Page 19 of The Magic of Eternity
‘Where is our queen?’someone called out and was joined with similar questions.
‘Who is she?’
‘How do you know?’
Emrys settled the crowd and gestured to me.‘This dragon is her mate. I shall allow him to field further questions as I am incredibly curious, myself.’
I sighed, straightening myself and rising to my full height. I fucking hated public speaking. Actually, I hated publicanything.Especially anything with people. Or in this case, dragons. I loved getting to defer any sort of situation like this to Kai and Cam—they were much better suited to winning crowds over. I was just a dickhead who’d somehow gotten lucky enough to win the love of a woman who had never asked me to be anyone different—but she made me want to be. I’d do this for her, for us—our family.
‘What Emrys says is true. It has been an eventful journey to this point, to say the least. I’m one of six mates, though I never feel that way when I’m with her. She has a way of making me feel like the only man on earth when she looks at me.’I paused, needing to compose myself. As I swallowed down the growing lump in my throat, I could hear voices speaking about how lucky I was. About how finding a woman with that kind of heart was rare. I knew all of that. There was no way that Saige did though. She was confident, yeah... but I didn’t think she would ever truly understand how special she was.
I’d make sure she knew.
‘Her name is Saige Wildes; she is a green witch and a demon. For months, we have been battling Asrael—both directly and indirectly—along with Saige’s mother, Laurie Wildes. Both of them have plotted and schemed, and Laurie actually murdered one of the queen’s mates!’I let my voice carry, wanting everyone to hear as I described the vile things Laurie and Asrael had done.
Cries of outrage rang out at the mention of what Laurie had done to Fischer.‘Your queen brought him back from the dead! Her power is unmatched, and those who have wronged her should be afraid!’
‘Where is the queen, brother?’
My head dipped.‘I’m not sure. When we arrived, it was to warn King Thane. We’d discovered the dragons Asrael held captive in the human realm were gone; we assumed he was going to make a move for the throne. We got here too late and were ambushed. I don’t know where my family is, or if they’re safe.’Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd.‘The last I saw of my mate, she was bleeding heavily... from between her legs.’
My heart cracked at the memory, and it seemed the same for every scaled beast in attendance. They sensed my pain, my anguish, and they matched it. I may have been without my family, but I wasn’t alone.
Emrys approached me, bumping his forehead to mine in solidarity.‘We shall have our vengeance. But your bond, what does it tell you?’Emrys asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Ah. You haven’t been a dragon long—it makes sense you wouldn’t yet know what we’re capable of. When a dragon takes a mate, a bond is formed, linking you together. The same goes for our hatchlings. We’re bonded to our families. Through the bond, you can sense them, their life force. I can’t speak for your mate brothers, but the queen, and your child—they are certainly alive,’the large orange dragon explained, bumping me with his snout.
‘How do you know? You’re not bonded to them,’I retorted, feeling a weird sense of jealousy at the way he was speaking of them, as though he knew something I didn’t.
Several dragons snorted at my words, some laughing.‘If they were to leave this life, the pain that would befall you would be debilitating. You are sad right now, yes. But you are not a dragon who has lost a mate or child to death. As far as how I know such things? I am very old, and we have our own tales and history.’
I processed his words. Alive. They were alive. I wished at that moment I had the same bond with the other men, so I could know without a doubt if they were still breathing.
As though he sensed my thoughts, Emrys leaned in.‘We dragons mate in groups as well. Binding your circle will strengthen each of you, including your connection to one another. The power you wield now would amplify to the power of your other six bonded, combined.’
‘How the hell don’t we know about that?’A circle binding?
If I’d ever doubted that dragons could smile, the mystery was put firmly to rest at the flash of Emrys’ rows of teeth as he grinned.
‘We’re full of secrets, queen’s mate. Our traditions and culture have been all but forgotten, many of which are regarded as nothing more than myths. Tall tales that fathers whisper to their young before sleep carries them away for the night. Tell me, are we the first dragons you’ve met?’
‘Actually, no.’I thought of the massive navy dragon we’d met weeks ago on a mountaintop.‘I met a dragon by the name of Vaeryn.’
You could’ve heard a pin drop.
‘What did you just say?’Emrys whispered, his eyes large.
‘Vaeryn. He’s the one who called Saige the queen, the fated one. We were to meet up with him before everything went to shit,’I explained.
‘I cannot believe my fucking ears. Vaeryn is my brother by blood. I haven’t seen him in so long,’Emrys’ voice softened, his eyes unfocused as he stared at me.
‘Your brother? That’s incredible. He’s doing well, from what I could tell. I didn’t get any other information though,’I confessed with regret. These dragons had been through fucking hell for so long. I vowed right then and there that I’d do whatever I could to reunite Emrys and Vaeryn.
‘Thank you for this information—I can’t tell you how much it means to me. Knowing there are still free dragons out there and that my brother is amongst them.’He turned to the crowd.‘MY BROTHER, VAERYN, IS ALIVE! AND FREE!’
Roars exploded through the valley, and a rhythmic sound started up, growing in volume. Casting a wide glance around, I saw each dragon thumping his tail against the ground. The beat was one they knew well and it reminded me of a drumline, each dragon knowing which beat to follow.
