Chapter Thirty-Three

As I walked with my mate to our suite, I saw him more clearly. His heart. His bravery. Aras had put himself between me and danger. What further proof of love and loyalty could I possibly require? Not that I needed it. His emotions were right there for me to feel. Now that the Eye and its influence were gone, I could finally sense them fully. I could connect with my mate without the buzzing in my head. The peace and bliss of it was ecstasy, but nothing compared to knowing that Aras was mine—knowing it with absolute certainty.

I had hurt my mate over and over to reassure myself and placate Ensarena's Eye. What a fool I was. What a monster. But that was over now. I nodded at my knights as they took their positions to either side of the door to the royal apartments and then escorted my mate inside.

It was time. At last. I took my mate to the couch before the fireplace. Aras lifted a brow, doubtless expecting us to head to the bed.

“We need to talk first,” I said. “There's so much I need to tell you.”

Aras grabbed my face with one hand and pulled me into a kiss. It was warm and tender and everything I needed it to be. A reassurance that was unnecessary now but still treasured. Every kiss would be treasured from that day forward. But I eased out of this one.

“Aras, I have to tell you something important,” I said.

“Why don't you start with the Eye,” Aras suggested as he sat down. “How long has it been talking to you?”

I sighed and sat down beside him. This wasn't what I intended to begin with, but maybe it was best to get it over with. “The day we met, when you told me about the Eye, do you remember me behaving oddly?”

Aras frowned, his stare going distant. “Yes, you were a little strange. You kept gazing off, distracted. You have always been like that with me. I thought it was your responsibilities weighing on your mind.”

“In a way, it was.” My hands shook, so I pressed them to my thighs. The eagerness to tell Aras that he was my mate was nearly too much to bear. If I wasn't careful, I'd shout it at him, and that wasn't the way I wanted this to go. Romance. I wanted this to be the most romantic moment of our lives. To do that, I'd have to clear away the crap first. So, I took a deep breath and started from the beginning. “I am not a man easily distracted. Especially around you, Aras. You hold my attention like no other.”

Aras smirked. “You've been playing with me, Your Majesty. And that's going to end. It ends right now.”

“Did I not make myself clear in all my declarations? Was the offer of the moon not enough to make you understand? I love you, Aras. No other. It's been you from the moment we met. Yes, I incited your jealousy, but only because you drew forth mine.” I grimaced. “And the Eye encouraged my bad behavior when it suited her.”

“Wait.” He leaned back. “The Eye told you to make me jealous?”

“The Eye led me astray in many ways. I honestly can't tell you exactly what she said with any veracity. Her advice and influence shifted depending on the moment. It's all become a jumble to me. She would hold me back, making me believe she was trying to help me with you, then turn around and encourage me to keep you afraid. Looking back, I should have seen how she prevaricated and wavered. I should have picked apart her reasoning. But she kept me so confused. Mainly, she wanted me to remain silent about something I've longed to tell you—something that would have united us and given me the strength to deny her.”

“Well, you've told me now.” Aras took my hand. “And hearing you say you love me was worth the wait, Ly. Fuck that manipulating jewel. We won. It's at the bottom of the Morilren by now, and we are together.”

“There's more, Aras, but first, let me finish telling you about the Eye. You need to know how it proved itself to me. Please, understand that it wormed its way into my mind with precision and then tangled my wits. I believed it. Trusted it. It said it had chosen me, Aras. It said it saw my future, and it predicted my nobles betraying me. It predicted that from the very start.”

“The Eye predicted their betrayal?” he asked. “Ly, what is this entity exactly? Is it a being trapped in the Eye?”

“No, it's pure energy. Ensarena's Eye is a piece of the Goddess's Fire Magic, and that kind of divine power can birth things we can only dream of. It gathered its energy and became conscious of itself.” I shook my head. “I know how this sounds, but the Dragon Gods are—”

“I believe you,” Aras interrupted, laying his hand over mine. “As I said earlier, it explains a lot. All this time. All those strange expressions on your face. The way you would gaze off in the middle of a conversation or mutter something under your breath. It was as if you were listening to someone else. Arguing with them. And you were, weren't you?”

“Yes,” I said. “She has been yammering inside my head ever since I met you, Aras. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I was afraid of what you'd think. A woman's voice in my head telling me about the future? It was insane. It nearly drove me insane.”

“But you're better now? The . . . consciousness is gone? Is it gone for good?”

“Yes.” I cupped his cheek and brushed my lips over his. “You helped me drive it away. Because of you, I conquered it.”

“For fuck's sake, Ly!” Aras grabbed my hand suddenly, his expression going horrified with epiphany. “You faced this alone when you didn't have to. I could have helped you. At the very least, you could have talked to me about it, and I would have kept you sane.”

