by Lili Zander
I smile in the darkness. “Is that your way of reminding me it’s date night tomorrow?”
He chuckles. “It’s already tomorrow, love. Get some rest. You’re going to need it for what I have planned.”
Ooh. That sounds intriguing. I can’t wait.
I wake up at noon. Oops.
Rhys is nowhere to be seen. Making my way to my own bedroom, I shower and get dressed in yoga pants and my ‘Life is sweeter with books and cats’ t-shirt. Shockingly, I manage to reach the study without too much difficulty. Last night, this had been the room to which we’d retired after dinner. Unlike the rest of the castle, which looks formal and stuffy, the study is filled with comfortable couches, a pool table, and a massive fireplace.
Bastian and Rhys look up when I enter. “Sorry I overslept,” I say sheepishly.
“Don’t be,” Bastian replies immediately. “It’s only six in the morning in New York. It’ll take you a day or two to adjust to the time difference.” He gives me a warm smile. “I’ll ring for coffee. We were going to eat lunch in thirty minutes, but if you’d prefer, the cook will make you breakfast instead.”
One of these days, I’m sure I’ll get used to the idea of ringing for coffee and having a cook on standby to prepare my breakfast. Today’s not that day. This is so different from my regular life, where I scrounge around for cereal and wonder if the milk is expired. “Umm, I don’t want to be any trouble,” I mutter. “I’ll just eat whatever everyone else is having.”
Frau Ziegler bustles into the room and overhears my last comment. “You are no trouble,” she scolds. “I’m delighted to see the castle filled with people again. Herr Bastian, lunch is ready. After you eat, the Alpha requested a meeting.”
Bastian groans. “Yes, Frau Ziegler,” he says. “I’ll stop by to see Derther after lunch.” He gives me a rueful look. “I was hoping to show you around, but it looks like Rhys might have to play tour guide instead. I haven’t been back for twenty years. I’ll be stuck in magical meetings for the next few days.”
Rhys smirks. “No problem, mate,” he says. “Aria is in very good hands with me.”
“Lovely,” Bastian mutters under his breath. “Just fucking lovely.”
He has such a disgruntled expression on his face that I feel quite bad for him. Bastian works really hard. Frau Ziegler goes off to fetch some coffee, and I turn to him. “Poor baby,” I croon. I lean close to him and stand on tiptoe to whisper into his ear. “I never did give you your birthday present.”
His lips quirk. His arm encircles my waist, and he tugs me closer. He slides his hand down my back until he cups my ass. “Is that so?” he murmurs. “What is it?”
Tendrils of heat coil through my body. “If I tell you, it’ll ruin the surprise.”
His hand is on my butt, and I wonder if he’s going to spank me. Sadly, he doesn’t. He lowers his head and brushes his lips over mine. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
I laugh breathlessly. “I’m sure you are, but I’m not.” I put my arms around his neck and return his kiss.
Behind me, Rhys clears his throat. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he says, sounding amused.
Clever dragon. I pull Bastian closer to me and press my lips to his. He smells like coffee and smoke. I can feel the hard outline of his erection, and my insides clench with need. “When’s our next date?” I mutter into his mouth.
“Not soon enough.” he groans, pulling away. The next second, there’s a knock on the door, and Frau Ziegler re-enters the room with a tray. Coffee. Irritation about my interrupted make-out session wars with my love for caffeine.
Caffeine wins. But only for the moment.
The housekeeper sets the tray down on the coffee table. Bastian pours me a cup. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about,” he murmurs.
Alerted by his tone, I raise my head. “If you’re going to tell me that Zyrian is your problem, blah blah blah, save it. I’m not planning on going anywhere.”
“That’s not it. The Dark Dragon knows you’re our mate now. There’s no longer any need to keep it secret, which means it’s time to introduce you properly to the world as our mate.”
I have a bad feeling about this. “What does that mean, introduce me properly?”
“In the old days,” he replies, “there would have been a special betrothal ball, attended by every magical who could make it. Essentially, a really big engagement party.”
