Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

THEO

Tears burst from her eyes as I fell to my knees and gently gathered her in my arms, tugging her against me as her body shook with the force of her sobs.

“Hey, wench,” I murmured, my body finally regulating as I held her and felt the steady thrum of her heart beating against my chest.

She was alive.

I swore things moved in slow motion as I pictured the fire licking at her body, burning away the woman who stole my heart. Something had snapped within me, my dragon and I falling into agreement that she was to be protected—no matter the cost.

“You stupid fucking dragon!” she screamed as she buried her cheek against my chest, lifting her hand to hit against my shoulder. “I had killed him, and now it doesn’t even matter!”

Of course she was pissed at me, meanwhile all I felt was relief. That was my wench, assuming the worst of me and my intentions.

My hands grabbed her face tenderly, tilting it up until she was forced to stare at me. “Please don’t cry for me. I’m not worthy of a resource as precious as your tears.”

Was she this bereft because I’d lost the same part of myself she hated only two months before? It simply could not be.

“Why would you give your dragon up for me?” she questioned, absolutely hysterical as she began to hyperventilate, ignoring my pleas that she calm herself.

It seemed she was truly distraught, but wouldn’t me being a human be more in line with her interest and life?

Whatever the case, my chest constricted at the anguish pouring from her. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, holding her close and burying my nose in her hair, breathing her in as she fell apart.

Her question rolled through my mind, and while I could think of a hundred answers, only one mattered. “Because I can’t imagine a life in which you don’t exist, wench. Somewhere along the way, you became as deeply ingrained within my soul as my dragon.”

“I…” she struggled to say between the ragged breaths blowing against my neck. “I had it. I killed it. Why did you sacrifice your dragon right at the end?”

My nostrils flared as I nodded against her hair. It was unfortunate that the beast was dead as my feet touched the ground, but I’d done what I needed to in the moment, and I wouldn’t apologize for it. “All I saw was the dragon beneath our platform, pinning you in the hallway and about to engulf you in flames. I didn’t think, wench. I just jumped down, ready to take him out or die with you.”

She pulled her head back, and I lifted mine to stare down at her dirt-smudged face, tear tracks running over her and cheeks and ending at her chin. Her bottom lip quivered as she sucked in a breath, seeming to attempt to calm herself. This was the dirtiest and most broken version of her I’d ever seen, yet I’d never before found her quite so breathtaking.

Here she was, heart shattered into jagged pieces, the pain on display for the world to see as she sobbed. And all of this…for me.

I lowered my head, touching our foreheads together as I breathed in her scent, the stench of sulfur masking the citrusy, woodsy scent I had grown to love. “All I know is that I couldn’t stand there and simply watch as the other half of my god's damned heart risked her life for me, simply to allow me to keep my dragon.”

“But…” she rebutted, her voice cracking as she did. “Your dragon is who you are, Theo.”

Our breaths mixed together in the space between us. I desperately wanted to taste her lips, but I needed her to understand first. “Me without my dragon is anguish, but I’ll still be alive. Me without you, wench…” I trailed off, unable to get the words out as emotion clogged my throat for the first time since my mother passed. “It’s unimaginable. It would be like being alive while my heart was dead in my chest, no longer beating.”

“I can’t bear knowing I’m the reason you gave half of your soul up,” she admitted as fresh tears pooled in her eyes. “It’s too heavy to carry in my heart.”

I lifted my lips to press against her forehead as she hiccuped. “And I couldn’t bear the thought of you giving your life up for me to keep it.”

Before Sia could reply, my head snapped to the left, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and alerting me to the presence of the undine god. He stood at our sides, staring down at us with his hands clasped behind his back. The grin he wore tore a growl from my chest, my dragon threatening to surge out of me for the last time, just so I could rip the skin from his bones.

All of this was because of him. He’d made my wench inconsolable.

“Well, it appears we are at an impasse,” he chirped, like life just couldn’t possibly get any better for him. “Just as her blade pierced his brain, killing him, your feet touched the ground of the arena after breaking your binds to interfere.”

Sia jerked from my hold at his words, pushing to her feet to glare at him as I stood to my full height next to her. I entwined our fingers together, squeezing lightly as she vibrated with rage. Fury rocked me to my core, but I was more afraid of what she would try to do to him than what he could ever possibly do to us, in that moment.

“I did what you asked,” she spat, bitter and full of rage. “I killed the ember on my own without interference. You can’t take his dragon.”

While I did understand her rationale, this god had already proved to not care about reason, preferring to take joy from our misery. This right here? This was the perfect opportunity for a heaping spoonful of it.

He tsked in return, holding a hand up to stop her from continuing. “He willingly gave his dragon up the second he made his decision to intervene and the magical restraints dissolved.”

Just what I expected.

My teeth ground together as he added, “But, in the spirit of also acknowledging that you did technically complete the task given to you, mortal, I will offer you a new trial.”

Swallowing the growl rising in my chest, I stared the undine god down. I didn’t like this one bit. Whatever he was going to offer had to have an even heftier price tag attached than what was asked in the first trial, especially if he was giving up the opportunity to take my magic and dragon.

“No,” I quickly disagreed, stepping forward and letting go of Sia’s hand. “Take my dragon and let us be done with this.”

“Theo!” she yelled, her voice hoarse from crying. She stepped back to my side, clasping my hand between both of hers. I turned to gaze down at her as she implored with wide eyes, “At least hear him out, please.”

Her fingers squeezed my hand tightly, and my heart thudded wildly within my chest. Everything in me screamed not to give this god another minute of my time, but I couldn’t deny her. Not when she made it clear that my choice to give my dragon up for her would haunt her.

