Page 16 of Thauglor
Mina’s heart speeds up again, and I feel her in motion. Her body moves with purpose that translates through the shell as subtle shifts and sways. Muffled words drift to me about a purge and how my mate killed someone else’s mate. The conversation carries a weight that makes the air feel thick.
Shock ripples through Mina like cold water, then acceptance settles over her like a warm blanket. A low, contented purr—deep and resonant as her inner dragoness awakens—vibrates through my egg. The sound makes every scale on my body tingle with sympathetic pleasure. “You are not a monster, Balor. You...are a very good male—a wonderful mate and my best friend,” Mina comforts him. Her voice carries such tenderness it makes my throat tight with emotion.
I can only assume Balor used his stone gaze on the threat. The thought of him protecting our mate while I remain trapped fills me with both gratitude and frustrated rage.
I listen to the romantic exchange between them and realize how vast my mate’s heart truly is. She loves with a fierceness that puts dragons to shame, offering comfort and acceptance where others would show fear. I hear as she promises to basically torch the continent for him, her voice carrying the absolute certainty of deadly devotion.
He mentions that he and the one called Ziggy will be her personal guards from now on. A basilisk and, if I remember correctly, a displacer beast are on guard duty. I couldn’t ask for a better security force for my mate. Their combined abilities would challenge even ancient dragons. Well, I know I would be better protection, but that’s a future me problem.
The anticipation builds in my chest like pressure in a steam engine. Soon, I tell myself as her warmth continues to seep through the shell. Soon I’ll be free to stand guard myself, to protect what’s mine with acid and talons instead of helpless rage.
Later in the evening,Mina discusses her vision with the nest. Every detail she told me previously in horrific detail now spillsfrom her lips again. Her voice carries the weight of prophecy and dread. Hearing her retell it now doesn’t lessen the horror that creeps up my spine like ice water through my veins. But it’s when she explains it to the rest of her mates that true terror seeps into my bones.
Mina says she can’t shift, and that alone is a huge problem. Her voice breaks slightly on the words, and the helplessness radiating through our bond makes my confined claws flex with protective rage. Dark forces are mentioned, along with a hag who works at the academy. The very thought makes my stomach clench with murderous intent. I swear on my last scale that whoever hurts my mate will die by my talons—slowly, painfully, while I watch the light fade from their eyes.
Balor, her basilisk mate, shifts with a sound like leather sliding over stone. He coils around her so that maybe she can finish the vision. The gesture fills me with both gratitude and jealousy—he can offer a solution I cannot provide from within this cursed shell.
I’m barely able to stay awake in Klauth’s hands until he allows me to see through his eyes. The connection feels like trying to peer through thick fog, more hazy than anything else, but I can make out the outline of the basilisk coiled around our mate. His massive form wraps around her like living armor, scales catching the firelight and casting shifting shadows.
Something gets said, and Klauth responds with reverence that makes my chest tight. “It was once common practice,” he murmurs, his voice carrying the weight of ancient tradition. “We can sense parts of ourselves, even if we can’t sense your dragon.” He’s talking about the scale exchange—the most sacred bond between mates.
I rest my hand over where my heart pounds against my ribs, imagining having one of my mate’s scales proudly placed there. The fantasy makes my throat close with emotion. To be honored by your mate with one of her scales is the greatest gift besides hatchlings. The bond becomes unbreakable except in death, tying souls together across time and space.
Klauth’s response is measured, his tone calm despite the tension crackling through the air like electricity before a storm. “We need a scale from Mina, and all that has to happen is we cut our flesh and implant the scale. In theory, the scale will only live on a true mate.” His words carry the certainty of ancient knowledge.
How much longer am I going to be trapped in this eternal hell? The question burns through me like acid. I should be there, down on one knee before my mate, offering her one of my scales with trembling hands and a heart full of devotion. The image plays in my mind—her surprised gasp, the warmth in her eyes as she accepts my offering, the moment our bond becomes permanently sealed.
