Page 8 of Hidden Fate

Now I am.He lowered his forehead to mine, brushing a finger across my cheek.For a second back there, I didn’t think we were getting out.

In truth, I hadn’t thought so, either. If King Arman hadn’t shown up, we would probably be on our way back to the château, and not voluntarily. Cold tendrils of fear curled into my chest, and his eyes darkened as he sensed my emotions. I forced a smile to ease the tension in my body. “But we did.” That was what we had to focus on. “And because of the king.”

Pain lined his face, twisting a knife into my heart. Thorn had endured more than enough pain to last a lifetime.

“It was.” He nodded and kissed me.

My lips sizzled from his touch, and I leaned into him. After what we’d gone through, I needed this moment as much as he did…alone and together.

“And for that, I’ll have to let go of some of my hate. Because of him, I didn’t lose you, and though I’d love to sneak away with you, we can’t. We need to determine where to head next. It won’t be safe here for much longer, and that’s the only reason I can pull away right now.” He moved back, frowning.

Heart racing, I wanted to change his mind, but that would be careless and stupid. “I fully plan to take you up on that offer once we finally get some alone time.” I pouted and kissed him again.

His tongue slipped into my mouth, making my brain fuzzy as his faint vanilla taste and minty amber scent overloaded my senses. This man looked like a god and tasted like happiness. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve him, but I would be thankful for him each and every day.

Eagerly, I responded to him, my hands fisting in his shirt. The urge to rip it from his body almost overwhelmed me, but then footsteps belonging to Theron, Hydra, and Sol filtered through my haze. I groaned and forced myself to pull away. Glancing into Thorn’s eyes, I found his pupils were slits from his dragon peeking through. He smiled and kissed the top of my head before intertwining our fingers and pulling me back toward the barn and everyone else.

With each step closer to the barn house, I remembered how dire our situation was. Hydra, Theron, and Sol were about five hundred feet ahead of us, so Thorn and I picked up our pace and caught up to them as we stepped out of the tree line.

Everyone was outside, with Peter on the edge of the group between Cassidy and Saphira. Tyson was eating a sandwich and drinking a soda, while Vlad, Errol, and Brenton had found shovels and were digging a hole next to where the king lay underneath a beautiful dogwood. I could hear Saphira filling Elliott and Eva in on what had transpired back at Theron’s thunder, but when Thorn’s agony swirled into me, I focused on my mate.

He was staring at the king.

King Arman had been powerful, but he wasn’t anymore. Though we couldn’t see the wound where Drake had stabbed his father in the back, the king’s lavender shirt was stained crimson except at the very top near his neck. His skin had been a dark olive, but now it was almost white—like the vampires I’d seen on television. The power he’d radiated was gone…extinguished, just like his soul.

Thorn squeezed my hand gently before releasing it and jogging to the grave. I wanted to go with him, but he needed time to grieve without me hovering. When he needed to lean on me, I’d be there.

The four of us reached Saphira, Elliott, Eva, Cassidy, and Peter just as Thorn took the shovel from Vlad and said, “Why don’t you go be part of that conversation, and I’ll finish this?”

“Of course.” Vlad nodded, the corners of his mouth tipping downward. Instead of saying anything more, he walked over to join us, giving Thorn the space he needed as he worked with Errol and Brenton.

Pulling my attention away from my mate was excruciating, but I turned so I could take part in the conversation.

Out of the corner of my eye, Eva stiffened. A chill ran through me as I followed her gaze, which had landed on Sol.

My muscles relaxed. From the way she’d reacted, I’d expected a warrior to be behind us, ready to attack. Still, her reaction was strange.

Sol tilted his head and took a hesitant step forward before stopping and swaying as if he were being tugged toward her.

Something curious stirred inside me. Could they be soulmates? Surely not. That would be too coincidental. From what I’d gathered, fated mates had been commonplace at one time, but as the dragon shifter population had plummeted, so had the number of fated-mate bond connections. What Thorn and I had was rare and must have been even more so since I’d been born human. I had to be reading the situation wrong.

Vlad jumped right in, addressing Theron. “Wyvern thinks you might have a connection that could hide us. Is that the case?”

Fidgeting, Theron rolled his shoulders. “It’s possible. But it’ll take time to set up. I have to make a post.” He removed his phone from his back pocket, the one he’d taken the time to pick up gently in dragon form to bring with him.

I sucked in a breath. “Wait. No. You can’t post that on the Dragonnet. Drake will track us.”

“Wait.” Elliott lifted a hand, his face radiating joy. “Did you fucking sayDragonnet? I don’t knowwhatthat is, but it soundsbadass,and I want to play it. I’m totally in!”

Sol’s brows furrowed, and Hydra stepped back, placing a hand on her chest.

Of course Elliott had assumed it was a video game. “It’s an intranet for all dragon shifter communications and where the royals can send out information and video speeches or whatever to their subjects.” I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure about that.

“Oh, don’t forget weddings.” Saphira wrinkled her nose. “They like to broadcast those as well.”

If Thorn’s parents hadn’t been there, I would have given her the middle finger.

She smirked. “That’s what you get for that comment back there.”

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