“Would you have believed me? If I told you back then that I was hearing the voice of Ensarena's Eye, would you have believed me?”

“I might have.” Aras scowled, his gaze shifting to the side. “The way you stormed into that room when I returned without the Eye.” He refocused on me. “You knew before I told you that the Eye was taken and you knew who took it. You implied you had spies, but I've always wondered about that. The only ones who knew about the theft were the men on my ship and none of them would betray me like that. Plus, I came straight to the castle when we docked that day. There was no way for a spy to discover the theft and report it to you before I did. It was the Eye who told you.”

“Yes,” I said.

“That day that you were attacked in here—was that the Eye? Did it hurt you?”

I grimaced. “I didn't know how to explain my outburst and weakness. I felt terrible about making my guards search for someone who wasn't there.”

“It was the Eye,” he whispered. “What did it do to you?”

“It took my mind,” I said grimly. “I was desperate to find her.” I rolled my eyes and corrected myself, “It. The Eye told me that without its help, I would lose this war. And the battle is imminent. But tracking Zixin wasn't working as I'd planned. He wasn't surfacing. So, the Eye convinced me to let it take full control of my mind. With my Water Magic aiding it, it was able to find where it was being held. But even though its invasion was short-lived, it injured me. It nearly broke my mind.” I swallowed roughly, remembering the confusion and pain. “That's why I screamed and why I was so weak afterward.”

“You were recovering from the Eye tearing through your mind,” Aras concluded.

“Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you then. I should have. There's so much the Eye convinced me not to tell you. Aras, you—”

“Do you think it was telling the truth?” Aras interrupted me. “About the war, I mean. Can we win without it?”

“I don't know,” I said softly. “It's a powerful relic, and it did predict the trouble with the nobles. But I'm not sure if it told me the truth about the outcome of the war. It could have been trying to keep me under its control. Make me need it as much as it needed me.”

Aras nodded. “Your soldiers outnumber the nobles, and you've trained them well. The odds are in our favor.”

“The nobles have centuries of combat training. Some of them have been warriors for thousands of years. I can't condense that kind of experience into a few weeks.” I took his hand. “Aras, when word comes about their army approaching, I want you to take the Tiger's Claw out to sea and—”

“The fuck I will!” he snarled as he jerked his hand away. “I am not the only non-Dragon who will be fighting, Ly.”

“I know, but—”

“Do you think that after I risked my life for you today, I'd just run away and leave you to face a Dragon army alone?”

“No, but, Aras—”

“I'm not going anywhere! You swore to me that you'd be mine until the moon fell from the sky.” Aras leaned in to narrow his stare at me. “ That is when I'll abandon you, Lyrandir. When the moon falls from the sky. I know I'm not your mate, but I don't care. I'm with you. I will always be with you, even should you—”

“Aras, you are my mate!” I shouted.

Aras froze. Didn't even blink. No breath, no sound at all. Not the tiniest movement to betray he was more than a statue.

“Aras?” I whispered. “This is what I've wanted to tell you. This is what the Eye forced me to keep a secret. It's been tearing me apart. I—”

“When?” he whispered.

He didn't have to clarify.

“Do you remember those days we spent locked up in here?” I asked as I took his hand. “The way I, uh, came all over you?”

Aras's jaw dropped. He made a squeaking sound.

I rushed into the silence. “That wasn't ejaculate, love. That was mating essence. It was a conduit for my soul—a way to merge a piece of it with yours. I put myself inside you. That's why you can feel my emotions, why you sense things about me, and why you're stronger than you were. You're not merely a Hulfrin anymore, my love. You're part Dragon. But you weren't born a Dragon so you can't reciprocate. If you had been, you would have known what was happening and responded in kind, giving me a piece of you. Because of this, you might be able to leave me without much pain. You would survive my death. But it's different for me. I am bound completely. Yours utterly. I could never leave you. You are my everything. If you die, I die, Aras. That piece of me inside you would pull me down into my grave. And that is why I need you to leave before the battle begins.”

Aras made a choking sound.

“Aras?” I cupped his cheek. “I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I wanted to. So badly. The Eye stopped me every time I tried. It swore to me that if I told you, it would set into motion a series of events that would lead to me losing the war. It forbade me from confessing my love. And that damaged me, Mate. It was excruciating. But what hurt the most was seeing you struggle, seeing your pain.” I grimaced and shook my head. “And knowing I caused it. That I could end it with a few words.” I dropped my hand. “I have been a terrible mate. Can you forgive me?”

“You . . . I'm . . .” Aras blinked. Then he roared, “I'm your fucking mate?!”

I jerked back.

