Page 33 of A Story of Mates and Temptation

“One last flight.” Ziven kisses my forehead. We walk south, through the forest, for a good mile before we reach a clearing where Maeve is waiting for me. Every time I see her, I’m impressed, and I smile at her beautiful scales. It’s good to stretch my legs and be beside Ziven in the quietness, away from the camps and people.

“Why one last time?” I eventually ask when we head through the field to her.

“The dragons have all left.” Ziven squeezes our joint hands. “Maeve is the only one who stayed.”

My heart leaps. “Why did they leave?”

“The shadow dragons…they have gone, too. The riders have all lost their connection, and it was because it was right. They are free too. I wondered why Maeve stayed, but I know it’s because you haven’t said goodbye.” His voice softens. “I didn’t think Maeve would go without it. Brave and stubborn enough to hold out against her own kind for a moment with you.”

“The dragons don’t want riders anymore?” I whisper. I look at Maeve. Does this mean I have to say goodbye? I can barely think about it, let alone ask her if she is really going to leave me behind. I cling to the denial, let it keep me going. “Where are we going?” I ask instead.

Ziven doesn’t push me further, and he just accepts my silence on this and answers me instead. “To the mansion. I want to show you something.”

“I’m not sure if I want to see it all burnt down,” I admit. “Those books. Mazzis. Those people that are gone.”

His eyes sparkle with something. “Trust me. You want to see it.”

I do trust him. With everything. With every inch and part of my heart, and I ask Maeve to take us there. I climb onto Maeve’s back with Ziven, feeling the heat of her below me. As she lifts into the sky, Ziven protectively wraps his arms around my waist, holding me to him, his hand flat against my stomach—the same way he’s held it every time we’ve slept together at night. As he talks to me about what our child could be like, he’s adamant it’s a boy, but I know it’s a girl. One day, before the baby arrives, I’ll tell him about the visions of our children, of him, of the future I know that we’re going to have. Of the little girl that we’re carrying with red and black hair, but how she looks like Ziven. The cost of winning this war, of setting her future down a path I’m not sure of, will be a harder discussion. I’ll be there with her wherever life takes my child. She won’t be left alone.

It doesn’t take long to get to the mansion before we’re landing outside, in the ruins of the gardens, right before the gates.

“I’ll wait for you,” Maeve speaks to me, and she sounds sad. I know why but it’s unspoken, but I know now. I know it’s time for her to be with her family.

How do you claw out a part of your heart and give it back? That’s what it will be like to lose her, even to lose her to her own happiness with her own kind. She gave everything to win the war with me, fought with me, chose me in the first place—I push the worry out of my mind for a second. Just long enough to really look at the ruins of the mansion.

Half of it is burnt down. A goring space in the middle of the building is horrid to see. This is where I first found a reason to live. It’s where I fell in love with Ziven, claiming to hate him, but deities, I did not. Not for one moment. The building is brushed with ash and black soot, and the bricks are broken everywhere. But thankfully, there are no bodies. “Where are the dead?” Iquestion. I mean, I thought there would be some. That’s why I didn’t really want to come back here and see it like this.

“We buried them. Well, I had people come and bury them and find what they could here.” Ziven pauses. “And they found something unexpected. Look.”

I follow Ziven as he points at the side of the building, and I have to blink twice to believe what I’m seeing. Mazzis. He smiles at me, grins so brightly that for a second, he reminds me of the light of the dawn. I laugh—a laugh of pure joyousness—as I run to him. His embrace is soft, like a brush of cotton wrapped around me, and I burst into tears. Mazzis is alive! “Darling Story, I’m so glad to see you are well. I am sorry I could not fight in the war with you.” His voice is warm, steady. “But there was a war here too. I stayed to protect the books, binding myself to this very mansion, giving it my magic to protect them, as I always said I would.”

“The books are unharmed?” I whisper in shock.

“Yes. As are the fae inside the library that stayed with me.” He cups my face. “Oh child, how you glow.”

“How?” I whisper.

He lowers his hands as Ziven glares at him from my side, and I elbow to stop the possessive, jealous thing. “We people of the Dawn Dynasty had our own secrets. We were always very good at hiding things. Protecting ourselves.” He gives me a knowing look. “I hid the entire floor and protected it from the fire. The vampyres didn’t even know we were here. We had enough food and water to keep ourselves alive. Congratulations,” he says, looking down at my stomach. “Your scent is very strong, as must the baby be! A delight!” He bows his head to us. “I will preparethe books on fae royal pregnancies and birth customs of the Moon Dynasty.”

“I just can’t believe you’re alive.” I can’t fully process he is here. I’m absolutely shocked and in awe. “Oh, and we are lucky. So lucky to be blessed. I would like to have a book on how I’m pregnant at all,” I admit. “It is…a confusion for us.”

“Well, I might have an answer. The fae who were sent here to clean up explained everything that happened to you, my dear. You’ve become a legend.” He touches my arm. “And I believe you were given vampyre venom to turn you when you died, and it didn’t work. Correct?” I nod. “Now you’re pregnant. My theory is confirmed.” He tilts his head. “The vampyre Dawn king was always looking for a cure, not a power, but a way to fix the princess’s infertility—to have heirs. Perhaps he found it, but it did not work in the way he expected. Not on anyone except for the princess because of the blood of the Twilight being pure fire. She could have been cured of infertility when she was given the venom and just…not known about it. That was the cure for all.” He exhales. “You being pregnant is rare for royals like Ziven, but this is a miracle.” He rubs his chin. “I would enjoy writing a book on this phenomenon. Come, Story. I know you must want to see the library for yourself.”

“I’ll join you both,” Ziven suggests.

“Wait.” I stop. “I need to speak with Maeve alone. Go ahead.”

Mazzis doesn’t question my desire, and Ziven doesn’t either. They know I’m about to break my own heart in two, but if anyone can put it together like it’s new, it’s my husband. “I love you,” he murmurs, kissing my cheek. “I’ll be just in here.”

I breathe in his scent for just a second to strengthen myself before I walk to my dragon. Maeve turns her eyes onto me, and I hesitate. If I just run away, nothing will change, and I’ll still have her. But as easy as that sounds, I know I can’t do that.

“You should be with the others,” I tell her softly. “With those eggs that will hatch and be your family. Maybe you can even have eggs of your own. I want that for you.” I pause, my throat tight. “But most of all…most of all, I want to thank you. For fighting with me. For choosing me when you knew I was broken. For never giving up on me, even when I chose Ziven over the entire world.”

Her voice is softer than ever with me. “You never gave up, and I was honoured to be yours for a time.”

“You’re my dragon.” I sob. “I never want you to leave.”

“This is not forever, my rider,” she vows. “But it is a time of peace for us. The dragons are now free. We will live independently from you, like it always should be.” She exhales softly, wings shifting. “But you will see us in the skies, training our young, I imagine, in years to come.”

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