Chapter Thirty-One

I summoned Aras and was relieved when he walked into the throne room. He still looked upset, and I still couldn't fathom why. But the Eye kept rattling my mind, reminding me that I didn't have time to deal with my mate's feelings. I had to see to his protection first. So, I sent Aras to fetch Duke Zixin while I waited for King Vaxarion to arrive.

My hands shook with eagerness. I clenched them into fists. Soon. This long hunt would end soon. To either side of my dais stood my new Dragon knights. I didn't want the Sea King to know that I had non-Dragons guarding me. It would raise too many questions. Also in the room was the crew of the Tiger's Claw. Aras wanted them there, and I thought it was a good idea to be as intimidating as possible. So, I allowed it.

I'm here! I'm here! the Eye shouted.

My herald opened the massive door at the other end of the hall and called out, “King Vaxarion of the Morilren Sea!” He bowed as the Sea King passed with his Sea Dragon knights, but King Vaxarion didn't even glance at the Eljaffna man.

The King of Morilren stalked across the hall, every step an accusation, his stare locked on me viciously, and his teeth bared. He was still several yards away when he demanded, “Where is my mate?!”

The Sea King was a stunning man. A good match for his mate. They suited each other with their coloring. The King's midnight black hair shone with iridescence, just as Zixin's eyes did, although with more vibrant colors. Purple, blue, and green shimmered in those dark locks. And he wore his hair loose even though it hung down to his waist. On top of that, the Sea King had purple eyes to match his mate's hair. It was as if the Dragon God chose them for each other, not because their personalities would match but simply because they'd look good together.

But the Sea King's beauty was tempered by sharp features and a lean body. Not my type of man. I didn't care for his smooth, tan skin or full lips. I longed to dig my fingers into fur and rub my face against it. The thought of kissing those puffy lips disgusted me. Lips should be firm and powerful. They should move over mine possessively while also surrendering. They should—

“Did you fucking hear me?!” King Vaxarion roared. “Bring him to me now or I will tear down this castle!”

“You've already done that,” I drawled. “Why not try something new this time?”

He gaped at me. Then his expression returned to its former, furious state.

Before he could say anything, I went on. “He is on his way, King Vaxarion. Calm yourself. I would never harm another Dragon's mate.” I paused. “That is, unless the other Dragon gave me cause to.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Have you brought it?”

I already knew the Sea King had the Eye with him. She'd been talking to me every step of the way. I even knew what pocket he had her in. But King Vaxarion didn't need to know that.

“Yes, I've brought it,” he snapped.

That's when our mates entered the throne room from the door to the right of the dais. It was my personal entrance, but I had told Aras to use it. As my mate, it was his right. Warmth ran through me when I saw him, reminding me that King Vaxarion was probably feeling a similar joy at the sight of his mate. I looked over to see the Sea King's purple eyes glowing. Did my eyes glow like that when I looked at Aras? He had never mentioned it.

“Ah, here he is. Just as promised.” I waved at Zixin. “Let's not waste time. You will pass the Eye to Captain Aras while he releases your mate to you, King Vaxarion.”

Vax grunted and stepped toward our mates as he took Ensarena's Eye out of his pocket.

“Wait!” Zixin shouted.

Oh, not this motherfucker again. My stare shot to the Neraky. Now what?

“I want my necklace back,” the pirate said.

“What necklace?” Aras demanded.

“Oh, that's cute. You know what necklace. The diamond. I was wearing it when I was taken. Now, I'm not. Give it back or I'm not going back.”

King Vaxarion shouted, “You stole from my mate?! That jewel belonged to my mother!”

Astonished, I looked at Aras. “Did you?”

“I did not.” Aras looked from me to two of the crew members standing against the wall. “Hand it over! Now!”

The two men winced and then looked at each other.

“Now!” Aras growled again. “Don't make this any worse for yourselves.”

“We didn't think he'd miss one necklace,” one of them muttered as he came over and pulled a diamond necklace out of his pocket.

Aras snatched it away from him. “We are not thieves!”

I pushed down a relieved smile. I didn't think my mate was so dishonorable, but I was still discovering things about him. I would have been disappointed if he had stolen that necklace. My relief, unfortunately, distracted me.

It distracted Aras too. While his attention was on his sailors, Zixin jerked out of his grip and dove for King Vaxarion. The Sea King instinctively reached for his mate. But Zixin didn't grab him in return. He went for the Eye.

No! the Eye shouted.

That fucking pirate snatched Ensarena's Eye away from his own mate and shouted, “Everyone stay where you are!”

King Vaxarion gaped at his mate. Then he said, “Zix, give me the Eye.”

“No, babe,” Zixin said. “You can't use it.”