“All those times when I laid in bed wondering what was happening between us.” He shot to his feet and snarled as he walked away. “I thought I was bewitched! I thought I was mad with lust.” He swung about to point at me. “I thought you were a fucking asshole! Then I thought that I was the bigger asshole for putting up with you.”

I cringed. “I know. I'm so sorry, Aras. Believe me, I didn't want to keep it from you. It went against every instinct I have.” I got up and went to stand before him. “I needed you. Every time you walked away from me, it tore me apart.”

He blinked. “Holy fuck! That's why you attacked Fren. You had just mated me. It's no wonder you behaved like that.”

“The wonder is that I let him live,” I muttered.

Aras looked horrified.

“I'm sorry, but it's the truth. A freshly mated Dragon does not respond well to a rival for his mate's affections. It takes a few days to settle the mating bond but then up to several months for the mated Dragon to stabilize his instincts, especially that of his dragon.”

“What stopped you?”

I lifted a brow. “From killing him?”

Aras nodded.

“You, of course. You stopped me. No one else could have. The only one who can calm a freshly mated Dragon is that Dragon's mate.”

Aras's chest rose and fell powerfully. I couldn't tell if he was about to bolt or attack. He did neither. My mate came to me with slow, sure steps and stared at me. I held that stare, ready to pay for my terrible behavior. My crimes against him and the sacred bond between us. Anything he demanded of me, I would do.

“I'm your mate,” Aras said.

The breath caught in my throat but I forced the word from me, “Yes.”

“I have been for several weeks.”

“Yes.”

“I don't know a lot about Dragon mates, Ly.”

“I know. You've told me. If you did, you would have recognized our mating. I assume it's because of who raised you.”

“Lyrandir.” Aras groaned and ran his hands over his face. “Great Gods, what does this mean?”

I took his hand and led him back to the couch. After we were settled, I explained it all again, going slower this time. My mate was trying to absorb a lot of information quickly. If he needed me to repeat myself twenty times, I would. Whatever he needed, I would do. “It means we are bound magically. You feel me, don't you? That's why you said you thought you were enchanted. You feel my soul inside you.”

“Yes,” he whispered, his stare going soft. “And it's beautiful.” He cupped my cheek. “Fuck, you're beautiful. I didn't know what this was, but now . . . I see you, Ly.” He grinned and dropped his hand. “I think I'll have to change your nickname. You're my truth now.”

My heart nearly exploded with happiness. I pulled Aras into my arms and held on as if he might fight to get away. I wouldn't let him. Not now. Not after watching him burn for me. Oh, fuck. I shivered with the memory. Never again. I would never permit anything to harm my mate. He knew now, so I had reason to be presumptuous with him. Aras couldn't refuse me anymore. He was mine. He had status in my court.

Wait. He didn't. Not yet. The presentation. Then I remembered what I had decided. There would be no presentation. I was the fucking King! I made the laws. What would my dread do if I made Aras a duke without a presentation? Attack me? Done. Or it would be soon. So, I might as well do as I wished.

“Call me whatever you will,” I said as I eased out of our embrace. “As long as you call me your mate too.”

Aras grinned. “I'm yours. You're mine.”

I nodded. “Forever. That's the basics of mating. Our bond is more than a marriage. It's permanent. Nothing can break it. Not even a god.”

“Permanent.”

I hesitated. “Does that please you?”

Aras burst out laughing.

I scowled at him.

“I may not know a lot about Dragons and their mating magic, but I can feel you through whatever this is,” he said. “That cannot be a one-way path.”

“It's not,” I admitted. “But I'm trying to ease you into this. I didn't want to pressure you with our bond.”

Aras took my hands and leaned in. “What am I feeling, Mate?”

I immediately sent my awareness down our link and was met with a brilliant glow. Joy. Pure ecstasy. My mate wanted this. I didn't know if it was the magic influencing him, and honestly, I didn't care. Aras was happy and so was I.

Letting that awareness soften, I focused back on Aras's face. “You love me.”

Aras smirked. “Wasn't I clear when I burned for you? Do I have to explain it as if to a child?”

I grinned back. “Yes. Explain it in great detail.”

“I love you, Ly. I would burn a thousand times for you.”

I lost my grin. “Don't say that. And don't you ever stand between me danger again. My soul makes you stronger, but—”

“Hold on,” Aras interrupted. “Your soul makes me stronger? Physically stronger?”

I frowned, mentally backtracking. “Yes. I believe it's why you were able to recover from the Eye's attack so quickly. You have the immunity of a Dragon now.”

“So, I'm immune to Fire? Normal fire, I mean.”

“Yes. Well.” I grimaced. “I'm not certain. It's different with each non-Dragon mate. But you should at least have a resistance to fire.”

“What else? Tell me. I want to know everything.”

I smiled at my mate and told him everything I'd been longing to say. Everything and more.