Page 30 of The Magic of Eternity
Yet here I was, being revered, being looked upon like some goddess. It was baffling. All I wanted to do was gather up my men and my father, and go back to my quaint little cottage in Emerald Lakes. Seeing all of these things was life-changing, and so far out of my comfort zone that it was hard for me to enjoy it. Maybe when this was all over, we could come back here without the threat of Asrael hanging over us.
We rounded a corner, and my mouth fell open in shock as I stared up and up. All along the face of the mountain were doors and carved archways with intricate details of dragons, demons, and maidens. Everything magical was there, and it was beautiful.
I increased my pace to catch up with Vaeryn. “These are your homes?” I asked him, my voice full of wonder.
“Yes. The larger ones are so our dragon forms can enter, of course. Most of us obviously had not been able to use our human-sized homes for a while. But we are excited and grateful to be able to do so once again. Welcome to my cave,” he boasted, pride heavy in his voice as he spread his arms wide.
I glanced at Sloane as we entered the cave, walking around. I was completely captivated. I had never in my life seen such a unique dwelling or even imagined that something like this could exist. The cave had been dug out, so it was surprisingly large inside; it seemed to just go deeper and deeper into the mountain. I wondered if perhaps all of the caves were connected through hallways and tunnels deeper within the cave.
Nearly everything was carved out of stone, with each surface having varying shades of color. From a smooth, off-white marble to the dark sparkle of granite, pink swirling with black—it was absolutely gorgeous. “Vaeryn,” I said in awe. “Your home is beautiful.”
Sloane nodded in agreement. “This is the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. We will definitely have to show everyone else this place.”
I chuckled as Vaeryn puffed his chest out with pride. “You are welcome anytime. It would be a great honor to host the rest of the queen’s mates. Here, I have some dry clothes for you both—you may change in my sleeping quarters.”
We quickly changed out of the sopping wet clothes and Sloane helped zip up the simple cream-colored gown. It was light and comfortable, giving me plenty of breathing room. Sloane was wearing a long white tunic with long sleeves and a pair of what would probably be called breeches. He looked hot as shit in them, that’s all I knew. With a knowing smirk, he led us out of the bedroom.
Vaeryn was waiting for us and smiled as he took in our clothing. “Come, the kitchen is this way.” We followed Vaeryn deeper within his home. I couldn’t seem to stop looking around; it was like something out of a dream, which was kind of ridiculous seeing how we were already in another realm. But this place was different. There was a magic thrumming in the air that wrapped around my body. With every breath I took, it just seemed to fill me up and fuel my soul. Even the babies had been more active since we arrived here.
Vaeryn led us to a massive stone table, which had built-in stools that rose out of the ground and had obviously been intricately carved by a master. There were already place settings on the table—I had to assume that one of the other dragons had rushed here before us to get this arranged.
As though she’d been summoned, a young woman walked into the room carrying a tray filled with different breads, meats, and cheeses. She was pretty, her hair long and golden. “Thank you,” I said to her, as she met my eyes and gave me a nod.
“Your Highness, this is my niece. You’ll have to forgive her, for she has not spoken since she shifted back into her human form. We suspect it may be due to the fact that she was so young when we stopped being able to shift between our dragon and human forms. She is not the only one who is having issues with speech, but as you can see, she understands what we’re saying. So I believe it is just due to lack of use, and her vocal cords perhaps are just not used to their purpose.”
Sloane’s hand on my lower back guided me to a seat, which I gratefully took since my feet and back were killing me. He took the seat beside me, placing a comforting hand on my thigh as I looked at Vaeryn’s niece.
“No worries. I’m sure that your voice will return when it’s ready. A lot has changed recently,” I told her, offering what I hoped was a reassuring smile, which she returned. She gave us a small curtsy before leaving the room.
Sloane and I immediately started shoving food into our mouths as though it was going to be snatched away at any moment. It tasted so fucking good. Vaeryn chuckled as he watched us, taking small bites of the meats and cheeses himself, his eyes dancing with amusement.
