Chapter Twenty-Nine

Once freed, I realized how fun it was to be Vaxarion's slave. So, I kept it up a little longer. It was so much better to pretend that I had to obey him than actually have to obey him. And the lack of a collar helped.

We decided to stay in his apartments for one more day. Vax sent for breakfast and we ate in bed. I fed him as usual, but this time, he also fed me, taking delight in holding the food to my lips and letting me suck it from his fingers. We were both blissful, smiling non-stop. We kissed in between bites and swigged cool water, sweetened with the juice of sea berries. The food was fit for royalty, but we ate it like pirates. Here was the merging of worlds I worried about. So far, so good.

Vax smoothed my hair back and said, "I didn't know it would hurt you like that. I didn't fully understand what I asked of you."

I sighed. "Because I didn't tell you all of it. I guess I assumed what I did tell you was enough. That you would know how much the thought of being a slave again scared me. It was why I offered myself to you in that way. It was the biggest sacrifice I could make."

"I know that now." He kissed my cheek. "And I should have known it before. I mean, I assumed it would be uncomfortable for you, but you'd been wearing the collar without issue. I didn't think the chain would make that much of a difference."

"I knew," I muttered.

"You could have said no."

I held his stare as I said, "No, I couldn't have."

"Zix," Vax's tone went tender. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I. I never intended to humiliate you."

He pressed his forehead to mine, breathing with me, then eased back. "I can't see you like that again. Your pain nearly broke me."

"No problem. Just don't chain me."

Vax snorted. "I vowed it, didn't I? No one will ever chain you again. I'll make sure of it."

"So your anger is appeased?"

"My anger died in the flames of your past. You burned away those stupid walls I'd built between us and showed me what was important—that you had come back to me. I'm so sorry I didn't welcome you as I should have. I wanted to. But I was so hurt."

"Let's not linger on our pain. It's over." I smirked. "And that's a relief. Cause, babe, your anger is epic. I can't believe what you did to this room. And that poor garden."

Vax sighed and set the tray aside. "There's something I need to tell you."

"First, let me say one thing."

"What?"

"I saw the slave quarters. You have enough room for fifty slaves, maybe more. And there's a pool in there. I mean, come on! What did you even do with all those men?"

"A lot." He grinned. "And they weren't allowed to leave the quarters unless it was to be with me. So I had to make them as comfortable as possible."

"Unbelievable," I muttered.

Vaxarion's grin softened. "But I released them. The day you left, I gave them back to my court."

I smirked again. "Yeah, I know that too. I told you I saw the quarters. Where do you think I got the collar and all that sex stuff?"

"Ah. Yes, of course."

I kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. I couldn't be with anyone else. Even having them in my apartments, knowing they were that close, upset me."

I lifted a brow. "All right, you don't have to exaggerate. It's romantic enough that you sent them away and burned your flowers."

"You don't understand. There's something I need to tell you. Something important. I know you think my behavior has been strange. You're attributing it to my love for you, and that is partially true. But there's more." Vax took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Zixin, you're my mate."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Vaxarion scowled. "You're my mate. My only love for the rest of my life. The one person chosen for me by the Dragon God."

"I thought mates were a Land Dragon thing, given to them by the Goddess?"

"They were. But then Karadas returned, and he found his mate. He wanted us to experience that joy as well. So, he blessed us with mating magic."

"Holy shit," I whispered. "But isn't there like a ceremony or something? Some kind of mating ritual?"

Vaxarion rolled his eyes. "Did you not find it odd that I couldn't stop coming? Or that I rubbed my ejaculate into your skin? Or that your skin absorbed it?"

"I thought it was a Sea Dragon thing."

"Zix, you're a beautiful moron," he huffed.

"Yeah, all right. You don't have to be an ass about it."

Vax snorted. "You're being an ass too. I just told you that we're bonded forever, that I will always be true to you, and I'll love only you for the rest of my life. Your response was to question it. This feels like another rejection."

"It's not! I . . . I just . . ." Suddenly, I grimaced and smacked him. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I did. Just now."

"I mean sooner, you asshole! Why didn't you tell me when it happened?!" I lifted my hands and shook them at him in a what-the-fuck gesture. "Or maybe before I left you!"

