17. Vale

Chapter 17

Vale

T he last time I woke from a dream with Idris, it had been much more pleasant. Blearily, I cracked my eyelids, wishing for death to take me. My throat aching, my body on fire, I tried to assess myself. I wasn't on the glass-covered floor of my quarters, so that was a plus, but I could do without the coppery tang of blood in my mouth.

Amber eyes met mine, so much concern etched on Kian's face, it was as if it had been carved there by my blood alone. His head rested on a plush pillow, his body curled around mine, and the welcomed hint of safety had my breaths easing just a bit.

Had he been watching me sleep?

Waiting for me to wake up?

And why was that a balm to my battered soul?

"I've seen enough of your blood to last a lifetime, my beautiful witch." Pain ravaged his voice, twisting my insides into a knot. "I'm going to need you to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" I croaked, trying and failing to push myself up from the plush mattress that seemed to be doing little to ease the aches in my body.

"Almost dying in front of me," he murmured, slipping his thick arms under my body and pulling me to his chest.

Just touching his skin had me sighing in relief as his words twisted the knot tighter. The fear that was still clawing at me seemed to melt a little as tears burned my eyes.

"I can't handle it," he admitted, and I wanted so much to ease his fears. "I thought I was doing the right thing leaving you, but I shouldn't have. I should have been there."

Yes, he should have. But we couldn't change the past.

"Was I guarded?" I asked, unsure whether I should believe my dream conversation with Idris or not.

His nod was solemn. "Four on the door, four in the corridor. Standard royal formation. Idris insisted, but Xavier and I were going to do it, anyway."

Gods, it hadn't been a dream at all, had it?

"They're all dead, aren't they." It wasn't a question, and I didn't phrase it like one. None of it had been a dream. Not one bit of it.

"How do you know that?"

I didn't have the desire to hide anything from him. I was too damn tired. "Idris told me."

Kian looked around like he was searching for his king in the shadowed corners of the room. "When?"

"In my dreams, but I don't think they're dreams. Not really. He was trying to ease my pain. I think you were trying to bring me back, but it hurt so bad I wanted to die. Just like on the mountain, he kept me alive. I was so mad that I'd been left behind."

I swallowed down my tears, knowing they would do no good—not right then.

"He said that my guards were all dead, that they fought with their last breath to save me, but they failed. He said it was his fault that you weren't with me. That you were just trying to do the right thing."

Kian rolled his eyes before tilting his head to the ceiling. "Fucking martyr. Always falling on his own damn sword. You'd think after two hundred years, he'd learn his lesson."

The way he'd phrased it, it finally dawned on me that Kian and Xavier had been with Idris this whole time—through everything. Two hundred years of watching witches try and fail to free him from his curse. Two hundred years of finding new Luxa only to watch them die. I'd never considered that they were just as old as the king. It reframed the pain etched into his face, the light in his eyes, the ancient ache that seemed to pour from his skin.

"I think it hurt him," I murmured, brushing my fingers over the thick scar on his jaw, "taking my pain away." I wondered how he'd gotten it, or if he even remembered, and I fought the urge to kiss it.

Kian's eyes closed tight, his jaw like granite, and I wondered if just that light touch hurt him as well.

"I'd hate for all his efforts to be wasted. Do you think I'm going to live?" I jabbed, trying to get those amber eyes back.

Kian snorted, his mirthless chuckle vibrating through my chest in an almost pleasant way. "It took vampire blood, all of Xavier's strength, and magic from Rune, but yeah, you're going to make it. Though, if you happen to grow fangs, Freya said not to give her shit about it."

My hand flew to my mouth, but all my teeth were exactly the same as they had been before I'd nearly been killed in my own bed.

His chuckle that time actually held some humor. "No fangs just yet then? Good. Witch magic goes wonky once turned. I'd rather Xavier not have to worry about teaching you and dealing with a baby vamp at the same time. Priorities, you know?"

I didn't want to be a vampire. The guild told stories about the blood-drinking monsters, and as much as I knew little of what the guild said was true, the taste of blood in my mouth proved I wouldn't be a very good vampire. I could barely handle being a Luxa.

