The draechen’s tone made Sari dread what he would find beyond that door. This assessment proved to be more than correct. As Karein let him inside the mysterious room, Sari was astonished to find himself in something that looked like… Well, Sari didn’t even know what it was. It seemed to be a cage of sorts, as every wall was made out of metal, and there were no windows or any other access point other than the one they had used. “What is this place?” he asked. He caught sight of thin scratches over the metal, and felt sick to the stomach. Who or what had been trapped here? He had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer to that question.
Predictably, he was completely correct. “Do you remember when Akara said I’m obsessed with Prince Kael?” Karein asked. Upon Sari’s nod, he continued, “Well, it’s true. The truth is, Sari, that I dream of them. I dream of Kael and Talrasar. Sometimes, I have nightmares of how they died, and it gets so bad, that I try to fight it, with them. Every night, I lock myself in here so that my power is contained when it happens. And it gets worse with every passing day. I’m approaching my two hundredth birthday. When that day comes, my dragon will take over completely, and whoever gets in my way will die.”
Sari didn’t even know what to say. He had expected the situation to be bad, but not quite to this extent. “But surely, there must be a way to prevent it.”
“There is,” Karein replied. “I need an anchor, a mate to calm my dragon down.”
Sari breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, you’ve found me then. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
“That’s the problem, baby.” Karein looked a little desperate now. “My beast is so wild that I’m afraid that if I touch you, if I even do more than kiss you, I’ll crush you. I’m on the edge. An anchor is supposed to be someone with whom the dragon feels safe to let go. But I worry that it’s too close to the deadline now. You asked me if I was afraid to hurt you. Overlords, yes. I’m terrified. Right now, I can’t even shift long enough to carry you into the forest without worrying I’ll lose it.”
It seemed Karein was stuck inside a vicious circle, and he stubbornly refused to leave it out of some misguided sense of protectiveness. “You need to have more faith in our bond,” he whispered, stepping closer to Karein and pressing his body against that of his mate. “We have enough people trying to sabotage it without us doing the same thing.”
Karein’s arms came around him, as if of their own accord. “It’s not that I’m lacking faith,” he argued. “But when I see them… It’s so easy to put you in his place. Do you realize what truly happened there, Sari? Do you understand?”
“I admit that I don’t grasp it fully,” Sari answered. “I’ve read records of the onslaught of power that was triggered there, and I can’t imagine what spell they could use to do that.”
“It wasn’t a spell,” Karein answered. “Kael tore their bond. His dragon ran amok and absorbed everything, including Talrasar’s power. That’s what happened. Kael killed his mate.”
Silence fell in the room. Things were finally starting to make sense. Sari could see now why Karein was so reluctant to share his secrets with Sari. But he and Karein were not Talrasar and Kaelezrin. “We can’t let the past haunt us forever, Karein,” Sari said. “If we do, you’ll never have a future.”
Karein broke their embrace and shook his head. “Baby, you don’t understand…”
“Then show me.” Sari met his mate’s eyes with decision. “Show me your truth, as you experience it. Close that door and let your dragon out. It’s only growing impatient because you’re refusing to do it.”
At first, Karein seemed reluctant, but Sari had never been one to give up easily. “Please,” he insisted.
Finally, the draechen yielded to Sari’s wishes. “All right. If anything goes wrong, just press this pattern on the door.”
He showed Sari how the mechanism worked a couple of times until he was sure Sari had memorized it. He obviously didn’t want to do this, and it was unfair of Sari to push him into it. But as a healer, Sari knew that sometimes he had to be cruel to be kind. Karein’s guilt and self-loathing were like a disease that could only be cured once he let it all out.
At last, Karein closed the door with a metallic bang. He stepped away from Sari, walking to the other side of the room while gesturing for Sari to remain next to the exit. Sari complied, realizing that now, any refusal would easily cause the draechen to stop this.