"I tried to tell you before you left, but you kept interrupting me."

"Oh," I whispered, vaguely recalling him trying to say something to me while I just spoke over him. "I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance."

"And I'm sorry I reacted so poorly. My dragon was already half-wild from hunting you after you left me in Gavemor. That's when I mated you, Zix. That first night we were together."

"You could have told me then. Instead, you told me you couldn't be faithful to me."

Vax grimaced. "I didn't mate you until after that. And then I thought we'd talk in the morning. I didn't think you'd sneak away while I was sleeping."

"I couldn't risk facing you again. I was afraid I might go with you, even knowing that you wouldn't be true to me."

"I went wild when I woke to an empty bed," he said in a grim tone. "I lost all reason. All I knew was that I had to get to you. So I hunted you. I found your ship, but you weren't on it. Then I tracked you back to Gavemor. If you hadn't been in such desperate need of the sea, I would have destroyed the whole castle for finding you in such a state. But you were more important than my fury."

"Is that why you took me to that cave to heal? Because your dragon had gone wild?"

"Yes. I needed you safe and healed before I could take you around others. Even my knights had to keep their distance." He shook his head. "I've heard tales of Land Dragons going savage when they mate, but I wasn't prepared for how I reacted. I could barely speak."

"I remember." I took his hand. "I knew there was something wrong with you, but I never could have guessed it was this."

"The urges that come with a mating take several days to satisfy," Vax said. "You left before I could appease those urges, and once I had you back, I had to wait for you to heal."

"Vax," I whispered.

"It was only after I brought you here that I was able to fully indulge my primal instincts and make you mine." His eyes twitched. "But then you left me again."

"Why did you let me go if . . ." I gaped at him. "Holy fuck, Vax. I've heard stories about Land Dragons too. I've even seen it firsthand with the King of Racul. Mated Dragons need their mates. They're especially volatile when freshly mated. If you take their mate away, they'll go mad."

"Yes. It's the same for us."

"How did you do it? How did you let me go?"

"I almost didn't." Vax stroked my cheek. "It's why I resorted to claiming you. By then, I was sated, but the mating bond was still so fresh and my beast had been through a lot. It was anxious. I would have done anything to keep you by my side. Anything. And the only option I saw was to claim you as a slave instead of a mate. I thought that once you understood that it was only to be you and me, you'd accept me, and I could release you. But then I saw your face. I saw the fear and the sorrow. And it crushed me. The instinct to keep you paled beneath your pain. I knew then that I couldn't love you as you deserved to be loved, not if I could hurt you like that. I had to let you go. I wanted you to have your freedom and adventure."

"But you didn't hurt me. You stopped yourself and set me free." I took his hand. "You overcame your dragon and the magic of a god for me. Fuck, Vax. I can't even comprehend the amount of strength that took."

"I would do anything for you, Zix. Battle anyone, even myself, to keep you safe."

My eyelids did double time, trying to blink back the tears. "I fucking love you so much. Gods, I was an idiot."

The Sea King smiled. "I love you too." He paused, then pointedly added, "Mate."

"Holy fuck!" I leapt to my feet and whooped. "I'm mated to the fucking Sea King!" I spun in a circle as Vaxarion laughed. "I'm royalty! Ha! Take that you stupid fucking Hulfrin!"

Vaxarion's laughter ceased abruptly.

I went still, then slowly looked over at him. His eyes were glowing.

"Oh, fuck," I whispered. Now that I knew who I was to him, I realized all the mistakes I'd made. Especially the current one. I shouldn't have reminded a mated Sea Dragon of someone hurting his mate.

Still growling, Vax got to his feet. "Tell me what they did to you."

"It was nothing. I deserved it, Vax. We attacked their ship. And uh, we stole something precious."

"What did they do to you?" he asked again, more slowly.

"They just tortured me a little."

"They tortured you?!"

"Just a little. A little torture. Just a tor really."

Vax didn't find that humorous. "They will die screaming. I'll skin them alive and wear their fur as a fucking loincloth. No! I'll wipe my ass with it."

