by Rinelle Grey
His words cut through the shred of hope that had flared, and Karla felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. Taurian’s enemy wouldn’t just hand this to them on a silver platter.
Karla let out a short breath. Maybe it was more than just obligation that tied Taurian to his dragon mate. Maybe he really had no wish to mate with a human. Maybe he never had.
Better to find out now. Even though it hurt.
“You’re just like all your brothers and sisters,” Ultrima said quietly. He looked… disappointed? “I thought maybe you were different, but perhaps not.”
“I’d rather not be mated than mated out of obligation.” Wayrian’s voice was stronger than Karla had ever heard it. “Taurian does not love me, and though the mating ritual will tie him to me, I’d always know that his heart really belonged to another.”
“Wayrian, stay out of this,” Taurian growled.
Wayrian paled, but she didn’t back down. “No, I won’t,” she said firmly. “You know it’s true. You couldn’t even mate with me last night because of your love for her. A love that strong shouldn’t be denied. And you know it.”
There were a few gasps from the dragons behind her.
Karla felt her own jaw drop. She looked at Taurian, her heart filling with bittersweet love. He had refused to mate with Wayrian, even though they had begun the ceremony. She should have known that his love was stronger than that.
“Wayrian, what are you doing,” Ostrian screeched. “You know Taurian has to marry you. We need that life dragon. That’s why Ultrima wants Taurian to mate with the human, he won’t risk us having the power of a life dragon of our own.”
Wayrian wavered a little in the face of her grandfather’s rage, but she didn’t back down. “That doesn’t even matter,” she said firmly. “Even if we had a life dragon, we’d only be equal with him, since he already has one. Or did have one…” She glanced over to where the white dragon’s body lay, then back at the other dragons. “Either way, more dragons will die. This way, not only will our prince be with the woman he loves, but our clan will know peace for the first time in our lives. Maybe we can even stop hiding.”
There was a silence. Everyone’s eyes turned to Taurian.
Karla turned too, his would-be-mate’s revelations flooding through her mind.
“Are you sure, Wayrian?” he asked softly. “A promise is a promise, and I will honour it rather than see you hurt.”
Karla almost bit her tongue in frustration. Damn his noble dragon hide. How could her heart swell with love so much when he was offering to honour his promise to another woman?
Because his honour was one of the things she loved about him.
“It would hurt me more to see you hurting,” Wayrian said softly. “Go to the woman you love. Save our clan, as only the two of you can.”
Taurian turned back to Karla, his eyes meeting hers, his gaze burning deep into her soul. Without looking at Ultrima, he said, “Can you give us a moment’s privacy?”
Karla expected Ultrima to protest, to tell them to hurry and make up their mind already. The fact that Bruce was lying in the back of the ute, bleeding from a gunshot wound, made her feel like they should. But she wanted this moment. She needed to know if Taurian really meant it or if this was about saving his clan.
“Certainly.” Out of the corner of her eye, Karla saw Ultrima wave to his men, and they stepped back. Not far, but far enough. Taurian’s clan moved back also.
“I know this isn’t quite what we had in mind,” Taurian said, his voice low and urgent. “But what Ultrima is offering is too good to pass up. If you would be willing to mate with me…” He let his words trail off, an implied question.
They didn’t make Karla’s choice any clearer. In fact, they just seemed to confirm her suspicions. This wasn’t about her, it was about saving his clan.
“We can defeat him,” she said, forcing her words low, even though she wanted to shout them to his whole clan. “We don’t need to be afraid of him anymore. Or let him make our decisions for us. I don’t want to mate with you just to please Ultrima. I can’t think of a worse reason.”