I can feel pulses through the faint tether with Mina—sharp spikes of sensation that make my scales tingle even within the shell. I can only assume it’s when she gives and receives scales from her other mates. Each pulse carries echoes of pain mixed with profound joy, the brief agony of cutting flesh followed by the euphoria of permanent bonding.
The jealousy burns through me like molten metal, but it’s tempered by understanding. They can offer her what I cannot—physical presence, comfort, protection. But someday soon, I tell myself as another pulse of bonding energy flows through our connection.
One day soon, I will honor my mate by offering her one of my scales. That will be the second-greatest day of my life. The anticipation tastes like honey mixed with desperate longing. The first will be the day I can finally hold her and kiss her how I’ve dreamed about for centuries—fierce and claiming, showing her exactly how much she means to me.
My fantasies always end the same way: her in my arms, safe and whole, while I whisper promises against her lips about never letting her face danger alone again. The vision keeps me sane in this endless darkness, a beacon of hope that burns brighter with each passing day.
Chapter Fifteen
There’sprofound peace and happiness radiating from my mate right now, flowing through our bond like warm honey. The contentment tastes sweet on my tongue even from within this cursed shell. I feel the warmth of a descendant of mine—I guess—leaning or resting against whatever container holds me. Their smaller form presses close with the innocent trust only hatchlings possess. Mina’s purring softly, the sound vibrating through her chest and into my prison like a lullaby made of liquid gold.
“I want this,” she says, and I can hear the wistful longing in her voice as she cradles what must be my descendant’s hatchling in her arms. The tenderness in her tone makes my confined heart clench with overwhelming love. “But I need us to be safe first. I can’t bear the thought of my hatchlings being hunted or stolen—to be used against me.” Her voice trembles with the weight of fears that cut deeper than any blade.
She wants a family with us. The knowledge fills me with a fierce determination that burns hotter than dragon fire. I will move heaven and earth to give it to her. I’ll burn the continent to ash ifI have to, melt cities into glass, tear apart anyone who threatens what should be ours. The violence of my protective instincts surprises even me.
“Why do you cry, mate?” I hear Klauth ask, his voice gentle as silk. Someone comes and takes the hatchling from Mina, and I feel the immediate loss echo through her like a physical wound.
“I... I’m afraid of having a family that will be hunted,” her confession hits me like a knife sliding between my ribs. The raw pain in her voice makes my scales ache with sympathetic agony. How dare the world make her fear the most natural desire of any dragoness?
“What else?” I hear Klauth probe gently, and I feel the immediate shift in Mina’s energy. Power coils beneath her skin like electricity before a storm, crackling with barely restrained fury.
“I want it—I want it all,” pain and defiance lace her words as I feel a surge of power rush through her like a tidal wave. The force of it makes my shell vibrate with resonant energy. “The hatchlings, the snuggles, even the little fire-starters darting around, stirring delightful chaos. But it’s not safe.” Each word carries the weight of dreams deferred and hopes crushed under the heel of necessity.
Hearing the words fall from her lips damn near breaks my black heart. The organ feels like it’s cracking down the middle, splitting apart with the force of her anguish. I will destroy the world to make it safe for her and our progeny. Every enemy will burn until nothing remains but scattered ash on the wind.
I feel the moment her mates step close and comfort her. Their warmth surrounds her like a protective cocoon, and the hellfirethat was burning in her chest simmers down to a flickering ember. Her breathing slows from the ragged rhythm of barely controlled emotion to something steadier.
Her thoughts flicker to ideas of how to end the threats against her—tactical plans that taste of blood and righteous fury. I can almost see the wheels turning in her brilliant mind as she calculates risks and considers targets. If I were free, I would be right beside her, rending the flesh from those who deserve it. My claws would paint the ground crimson while she watched with satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.
The fantasy plays out in vivid detail: standing shoulder to shoulder with my mate as we face down her enemies, acid streaming from my jaws while she unleashes her own deadly gifts. Together, we would be unstoppable—a force of nature that reshapes the world according to our will.
