawn that tore out of her mouth. Pine wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him.

"Sleep," he said. "We're safe. I'll keep you safe."

Even though she was still in her dress, the softness of the mattress and the warmth of his embrace was too much, and Neve slept.