“You think that’s what this is about?” Taurian reached out a hand, and brushed her hair behind her ear before gently cradling her cheek. Heat shot through Karla, burning through her veins and tracing a path down to create a coil in her belly just waiting to spring. “I’m not listening to Ultrima’s deal because I’m afraid of him. By overcoming him in battle, you proved, once and for all, that you are a worthy ally, and the perfect princess for Rian clan. It seems pointless to wait to make my feelings for you official. Maybe Ultrima’s offer will make my clan more willing to accept you as my mate, maybe not. But it seems silly to reject it when it’s exactly what I want to do anyway.”
His hand moved down to rest on her shoulder, still for a moment, waiting.
His words mirrored her thoughts exactly. Still, doubts reared their ugly heads. Did Taurian really love her? How would she ever know the truth of his heart, when every part of their relationship had been overwhelmed by this conflict with his enemy?
She looked into his eyes, and the truth shone back out of them at her.
Of course he loved her. He loved her with every part of him. He’d shown that over and over, and he’d even been willing to sacrifice his clan earlier in order to be with her. She was the one who had held him back, thinking it was best for his clan and for him.
Only one doubt remained. “I want to, Taurian. I want nothing more but…” she hesitated, and Taurian waited patiently. His hand caressed the side of her neck, making it hard to concentrate, hard not to just give in and agree immediately. But she needed to say something. What was it again?
That’s right. “What if this is a trap? Ultrima would not suggest this if there was not something in it for him. What if we’re playing right into his hands?”
Taurian’s hand stilled as she spoke, and his face became serious. He glanced briefly back at Ultrima, then back to Karla. “Then we prove that it doesn’t matter,” he said softly. “We’re stronger together than we are apart. Nothing he does can ever change that. If he thinks he can, it will be his downfall, not ours.”
She wanted so badly to believe him, but after all they’d been through, it seemed too easy.
She gave a short laugh. What had been easy about this? She and her friends had risked death to get to this point. They had taken Ultrima out. He had survived, true, but he had also surrendered. He was making this deal, picking something he knew they wouldn’t refuse, to save face. That was all.
Accepting this victory was not giving in, it was moving on.
Karla straightened her back, and looked deeply into Taurian’s eyes. “Yes,” she said simply. “I will mate with you.”
Taurian’s intense expression broke into a smile. He pulled her into his arms, firmly up against his body, and his lips met hers.
A dragon roar split the silence, making Karla jump back, her heart pounding. She looked around quickly, assessing the situation. Had Ultrima taken their moment of distraction to attack? Was that his plan?
But it wasn’t a Trima dragon that roared, and nor was it a roar of anger. It was a roar of joy. And it came from Jayrian.
Other dragons joined in, in human and dragon form. And the humans did too, cheering and clapping. Karla was pretty sure she even saw tears in Gretchen’s eyes.
Somehow, she felt as if something very momentous had happened.
Something even she couldn’t understand.
Ultrima stepped forwards. “Is that an acceptance of my offer?”
Inclining his head, Taurian said, “It is,” He was actually smiling at his enemy. “Does that satisfy you? Will you leave my clan in peace and let us wake my brothers and sisters without repercussions?”
“Oh no, I never said that,” Ultrima said sweetly. “Leave your clan in peace, surely, but I will continue to do anything I can to prevent you waking the rest of your rulers
. Although if that is your aim, I can offer you another deal.”
“Spit it out,” Taurian said, his voice wary. But he sounded more ready to listen this time than he had been earlier.
Was there hope of a lasting peace? Karla hardly dared believe it.
“Let me wake Sarian, and you can have the rest.”
That’s what this was all about.
Karla remembered what Taurian had told her, that Ultrima had tried to force Taurian’s sister to mate with him. Was he counting on the Mesmer bond to make her agreeable?
She couldn’t imagine anything more twisted.
So she wasn’t in the least bit surprised when Taurian immediately said, “Not a chance. I will never let you get anywhere near my sister again. How can you even suggest it, after you tried to force her to mate with you?”
Fire flared in Taurian’s eyes, and was matched by flashes of lightning in Ultrima’s.
“She would have agreed,” Ultrima growled, “if your brother had not interrupted.”
