Page 107 of The Forbidden Dragon King
“Nothing to say, Little Wolf?” Aurelius’ cruel lips twitch. “You were powerful inKitten’sdefense a moment ago, when you clawed me.”
“His name is Daire.” I tilt up my chin.
“Daire is dead. Kit is frustratingly, annoyingly alive and a pain in my scaly backside.”
I cross my arms. “And would you accept the fae pain in the ass into our nest? Can you accept the fae who was once your enemy as your new mate? I’ll never break my bond with him.”
“I don’t want you to,” Aurelius bursts out, shocking me. “You can’t. If you did, it may kill you both. He’s yourfated mate, tied to you by the golden threads of fate, as much as I am.”
He stares at me with a sudden intensity at the same time that he appears to have stopped breathing in fear of what I’ll say next.
Golden threads of fate…?Aren’t they a myth?
“Nobody believes that people can truly see how fate binds them,” I reply.
“It’s my secret gift. Maybe it’s more of a curse. The threads sparked years ago, when I first met Daire on the battlefield, showing how connected we were by fate: we would love the same Omega. Then the first time I saw you…”
My heart leaps. “That’s why you saved me.”
He doesn’t reply.
“Why didn’t you fucking tell me?” I demand.
Aurelius is avoiding my gaze. “Would you rather love someone because you grew to know and like them or because they announce that golden threads bind you together and fate dictates it?”
Does he believe that I love him?
Doesheloveme?
“So, does that mean you and I were always as fated as Daire and I are?” I ask, filled with a sudden contentment. “Can you see these threads now?”
Aurelius nods. “They’re beautiful but fraying because I haven’t made the bond official.”
My eyes widen. “What happens if you never do?”
“I don’t know. Nothing good. They’re why the fae is still breathing.” Aurelius’ expression becomes stony. “Thequestion is whether he’s truly worthy to become my Queen’s mate, if I never can openly take that role.”
“That’smydecision.”
When Aurelius bares his fangs, I can’t believe that I trusted such a dangerous dragon to not only run those fangs up and down my neck as he breathed in my pheromones and then sleep next to me, but also to use that mouth on my pussy.
“Rest in our nest today,” Aurelius commands. “I’ll take your duty to feed the prisoner myself. Isn’t that whatpackdoes? Supports each other? ThenI’lldecide whether to hold back from breaking Kit.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Palace Dungeons, Shadow Court
Aurelius
My eyes flash,as I march down the quiet corridors beneath the palace that lead to the dungeon’s cells.
I shiver, dragging my cloak closer around myself. The cold is constant here; it seeps into my bones.
The walls are stone and drip with moisture. Mold blooms across the ceiling in ghostly shadows. No sunlight reaches this lower level, where servants and courtiers who break the rules are punished, interrogated, or tortured. They’re hidden like anything broken, cracked, or ugly is put out of view of the palace’s splendor.
Bronze oil lamps shaped as dragons hang from the walls, casting shadows like flying dragons along the corridor’s bleak walls.
My wings, claws, and fangs have retracted back. I’m in control once again.
