Page 35 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“Lysa,” Drake says gently. When he steps toward me, I use my powers to shove him back so I can slip past him, onlyhe wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me down. I immediately start to fight him. I can feel mom about to bind my powers so I can’t fight but Eyrx stops her.

“Don’t! Don’t bind her powers. It will trigger her,” he says loudly and firmly.

“Shhhh. Relax. I’ve got you,” Drake says softly as he hugs me against his chest as I weep.

“I’m sorry,” I cry. “I’m so sorry.”

“Little Flame. Every single person who has been around the two of you has known that you were secondary mates. It’s not a betrayal. I knew it would click into place eventually. Okay? I promise it’s okay. You’ve done nothing wrong. Neither of you have,” he explains softly, lifting my chin to make me look at him.

“But Juli…”

“She knew, baby. She kept you two apart for that week because his anger was a threat to the bond that would eventually click. She didn’t know why, but when you and I became mates, she knew first. She is your second, Lysa. She knows you well by instinct alone,” he says.

“I’m so confused,” I admit tearfully.

“I’ll explain it like this,” Drake says. “Hybrids are born when a dragon and Witch mate, right?”

“Yeah,” I sniff.

“Okay, so when a hybrid is born, they will almost always develop to be a dragon shifter. It is not common for there to be a hybrid witch. That’s why not even I knew. It’s not something people understand completely,” he says. “Now with being a hybrid witch, there arethings we are learning are normal for you but not necessarily for hybrid dragons. Julianna has been doing a ton of research and talking with Salvor and the other elders. Every single hybrid witch on record has two mates. The first is always a dragon and the second can be either. The secondary won’t have the urge to breed as they always have a primary as well.”

“But you said…”

“I know, and I shouldn’t have said that, Lysa. It is not fair for me to make rules that go against your instincts or his. All that is doing is setting you two up to get hurt. I won’t say that I won’t struggle to share you, but I simply couldn’t pick anyone better to share you with. Me and Juli have talked extensively about this, and she and I are in agreement that we need to be encouraging your bond. War brings tragedy and if anything happens, we all want the reassurance that no one is alone,” he says.

“How is this supposed to work? How do you grow two bonds in war?” I ask.

“You fuck,” Julianna laughs. “There is a reason I had Eyrx join you two. Female dragons have no drive to have sex while pregnant so I would much prefer he fuck all his anger into you rather than me.”

“Will it be like that for me when I get pregnant?” I ask.

“No,” Mom says. “A hybrid witch has an extremely high sex drive once mated. Dragons do naturally, so you’ll always find a way to fill your spare time.”

“Ha. Fill,” Julianna giggles.

“Is this not weird?” I ask Mom.

“No, baby,” she smiles. “It’s just a part of life. It’s something that would have been normalized a long time ago for you if you had been with your dad and me.”

“Oh… that means I’ll end up seeing you two,” I say.

“That entirely depends on your father, honestly. Considering your trauma, we are careful to not do anything that might tri…”

“Don’t walk on eggshells because we were raised by lunatics,” I say. “I remember when we would lay there at night, you would tell me to live life for myself, no matter who it hurt. So, live your life for you and stop worrying about how it affects me. Sugarcoating everything for me is not going to help me regulate into this society.”

“She listens just about as well as you do,” Dad chuckles.

“I assume this has been a topic of conversation?” Drake asks.

“Oh yeah. She’s afraid of making Lysa feel like she is like Isolde,” Dad explains.

“The only way you could ever make me feel the way she did is if you beat me with a metal rod like she did,” I say. “Neither of you are capable of the evil that they are. I know there is not a chance in hell that Dad would ever put his hands on me as Rystar did. Ever. Don’t stop your world from turning just because I’m here now. Everyone keeps saying that I’m just like you and you are the strongest person I have ever met. If you can regulate it into the society, so can I.”

“Okay,” shesmiles.

“That doesn’t mean I want to see the two of you fuck, but I still want you to because I want a sibling,” I say. “So… do your dirty things and I’ll do mine.”

“I’m going to make her sleep since she hasn’t since before you all came to the house,” Dad says. “You guys have a good….”

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