“Forced agreement is no agreement,” Karla said firmly.
The light in Ultrima’s eyes flickered out. “Fine. Then rest assured I will make it as hard as I can for you to wake the others. As long as you mate with the human though, your clan is safe from me. Except when they are near the Princes and Princesses Mesmer chambers.”
Karla was surprised at his parting words. After how angry he had been when Taurian refused to let him wake his sister, she’d half expected Ultrima to take back both deals.
But he hadn’t.
They’d achieved a victory, of sorts.
As Ultrima and his dragons, carrying the body of the life dragon between them, lifted into the air, it felt like a huge one, despite the long road still ahead of them.
Especially when Taurian turned to her and held out his hand. “Let’s finish this mating.”
Chapter 56
Every time Taurian started to think about Ultrima’s strange behaviour, he just became more and more confused. Despite the advantages they had gained from Karla’s group and their human weapons, he had expected a lot of casualties from that battle. Even victory would have felt like a loss if half his clan had died.
He glanced over to where Mesrian was tending to Bruce’s wound. The elder had assured him that the gunshot had only grazed his arm, and that he would make a full recovery, despite lacking the dragon’s regenerative healing abilities. Other dragons had cuts and bruises, but all would live.
His clan would live.
The deal Ultrima had offered him was far better that continued fighting would have been, and most of his joy had nothing to do with having secured his clan’s safety, and everything to do with having secured the mate of his heart.
He couldn’t believe how quickly everything had turned around. That morning, he’d been contemplating, at best, an escape with as few casualties possible and a life married to a woman he barely knew.
He stared at Karla, letting himself soak up every bit of her. She smiled over at him, a little shyly, but with love shining in her eyes.
He was pretty sure his life couldn’t get any more perfect.
Ostrian’s strident voice interrupted his perfect moment. “We need to get everyone packed up and moved, then you and Wayrian can continue your mating ceremony.”
Taurian raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”
“You know perfectly well what I just said.” When Taurian just stared at him, he squirmed slightly, but didn’t back down. “You can’t tell me you agreed with Ultrima’s deal for anything more than a chance for us to escape, can you? Once we’re safely hidden again, there is no need for you to take mating advice from our enemy. He just wants to be the only one with a life dragon.”
Taurian wasn’t even sure Ultrima’s life dragon was still alive, but it was possible he had another, or could make one. Either way, it didn’t matter.
“Are you suggesting I back down after I gave my word?” Taurian tried to keep his voice calm, but he couldn’t completely keep his anger out of it. Truth was, he wasn’t trying too hard.
“Are you saying you feel honour bound to keep your word to our enemy?” Ostrian returned quickly. “More so than your word to my granddaughter.”
“Wayrian was kind enough to release me from our agreement.” Taurian refused to let the man’s taunts bother him. He refused to let anyone’s opinion bother him. He’d almost been cheated out of mating the woman he loved. He wasn’t going to listen to anyone else’s opinion right now.
“My question is, why does Ultrima want you to mate with the human.” Mesrian’s voice, as she stood up next to Bruce, was quiet and thoughtful. “Does he know something we don’t? I mean, he did have a life dragon, and he certainly didn’t have one when he left Rian clan. Perhaps he knows how to create them? Perhaps we were close, and he couldn’t risk us finding out as well.”
Taurian could have bitten her. Did she have to encourage Ostrian in his ideas?
Did they have to sound almost reasonable when coming from her mouth?
Karla spoke up. “Ultrima said that Taurian’s mating with Wayrian would not create a life dragon, so I would say that, yes, he does know how to create one. That does not automatically lead to the assumption that he’s trying to stop us.”
Everyone stared at her. “You really don’t know him very well, do you?” Ostrian sneered. “If he knows how to create one, of course he’s going to try to stop us. Or do you think he’s trying to help us?”