No. No. Hell no. That sounds awful. “Bastian, read my t-shirt. Books and cats, that’s what I like. Not a whole roomful of people who’ll be staring at me and calling me a slut behind their backs because I have five mates.”
He frowns. “There isn’t a single magical who will think that.”
I sip my coffee and wonder what to say to him. Guys can be so infuriatingly naive sometimes. Bastian’s not the one that’ll get judged. I will. It’s infuriating and sexist, and yet, sadly, it’s the way the world works.
So far, the only people that know that I’ve got five dragon mates are Silas and Bea. My inner circle. Even when I went to see Pieter, I was careful not to refer to the dragons as my mates.
The twin threats of Raedwulf and Zyrian mean that I’ve been living in a bubble, one that’s insulated me from the real world. But a party will drag me right into the spotlight, and I’m not ready.
“That’s not what they’re going to be judging you for,” he adds dryly. “Not the magicals, at any rate. No, the fact that you are Norm will be a much bigger scandal.”
I look up. “Wait, what? I thought you’d say something reassuring like ‘Don’t worry, Aria, no one will judge you.’”
He raises his eyebrow. “You’re not a fool,” he points out. “I could say that, but you wouldn’t believe me. Trust me, five mates are the least of your problems, but it doesn’t matter, Aria. Whatever people say, you’re strong enough to ignore it.”
I hope he’s right. “I’m still not ready for a party,” I reply hesitantly. Bastian probably has symbolic reasons for announcing my existence. Dragons have gone without finding their mates for five hundred years, and their numbers are dwindling. There’s fewer than three hundred of them left alive. Telling them that the dragon princes have found me will bring hope to a long-besieged people.
But when I think of a roomful of people staring at me, my heart sinks, and my palms go clammy. “I know you’re my mates, but I’ve also only known you for three weeks. Everything’s just moving so quickly. Can it wait?”
“Of course.” He pats my shoulder. “Whenever you’re ready, mausezähnchen.”
I pour myself a second cup of coffee. “So having five mates won’t raise any eyebrows? Really?”
“It’s not unheard of for magicals to take multiple mates,” he replies with a shrug. “The mating bond is magic. No one will judge you because no one understands it.”
“And the fact that I’m Norm?”
“That,” he admits, “will cause quite a stir.”
“I don’t understand.” I frown at him. “I know shifters who’ve married Norms back in New York. It’s unusual, but it’s not unheard of.”
“Shifters, yes. Dragons, never.”
An unreasonable hurt fills my chest. “Am I not good enough for you?”
“You misunderstand me, Aria,” he replies. He sits down on the couch, pries my coffee cup from my fingers and sets it on the table, and takes my hands in his. “I’m five hundred,” he says. “I’ll live for another six or seven hundred more years. Dragons only mate with their own kind because anything else would be too painful.”
How did I not think about this? A hard knot fills my throat. “You’re saying I’ll grow old and die and you’ll all still look exactly the same. But if that was the case, why didn’t you fight the mating bond?”
“It’s not possible to fight the bond,” he replies with a smile. “And in any case, the moment I set eyes on you, I didn’t want to.”
I’m freaking out. Why isn’t he?
He seems to read
my mind. “I stayed awake most of the night,” he admits. “I was angry at my mother for what she did. Halla Northridottir might have chosen to sacrifice herself, but you didn’t. If she knew what Zyrian was going to do, why didn’t she try to stop him? She was powerful enough. Only one thing gave me a shred of hope.”
“What’s that?”
“My mother knew Zyrian’s vengeance was coming, and she made a plan. She deliberately chose a Norm to be our mate and to break the curse. I must have faith that she thought about the lifespan difference and has a plan for it.”
Yes, but is it a plan I’m going to like? I don’t voice my concerns though. Like Bastian, I too need to hope.
“We better go eat lunch,” he says. “The cook gets very cranky if the food gets cold, and then I’ll be in trouble with Frau Ziegler.”