The curse will remain unbroken. No Luxa will unchain the beast. You will die like all the witches before you, and when your sister comes of age, we'll kill her, too.

The memory of the assassin's words hit me like a hammer.

"They knew about Nyrah," I whispered, fresh tears filling my eyes. "The man—the assassin—he told me that they would make sure I didn't break the curse. That they'd kill my sister when she came of age."

Kian stiffened. "They were from the guild, then. We figured as much. No one here knows about her. Xavier and I haven't said a word. And I take it you're keeping it from Idris to make sure you can trust him."

Fear—real fear—filled every part of my body. "But he did know about her. And someone was talking through him. Like he was a doll or a puppet. But he was holding Lumentium . I?—"

"I know. Freya smelled it as soon as she stepped into the corridor. That form of magic carries a certain scent. It's grave magic, and only dark mages use it—mages darker than the ones we met on the road. Their magic doesn't react the same way to Lumentium , probably because of how it was created. As soon as Freya is rested, she's going hunting. She'll find them."

"They knew where I was, they knew the formation of the guards, they know about Nyrah. I have to?—"

"Heal. He said they'd kill her when she came of age, right? That means they don't know where she is. Meaning she can't be in the guild—not if Arden is still alive. He'd take her out before she could ever be a Luxa if he knew she came from the same line. It wouldn't matter if she was a child or not. Trust me."

Cold dread filled me as I remembered Arden's eyes flashing gold. "He's not human, is he?"

Kian's gaze bore into mine, the truth of it churning in my gut. "No. He isn't."

"If he isn't human," I whispered, "then what is he?"

But the puzzle pieces were falling into place. Dragons terrorized the mountain, but it couldn't be Idris because he and Rune were separated. Kian and Xavier wouldn't kill innocents, so that just left…

"He's a dragon. The worst of us."

This wasn't a war between two factions. This had always been a war between the dragons. And if Arden wasn't human, that meant that when he'd come to tell me my parents jumped rather than burn, it had been a confession.

"He killed them, didn't he? My parents. He told me they ran from the dragons, jumped in the chasm to avoid the fire, and this whole time, it was him."

Kian pulled me closer, lending me his warmth, his comfort. "When you said one of our kind killed your parents in the throne room, I knew it had to be him."

A little piece of my heart cracked, knowing he'd lied to me the whole time. It only made me want to break the curse more, if only to watch him meet his end.

"When it comes time for him to die? Promise to make it slow."

Kian gently squeezed me. "That's my girl."

Then he swung his leg over the side of the bed and stood. Only then did I notice the dark brocaded walls accented the same amber of his eyes.

"Is this your room?"

Kian snorted, truncated humor and derision all at once. "Like I would let you sleep anywhere else. Xavier is in the medical wing healing from over-using his power, Freya is finding someone to snack on to replenish the blood you took, and Idris is trying not to bring the entire castle down on our heads. I'm all you've got, sweetheart."

Sweetheart. I didn't think anyone had called me that in a very long time, and certainly no one like him. A faint flush of warmth filled me at the small epithet, and my lips turned up, even though my body wanted to crawl in a hole and just perish. Xavier was hurting because of me. If Kian didn't seem so blasé about it, I was sure my heart would thunder out of my chest.

"I'm not complaining," I whispered. "It suits you."

"Glad you like it. Now, I suggest a bath and rest and maybe a nice breakfast. Then maybe you can convince the giant dragon on the turret outside to calm the fuck down."

My eyes widened. "Rune?"

"He nearly clawed his way into the castle trying to get to you. If Idris hadn't stopped him, he likely would have ripped you away and eaten us all as punishment for letting you get hurt."

"Rune?" I mentally called, not trusting my voice not to crack. He hadn't left me.

The dragon's presence flared in my mind, digging comforting claws into me. "My Queen." He sighed, the faint scent of smoke filling my nose. "You wake."

Was that his relief or mine? I didn't know, but it eased more of the pain in my joints.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I should have run when you told me to."

The grumble was slightly passive aggressive, but I'd take it. "Stay with the dragons, my Queen. Do not forget again. Yes?"

I doubted Kian would let me out of his sight again, but I'd appease the giant dragon who'd done his best to save my life. "Yes. Go get some sleep. You sound tired."

