Page 5 of A Story of Mates and Temptation

He smirks again. It makes his cheekbones look even more chiselled and his entire face just so much prettier. “I’m not used to anyone telling me what to do.”

“You forget which one of us has a dragon?” I push the blankets up and stand, never taking my eyes off him. I touch my thigh, finding my dagger from Story still there. He didn’t take my weapons off me, and that on its own is really confusing.

“True,” he muses. “But I helped your dragon and saved your life. I monitored his wound until it healed, hunted for fabric and blankets, and looked after his rider—you. You had a severe hit tothe head and burns on your legs. Also, you brought that cursed box with you. It feels extremely wrong to even be near it.”

I glance at it and shiver.Cursedis one word for it. Even bound with the box, I can feel the book inside, humming and vibrating in the air. I know to touch it would be to sink into madness. “Don’t touch it.”

“I might be pretty, but I’m not dumb. I gather that it is very powerful and likely evil from what I sense.” He pauses. “I’m going to be honest with you about who I am, and maybe then you can tell me something about yourself, too. We might as well have it all out now. Maybe when you know everything, you might trust me.”

“Doubt I’ll ever trust a vampyre.” I shrug a shoulder. “Our races are enemies.”

“I thought I’d say the same about a fae—until one saved my life. Not you. Sorry, you’re the second. No, when I was eight years old, another fae saved me, and it set up my path in life that led me here.” He takes a step forward, his expression unreadable. I get the feeling he doesn’t want to say the next words that leave his mouth. “My name is Prince Nikoloz, son of the king of the vampyres. I’m the fourth son, not the heir, and really, I’m mostly forgotten. It’s a gift to be fourth.”

I take a step backwards and fear locks my body up. I have the book and I’m with a prince of the vampyres. I saved a fucking vampyre prince’s life, and I really shouldn’t have done that. Even now, even knowing who he is, would I make the same choice? All things considered, even in my state of fear and panic, I know he can’t be all evil if he looked after me and didn’t immediately hand me over to his father. “Give me a chance. One conversation and if you want me to leave, I will.”

We stare at each other in silence. For so long I end up focusing on my dragon’s calm breathing. If he is calm, then I can be also. “One conversation, in thanks of saving me.”

“Thought we were even?” He winks and I flush. He walks over to what is left of a stone wall, which likely marked the rooms before, and sits on it. “My father is cruel—he always was. My oldest brother is exactly like him. My mother was not, but she could be cruel to your kind when there wasn’t a choice. My father never gave her a choice. Kindness was a sign to him that she wasn’t the monster he trained her to be. So she became a monster to protect her children. She was indifferent to me most of the time, especially when eyes were watching, but in quiet moments, she was different. She told me that there is a better world to be made—a way forward—and that she would die making sure some of her children live to see it.”

“Did she?” I ask.

“I can hear your heart racing.” He deflects answering my question and, at the same time, makes me scared. I spot the look in his eyes, a predator hunting prey. “Don’t worry. I found deer in the forest and I’m well fed. I have no interest in biting you. I don’t feed off you fae unless I absolutely have to. I have no interest in it, in causing pain. Not all of us are brought up that way. I know that’s hard for you to believe, but it is true. We don’t all want pain and misery and suffering.”

“Really?” I mutter dryly. “Your brother—I know of your brother. I know what he did to Story Dehana. She may not have told me explicitly, but I know. My best friend was his blood slave.”

“Story Dehana.” His lips twitch. “Even though I’ve only heard the rumours—everyone’s heard the rumours—about her and the absolute fixation my brother seemed to have. Honestly, he wasnever told no or not loved by anyone in his path. I admire the lessborn fae who ran away and drove him insane.” He rolls his shoulders back. “Now I’m going to tell you a story, and I’ve never told it to anyone else. Let’s share this between us as a mark of trust. The vampyres are currently ruling. The fae are on the run, even the ones with dragons, and my father is winning. I could easily take you back to my father now. I’d get some reward, no doubt, for that box or whatever you are hiding in it. But even then, you just told me your best friend is Story. You’re a beautifully useful bargaining chip for my brother. If anything, I could get everything I ever asked for by taking you to his door.”

My dragon growls low in warning. He hasn’t burned this vampyre to a crisp. If he trusts him here with me, then I should trust his instincts. “Why haven’t you?”

