Page 17 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“I have to break the bond. I will not have a witch at my side,” I declare.

“You can’t break the bond,” Julianna says.

“I’ll make her watch me take another woman to bed. That will sever the bond,” I say.

“You are a king, Drakarus. All you will do is hurt her emotionally, but it won’t sever the bond. We have adapted as a species to allow forgiveness,”she reasons.

“I could kill her for you,” Eyrx says. I grab him by the shirt and slam him against the wall again as I get in his face.

“You will not harm my mate,” I growl.

“You see this, right? You honestly believe that you can walk away from her when your bond is this strong? You went against me and your sister for this woman. Learn to love her because your bond is not going to be broken unless she is dead,” Eyrx says simply.

“Fuck,” I complain as I step away from him.

“As the wife of your second in command, I am her second in command. She is your queen now, so treat her like a queen,” Julianna says. “If I find out that you so much as speak to her wrong, I will make you regret ever raising me.”

“I don’t like this version of you,” I frown.

“Okay,” Salvor says. I snap in his direction, and he doesn’t look sad.

“What’s wrong with her? Is she cursed?” I ask.

“No,” he says. “A few things… One, she is unconscious because her powers suddenly developed and weakened her. She will wake up in a few hours.”

“That’s good, right?” Julianna asks. “Why did it take so long to get her powers? Why now? Witches get their powers between ten years old and sixteen years old.”

“The next part is a bit more confusing,” Salvor says. “She is a hybrid. She never developed powers because hybrids always manifest as a witch, but they need a dragon mate in order to come into the powers. She was always destined to be made into a dragon. Once she was marked, her power’s developed.”

“So… her dad is a dragon?” I ask.

“No. Seems like her mom fucked one though,” he says bluntly.

“I don’t see Isolde going to bed with a dragon shifter,” Julianna says. “There have been a few dragons that got a bit too close to the border and ended up in prison there. Maybe her mother found her way to one of them.”

“So… her mom is mated to a dragon that she kept in prison there, but then somehow was able to sever the bond and remain with Rystar?” I ask.

“No, I'm saying the King Rystar and Queen Isolde are not her biological parents,” he says. “I can say with a great deal of certainty that they are not dragon shifters, nor are they hybrids.”

“We can discuss them more when she wakes,” I say. “How long?”

“A few hours,” he says. “Get some rest, Drake. She will wake soon.”

“Alright,” I say. “Leave me with my mate.”

Eyrx pats my shoulder before they all leave. I move to lie on the bed beside Lysa. She looks so peaceful when she sleeps. I gently stroke her hair, and she sighs softly as she relaxes more.

“What am I going to do with you, little flame?” I ask quietly.

Chapter Ten

Lysa

My eyes flutter open,and I smile when I see Drakarus lying beside me. He is sleeping soundly with his arm draped over my body and his face nuzzled against my shoulder. I heard them call him Drake, so that must be what he prefers.

I gently roll to my side to face him, and he shifts in his sleep to snuggle closer to me. He must be exhausted. I gently stroke his hair to help soothe him and he does relax a bit more for a moment, but then his eyes snap open and he growls.

I throw myself off the bed and back myself into the corner when he jumps up. I draw my legs up and hug them to my chest so I can rest my forehead on my knees. I didn’t expect him to growl at me for touching him. “Stand,” he says firmly. I get up and keep my head down, but he grabs my chin and makes me look at him. “Why were you touching me?”

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