Karein took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He started to remove his clothing, and Sari had to admit that, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, he found himself growing aroused. Shaking himself, he buried that feeling in a deeper corner of his heart and focused on what mattered right now—understanding Karein’s concerns.
Finally, the draechen finished discarding his garments. Sari held his breath as Karein’s form began to change, growing into something else, a much larger creature, the black dragon Sari had seen that first night. But there was something different about it. When its eyes opened and fixed on Sari, the dragon looked wild, like he wasn’t Karein at all anymore.
The beast watched Sari with an almost predatory expression, its tail swishing back and forth on the metal floor. For a few moments, they just looked at each other without moving. And then the dragon finally began to move. It—he—headed straight for Sari, and Sari was honestly surprised the room didn’t collapse under the beast’s massive paws. Had it been so big before? It didn’t seem like it.
Well, Sari could definitely see now why Karein had been so apprehensive about sharing this with him. And all right, Sari couldn’t say he wasn’t a little anxious, too. He refused to allow it to get in the way of helping his mate. Dragon form or no, this was still Karein. No matter how powerful the beast was, Sari didn’t think Karein would ever hurt him.
The mate bond was something so precious that when it united two people, the couple in question simply couldn’t bear to be without one another. In fact, Talrasar and Kaelezrin’s case proved it beyond any shadow of a doubt, no matter how wary it made Karein.
And so, Sari smiled and stepped closer to the dragon. When the beast saw him approach, he froze, as if Sari had cast some sort of spell on him. Whatever Karein, as a man, thought, it had definitely transferred onto Karein, the dragon, because he seemed to be seeking avenues of escape that would avoid Sari making contact with him. However, the size of the room made it such that the dragon couldn’t turn without swinging his large tail around. If he did so, the appendage would strike Sari and likely send him crashing into the metal wall. The dragon tried to move to the side, having apparently forgotten about his tentative effort to reach out to Sari. Even so, the predatory demeanor had vanished as well. Emboldened, Sari followed him until he finally crowded the large beast in a corner.
As his hand landed on the scales of Karein’s belly, he whispered, “This is still you, Karein. And I’m not afraid of you. I never will be.”
Karein’s tail curled around Sari’s waist. Tentative, almost shy, the touch made Sari smile. He leaned against Karein’s massive body, placing his head on the dragon’s scales and closing his eyes. In some respects, it was very much like the other times Karein had hugged Sari while in legged form, although by rights, it shouldn’t have been. The feel of the skin was all wrong, just like the size of the body. There was no element of arousal. But the warmth, comfort, and the feeling of safety were still very much present.
The one time Sari had seen Karein in shifted form, his mate had changed shapes before Sari could touch him. Now, Sari allowed himself the luxury to fully explore his mate’s dragon side. He mapped the scaly skin with his fingers, tracing each individual ridge, getting accustomed to this part of Karein. All the while, Karein remained perfectly still, almost like he was afraid of making any sudden motions that would spook Sari. That wasn’t about to happen. Sari wasn’t the spooked one. When this became obvious, Karein appeared to calm down a bit, until at last, he turned back into his human form.
The change was a little disconcerting for Sari, who
had been so very close to the dragon. Karein’s large tail vanished from around his waist, and while Karein was quite muscular even in his human form, his bulk couldn’t be compared to that of his beast. Therefore, Sari lost his balance and fell forward. But naturally, Karein was right there to catch him. He hugged Sari so tightly that it almost stole his breath. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for this.”
Sari didn’t reply. Instead, he just embraced Karein back, knowing that words would be useless right now. They sat together on the cool metal floor, curled against each other, likely in the same place where Karein must have slept at one point. Sari could still see some claw marks on the walls. As he petted Karein’s hair, Sari made an oath that Karein would never have to be alone again. Both of them had been wandering through life like lost men in a desert, but now, they’d finally found each other.