The damn dragon grumbled again, but I almost felt it when he lifted from the turret and returned to his caverns. He was so much more present in my mind, his emotions more vivid, more tangible.

He'd given me more than just "a little" of his power. He'd flayed himself open for me.

"Thank you for saving me."

If dragons could smile, Rune would be just then. "Thank you for staying alive."

If I could have hugged a giant dragon, I would have. "Rune says to stick with you, and he's going to rest."

Relief hit Kian's expression as he carried me out of the bedchamber and into a bathing room. The tub was in the process of being filled from a metal spout in the wall, the heavenly scented water steaming as it fell in a gurgling rush.

"Like you'd be anywhere else. By the time this is all over, you might get sick of me."

He set me on my feet and held me against his body as he pulled the tattered, bloodstained gown over my head. I tried and failed not to blush as the throbbing ache in my shoulder made itself known. Despite the pain, I still remembered the last time I'd been naked with him. That reminder was punctuated by the heat of his body filtering through his tunic and into my bare skin.

Kian hissed as he set me away from him and surveyed the damage, but I was too scared to look. I'd been scarred before, and I found that not looking worked just fine for me. But the ravaged expression on his face twisted that knot in my chest so tight I had to look away.

"I'm so sorry I left you alone, Vale."

Then he pulled me in, wrapping me in his arms as he pressed a kiss to my damaged shoulder. "Never again. I swear it."

I didn't say anything—I couldn't. Not because I didn't believe him. A part of me did. But the other part wondered if any of this was real, if I was dreaming again.

No, your shoulder wouldn't be on fire if you were dreaming.

With a steadying hand, Kian helped me into the water, the surface reaching the underside of my breasts as the heat worked its magic. I was just settling in when he yanked his bloody tunic from his shoulders, revealing acres of chiseled golden skin, decorated with a mishmash of thick scars, and swirling black tattoos.

A bath and a show? If I had the energy at all, I would have said something, but as it was, with the water leeching the pain from my bones, I was too tired to move. My eyes popped wide when Kian dropped his pants, and I openly stared at his muscular thighs, lightly dusted with dark hair, his thickening cock standing at attention.

Mouth dry as a desert, I tried and failed to swallow. I was half-dead and considering just what I could do to rally. If this were a dream, I needed to make the most of it, and if it wasn't, dying soon hadn't been knocked off the table yet. That said, if he wanted to do naughty things to me, he would likely have to do all the work.

Kian urged me to lean forward before slipping behind me in the tub, the water rising to my collarbones at his bulk. I eased for a second before remembering what he'd see if he looked at my back, and I couldn't help but stiffen. It was one thing for me not to look at my scars, but I sure as hell didn't want him to see them.

Loosening my braid, I guided my hair over the worst of them.

"I know already," he murmured as he kissed the base of my neck. Brushing my hair back over my shoulder, he pulled me against his front. "I saw them."

Shame filled me because I knew what brand was on my skin. "I-I'm not?—"

"A heretic? If I know Arden, you're no more a heretic than I am." He curled an arm around my middle, his thumb brushing my hip bone in a soothing caress. "I bet he branded you himself and for something small, right?"

Tension flooded from my body. Stealing food wasn't small, but I hadn't done it at all, so…

I barely nodded, but it didn't matter. The shame of that brand was fading. "I took the punishment for my sister. She got caught stealing food, and I'd told Arden that I'd put her up to it so they'd spare her. She was only nine. She wouldn't have survived it."

A finger found my chin, and he turned my head and tilted it back so he could look me in the eye. "You're the bravest woman I've ever met, you know that?"

At the time, I hadn't felt brave. I still didn't.

"She's my sister," I whispered, giving him a painful one-sided shrug.

Hissing, I vowed not to do any shrugging for the foreseeable future.

Too bad Kian had other plans. His jaw hardened as his eyes flared with a hint of rage. He blamed himself for not protecting me, and he would set about rectifying it immediately.

"You get today to rest, to heal. Tomorrow, we start your training. Combat, magic, the works."

My eyebrows hit my hairline, the act alone hurting every muscle in my face.

"You're getting the Luxa crash course."