“I’d rather fucking die than see my brother or father lay a finger on you. I’m possessive with little in my life, but the moment I saw you, I decided you’re mine.” Heat flushes through my body. Mine? We barely know each other, and our races are enemies. “That’s me being honest. So, starting over again for us is going to mean starting from the beginning. I need you to understand that I’m not all good. I’ve killed, I’ve made mistakes, and I tried for a few years to be the monster my father wanted me to be.”

He takes a deep breath, his eyes locked on mine. “A fae saved me when I was eight years old. My father had lost his temper with me because he demanded I kill a bunch of powerborn fae mothers for hiding their children from him. I said no. He left me nearly dead, wounds all over my body—bled me out because I wouldn’t kill like he wanted me to. He said I was a disappointment, and Emyr did it without even blinking. I don’t believe in killing, nor am I interested in it unless it’s protecting myself. There was a female fae servant who found me in a roomof bodies, nearly dying. She cut her wrist and let me feed from her, knowing I would not be able to stop until she was dead. I was too weak to fight my natural instinct to survive. She was older, maybe in her fifties or sixties. She had so much grey hair. I don’t remember much else about her, but she died to keep me alive. And it struck me—why would she do that? I became obsessed with knowing why.”

He looks up at the light, a beam that is shining right down on his own arm. His own wrist. “I found her family. They didn’t have an answer. Found her lover. He didn’t know either. I asked everybody, endlessly asked, and never stopped. Until one fae sat down with me in a small drinking bar in the city and told me that she was part of the rebellion. She was in the castle because she was looking for hope in the royal family. It struck me that she wanted me alive because she knew I was different, and I vowed to be from that moment on. Different from my family.” He smiles at me. “Call me Niko. What’s your name?”

“Catherine,” I give him. “And this is my dragon.”

“Catherine.” He repeats my name twice. “I always loved cats. How strange.” He rises to his feet. “There’s a bond between us. Something has called out to me in these forests for years. I think it was something that was drawing me to you, but I could never quite find you.” He pauses, testing my name again. “Catherine.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, but even knowing?—”

“In that box is one of the magical books my father’s looking for. He’s obsessed with them. I don’t need you to open it to know.” He comes closer, close enough I can smell him. Peppermint lingers around him, mixed with something else. He smells nice, and strangely, not like blood. I don’t know why I imagined he would smell like metal. “I need your trust because I need yourdragon’s help. I am telling you to trust me because I know you have that book and you are a priceless prize on your own. I will not take you to my father.”

“What could you need my dragon for, then?” I question.

“I am the leader of the rebellion, and I have a hundred lessborn fae children, all under the age of ten, waiting in the next room to be taken somewhere safe. Their parents got them out of the breeding camp near here and gave them to me to keep safe.” My eyes widen and he points to the door. “I’ve made a box for your dragon to carry, and they can sit inside it. It will be cold, but it’s their best chance for survival.”

I’m still shocked, silent.

“Vampyres found out what I was doing, and they followed me and the children into the forest before the barrier came up. I got them away, fought, but one of them took my sword and slammed it into my stomach before sending me down into the river. I made sure to drag him with me, and I killed him before I passed out. But the deities above—the only true power left—did not want me or the children to die. I believe she saved me by leading me to you…or you to me. The oldest children know how to hunt and gather berries to eat. But they are hungry and sick, and the babies are running out of milk now. We have to leave tomorrow, and if your dragon doesn’t help, Catherine, they will be killed out there. I will die protecting them, too.” He is so close to me now. “I believe that we’re being led together for a reason, and I’m going to protect you, too.”

I walk away from him and to the door he pointed at. I pull it open, just a little, and my eyes widen at all the children. I’ve never seen so many children before in one place. For years in the mansion, there were no children, and then there was just Hettie,and she was kept hidden by the Moon Dynasty for good reason. There is a fire lit in a hole in the ground, and they all have blankets. Most are sleeping and a few babies are crying softly. The thick walls must keep the sound in. “Ululia, what do you think?” I murmur to him in my mind.

He answers immediately. “The children will slow down our flight, but there is a pull to the far north, away from the king of the vampyres. I know a way to our people, and we must fly high.” She huffs smoke out of her mouth. “Your entwined mate will ride on my back this once.”

Mate? MATE!? The single word nearly makes me fall to my knees. “But he’s a vampyre.”

“Fae are clueless.” My heart pauses as I look over at him.

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