Page 14 of Dragon Throne: Part One

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“Something did happen, didn’t it?” I asked, dread filling my every cell as Braxton’s expression became almost grave. “What was it? Did Raithian find you?”

Without a word, Brax took my arms and guided me to a nearby rock to sit. Except, the rock wasn’t cold or clammy from being so close to the lake’s humidity. It was toasty warm… Glancing down, I jumped to my feet again, heart lurching to my throat from the start.

Braxton had sat me down on Fire Fury’s tail. My mate was insane.

The Dragon huffed, giving Brax a warning glance but Brax ignored him, guiding me to sit on his tail once more. My body stiffened once I did. It felt so bizarre, especially knowing how dangerous a being Tharion truly was.

“It’s fine, he won’t dare do anything to you,” Brax declared, his gaze throwing daggers at his soulmate. With a new huff, his Dragon laid on the entrance to the forest, fully extending his tail so I would be comfortable on it.

My form wobbled as he did it, but I was in fact, comfortable sitting there. Still, it took a moment for me to adjust.

“Please sit.” My mate gestured to Kingston, who eyed Fire Fury prudently before crossing his arms on his wide chest.

“I’d rather stand.”

“Tell me what happened,” I kind of ordered Brax, after clearing the nerves from my throat.

A burdened sigh left him, and he glanced at both of us for a few moments, as though trying to figure out if he should tell us at all.

“Say it!” I demanded, anxiousness gripping my muscles.

“I had an unexpected meeting with Raithian.”

“He found you here?!” I bellowed, lurching to my feet from the shock. “What did he do to you? How are you still alive? How did you get him to leave? Why did he let you go?” Millions of terrible scenarios instantly rushed through my head, but my mate just held my shoulders and sat me down again.

“I’m fine. He wasn’t here, per se. It was one of his mind melds.”

“How is that possible if he wasn’t here?” Kingston took the question right out of my lips, his arms falling to the sides as he stepped closer.

“Yes, how?” I echoed.

“Well, that is a way more complicated answer than you imagine.”

“Braxton, I swear…”

“I will answer all your questions, but trust me, one thing at a time.” His eyes pleaded with me to give him the space he needed. To tell me what happened in his own way, and I owed him that much, so I nodded.

“Thanks.” He offered me a brief smile before dark shadows swiftly entered his expression. “After I left, I decided to finally read my mother’s letter—the one she left me after she passed away in the Mirror World. I learned many harsh but necessary truths from her words, and after I finished it, there were a lot of mixed emotions in me, causing havoc.”

“I’m sorry…” I whispered, not truly able to imagine how much pain it must have awakened to read his mother’s last words. If my mother had left me a letter, I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted to it.

“I know. I will tell you guys about that too, but for now, all you need to know is that I was hurting. I was angry about everything my mother suffered at Raithian’s hands. About what my parents went through before I was born, and what they truly sacrificed for me.”

“She told you about their life here?” Kingston asked, a strange emotion capturing his eyes.

“Yes, she did. She told me everything.”

Dread and remorse spread over my guardian’s features, and he walked to my side, sitting next to me on Fire Fury’s large tail. The sight floored me, it meant I wasn’t the only one who had withheld truths from someone they loved.

“I was so angry that it felt like a wave of hatred erupted from me,” Brax continued. “My rage connected with the one Raithian feels. It linked us, so he was able to capture Tharion and I in his mindscape, just like he did during the fight in the Hollow.”

Gods! Every muscle in my form froze with his words, so did Kingston’s, but we refrained from asking any more questions, needing for Brax to tell us what happened. My hand gripped my guardian’s though, seeking his strength while we waited.

Glancing beyond us, my mate took a few steps away, eyes focused on the forest as though he was once again in Raithian’s hold.

“It was strange. Everything felt so real, but unlike last time, I could manipulate things inside the mindscape just like he did. And he wasn’t wearing his Demon mask.”

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