Chapter Forty-One

We had breakfast with Shale”s parents, who were now, evidently, my parents too. As we dined out on the terrace of their beautiful estate, surrounded by thick jungle, Dragons started to arrive to congratulate their King. Word was spreading that the Dragon King had been blessed with a second mate. All those vicious rumors about him would soon be quashed. No one could deny that a second mating was a blessing from the Dragon Gods, not to mention the blessing of Ranu returning Shale”s love.

“Those priests were into me,” I said with a smirk at my mate. Holy fuck, Shale was my mate!

The shock of it kept coming in waves. I”d be fine, very calm, and then—wham! It would hit. Mate! It was hard to process after everything that had happened. Just the day before I”d been facing a life without Shale, certain I had to escape him to be happy. Then I went through divine torture to free his love, offering my soul for it. Now, I was mated to Shale and immortal.

Shale, who shared a couch with me, his body as close to mine as it could get, laughed. “I was a bit surprised by them kissing your hands. I would have gotten upset if they hadn”t been so reverent about it.”

“It was weird. They were weird.”

“They were in awe of you—a human who had met every challenge their god gave him and came back from the other realm alive.”

“The other realm,” I whispered and shook my head. “I thought I was there, that I had walked into the God”s world. And even when it became clear that I hadn”t, it still felt so real.”

“You collapsed just inside the doorway.” Shale”s face, which had been locked in an expression of joy all morning, shifted suddenly into something tremulous. “The force holding me released me, and I ran to you, but you were gone. It was only your body I held. It breathed and lived, but you weren”t in it.”

“I told him to have faith in you,” Duchess Thera said. “I knew you”d succeed, Sebastian. As soon as I saw you, I knew you were the one who would save my son.”

“She”s always had a sense about such things,” Duke Naven said. “When Shaleros was . . . broken and on the verge of being lost to us, she sensed it and went to him.” He drew his mate into his side and kissed her. “You saved him first, my love.”

“And I questioned that decision for years,” Duchess Thera said with a sad look at her son. “I worried that I”d done the wrong thing. That I should have let you go.”

“I”m glad you helped me, Mother.” Shale took her hand and squeezed it, then leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I”d live a thousand years in that half-life for Sebastian.”

I stroked Shale”s cheek and pressed our foreheads together. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he took great delight in saying, his lips spreading into a broad smile.

“Say it again.”

“I love you, Mate.”

“What did you see?” Duke Naven asked me. “When you went into the God”s realm, what did you see, Son?”

Son. How odd to have a Dragon call me kin. And I had yet to contact my birth parents with the news of my mating. And immortality. I couldn”t wait to hear their voices. Their shock. I”d have to call Galin too.

Then I realized that Shale had gone deathly still beside me and the group of Dragons gathered around us leaned in closer to hear what I had to say.

“It changed with every test,” I whispered.

“What did he do to you?” Shale growled.

“Maybe I shouldn”t tell you.”

“Sebastian!”

I cleared my throat. “There was darkness, and then I saw a light. It was pink. I knew it was your love. I tried to reach it but couldn”t. I ran and ran, and then the ground turned to water. I went under. Your love hovered just above the surface, but someone was pulling me down. I fought, but couldn”t get loose. I was drowning.”

Shale started to growl.

“Then I saw that it was you. You were below me, holding my ankle.”

The growling stopped abruptly. “What?”

“I realized then that it wasn”t your love I had to chase, it was you. Or rather, I had to stay with you to find your love.”

“You held on,” Shale whispered, his eyes tearing up. “To me.”

I nodded, “Just as I promised. And Ranu did everything he could to make me let go.”

“What, Sebastian? What did he do to you? What did you endure for me?” A tear slid down his cheek.

“Nothing I wouldn”t endure again.”

“Tell me, Mate. I must know or it will eat me alive.”

I sighed. “It wasn”t really you, Shale.”

“Oh, Gods. What did I do?”

“It wasn”t you. It was Ranu. But he made it look like you. Your dragon came to me. He wasn”t pure dragon though, he was shaped like a man but covered in scales.”

“My half-form,” Shale whispered.

“You can do that?” I asked. “You can be partially dragon?”

