“Oh.” I’m not sure what I thought Dante spent his time doing, but collecting doctorate degrees wasn’t high on my list of possibilities. “I guess the pursuit of knowledge is an admirable hobby if you’re immortal.”
Everything cleaned up, he turns to look at me, eyes intense on mine, and I steady my breathing. “I am not immortal, Caitriona. Immortality is for vampires. They can die, and eventually will one way or another. Deities and dragons are infinite. We are eternal.”
“But you’re a demigod.” My cheeks flush the second the words rush out. “Not to be rude, but isn’t that different?”
“For some; however, I inherited nothing significant from my father, likely due to the power my mother holds. If she were anyone other than the Mother Goddess, perhaps it would be a far different story.” His lips twitch, and I’m positive he’s going to smile, but he stops, falling back to the same serious expression. “Not to sound arrogant, but do you honestly see yourself choosing Corrin over me?”
I laugh, too loud, holding my hand over my mouth while trying not to be obnoxious in my reaction. “No. No, definitely not. I mean, I haven’t spent any time with him yet, but unless he’s some sort of Jekyll and Hyde type, I can’t imagine I’ll even like him. Love him? No.”
Tilting his head, Dante’s blue eyes search my face as if the answer to some great mystery hides there. “Then why do you deny me, Caitriona?”
He wants answers I don’t have. I can’t explain the draw to Theo or to Dante. It’s unnatural, unreasonable… and undeniable. Afraid to tell him the truth, I say nothing.
He takes a few steps away, pacing as he continues talking. “I couldn’t imagine why Theo would contact me at first. What could be so fascinating about this new ward he saw coming which might be greater than any other in the past? What did he foresee in them, in you, worth holding my interest? And then it happened in the conference room.”
“Wait. He called you to come here?” I try stopping him, but his voice and body language say he’s too excited to listen while I’m reeling at the revelation that this wasn’t happenstance. Theo caused this.
“Oh, yes, of course. What else would pull me away from my research?” he replies dismissively. “Theo’s response to Corrin’s decision opened my eyes. He did not want the king claiming you because that was not your sole path, as destiny often finds many forks in the road along the way. Sensibility dictates he would only contact me if he believed I play a part in the matter of your destiny. Therefore, I offered myself as an option. When Evan explained his view, everything became quite clear, Caitriona. Do you not see it?”
Dropping to my knees, I sit back on my feet and nod, head in my hands. “Yeah. I see a lot of things now.”
He kneels in front of me. “Corrin does not wish to love you. Theo cannot love you the way a man should love his wife. I believe for some inexplicable reason, our destinies intertwine, though I may not understand why. My mother sets paths forth, and the Dracopraesi see the various possibilities, knowing their wards’ ultimate destinies, and the path best leading there. Some mysteries of the universe are not mine to solve, but I do know you compel me in a way no other woman has, Caitriona.”
Standing, the demigod leans down, gently taking my hands, pulling me, not stopping until I’m flush against his body, and there’s something comforting in the fact he’s not much taller than I am, lending a natural ease to our proximity. “If you would only allow me the opportunity, I dare believe I would find no difficulty falling in love with you at all.”
Dante’s admission of the truth cuts through the ‘it’s complicated’ mess of dragons loving their female wards, the heightened level of protection. I refused to listen when Theo tried to tell me instinct and protection was all it could be, all it ever would be. He can promise to try, but he can’t guarantee an outcome. I didn’t want to hear what he said or accept what it meant.
But I’m not a foolish child. Fair chances. Reasonable opportunities. It isn’t complicated. And seeing Dante’s vivid blue eyes fixed on mine, it isn’t difficult either.
“I still have to at least put on a show of giving the king a chance to impress me, or he’ll probably blow a fuse.” My voice is softer than usual for a statement like that, no sarcastic punch behind it.
“Undoubtedly. The boy is not known for his patience, even less so of late.”
I laugh at how he calls the ancient vampire king a ‘boy’. “How old are you, Dante?” For whatever reason, I can’t help but ask.
“An excellent question.” He smiles, halfhearted but polite, a sigh of a laugh escaping. “I have no absolute answer, I’m afraid. Time does not function the same here as in the High Realm, but based on the historic references to human civilizations I’ve experienced, the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians, as well as what I know of Fae and Elfin histories, my first time spent down here was at least seven thousand years ago.”
“Wow. That’s… ancient. And the idea of marrying a mere mortal human like me isn’t a turn off?”
His eyes have a renewed luminescence as he gazes down at me. “Do you mean to say…”
“That I’ll allow you the opportunity? Yes.”
There was so much to fear from Neglected Dependent Services, a corrupt system taking advantage of my inheritance, but I have nothing to lose taking a chance on Dante. Uncle Thomas was the only thread holding me to my old life, a life where money bought social status, pretentious acquaintances, and people looking to use me. If he’s right about my destiny, our destinies, and means what he says about the rest of it, his feelings, I have everything to gain.
His eyes narrow, an unasked question waiting on his lips. “You have no reason to fear me. I swear it.”