Still quiet, they got up, and Karein headed toward the door. Karein pulled his clothes on, then pressed the pattern that allowed them to exit. Together, they stepped out of the cell—because Sari could only call it a cell—and into the bedroom, then out of Karein’s quarters altogether. Apparently, Karein didn’t want to be here anymore, and Sari had to admit that he wanted to put as much distance as possible between the two of them and that horrible metal room. But things couldn’t be changed in one single day, and it seemed that Karein was still intent on one certain thing. “Just keep your promise, baby,” he said. “I’ll do my best to stop hiding from you, but keep your promise.”
“All right,” Sari answered simply. He knew how to pick his battles, and this one was a fight he couldn’t win.
He looked forward to spending more time with his mate, preferably in a more pleasant way. But as they walked through the corridor, they were intercepted by Prince Hareematek. “There you are,” he exclaimed. “My apologies, Prince Sareltae. I have to steal my brother for a few moments.”
“Of course,” Sari replied automatically, although what he really wanted to do was to refuse and keep his hold on Karein’s arm. Instead, he released his mate and smiled. “I couldn’t presume to keep Prince Karein all to myself.”
Karein looked concerned. “Will you be all right by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine,” Sari assured him. “I’ll just go to my room.”
“I can accompany you,” Karein replied, his dark glance scanning Sari’s face with striking earnestness.
Sari would have actually liked that very much, but Karein’s brother was starting to fidget in impatience. With a mental sigh, Sari answered, “Please, don’t trouble yourself. It’s very close from here. I’ll go directly there.”
To a certain extent, Karein seemed pacified by Sari’s words. He allowed Hareematek to drag him off, although he was obviously not pleased about it. Sari watched them go, then, just like he’d said, headed toward his room. He did, however, note that there were soldiers watching his every step. Even if they didn’t actually follow him as he passed by, he was never truly unsupervised.
It was a great relief for him to finally reach his quarters. As he slid inside and closed the door behind himself, he could almost feel the eyes of the draechen on him, their hostility so obvious and glaring it made Sari wonder how he would ever handle it. These were Karein’s people, and for Karein, he had to do it somehow. But how?
And then, Sari remembered something. He rushed toward the bed and reached for the nightstand, where he found a wooden box. As he swept his hand over it, the shield protecting the box fell. It opened, revealing a wooden wolf inside. It was a completely harmless-looking item, but Sari had decided to keep it safe and private, just in case. Given the circumstances of his arrival, anything that could make a connection between him and werewolves would be suspicious. And yet, as he took the wolf in his hand, he knew he couldn’t have possibly left it behind in Rose Noire.
He remembered Karein’s words about what had happened to Kaelezrin and Talrasar, then all his visits at the Obelisk of Eternelle. After the supposed spell that had killed the two, their bodies had disappeared without a trace. Right now, Karein might be the only one who knew what had truly happened, although even that was somewhat doubtful. But if Sari’s guess from all these years was correct and the spirit of the two princes had endured in Eternelle, why were they sending Karein these dark visions? What was coming their way? Sari shivered and clutched the wooden wolf tightly. He had a feeling that he really didn’t want to know the answer.
* * * *
Charlize frowned as she watched her half brother disappear into his quarters. There was something going on between him and his fiancé, although Charlize couldn’t have said what it was. It seemed that they’d gotten too close, too soon. Half the time, Sareltae seemed to be staring in a besotted way at Prince Shtamakarein. Charlize didn’t like it.
As she slipped back into Misael’s quarters, she shared a look with the older fae. “We have to stop this wedding,” she said.
Misael grimaced. “I know. I noticed it, too. The prince is doing something to ingratiate himself into Sari’s favor. But really, Char, there’s nothing we can do. The date has already been agreed upon. Father is coming here. What could possibly prevent the ceremony now?”
