Page 51 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“She’s gone, Eyrx,” I say. “No matter what happened, we stand with you. We know your heart. We know she was wanted and loved long before she passed. What happened, Eyrx?”

“I didn’t even get to meet her,” Eyrx says as his legs give out and he drops to his knees as emotion slams down harder. “She’s gone. I couldn’t save her. I would have saved her. Why did she have to take her from me?!”

“Shh. I’ve got you,” I say as I kneel beside him and pull his head to my chest. He wraps his arms around my waist as he sinks down. His sobs drag tears to the surface and roll down my cheeks. Drake kneels with us and rests his hand on my back and Eyrx’s shoulder. His cries and pleas for his baby girl cut deep, and soon we are all in tears as he relives this loss all over again. We knew that eventually, he would reach a point where he couldn’t keep it in any longer and he would break. We knew it would be hard. I tried to prepare myself to see this wound reopened for him his heartbreaking.

We stay together until Eyrx calms enough that he can sit up. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” I say.

“I lied…”

“You protected your heart,” Drake says. “You didn’t want to face the reality of the situation. You did what you thought was best and we will always support you. You are under no obligation to explain anything to us, but we are here. We will always be here, Eyrx.”

“I want to say it,” he admits, dropping his head. I lift his face to meet mine before wiping away his tears.

“Then say it, my love,” I say. “With every breath, I am yours… I will always choose my mates. Always.”

“She killed her,” Eyrx says tearfully. “She said the bond was severed because I kept choosing you so… she killed her. Erin was viable. She would have been born healthy. Shewashealthy. She induced labor and murdered my baby girl. Why did she have to do that? She could have just given her to me and walked away. She didn’t have to hurt her.”

Rage is radiating from Drake, and it’s not directed toward Eyrx. “How did she get you to lie?” Drake asks in a tone that is far calmer than how he looks.

“She said she would say that I raped her and that it caused her to lose the baby,” he sniffs. “I didn’t know if she would be believed, and I was scared. I’m sorry I doubted you guys.”

“I understand,” Drake says, hugging Eyrx. “I’m so sorry she did that.”

“I just don’t understand,”Eyrx sighs.

“So… Julianna should have been unmated if the bond was severed, right?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Drake says before snapping his head to me. “Yes.”

“So why wasn’t every unmated dragon in this group trying to fuck her brains out?” I ask. Eyrx looks at me and it clicks.

“She had a new mate,” Eyrx says.

“When did she flip?” Drake says.

“When we went to dump the papers,” he says.

“Oh…. No,” I say.

“What?” Drake asks.

“Will a witch know if they mate?” I ask.

“As long as they know what it is, absolutely. You only missed it because you didn’t know what mates were,” he says. “Oh… shit.”

“What?” Eyrx asks.

“She… If she mated to Aldric… He wouldabsolutelyuse magic to strengthen their bond. He is a control freak and there’s a very simple love spell that is a lot like a mate bond,” I say.

“Let’s find your mom,” Drake says as he stands. Eyrx follows us as we walk out of the tent and walk down to their tent.

When we walk in, I slap my hand over my eyes when I hear moans and skin slapping against skin. “Fuck,” I hear dad growl. They’re completely oblivious to us and Drake laughs as he covers my ears. I don’t care about societal norms, that is an image I will never get out of my head.

I don’t move a muscle until my hand is pulled off my face and Drake drops his hands. “You have terrible timing,” Dad says with a smirk. “What’s wrong?”

“I think Julianna mated to Aldric,” I say.

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