“I know. I… I’ve just had a long day,” I reply, staring at a button on his shirt, finding it impossible to look him in the eyes, not wanting him to ask about my past, the real reason for the haunted expression he saw.
Dante strokes his thumbs over my hands, lacing his fingers through mine. “To the best of my abilities, Caitriona, I swear I will not disappoint you.”
Well, it seems to be the day of making promises to me, promises made by beings far more powerful and influential than I’d ever imagine would have need to swear anything to me, particularly not such meaningful things as they are. I look up, intending to say something profound, or at least tell him I’m sure he won’t, but his lips meet mine—soft, gentle, unhurried.
This time, his kiss is nothing like before, not passionate, raw, and needy, no desperate desire unleashed. The same sweetness lingers on his lips as they part against mine, tender, sensual, and what makes me give in, melt into his kiss, is the way his hands cling to mine, begging me not to leave, telling me he can’t let go, saying how much he wants me with him in a small action no words could do justice.
In the brush of his lips and grasp of his fingers, Dante, more god than man, lays his heart bare to me, the willingness to give what I need, be what I want, and it’s impossible to say no… not to the only one being honest with me.
*Theo*
“You told her?” Controlling my tone, I keep it even, measured, calm to a relative degree.
Dante leans back in the chair opposite me at the desk, crossing his legs. “It seemed prudent. She’s quite confused regarding the predicament she finds herself, Theo, and I know there is little you can tell a ward regarding your actions pertaining to their destiny.”
“And you felt it your duty to explain my involvement in your arrival.” It isn’t a question. I’m assessing what he has done, seeing the pieces of the chessboard, my ward’s paths, the endgame per se, and how this may affect her destiny, yet nothing appears clear.
“She responded favorably.” He’s quiet, distant. “I believe she may choose me.”
Attempting not to scowl, I cross my arms over my chest. “The idea displeases you?” I cannot say it displeases me to think he may reject her, though she would feel pained. I’m feeling quite selfish regarding Cait, incomparable to any other ward.
“I do not believe it is so simple for some of us, Dante.”
He waves me off with a shake of his head. “My mother did not create dragons for emotional entanglements, Theo. I am pleased you called, as I would not have otherwise arrived for some months.” Picking up an origami crane from my desk, he tosses it up where it remains, suspended in the air. “You have many responsibilities, every Dracopraesi does, making decisions of ethics and morality, darkness and light, to destroy a soul or protect its innocence. Walking with one down their destined path is, in itself, a destiny to which my own existence pales in comparison.” With a snap of his fingers, the paper crane becomes a dove, flying around the room, perching on the lamp by my reading chair. The demigod looks to me, eyes glowing, allowing his power to radiate throughout the room. “Won’t you share how I am involved in this?”
“You know I cannot. I may see the potential outcomes and know which the Goddess desires, but each must choose the path they take, the destiny they find.” What I refuse to tell is how distorted the vision of Cait’s destiny is, and the paths she should take to achieve it. I do not know his place, nor mine.
Frowning, he releases a sharp breath. “I believe Corrin will be a problem.”
“To Cait?” I’m on my feet, unable to sit still. Taking the bird in my hand, I open the window and set it free. “I didn’t want a pet, Dante, but thank you.” My sarcastic remark goes ignored. “Why do you say that? Have you spoken to Cedric?” Given their relationship, it is not unthinkable to believe he would.
“No. I haven’t the time yet, but I intend to go tonight while she sleeps.” He casts a glance over his shoulder toward her room, as if he can see through the walls to know she is well and comfortable in her slumber. “We both know he is ill. I am unsure whatever sense of reason he had remains intact. The boy is most intolerable. A repugnant, disreputable, arrogant vampire.”
“He has not always been so.” I must give my brother’s ward some measure of credit where due.
“No, but he was much the same in his early years as you see him now. I should have destroyed him when intended, but I allowed Cedric to sway me. He was convinced his child would grow into the prophecy of the Fourth Oracle of Argia and would be capable of ruling.” Stopping, he takes a paper rose from the pile I’ve now made, squeezing it in his hand before opening it again, presenting a real rose. “But I should have known. Not all things change.”
Staring hard into my eyes, Dante drops his fangs, and a shudder runs through me at the recollection of millennia the vampiric demigod reigned over shadows and night in the Earthen Realm with bloody chaos and terror—a far cry from the refined intellectual seated before me.
“Few can accomplish such a dramatic shift in the very core of their being, down to their soul.” Retracting those razor-sharp fangs with a swift snick, he squeezes his hand closed again, then reopening it with the pink paper rose in his palm. “Even my mother knows not why I have the vampiric traits I do, or why for so long rage fueled me, feeding the need to create others, but I cannot allow them to destroy this world, Theo. I renounced vampirism for a reason. They will bring nothing but death and destruction in the end.”
“Oliver would not permit Corrin to do such a thing, Dante. We cannot interfere in our wards’ free will, but we also cannot ignore the darkness of a soul. Should a ward choose that path, it is our duty to destroy them, just as it is our duty to protect them for so long as they remain driven toward the intended destiny which honor-bound us to them.” I am not sure he isn’t simply rambling at this point as he often does, though he seems to have some point.