“I can if necessary.”

“Let me rephrase: you won't use it. And I don't want you to risk yourself. I, however, am not a Dragon of any kind.”

I got up and growled, “And that only means that using the Eye will destroy you.”

“Will it?” The Neraky lifted a brow at me as the Eye began to glow. “Or will it destroy you?”

Take me! the Eye screamed. I am right here! Take me! The survival of your kingdom depends upon you gaining the power only I can give you!

I went still. Now it was my entire kingdom at risk? That felt like a slip-up.

“Leave,” Aras said to Zixin. “Just go now.”

Leave? My mate was sending the Eye away when it was within my grasp?!

“No!” I roared. “The Eye belongs to me!” Rage suddenly filling me, I shouted at Aras, “Get me what you promised, Captain!”

“Fuck you,” my mate said.

The room went silent.

“What did you say to me?” I hissed.

“You heard me, Your Majesty,” Aras said. “Fuck you. I'm done with this. As far as I'm concerned, I've fulfilled my end of the bargain. There is the Eye.” He pointed at it. “If you're not strong enough to take it, that's not my problem.”

The Eye screamed, Betrayed!

My rage compounded. Fire burned inside me. I had to have the Eye! Nothing else mattered. Not even my mate. He had abandoned me again. I would punish him for it. Chain him. Slice into his pretty flesh. But first, I would ensure his survival by claiming Ensarena's Eye. I shrieked and dove for Zixin.

Ensarena's Eye pulsed with light. I saw the magic run up the pirate's arm, then down it, to gather in the stone. I gaped at that. It was working. For a fucking Neraky! It was supposed to be a Dragon relic, its power accessible only by one of my kind. Even the Sea Dragons couldn't use the Eye. And yet, this Neraky buffoon was proving all the myths wrong.

King Vaxarion shouted his mate's name.

I looked from the Eye to the Neraky and knew he was going to kill me. The Eye had been wrong. My death wouldn't be on a battlefield. It would be here, in my throne room, at the hand of a Neraky pirate, mate to a Sea King, and it was the Eye itself that would kill me. How ironic.

But then Aras leapt between us.

Fear shot into my chest like a lance. I shot toward Aras, but it all happened too fast. I wouldn't reach him in time. My mate was going to take the full force of the Eye's power. And if it could kill a Dragon, a Hulfrin didn't stand a chance. My mouth opened to cry out and as it did, I met Zixin's stare.

Something shifted in his eyes. The glow of the stone lessened. It ran backward, up the Neraky's arm. What was this? Was he withdrawing the magic? Was he trying to save Aras? Aras had abducted and tortured this man. But in that look, I saw a fear that mimicked mine. Zixin didn't want Aras dead. Was that a testament to my mate's honor or Zixin's?

All those thoughts zipped through my mind in seconds. And then a light shot from the Eye and hit my mate. Aras screamed, but so did Zixin. So did I.

“Aras!” I finally got the cry free of my throat as I caught my mate. “Aras, no!” I fell to the floor with him and cradled his charred body in my arms.

All that beautiful fur was gone, the skin beneath blackened and cracked, fluids leaking from it. I wept, my hand hovering over Aras, unable to touch him without hurting him. He was monstrous, a gory thing out of a nightmare, but I saw the man I loved in those bright eyes—eyes made even brighter by the burned skin around them.

“Zix!” King Vaxarion cried. “Damn you! What have you done?”

“Aras wasn't my target,” Zixin gasped.

I glanced at them and saw that Zixin's arm was burned and bloody up to the elbow. He was fine. He'd heal that in no time. But Aras was on the verge of death. I wailed as I wept. I wouldn't survive his death. If he succumbed to his wounds, I would lie down beside him and never get up. And that would be preferable to living without him.

“I'm all right, Vax,” Zixin said. “Don't take it out on Aras. He was just trying to protect his lover.”

I didn't care about what was happening with the Sea King and his mate. Fuck them. They didn't matter. All that mattered lay across my lap, bleeding and gasping as he clung to life. “Aras,” I moaned. “Oh, my love. Why? Why did you do that? I'm immune to fire.”

“Not that fire,” Aras said in a gurgling voice. “It would have killed you.”

“No, it wouldn't have. You beautiful fool.”

“Uh, yes, it would have,” Zixin said as King Vaxarion helped him up. “It would have incinerated you, and you know it. That's why you want the damn thing. Not even Dragons are immune to its fire.”

“Then how did he survive?” I growled at Zixin.

“My mate pulled back the magic!” King Vaxarion shouted what I had already guessed. “You fucking moron! You pathetic asshole! My beautiful, kind, generous mate protected your barbaric lover, and your only response is to snarl about it. He risked himself for the man who once tortured him.”