He nodded, and several Dragons made surprised sounds. Shale glanced at them before saying, “Only the strongest of us can achieve a half-form.”

“Then I”m not surprised you can do it.” I grinned.

“Thank you, but finish your tale.” Shale wasn”t about to be sidetracked.

“The half-form that wasn”t you beat me as I held onto you. He crushed my legs, my back, and my skull. But I wouldn”t let go.”

Gasps circled the terrace as my mate went so pale, his skin matched his hair.

“I couldn”t understand how I held on, how I stayed conscious. I knew then that it wasn”t real. And I kept telling myself that. Then it stopped. The half-dragon disappeared, and I healed. I opened my eyes and saw that we were in a clearing. The jungle surrounded us. Vines grew out of the ground by my feet. They covered me and tried to crush me. But again, I held on.”

“My doll,” Shale whispered and cupped my cheek. “You are stronger than I knew.”

“Thanks. Try to hold on to that feeling, love, because you”re really not going to like what happened next.”

Shale”s face fell into suspicious lines. “What happened next?”

“I saw King Vaxarion.”

Shale”s hand dropped. “What?”

“Ranu created his image to tempt me. King Vaxarion said I could be his mate, that I could have love and immortality with him.”

“I”m going to fucking tear that sea worm apart!” Shale roared.

I grabbed Shale”s shoulders before he shot to his feet. The other Dragons pulled back, even Shale”s mother gasped, but his dad laughed boisterously.

“That”s a freshly mated Dragon for you,” Duke Naven said. “Don”t worry, reason will return. Just give him a moment. Maybe kiss him, Sebastian. That should help.”

I took my new father”s advice and kissed my mate. Shale remained tense for a few seconds, then melted around me, his arms limp at first, then tightening into an embrace. When I eased back, he was smiling.

“You good to hear the rest or should I wait until you”re less volatile?” I asked.

“I”m good,” Shale whispered. “You obviously denied King Vaxarion.”

“Oh, good! You”re back.” I kissed the tip of his nose. “And yes, I refused him and held onto you. I”d rather live a mortal life with you and without your love than live forever loved by another man.”

Several people, including Duchess Thera, made soft, mewling sounds, but I couldn”t look away from Shale.

“That”s not what you said yesterday.” Shale smirked.

“Shaleros!” his mother gasped.

But I just laughed. “I would have realized it on my own if you hadn”t gone crazy and locked me up.”

“You did realize it.”

“Yeah, after you had a breakdown.”

Shale snorted. “I never break.”

“You broke,” I whispered and leaned in to brush my lips over his. “And it broke my resistance.”

Shale smiled against my lips, then rubbed his way into a kiss. The Dragons applauded.

“All right, enough!” Duke Naven said. “They”ve been through a lot and have just sealed their mating bond. Let”s not put them on display. You”ve all come to congratulate my son, and he appreciates that, but it”s time for the family to be alone.”

The Dragons bowed to their King, even as he continued to kiss me, and quietly left the terrace. I admit, I breathed easier once they were gone. This wasn”t the first time I”d been around that many Dragons, but it was still unnerving.

“Is that everything?” Shale whispered once we were alone with his parents. Our parents.

“You know the rest. Mostly. After I denied him, King Vaxarion turned into Ranu. Then, when I refused to let go of you, you turned into Ranu. That”s when he told me that my body wasn”t there, only my soul, and he offered me the choice to either return to you and live as we were or give myself to him and free you.”

“Give yourself to him?” Shale growled. “He threatened to eat your soul.”

“But he didn”t, Son,” Duchess Thera said. “It was just a test.”

“It fooled me,” I muttered. “I could feel myself dwindling. I thought I was . . . nothing.”

Shale made a wounded sound and pulled me into his arms. “You have never been nothing, Sebastian. I suspect you were born wondrous, and you will only get more so as the centuries pass.”

“Centuries,” I murmured and snuggled in against him. “I can”t even conceive of living that long.”

“Don”t worry. I will show you the way.”

I looked up at him and brushed away a tear. “Don”t cry, Shale. I know I”m not nothing. I”ve never let bullies diminish me.”

“But you would have let a god do it. To give me back my love.”