"Whoa. That was both sexy and disturbing. But truly, Vax, I'm good now. And I don't hold a grudge against them. We took something really big from them. Well, not physically big. But big. Important. So important that the Lu-Ken is currently on its way to the other side of Serai to hide from those Hulfrin."

Vax finally focused enough to cease his threats. "You were sailing that far away from me?"

"No. That's the point, love." I kissed the tip of his nose. "I left them because I couldn't sail that far away from you. I couldn't be parted from you at all. Well, I was going to try, but Teng saw how miserable I was. He told me about you coming to find me. I wasn't going to come back here because I thought you didn't want me, but after he told me all that, I knew I had to try. Fuck, Teng knew you loved me before I did. He said it, but I didn't believe him."

" Teng told you to return?" He narrowed his eyes at me. "That's why you came back?"

"Hey, asshole!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face. "I was the one who decided to return and do whatever it took to get you back. Teng just helped me see that it was possible. And he gave me his blessing. That's what I needed, Vax. He released me so I could commit to you."

"Oh."

"Oh?" I snorted. "Now, who's the moron?"

"Still you." He smirked. Then he frowned. "What was the important thing you stole from the Hulfrins?"

"I didn't steal it personally. And the crew didn't even know what they took. The thing was hidden in a bottle of brandy."

"What thing? Get to it already."

"Sheesh, have some patience, Mr. Curious."

Vax chuckled. "You are perfect for me. You know, I'm normally a lighthearted man."

"That's a load of crap."

"No, it's the truth. I love to tease people. To play pranks. But then I met you, and everything became so serious. I mated you the first time we were together and then—"

"Fourth," I said.

"What?"

"It was the fourth time we had sex that you started doing the wild coming thing." I grinned. "See? I pay attention. I remember because it was after you asked me to go on tour with you, and I said no."

Vax rolled his eyes and went to sit down on the bed again. He popped a piece of buttered bread into his mouth and chewed. I went to join him and grabbed a sea grape.

"You remember because I mentioned it earlier," Vax said. "And it was our fifth session, but all of those sessions were part of our first time together," Vax said.

"No, it was the fourth."

"The fifth," he said in a tone that said the argument was over. "I remember because, before that, I didn't want a mate."

"Wait. What?" I growled.

"You heard me. I didn't want a mate. Maybe later in life. But I was having too much fun. I had just woken from a hibernation that had lasted centuries. I didn't want to bind myself to one man for eternity."

"Well, fuck."

"It's why I couldn't promise to not take other lovers. Like you, I wanted to be free."

"That's a different kind of freedom." I grimaced.

"But then the mating magic took me, and I claimed you. As soon as the magic burst between us, I felt how wondrous it was." Vax took my hand and kissed it. "And I was grateful. I knew that no other man could satisfy me like you. None other could lift my heart and make it sing. It would be wonderful to be mated because my mate was you. I fell asleep in a state of bliss." His expression dropped into annoyance. "And then I woke up to find that my mate had fled."

"Because we had talked about staying together, and you told me you had twenty-six bed slaves! You said you couldn't be faithful to me."

"I'm a king."

"Yeah, I got that."

Vax frowned. "What just happened? You're the one in the wrong. You ran from me, but I still saved you, protected you while you healed, and brought you home to my palace. Then, after I offered you everything, you rejected me again."

"You said I'd be your consort. You didn't tell me I was your mate."

"As I said earlier, I tried to."

"You should have tried harder, Vax. If I'd known I was your mate, I never would have left."

"Are you sure?"

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means that I truly don't think you were ready to hear that you'd be bound to me forever. You denied my first offer because you wanted freedom. Then you denied me again for adventure. Those were the very things I treasured before I claimed you. The reasons I didn't want a mate."

I sighed. "You shouldn't have let me walk away."

"I did what I thought was best for you. I gave you the freedom I could no longer have."

I went still, just staring at him as my hearts melted, all three of them. "I fucking love you, Vax. But don't you ever assume you know what's best for me."

Vaxarion chuckled. "I love you too, my sea butterfly."

"Yeah, that's really cute and all, but what the fuck is a sea butterfly?"

The Sea King burst out laughing again.