Lunch. Yes. Like I told Rhys last night, I can’t allow myself to give into my fear. I need to train for my role in all this, even though I still don’t know exactly what I need to do.
After lunch, a magic lesson awaits. Last week’s attempts were disasters. Hopefully, this afternoon’s session goes a lot better.
73
Aria
After lunch, Mateo walks with me to the library. “This is good,” he says. “Now that we know that you have magic inside you, we’re going to focus on getting you to use it.”
“Lovely.” I know I sound like a sulky teenager, but the lessons last week were disasters.
He gives me a stern look. “Nothing worthwhile is easy,” he points out. “But if it makes you feel better, you’re doing much better at your lessons than I did.”
Every time Mateo has used his magic, it’s looked effortless. “I find that very hard to believe,” I reply.
He opens the door to the library, and I gasp. The room is spectacular. A mural is painted on the ceiling. It shows thirteen dragons sit around a circular table. “The Council of Thirteen,” Mateo says to me.
I study it with interest, wondering if I can recognize any of my dragons’ ancestors. No surprise—I can’t. Transferring my attention to the rest of the room, I take in the space. The walls are lined with carved wooden shelves filled with books. There’s a large globe on a pedestal in one corner, and in the center of the room is a long wooden table. Casius is already there, reading a scroll that looks like it should belong in a museum. He looks up when we enter and gives us a smile of greeting before turning his attention back to his work. I bite back my smile. Typical booklover. I’m the same way.
“It’s true,” Mateo insists. “It took me months to feel my magic. To sense the threads all around us, the way you already do. You’re very impatient, tesoro. You’ve just had three lessons so far.”
Okay. That does make me feel better. “What are we going to do today?”
His lips curl into a smile. “Simple stuff,” he assures me. “Let’s start with some levitation.”
“You can do this, Aria.”
Mateo’s unending patience is equal parts annoying as fuck and sweet. We’ve been at it for two hours. So far, I’ve managed to levitate the paperweight off the desk just high enough to send it crashing down to the surface, startling Casius out of his studies.
Not only am I failing; I’m failing with an audience.
“Stop relying on my magic,” Mateo says, for what seems like the hundredth time. “Reach inside and use your own.”
“I’m trying,” I reply, exasperated. “Right now, I’m more than ready to bring that paperweight crashing down on your head, damn it. But I can’t feel my own magic.”
Mateo is unfazed by my show of hostility. “Try again,” he says calmly.
Casius looks up. “Maybe she doesn’t have enough motivation to succeed,” he helpfully suggests.
Jerk.
I glare at him. “Because having a homicidal dragon mage gunning for me isn’t enough motivation?” Ooh. Snarky Aria is coming out to play.
Casius doesn’t look chagrined either. “Clearly, no.”
Mateo’s lips curl up into a devilish smile. Holy shit, he’s hot. If Bea were here, she’d be making some kind of joke about my girly bits tingling with desire. And she’d be right. “Casius has a point,” he says. “Every time you’ve successfully used magic, you’ve been in danger. You can use my magic easily enough when the need arises. Now, find that same urgency to tap into your own.”
I sigh. I’m not in a life-or-death situation, and if that’s what it takes to make my magical abilities come to the surface, I’m screwed. “Well, which one of you is going to try to kill me?” I snap.
Frustration makes me a bitch. The moment I snap at Casius and Mateo, I feel bad about taking it out on them. They’re trying to help me, and I’m acting like a petulant toddler.
Instead of being angry, Mateo’s smile turns feral. “Let’s play a game.”
“The dragon prince in the library with a candlestick,” I quip. The sarcasm hasn’t really run its course.
Mateo’s eyes dance with amusement. “Not quite,” he purrs, stalking toward me in a way that sets my pulse racing. “Casius, are you in?”
“Sure,” the other dragon replies, rolling up his scroll and setting it aside.
My gaze meets Casius’. His expression is filled with heat, and it sends a flash of excitement through my body. I lick my dry lips. Whatever Mateo is planning, it’s much better than failing to lift a paperweight in the air.
