Page 3 of The Lost Nation

The wind slammed me to the side, and rain fell heavily. I landed immediately, still about fifty yards away from Wren and her mates. I planned to run to them, but then another male appeared between them. Anunmatedmale.

I flinched and hunkered down behind a boulder, peeking out as the black draken appeared using only the shadows. It couldn’t beBair, the King’s brother—he hadn’t been all black. Yet...only the King’s bloodline had the ability to shift with the shadowslike that. So who was he?

I felt the familiar sting of white magick taint the air, and pressed myself harder against the rock. I tried to control my panic, looking around at the wide open space and reminding myself I wasn’ttrapped in the demon strongholdany more.

Who was this mysterious draken, and why did he remind me of the demons?

Whoever he was, it was clear he was fighting with Benedict, though I wasn’t worried with Wren’s other mates there to support my king. I couldn’t hear what they were shouting over the surge of the storm, but Wren eventually threw herself over the large, black draken.

I gasped as she bit into his neck, initiating a mate bond. My claws gouged deep grooves into the rock I clung to, sensing the ancient magick awakening. I couldn’t explain it, but I needed to be closer, toseeit happen. Maybe it was to convince myself that what I’d been through wasevilbutthis…this was something else. And if I could just see a glimpse of thatsomething else, perhaps I could convince my damaged mind and body that there washope, and that not everything in this world was sick and wrong.

Wren bit down on the draken’s neck, and for a moment neither moved. Her other mates roared in anger, but King Benedict looked stricken. I didn’t blame him—fourmates? It was unheard of.

Then the black draken wrenched himself off of Wren’s fangs, and practically threw her back at her own mates. The storm calmed, and I could hear her sobs echoing off the rocky cliffs. I crept to the next outcropping of rocks, wanting to hear what was being said.

The black draken looked heart-broken, his chest heaving with emotion.“I’m sorry, but I...Ican’t.”

Wren’s two other mates grabbed her, while King Benedict stepped in front of them all.“You arerejectinga mating bond.” Benedict clarified, half in shock, half in wonder.

I reared back. It wasmadness. It was in our biology to mate and have families—to resist that had to take a massive amount of self-control. Even if two drakens despised each other, the instinct to mate could eventually win out.

Whowasthis dark draken, who dared to reject a bond with aqueen?

I leaned further over the rock, needing to get a closer look at him. He was slightly larger than King Benedict, which was truly saying something. His chest rippled with large muscles, his black scales glinting like the black marble of the demon throne room. His wings were just as black as the rest of his body, reminding me a bit of Elder Wyrren.

His face was square and angular, with a strong jaw. I couldn’t see his eyes, but they looked dark from this distance. His hair was black, but it could have been a dark brown. It was difficult to tell in the fading light.

Everythingabout him was dark, except for the white sigils that wrapped around his torso. I squinted and leaned forward, wondering if they were blood magick tattoos. The rock broke under my hand and I tumbled loudly down the hill in a somersault, coming to rest about twenty yards from all of them.

The dark draken’s eyes met mine, and something deep within me jolted.

I panicked, and took to the sky.

Chapter 2

Thad

Iknew the moment I appeared on that stupid island that Wren was going to do something drastic. She was in too much pain, and had suffered through too much trauma to make any decision that could be labeled as rational.

The time we’d spent together in the demon fortress had left a deep imprint on both of us, but never did I think that she would have dealt with it by trying tomatewith me.

Had I pined for her since we first met in the rebel catacombs? Ofcourse.Was she the strongest, most beautiful woman I’d ever met?Without question.

Yet there was too much unsaid between us—the things I’d had to do to her to ensure we both survived under Severn’s eye still kept me up at night. Though part of me was thrilled she wanted me, and my draken practicallydemandedI accept, I couldn’t do it. Wren already had three mates who adored her, and who wouldn’t dare abuse her.

Because that’s what I'd done to her.

There was no other way to describe it. It didn’t matter if she thought otherwise or had forgiven me—I’d never forgive myself. And I couldn't promise I wouldn't do it again in order to protect her. There was something inside of me that yearned for pain, and she'd already endured too much.

When her fangs pierced my neck, I panicked. There was already a slight bond between us since I’d given her the protection sigils that swirled around her neck and shoulder, and it made it that much harder to resist my instincts. Coupled with the small amount of my blood she'd ingested, my inner draken was loud andhornyas fuck. I brought forth the image of Wren’s devastated face when I had snapped the blood magick collar around her neck.

That did the trick, and allowed me to look away. Wren’s expression crumpled, and I pushed her back into her mates.

I pleaded with her to understand. “Sometimes, there’s been too much pain. Too much of something shared. Moments crashed together that should have had the luxury of decades and centuries. An earthquake that levels civilizations, instead of the steady slide of the Earth that creates the mountains.”

A tear ran down her cheek. She already knew, but I had tosayit. I had to be clear, because what was between us was so murky and twisted that I needed to at leastpretendto have clarity, because I would drown in the murky waters if I didn’t.

I hated the darkness with a passion, and now I was part of it.

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