“Fine,” I relented, looking back at the elemental whose eyes were bouncing back and forth between us, a gleeful smile tugging at his lips that more than proved that he couldn’t get enough of our discourse. “Spit it out, but we’re not agreeing to it before hearing it.”

He hummed as his lips split into a full-fledged grin. “It’s simple this time.”

We stood our ground as he approached, walking around us in a slow circle before coming to a stop at our front once more. I only barely resisted the urge to lash out at him.

“Initiate the mate bond,” he demanded, earning a gasp from Sia.

My eyes instantly narrowed, and it was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to go fuck himself, but he kept speaking, stilling my tongue for the time being.

“If you are mates, I will ensure the curse is broken,” he offered, splaying his hands out before his smile fell. “And if you aren’t, well, that won’t be my problem to deal with.”

The callousness of his words had my body tensing up to the point of shaking, but Sia snapped me out of it as she stepped forward and tilted her chin up, staring up at the elemental with seemingly no fear.

I’d never stop being in awe of the way she never cowered or wilted in the face of danger.

“We accept.”

My mouth popped open as the elemental looked us over. “My, my, little mortal, how the plot thickens.”

“Sia!” I whisper-yelled, yanking her back to me harsher than I’d intended. “We need to decide this together!”

Before we could talk, the elemental intervened, taking back over the conversation. “She’s already agreed, King. I will keep the seer with me, where he will be safe, for the time being.”

Sia’s eyes blazed with determination as her head whipped toward him, her braid flying out behind her as she did. “I want him returned to us, now.”

“Oh, mortal,” the elemental practically purred at her as he brought his hands up to his center, “I don’t think you want him to see what is about to happen.”

This time I knew what to expect as he clapped. After descending into the portal, I was held in an ice-covered copy of my own castle for what felt like hours before he’d transported us to the arena with the same gesture of his hands.

Reality shimmered around us, blurring as if we were walking through a wall of water. I gripped Sia’s hand tightly, not trusting that we wouldn’t get separated again. Moments later, though, we found ourselves within a stone chamber that glowed with the light of the countless candles peppered throughout.

I quickly glanced around, searching for an escape, but there was none, only a large bed covered in rose petals, a steaming bathing area, and a small hutch with drinks and flowers next to us that occupied the space. The flickering light of the candles being the only source of light casted dancing shadows on the walls. Wherever he’d transported us, there were no doors to come and go, only four seamless walls and a roof over our heads.

A heavy sigh crossed my lips, my head falling forward and hanging heavily. We were trapped here, and at the whim and mercy of a god that wanted nothing more than to see us fail. And now, part of my soul wasn’t the most important thing on the line.

Small hands trembled as they grabbed at my own, the warmth of her skin instantly soothing my rattled nerves. Instinctively I turned my hands over, holding her in return.

“We always knew we would end up here one day,” she whispered, her soft voice drawing my head back up to look at her. “It was a miracle that your dragon hadn’t attempted to force the bond again, as is, but we both knew that it was coming for us sooner rather than later.”

I slammed my eyes shut as I bit down on my bottom lip. I hated that she was right. I hated that there was nothing I could think of to get us out of this situation now. Even if we had to go through with this, this wasn’t how I pictured it being—forced and under the voyeuristic watch of a god.

She deserved better than this moment.

“Look at me, Theo,” she demanded softly, her voice gaining confidence as her hands stopped shaking in my own. “You know I’m right.”

It didn’t matter if she was right. We shouldn’t have been here.

I relented quickly, opening my eyes as I shouted, “I would have given up my dragon to avoid this! To avoid the chance of losing you!”

She shook her head and answered in a gentle voice that completely contradicted my own. “You might have thought it a viable option, but I didn’t—your dragon is a part of you. Perhaps it makes me greedy, but if I’m going to have you by my side, Theo, I want all of you.” A beautiful pink stain bloomed on the apples of her cheeks as her eyes dipped down to my chest. “I just want you , and this is how we find out if I can have that.”

Her words had my heart cracking open and my cock hardening in turn. Fuck, I needed her. I needed to consume her and feel her all at once. There would never be a moment where I had enough of her.

My dragon stirred at her words and I placated him, just barely, telling him that his time would be upon us soon enough. I just needed a bit longer, to ensure that I could make this as special as I could, under the circumstances, before she offered her soul to him.

“You already have me,” I admitted, voice hoarse as I struggled to hold myself back. “How could I possibly deny that you are not only everything I want, but exactly what I need as well?”

I reached out to the table full of freshly clipped roses near us, grabbing one and gently sending magic through my fingers into it, encasing it in a delicate layer of ice. Turning back, I ran my free hand up her hip as I pressed my chest to her back, bringing the rose around as my other arm wrapped around her body.

“I should have known that you could handle that dragon without me,” I breathed out, pressing a soft kiss to her neck as she took the flower from my hand. I loved the way she immediately stretched her head to the side, giving me better access to her soft, sweet skin. “You may look as delicate as this flower, like you could shatter with one wrong move, but you also have thorns that make you a weapon. Your knowledge of the blade. Your years of dedication to honing your body's endurance and stamina. The wicked mind of yours that never accepts defeat, against all odds.”

Her breath caught as her ass pressed back against my hardened cock, making my hands grip her hips hard.

“But the truth is, it didn’t matter how long you battled that dragon. Because the second he burnt even a single strand of hair on your head, I would have been down there. I told you long ago that you were under my protection as my wife, but now you are just simply mine— including every strand of your hair.”

Her hips ground back against me, wiggling despite my best efforts to hold her still as I fought to not unravel where I stood. My restraint was barely there, and my cock twitched heavily with my desire. I unraveled as the sounds of her breathing turned shallow and ragged, indicating her needs heightening alongside my own.

“I need you, Theo,” she admittedly breathlessly. “All of you.”

And all of me she would get.