“Sorry,” Sloane muttered around a mouthful. “It’s just been a while since I’ve eaten a proper meal.” My poor Sloane. Instinctively, I wrapped my arm around his back and nuzzled up against his shoulder. I loved the way he leaned into the contact, not flinching or leaning away as he’d done in the past. We’d all already been through so much. How much more were we going to have to take before we got the chance to live our life together in peace?
A chill worked its way up my back, and I shivered. The air within the cave was much cooler than it was outside. Vaeryn noticed this immediately and rose up, gliding through the room to procure what appeared to be a handmade blanket, which he draped over my shoulders. I smiled and thanked him.
“It does get chilly in here. We have hot springs deeper within the mountain that are excellent for warming up. If we had more time, I would love to show you. As it stands, we will likely have to revisit that idea in the future.”
I sighed with disappointment. A hot spring sounded like heaven for my body right now.
“So I assume that you missed the rendezvous due to Asrael’s takeover?” Vaeryn speculated, lifting a golden chalice to his mouth to take a long drink.
Sloane hummed, swallowing his own drink and placing his cup down on the stone table. “That would be correct. When we discovered that Asrael was making his move, we had to bump up our timeline. Plus, with Saige here being pregnant with twins, suddenly she began showing so much earlier than we expected. As in, barely a hint of a bump to without a doubt pregnant in an unnaturally short space of time, and we were concerned. It’s not like we could just take her to a doctor in our world, so we decided to come to this realm to warn King Thane, as well as seek medical care. Unfortunately, we walked into a trap.” Sloane’s shoulders tensed, and I knew just by knowing the man that he was feeling guilty over this. And that was bullshit, because any one of us could have put a stop to the plan. But really, what options had we had? None. Wehadto come here. We had to warn the people. If there was a chance of saving lives, then that was what we needed to do. Wasn’t that what the prophecy was all about?
I leaned over and pressed a kiss to Sloane’s cheek. I didn’t want him to blame himself. He carried so much on his shoulders all the time. We were a family now, and it was time that he let that family carry some of the stress, share some of the burden. We were a team. A unit. I wouldn’t stand for any one of my mates feeling like they were singularly responsible for me or the babies.
“Do not beat yourself up, Sloane.” Vaeryn shot him a knowing look. “We all have our parts to play in this. We’ve been busy doing recon now that we’re able to shift to our human forms.”
“How did that happen? Shifting, I mean?” I was curious as hell, because crawling out of a pink lake and seeing Vaeryn as a man had been the last thing I’d expected.
He grinned, and I was taken aback momentarily at how gorgeous he was. Totally not Gandalf. Maybe if Gandalf was in his thirties and ripped... I felt Sloane’s eyes on me, and a blush bloomed on my cheeks.Busted.
“Well, we have reason to believe the shifting may be a direct result of your pregnancy. It’s as though the magic is being slowly restored with the fulfillment of the prophecy. We hadn’t been able to shift in a very, very long time. It was actually quite ridiculous when the change came back over us. None of us made it through without hitting the ground.” Vaeryn’s booming laughter filled his cavern home, and I pictured the scene in my head—a male as large as this one, on wobbly legs like a newborn fawn. Hilarious.
“I wish I could’ve seen it,” Sloane chuckled for a moment before the mood turned serious once again.
Vaeryn leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he looked at my mate. “I’m desperate to know, did you learn anything of the dragons? Did you find any information that could be useful in helping them obtain their freedom? You’re here now, so somehow, you were able to break Asrael’s hold over you. I want to know if it’s possible for us to do that, for the others.”
Sloane began filling Vaeryn in on everything that had transpired from the time we’d entered the throne room, to me and the other men being hauled away, to him being taken to the dragon enclosure. Meeting the other dragons, how they’d rallied together around him and helped him to create an escape plan.