“Then who is the fool?” I demanded, furious at everyone, myself included. All that time wasted. All that energy spent on chasing something that may have killed my mate. All the suffering we'd gone through only for it to come to this.

Zixin snorted and surprised me by saying, “He's got you there.”

Aras wheezed a laugh, shocking us all.

“My love?” My stare shot back to Aras. Holy fuck! He was healing! And if he was healing, physicians might be able to help that healing along.

“You are a fucking moron,” Aras said.

“Healers!” I shouted. “Bring me the royal physicians now!” Then I cradled Aras's bare skull to say, “Shh, now. You're delirious. It's the pain, but don't fret. Help is coming.”

Aras snorted and, as I watched, his skin turned pink, his wounds pulled together, and his fur started to emerge.

“Dear Gods,” I whispered, partially in wonder and partially in gratitude. Deep, reverent gratitude.

“It looked worse than it was,” Aras said and sat up. “He truly did pull back the strike. Unfortunately, fur burns faster than skin.”

“No. Don't move.” I yanked Aras back down to my lap. “Move slowly. Just relax here for now.”

“Ly, I'm fine.” He pushed my hands away and stood up. “And I'm leaving.”

“What?” I gaped up at him.

So much was happening and that fucking stone was still yammering in my head. But, miraculously, the fear of losing my mate had focused me on him, and I was able to tune her out. Except I might still lose Aras. Not to death but my own folly. What the fuck had I done that was bad enough to drive him away? While recovering from a brutal attack and naked as well. Whatever it was, I would make it up to him. I had to.

“No one's leaving,” King Vaxarion growled. “Not before I fucking slaughter them. Then they can be carried out.”

“Shh!” Zixin hissed at his mate. “I wanna hear this.”

I didn't listen to the rest of their conversation. I was too intent on my mate rejecting me.

“I can't do this anymore, Ly,” Aras said.

“Do what?” I demanded. “Us? You don't want to be with me anymore? Because you certainly seemed interested earlier today.”

“I want you. You know that. But you've taken this alpha thing too far. I should have known you would. You're a king. But you made me believe in you. In us. You made me think you could give me what I need and still see me as your equal—at least in bed. But you don't respect me. You're not as invested in our relationship as I am. And I deserve better. I fucking demand it. So, I'm leaving. Get one of your pretty courtiers to fuck you. Just know that no one is going to drill that ass like I do.”

“Oh, shit,” Zixin whispered.

The Sea King and his mate started to have a full conversation while my life fell apart. I ignored them and focused on my mate. “Aras, how can you say that? I've told you things I haven't told anyone else.”

Except me, the Eye said. You didn't tell him about me. And when are you going to fucking claim me?!

Shut the fuck up! I shouted in my mind.

The shout shivered through me and pulsed out of my body. I gasped as the Eye's presence was pushed out with that pulse. It was Aras. All this time, he held the key to my sanity. Only with him at my side could I use the Eye without being used by it.

“Words,” Aras scoffed. “Your actions say something different. There is a difference between dominating someone to sexually please them and suppressing them. Enslaving them. You proved that to me today. All you do is take!” He shook his head. “And all I do is give. I'm done giving, Your Majesty.” My mate turned and walked away.

“Don't go!” I shouted and raced after him. “Please, love. I'm sorry. I was so focused on gaining the Eye that I didn't see how poorly I was treating you. Forgive me.”

Aras spun to point a finger at me. “Don't fucking use that stone as an excuse! You were trying to control me. You wanted to make me jealous. Well, I may not be a king, but I'm the captain of one of the fastest ships on the sea, and I don't fucking get jealous. I don't need you. I don't need anyone. You were a great fuck, that's all.”

Pain shot through my entire body. It shot through my damn soul. So deep did it go that I saw Aras shudder from the echo of it down our bond. I lifted my chin and said, “You don't mean that, Aras.”

“Yes, I fucking do!” he shouted.

“Then why did you save my life?!” I roared back at him.

The question echoed through the room and everyone there stared at Aras, eager for his answer. Aras looked at Zixin. Fucking Zixin! Why was my mate looking at that pirate for help in answering a question about our relationship?

“When you spend your life fighting, it can be hard to know when it's time to lay down your arms and walk away,” Zixin said. Aras started to scowl, but then Zixin went on, “Or when to pick them up again and settle in for a good battle.”

I looked from Aras to Zixin and back again before demanding, “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means you should fight for the man you love,” King Vaxarion snapped.

“I am!” I shouted at that insufferable Sea King.

“No,” Aras said as he strode back to me. “It means I should.” He grabbed the back of my head and yanked me into a savage kiss.

