Page 35 of Hidden Fate

“From what I remember, before the internet, every ten to fifteen years, the king would make rounds to visit the thunders and update them personally.” Brenton steepled his fingers. “Each year, the king focused on a different region, and if there was an announcement everyone needed to hear at once, he would have warriors help spread the message worldwide. The more thunders heard the news, the faster it traveled.”

Sort of like the rumor mill of the modern world for things people didn’t want documented. The more people who knew, the quicker word spread.

Merlin scowled. “The last time we saw your grandfather was near the end of his life. His health was failing, which made him even angrier. The last time he visited our thunder, our leader told us all to stay inside. We’d heard stories of his cruelty and how just looking at him the wrong way could make him strip you of your dragon. When the king came and saw none of us waiting for his arrival, he assumed we were hiding something. He stripped our leader of his dragon, killing him. He was close to four hundred—too old for a human to survive. Then he stripped several more of the oldest members of their dragons. After someone finally confessed to why we hadn’t greeted him, he began to calm down, but then he took ten more dragons to be sure.”

“Of course he did.” Thorn rubbed the back of his neck, where his mark lay, and grimaced. Discomfort and shame coursed through our bond as they always did when anyone talked about his mark and its history. He did everything he could to hide the mark, even from me, and it had taken me seeing the birthmark while we were naked and vulnerable in front of Drake to realize it. Even when we showered together, he kept his front side turned to me.

You are not him,I connected, pushing my love toward him. His father had destroyed the way Thorn saw himself, and though he was getting more comfortable with his magic, the baggage wasn’t gone. I had faith it would go—he just needed time to process everything.

I wondered if his grandfather had been mentally ill. “Something must have caused him to become like that.”

“Abusing his power did.” Belinda frowned and shook her head. “When a person from the royal line is blessed with the magic, it’s intended to restore the balance of dragonkind.”

That stopped Thorn in his tracks. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t know?” Tia tilted her head, examining him.

“Would I be asking if I did?” Thorn countered gruffly. He crossed his arms, which molded his white shirt to his muscular chest more than normal.

My body warmed, and saliva pooled in my mouth while my dragon inched forward. He was so damn sexy, and for a moment, I forgot where we were.

“Thorn Wight,” Cassidy scolded. “I taught you better than that.”

And that was exactly what I’d needed to get my head on straight. This moment, this conversation, was not the time for me to want to pleasure our bodies. My dragon huffed as she settled back inside me.

“No, I deserved that.” Tia crossed her legs, nestling into Merlin. “I did ask a stupid question. I get on to young’uns for doing that, but here I am, doing the same damn thing.”

“Hey!” Elliott shook a finger at her. “Language.”

An adoring expression crossed Merlin’s face as he stared at his mate. “You have a knack for doing the exact thing you scold others for.”

“I’m old.” She tapped her head. “I can’t be held liable for my actions.”

“Please.” Belinda snickered as she smacked Tia’s arm. “Your memory is fit as a fiddle. Don’t let her fool you.”

I was pretty sure we’d all figured that out. But Thorn needed answers. Since he was no longer pacing, I moved beside him and took his hand. He squeezed my hand tightly.

I cleared my throat, hoping they’d get the message.

Bowing his head slightly, Merlin answered, “It makes sense that you don’t know. Most everyone around now is too young to remember the stories from before your grandfather’s reign, and he left a mark. Fear has a way of molding the present and concealing the good others did previously.”

“You’re talking about other royals who had the same gift.” Hydra’s brows furrowed. “Now that I think about it, I do remember hearing some of the history. The mark is associated with King Arthur.”

“King Arthur?”I hadn’t heard that name before.

“Arthur was my grandfather’s name.” Thorn swallowed.

“I’ve never heard him called that before.” Now that I thought about it, that was strange.

Eva inched closer to Sol. “It’s like Lord Voldemort fromHarry Potter. No one wants to say his name.”

“Huh. If he’s the villain in the movies, it’s a good comparison.” Sol wrapped an arm around her.

Eva’s mouth dropped. “You’ve never seen the movies?”

Sol scratched his head. “I don’t watch much television.”

Elliott moaned, and Mindy dropped the ice and gently touched the knot on his forehead. “Are you okay?”

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