A few things were occurring to Charlize, most of them involving her half brother suffering an untimely accident. Shaking herself, she pushed that thought out of her mind. No matter how much she disliked Sareltae, she didn’t actually wish him ill. Well, not seriously at least. As a princess, she understood that like Charlize and her brothers, Sareltae had also been thrust in circumstances beyond his control. She wasn’t inclined to believe that Sareltae had truly been born because Jenarra had wished him to be, especially given than Eanera had insisted for Sareltae to be named not only Norrenddare, but also Myrthylar. This wasn’t common knowledge, but Charlize’s mother had always suspected Eanera secretly planned to make Sareltae the heir to the Ivenian throne. Sareltae’s connection to the ancient line of Ivenian kings gave him an advantage that Charlize’s eldest brother simply didn’t have.
That wasn’t a problem anymore, for obvious reasons, and a small part of Charlize had been relieved upon hearing of the wedding. But her feelings toward her half brother aside, the draechen could easily use Sareltae for their purposes and start a war. Sareltae had sworn that he would not allow it, but it seemed quite obvious that he had forgotten it.
“We can’t allow Sareltae to run around thinking he’s somehow managed to tame the infamous Dog-Catcher,” Charlize said. “Whatever happens, even if Sari marries Shtamakarein, they can’t be allowed to bond.”
“So what do you suggest?” Misael arched his brow at her. “I assure you, Sari knows his duty very well. He won’t do anything rash.”
Sometimes, Charlize really hated Misael’s propensity to believe the best of people, even when it seemed obvious that it would lead them to a catastrophe. “Are you willing to bet the safety of Ivenia on that?” she asked.
Misael looked away, seeming torn. “This is a pointless conversation anyway. The draechen will never allow us to stop the wedding.”
“They have to if we offer them someone else in return.” Charlize had been thinking about this ever since Eanera had mentioned it. “This isn’t Sari’s destiny. It’s mine.”
Misael’s eyes widened. “No, Char. It isn’t. You will leave things as they are. Your distrust of Sari will cause us all to make an even bigger mess of things. Do you understand me, Char?”
Charlize considered her brother’s words. Misael might have a point. If she pushed too hard, too fast, the end result could be disastrous. And the couple of days they had before the wedding didn’t allow her for any complex preparations, especially since she was trapped here, always watched by the draechen guards. “All right,” she answered. “Do you think Sareltae can at least keep his mouth and his mind shut for the first few days of his mating?”
Misael nodded. “He’s aware of what’s at stake. He won’t just jump into trusting the draechen.”
Charlize had her doubts, but given the circum
stances, her hands were bound. “We’ll talk to Mother when she comes here for the wedding. Perhaps she’ll be able to come up with a better idea.”
Even as she spoke, a shadow of frustration settled over Charlize. She had a feeling that, no matter how hard she and her family were trying to prevent it, war was coming to Ivenia. And it was all Sareltae’s fault.
Chapter Eight
As the wedding approached, Draechenburg opened its doors to guests from all over the paranormal world. Important shifters from the first three castes received invites, as well as magical creatures, elves, sprites, and many others. Draechenburg hadn’t seen so many people from such diverse backgrounds since, perhaps, the wedding of Karein’s parents.
He didn’t like that his mating had turned into a political event, but in the eyes of the world, that was its whole purpose. In spite of it, though, the morning of the wedding, he woke up with great enthusiasm. He’d had a great night, and since Sari had proven to be so open to him, not even a nightmare had return to haunt him. He took that as a good sign. Of course, he hadn’t dared to sleep in his actual bed, and he was a little anxious about sharing one with Sari, but at the same time, he looked forward to it. Whenever he thought about finally making Sari his, his dragon practically purred in satisfaction, almost like it was a feline. It seemed that, despite the beast’s fierce nature, Sari had successfully managed to tame it.
The truth was that a part of Karein remained more than anxious about hurting his mate. It could especially happen when they had sex. Karein had found with past partners that when he came in someone’s body, his semen triggered a transfer of energy between him and the person in question. But Karein’s dreams of Kael and Talrasar had served to tell him one good thing. His ancestor had successfully mated Sari’s. Karein had faith in his bond with Sari, and he knew he and his fae would manage to work things out somehow.
Draechen's Mate [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 2] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 10