“And I am not saying Oliver would not try, or even all vampires are bad. However, those far worse than Corrin outnumber those like Cedric and Evan by the hundreds. As long as any one of them rules, they see the balance of power tipped in their favor.” The demigod tosses the rose in the air, and it spins in slow motion as he speaks. “It is my opinion that their time has come and gone. A new order must be brought to this world.”
Spinning my desk chair around before taking a seat again, I face him, wondering what my brother will say when I speak with him regarding this conversation. “Why do you care now? You’ve never involved yourself in the political affairs of this world until Corrin came into power, and even since then, you’ve been barely interested enough to stay in the sovereignty—or this realm for that matter—for the past fifty years.”
Dante reaches to take the rose out of the air. Closing his fingers over the origami flower once more, he unfolds his grasp, revealing a pristine, elegant red rose bud. “Because, Theo, before, I found nothing in this temporary world worth such depth of caring, and now… Now I have something beautiful and delicate I cherish and wish no harm upon.”
“I would sooner die than allow Cait harmed.”
Standing, his eyes meet mine; they are intense, dangerous. “As would I.”
Laying the fresh rose down, the lights in the room flicker in a momentary blinding brilliance, and with a flash of lightning, he disappears from the room. Blinking, spots from his dramatic light show blurring my eyesight, I pick the flower off my desk.
Cait. Everything revolves around Cait, yet I cannot see the how or why.
I hope when Claaron arrives tomorrow night, he offers the guidance I need.
Chapter 6
*Cait*
Setting the origami dragon and blue rose back on the nightstand, smile fading from my face as I recall the conversation with Dante last night, I pick up my bag and follow the smell of frying bacon to the kitchen. “Good morning.” Voice upbeat, Theo acts as if everything is fine. “How do you like your eggs?” my dragon asks the second I settle into one of seats at the breakfast bar.
“Scrambled, unlike the truth. I prefer that straight up, raw, no dressing.”
Theo at least has the decency to look ashamed when he turns to face me. “I did not lie to you, Cait. The topic did not come up.”
“Convenient.” I scowl, and he goes back to cooking. “I have a test this morning, but the rest of my day is free. Have you figured out what the plan is with the king? Does he want to see me, or is he playing games too?”
Dropping the whisk on the counter, he spins around and slams his hands on the granite bar. I’m surprised it doesn’t crack under the force. “Yes. He does want to see you. He asked to see you this morning, and I refused. I refuse to let him play games with you. The king wants you for breakfast, Cait. Wants to see if you suit him.”
“Oh, really?” Hopping off the seat, I stalk over to the front door, but Theo’s there, blocking my way in a heartbeat. “Move it or lose it, Puff.”
Glaring down at me, he is not amused. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To see the king. You said I have free will, Theo. I will see him. Now.” I smile my most sarcastically sweet smile. “For your own health, I’d advise you move, but you’re welcome to come.”
He steps aside, opening the door. “Believe me, Cait. I need no invitation. You wouldn’t step foot near Corrin without me.”
I walk down the hall to the only other door, the one to Corrin’s penthouse, but Theo veers toward the elevators. “Where are you going, Theo? I told you I’m going to see him,” I explain again, pointing toward the king’s place.
“Yes, well, he only sees women in the apartment downstairs. None are invited to his personal home.” The dragon’s jaw clenches, and the distaste I recognized from yesterday is back, the reason he doesn’t approve of the lower level uses.
“That’s what he thinks.” My purpose renewed, I storm on, glaring at the lethal guard at the door, another of Theo’s green-eyed brothers. It infuriates me further, facing one more Pendragon, this one a different version
of Theo with his hair cropped short, his expression gruff, yet still handsome.
Damn these dragons.
“I’m here to see the king.” I declare my intentions in an authoritative tone, my dragon so near, his body heat radiates through the back of my sweater.
“You heard her, Liam. Inform Oliver. Cait agreed to see Corrin this morning, under the condition they meet up here.” His order receives a quick nod then the other dragon slips into the apartment.
“I thought all dragons were equal,” I whisper. “Why does he treat you like you’re somehow more important, have some kind of authority over him?”
Theo leans down to my ear. “Respect and honorable rankings are earned among us. I hold a high position within my house.”
“How high?” I’m curious, and we have nothing to do but wait.
“Agtos is our Lord Regent. Oliver is First Brother of the House.” He stands again, stiffening as if someone is approaching the door. Very quietly, he finishes. “And I am second to him.”
I show no sign I’m impressed. I’m still mad at my honorably-ranked dragon.
The door swings open, and unlike Liam in solid black finery, the Captain of the King’s Guard wears a charcoal gray three-piece pinstriped suit, golden triquerta affixed on the lapel as they all wear, with raven hair styled and elegant, and marbled emerald eyes solidly focused on me.
“Milady,” Sir Oliver greets with a bow. “I was not aware you would grace us with your presence this morning.” He offers a kind smile to me, but his eyes tell a different story when he casts a glance to Theo. “My brother should have informed me it would be your pleasure to see the king. Please, do come in.”
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