“What are the rules of this game?” I ask, refocusing my attention on Mateo. He’s standing mere inches from my body. He’s close enough I can feel the heat radiating off of him and smell his spicy scent that always seems to have a hint of power behind it.
He leans into me. “Well, with any good game there are both rewards…” His lips brush across mine gently. “And consequences…” He sinks his teeth into my bottom lip, just enough to sting. “Every time you complete your task successfully, you’ll get pleasure.” He sucks my lip into his mouth, gently soothing the sting away.
A riot of need builds up inside me. When he pulls away, I’m breathless. What the hell were we talking about? Oh. Right. Magic lessons. A game. Mmm.
“And if I fail?”
His fingers lightly pinch my nipple through my clothing, and I gasp. “That’s obvious, isn’t it? If you fail… punishment.”
“O-okay,” I stutter. Forming words is hard. Mateo’s big body is pressed against mine, and his fingers are busily torturing my nipple. Casius is watching us with a slight smile on his face.
“Try again, tesoro,” Mateo whispers into my ear. “Use your magic and lift the paperweight into the air.”
If I stay where I am, I’m liable to jump Mateo’s bones. I take a step back, putting a little distance between us.
Taking a deep breath, I focus my attention inward. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the pulsing strands that surround Mateo. It would be so easy to manipulate those strands—they offer themselves up so readily—but that’s not the challenge. I’m supposed to find the magic that lives inside me.
Closing my eyes, I search for it.
Aah. There it is. My magic doesn’t feel like glowing golden threads. That’s why I’ve been missing it. It feels like a small, red ball of fire, deep inside my chest.
I take another deep breath and let my senses expand inward. Oh. My magic is made of strands too, but they’re knotted together in a tightly tangled red bundle. That’s why I can’t use it. It’s too messy.
I experimentally pull on the tightly coiled ball of red fire, trying to unwind the strands. It’s tedious and frustrating. Mateo’s magic hovers in front of me, tempting me to take the easier way out, but I can’t. Mateo’s right. I’m half-gemstone for a reason. I have to figure out how to use my own power.
Damn it. The threads refuse to cooperate. Worse than that, it feels like they’re actively resisting me.
If there were spirit animals for magic, mine would be a cat. Lazy, stubborn, and waiting to push things off the table just to be an asshole.
“You’re thinking
too hard.” Mateo’s voice slices through my concentration. “Quit fighting against it. Use your instincts.”
I huff out an exasperated breath and try again. I finally work one of the flaming threads free and send it hurtling toward the paperweight. The globe-shaped stone wobbles, and then raises a foot off the desktop.
“Good. Now pull it toward you.”
I lightly pull at the thread of red-tinged magic, asking it to bring the object to me. Instead of listening, the strand snaps back like a rubber band sending the paperweight crashing to the floor.
Fuck.
Casius tsks from directly behind me. I hadn’t even noticed he’d moved. “Too bad,” he says with mock sincerity. “I had hoped to give you your first reward. But it looks like it’s time for your first punishment instead.” He doesn’t sound repentant in the least. “Take off your shirt, Aria.”
I consider arguing that I did better than I had before, but I hold my tongue. This is a new side of Casius, one I certainly haven’t seen before. I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy this game, punishments and all.
I tug my shirt off, letting it drop to the floor.
“Bra too,” Casius adds.
I comply without hesitation. My nipples pebble to tight peaks when the cool air of the library meets my skin. I hardly have time to grumble about winter because Casius’ big hands cup my breasts from behind. My head falls back on his shoulder as he pinches and pulls at the sensitive tips.
“The next punishment will be significantly more intense,” he murmurs. “Try again, Aria.”
This is ludicrous. Casius continues to tease my nipples. How am I supposed to concentrate when his hands are roaming all over my body?
I grit my teeth, close my eyes, and reach for the knot of magic again. Come on, red ball of fire, I plead. I’d be super grateful if you cooperate.