With hope exploding inside me, I grabbed Aras back, locking my arms around him so he wouldn't get away. I wouldn't let him go this time. Not ever again. Aras's crew and my Dragon knights started to cheer. My grip relaxed a little as I realized that Aras wasn't pulling away. This wasn't a goodbye kiss. It was a demand-for-more kiss. A declaration of what he needed from me and what I would give him. And my kiss sealed the agreement. Fuck, I'd give him anything he wanted. Anything as long as he stayed.

As our kiss settled and the cheering died down, I heard the Sea King speaking to his mate. I tried to ignore them and focus on Aras, stroking his precious face. His fur had already filled in and his hair was down to his jaw. It was our bond. It had to be. And he still didn't know about it. He thought it was because that fucking pirate had pulled his punch.

King Vaxarion said, “These men tried to take you from me. One of them tortured you. I vowed to kill him. You have no idea how the urge to fulfill that vow claws at me.”

“But you're not just my mate,” Zixin said. “You're also a king. And you know that it would be better to foster an ally here than gain the animosity of an entire dread. Aras is the King's lover. You can't kill him.”

They were talking about hurting Aras? So, that was why I couldn't focus fully on my mate. My dragon had heard the threat, even when I had missed it. With a rumble of warning, I turned to look at the Sea King. If he moved against Aras, I would tear him apart.

But the Sea King only sighed deeply. “King Lyrandir will not form an allegiance with me.”

An allegiance? Now, that was a far better option. And just in time too. I could use an alliance. Especially since I was about to let go of the one thing that was certain to win me the war.

I held my mate's hand as I turned to fully face the Sea King and his mate. Then said, “Yes, I will.”

“What did you say?” King Vaxarion asked.

“I will be your ally,” I repeated. “I renounce my claim on the Eye, and I'll even help you protect it if need be.”

“Why the change of heart?”

I chuckled. “That is it exactly.” I looked at my mate, then back at King Vaxarion. “I see what's truly important now. I don't hear the Eye's call anymore. Even though it's right there.”

“It was calling you?” Vax asked.

I nodded as it all became clear. The Eye had played me. She'd kept me isolated from my family, friends, and my mate, all by forcing me to keep my mating a secret. It had kept me weak enough for her to control. I'd been enslaved to that fucking consciousness and didn't know it. So many lies interspersed with truth. Was our goddess like that? Was this consciousness a glimpse of that divine personality? I couldn't believe that. Ensarena's Eye was not the Goddess. Maybe the Eye had gone insane during her imprisonment underwater. I didn't know, and I didn't care. It was time to be done with that bitch.

“Day and night,” I said on the heels of my epiphany. “It was driving me mad.”

“That explains a lot,” Aras huffed.

“What happened to not blaming it on the Eye?” I asked him wryly.

“That was when we were fighting.”

“You're an asshole.”

“Yeah, but I'm a sane asshole.”

“True,” I conceded. I was still uncertain about my sanity.

“You're all insane!” King Vaxarion shouted. “And I've had enough with you fucking landers! Let's go, Mate!” He tugged on Zixin's hand as his knights gathered around them.

“Vax, come on,” Zixin said. “At least accept his offer of friendship.”

I snorted and shook my head. Of course, it would be that damn Neraky who made things right. I suppose that meant I had to let go of my irritation toward him.

“We will not be friends,” the Sea King grumbled.

“Allies,” Zixin amended.

“Fine.” King Vaxarion looked at me over his shoulder. “I accept. But come at me or mine again, and I will fucking demolish you and your entire kingdom.”

I chuckled, suddenly liking Zixin and his Sea King immensely. Was it the Eye's influence that fostered my hatred? Possibly. Probably. Definitely. With a smirk, I said, “My kind of man.”

“Hey!” my mate growled.

“Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes. “He's mated. Do you know nothing of Dragons and their mates?”

“No,” Aras said. “I don't know shit about Dragons and their mates. Why would I?”

“As I suspected.” More than suspected, truth be told, but Aras didn't need to know that.

I glanced at the Sea King and his mate, saw Zixin watching me, and did a double-take. How could I let this man know that everything was well and I appreciated what he'd done? Ah yes. I winked at him.

Zixin beamed at me, then at his mate. They headed out of the throne room with their entourage, and I smiled after them. But then, just as they reached the doorway, Zixin stumbled. I let go of Aras and started to run. I didn't need the Eye to tell me what was happening. She was a vicious bitch, and if she couldn't have me, she was going to take someone else.

“Zix?” King Vaxarion steadied his mate.

“Vax,” Zixin whispered, his eyes gone wide. “Something's wrong.”

Then that damn annoying, courageous, wonderful Neraky started to scream.