Karla tilted her head to one side, as though considering that for a moment, then shook her head. “No, if he were trying to help us, he would have told me what would create a life dragon. I agree, I doubt Ultrima does anything that doesn’t benefit him in some way. I just disagree on what I think the benefit is.”
“And you have an idea on that, don’t you?” Ostrian’s voice wasn’t any less smarmy. “The little human has hung out with dragons for a week, and now she thinks she knows all about us.”
Karla put her hands on her hips. The openly defiant expression on her face just made her look more beautiful. “You’re not so different to us, no matter how much you think you are.”
Ostrian opened his mouth to answer back, but Taurian put up his hand. “Enough,” he said firmly. “I will not have anyone disagree with my mate.”
Karla was the one who glared at him this time. “I do not need you to protect me, Taurian. If I’m to be your mate, let my comments stand on their own merit. Ultrima spoke to me as a leader and treated me with respect. I don’t need to be patronised—by you or your clan.”
Taurian’s heart swelled with pride at her response. She was right, she wasn’t so different from a dragon at all. If only his clan could see that. Well, she had a far better chance of showing them than he did. He nodded. “Carry on then.”
Karla turned to Ostrian and raised an eyebrow.
With his prince stepping back, the elder let her have it with all his supressed anger. “You don’t know the first thing about dragons, or what we believe in. If our prince mates with you, then you will bring our whole clan down. First, you brought humans into our lair and let them know where we are so they can hunt us, and now you want to prevent us from creating a dragon that could save the clan. Finally, you put us at risk by letting Ultrima think he can convince us of anything. If Prince Taurian mates with you, it is the beginning of the end.”
A few dragons looked worried at Ostrian’s speech. It took all Taurian’s willpower not to step in and make them all believe as he did, that Karla wouldn’t destroy them, she would save them.
But even though he could force them to appear to agree with him, Karla was the one who had to convince them.
He made himself sit back and watch.
“I know that change is scary,” Karla said quietly. There was a hint of uncertainty in her own face as she looked around the clan, including them all in her speech. “It will be hard for me to learn your ways and learn how to fit in here, but I intend to try. But I will also remain who I am. I b
elieve I can do both.
“I believe humans have something to offer dragons too,” she continued. “If you can get over your fear, then we can share food, and equipment, and even weapons, if they are needed. Don’t forget, humans saved you today.”
“We wouldn’t have needed saving if you hadn’t been here,” Ostrian said flatly.
“Wouldn’t you?” Karla demanded. “If it weren’t for me, Taurian would still be asleep, or worse yet, dead. You might not have had Ultrima on your front door, but you would still be stuck in the same rut you’ve been in for the last three hundred years. With my help, with my people’s help, you have a chance to move forwards.”
“Not that far,” Ostrian pointed out. “Even if Ultrima keeps his word, and I have my doubts he will, then we’re still no closer to waking the rest of the princes and princesses. A human won’t fool Ultrima this time. He’ll be waiting for that.”
“So we go in with weapons and we hold him off,” Karla said firmly. “We can do it.”
Her certainty was still a surprise to Taurian. She’d been so against killing and fighting, she’d even seemed to think she was above all that. Now she was endorsing it. Then again, he’d watched her in that battle, directing her humans without reservations. So had his people.
She was starting to win them over. He could see the looks dragons were exchanging in the crowd. If she could convince Ostrian, she’d have them all.
“Are your people prepared to risk their lives for us? Because even with weapons, some might die.”
Karla looked over at the humans, who stood by themselves on the edge of the dragons. Bruce now stood next to them, his arm in a makeshift sling. “Who will stand with me to free the rest of the dragons?” Karla asked.
“I will!” Lisa called out immediately, “especially if I can wake one of them!”
The others added their ascent just as readily. They were a rag-tag bunch. The young man with his explosive fire tubes, the wizened old farmers with their guns, and the strange woman with her handbag, who surprised Taurian the most. Even Karla’s pasty ex-lifemate nodded, despite the fact that he’d been wounded.
