Page 36 of Hidden Fate

“No!” Elliott shook his head hard, proving he was milking his injury for her attention, and gestured at Sol. “I’m not okay. He doesn’t play video games, and he hasn’t watched theHarry Pottermovies? The next thing we’ll learn is that he doesn’t likeStar Wars!”

Sol flinched.

“Oh, my God.” Elliott turned back to Mindy. “I’m feeling faint again. This can’t be real life. The guy my sister likes doesn’t knowanything.”

Face scrunching, Mindy blew out a breath. “I don’t, either, so maybe you don’t want my help after all.”

Elliott’s eyes bulged out of his head. He whipped around to look at Tyson. “Dude, please, if our bruh-mance is going to survive, tell me you aren’t like them. They get a pass, but for you, dude, there’s no coming back from that.”

Tyson scoffed. “Please. Do I look like some uncultured swine?” Thenheflinched and glanced at Mindy and Sol. “No offense.”

Lifting both hands, Sol tipped his head back. “Offense taken.”

“Don’t worry.” Elliott waved him off. “He’ll be fine. But apologize to Mindy.”

“Fine. Sorry, Mindy.” Tyson placed a hand over his heart. “I didn’t intend for my truth bomb to be taken so harshly, but being the bigger person, I’m willing to help you out for my bruh. We can watchallthe things.”

Peter grunted from his place against the wall. “I thought the two of them were bad, and now it’s like they’re multiplying.”

This conversation had been completely derailed. There was only one solution. “Go upstairs, take Peter, and watchStar Wars,” I ordered. “Educate these underprivileged individuals so they’ll be on your level.”

Snapping, Elliott pointed at me. “Now you’re talking my jam. I get the gist of the story. King Arthur was bad and made people think his power was bad, and Thorn here is going to remind them that it’s not the case. Noted and filed.” He stood and pulled Mindy to her feet. “And I have my friend Jared’s password to his Disney+ account, soStar Warsmarathon, here we come!”

“He’s going to kill you.” Eva laughed as she and Sol stood with them.

“Eh, he’s human, and we’ll probably never see him again,” Elliott answered as he grabbed his father’s hand and tugged him toward the stairs. “We’re going to be dragon shifters soon!”

They continued talking as they clomped up the stairs, and when the door shut, Thorn connected,Finally. I love our brother and sister, but damn, sometimes, they make things so convoluted. I have a feeling that tomorrow, Elliott will go back to harassing me to change him.

My stomach cartwheeled. I loved the fact he’d called themoursiblings. He thought of them like family.Yes, he will.

“To be young and falling in love.” Tia snorted and laid her head on Merlin’s chest.

“You were saying?” Thorn prompted, guiding the conversation back to his grandfather.

“Before King Arthur, two other royals had the same magic. From what I heard as a little boy, they were the ones who saved dragonkind when our numbers were dwindling.” Ryu yawned. “But King Arthur destroyed their memories and instilled fear in his people, which is what you have to overcome.”

Something swirled inside my mate—warring emotions of hope and dread.

“Listen, I hate to end this chat, but we’re up later than normal.” Belinda stretched. “I’m about to fall asleep over here.”

Brenton grabbed the new couples’ luggage, and Cassidy jumped to her feet. She said, “There’s a room upstairs with two queen beds, if that’s okay.”

“That’s more than perfect.” Tia stood. “We can do the old sock on the doorknob thing when one of us is busy. I saw that on some show a while back.”

Saphira laughed loudly. “Oh, gods. I needed that.”

As the others meandered away, Saphira sat next to Hydra. The two of them began talking about Wyvern and things going on back at Hydra and Theron’s thunder.

Thorn led me toward our room. When the door shut behind us, he pulled me into his arms, and a mixture of his emotions overwhelmed me. I wasn’t sure what to do other than hold him.

An emotion settled over him as if he’d made a decision. He pulled back, and I saw something in his expression that I hadn’t expected.

I froze.

CHAPTERTWELVE

The entire timeI’d been with Thorn, a heaviness had shrouded him, even when he was happy. Over the past week, that sensation had lightened, but not by much. I’d come to realize what it was—scars. Scars from his magic, his past, and his family. I was pretty sure that ever since I’d rolled into the picture, I’d made it worse because now he feared losing me. Granted, running off while he’d slept to turn myself over to Drake, thinking it would save our loved ones, hadn’t helped.

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