I nodded. “I would have done anything to make you happy. I told you from the start; I just want to see you smile.”

Shale started to get that soft look again.

So I pushed him away playfully. “Enough with all that. I faced a god and endured his trials to free your love. Blahdy, blah, blah.”

Shale gaped at me as his dad laughed.

“What I want to know is when exactly did you mate me? How the fuck did I miss that?”

Shale”s shocked expression broke, and he joined his father in laughing. “You will always be like this, won”t you, Mate?”

“What? Unbelievably handsome, witty, and irresistible?”

“Yes, all that.” Shale grinned and nuzzled my cheek. “But also incorrigible, with a soul bright enough to light my way out of darkness. My brave, unbreakable doll.”

I grinned at him. “Yes, I will always be like that.”

He grinned back.

Then I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you going to tell me when we mated or what?”

Shale snorted. “You know when it was. Those four days we spent together, locked in my tower.”

“I thought you were just randy because you hadn”t had sex in forever.”

“I thought that too.” He grimaced. “I feel like a fool now. I should have recognized the signs. The way I couldn”t get enough of you, right from the start. How you fascinated me. How I—”

“Couldn”t stop coming?” I asked. “I thought that was kinda weird. You came a lot.”

Shale”s dad burst out laughing again, and my stare shot to his mother. I was mortified.

“I”m so sorry! I can”t believe I just said that in front of you!”

“Don”t be embarrassed,” Duchess Thera said. “It”s a part of the mating. I was shocked too. But it”s not ejaculate, it”s their essence. Shaleros was binding his soul to yours. Or he was trying to. I”m not sure how far your bond got without his love to complete it.”

“It got far enough for that fucking Sea Dragon to notice,” Shale said with an eye roll. “And still, I denied it.”

“Well, in your defense, it seemed impossible,” I said. Then I went still.

“What is it?” Shale asked.

“You,” I whispered. “You defended your goddess against King Vaxarion.”

“Yes. And?”

“You defended the Goddess?” Duke Naven asked in shock. “After all she”s done?”

“She is still our mother, still the deity who gave us mating magic,” Shale said. “She deserves our respect. It angers me that even you can”t see that, Father.” As he spoke a golden glow infused his skin, and all of us stared at him in shock.

“Son,” Duke Naven whispered.

“No!” Shale slashed his hand through the air. “Ensarena was wronged by her lover. Yes, she did some horrible things to us, but the god who wronged her had just been freed and her children were taking his side. I respect Karadas too, and I understand now that love can”t be denied, but I can”t help but feel that we have wronged her too. We were disloyal.”

“Shale,” I said.

“I know.” He shook his head. “She can be fierce, but she loves fiercely too. She—”

“Shale!” I shouted. “You”re glowing.”

Shale finally looked down at himself, then launched to his feet in shock. “What the fuck?”

A shaft of sunlight suddenly surrounded him, and Shale lifted his face to the sky, his expression shifting from shock to bliss. He held out his arms and grinned up at his goddess. The Goddess of the Sun.

“Dear Ensarena,” Duke Naven whispered and slid off the couch, onto his knees. “Forgive me.” Tears slid down the Dragon”s face as he too looked upward. “Thank you for blessing my son. Thank you, Goddess, for your love and generosity.”

“What”s happening?” I whispered to Duchess Thera.

She gaped from her mate to her son to me. In a reverent tone, she said, “I think the Dragon Goddess is with us.”

“Oh, fuck,” I whispered and hurried to my knees. “Uh, hello, Dragon Goddess. Thank you for blessing my mate and, uh, making him my mate. Or making me his mate. Uh, just, thank you!”

The sunlight faded and so did the glow in Shale”s skin, but his smile remained. He bent his head to look at me, then helped me up. “She brought you to me, Sebastian. You are my reward for my loyalty. A second mate and the peace to let go of the first.”

I went into his arms. “I”ve never been so happy to be with a religious man.”

Shaleros, Dragon King of Latur, no longer the Indifferent, lifted me off my feet and swung me in a circle as he laughed, his joy so bright it was contagious. I laughed with him, then his parents joined us, and it seemed as if the whole world celebrated the return of the King”s love.