Amethyst Storms (Primordial Protectors #1)

11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Alex

I woke slowly, warm and in a soft, snuggly bed, and even in that hazy state everything felt amazing. Sighing contently, I rolled and slid my arm beneath the pillow, pressed my cheek to its softness and inhaled Ionus’s scent lingering on the pillow.

My mate.

I was mated.

Ice baths and freezing showers were behind me now, replaced by a flickering flame that burned inside of me. My dragon’s flame. It felt like my body was attempting to meld with the bed, and I gave in to the boneless feeling and nuzzled the blankets, still a bit in awe over all that had taken place since I’d stumbled into the cavern with the gemstones.

And dragons.

My mate was a dragon, a being I’d always believed was a fairy tale. Learning that they were real had given me back some of the belief in magic that I’d lost. Okay, so maybe that was an understatement. I was carrying a dragon’s flame inside of me. I’d never have a reason to question magic again.

The thought sent a surge of giddiness through me, because now the possibilities were endless. Who knew what else I’d see in this lifetime, or how long that lifespan would be? Was it extended now because of the bond we’d shared? He’d given me a piece of his power, connecting us on a level that I really couldn’t begin to fathom yet, and with it came a healthy dose of sobering fear.

What if I did something to harm the flame? Was that even possible?

For as intimate as the joining of our bodies had been, our dragon’s voice in my head had been more intense than hanging from a ledge by three fingers while struggling to pull myself up before it crumbled completely. It wasn’t just the sound, playful and joyous, but it carried with it my dragon’s deepest emotions, and it had hurt my heart a great deal to not be able to tell him that I loved him when he’d given me such a beautiful gift. The only love I’d ever known was of the loving, nurturing sort that had come from my parents and grandfather. I still remembered my folks hugging me the day they left, my father swinging me down off his shoulders while promising I could join them next time. There had never been a next time, or another love ya, kiddo, be good. Their voices had faded from my memories as had their faces, unless I had a photograph in front of me.

Now I was mated, and I had no way of knowing if my heat had ended because it had run its course, or if it had ended because I would be laying eggs in the near future, a sobering thought when I considered how little I knew about children, let alone dragon offspring.

I was in over my head.

And yet I could feel the warmth of his flame flickering inside of me and in a moment when I might have panicked or sought out a cliff to climb so I could direct my focus outward rather than on the emotions churning inside of me, I just felt grounded and steady. As safe as being held in my dragon’s claws.

It was like being on the receiving end of a mental hug and I took a moment to bask in that while I continued to inhale Ionus’ scent lingering in the bed. He wasn’t there. I’d known that on some level the moment I’d woken, but I’d known, almost instinctively, that he hadn’t gone far and would be by my side in an instant if I needed him.

I did, in the way that my body missed the warmth of his pressed up against me, but I would be okay to wait on that until tonight. He meant for us to share a bed together moving forward, didn’t he?

Damn, another question. We were going to need to sit down and hash out a bunch of things, sooner rather than later, because I didn’t even know what my dragon did with his days or what his life was like here in his mountain home. First, though, I needed to broaden my understanding of dragons, because I felt like that would eliminate some of the general questions and allow me to get to those specific to Ionus a lot faster. For a moment, I considered seeking out one of his brothers, but something told me that act would rub his dragon the wrong way.

I got the feeling that he could be possessive, but I didn’t know if that was a dragon trait or a part of Ionus’ personality. Maybe it was both. If that was the case, then I could think of only one other option, and I knew just how to go about making it happen.

The wards.

I knew where I’d gone the last time I’d tripped them. This time I wouldn’t have to go nearly so far, but first, a shower. Hot water this time, hot, hot, hot. It felt good sliding over my skin and through my hair, which I washed along with the rest of myself before drying off, dressing, and finding the entrance to the tunnels. I paced, back and forth, until I turned and saw Raven standing in the corridor, an exasperated look on her face.

“Really? Again? Please tell me you are not thinking about trying to swim out of here again,” She said. “I do not welcome having to swim after you just to reset them.”

“Actually, I was, um, hoping to talk to you, but I didn’t know of any other way to reach you than to set them off.”

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let me see your phone.”

I passed it to her, and she raised an eyebrow when she noticed that I didn’t have a lock screen set up, but otherwise said nothing as she entered her contact information and passed it back.

“Now you can reach me whenever you’d like and save me a ton of work in the process,” she said as I tucked it back in my pocket.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now how about we find someplace comfortable where we can sit?”

“Perfect.”

Back inside, we settled into comfortable chairs in the library, the warm, crackling fireplace a reminder of the flame I now carried in my heart.

“I’m pleased to see that you look far better than when I saw you last,” she said as she propped her feet on an ottoman. “I trust that you are feeling better, too?”

“Much better. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Thank me by not making it a habit. Your health and wellbeing mean a great deal to Ionus and thus to me. I never want to see such a look of devastation on my friend’s face again.”

“I was coming back,” I blurted.

“I know. You somehow missed a ward on the way out before tripping it on your return passage.”

“What can I say, I’m talented that way.”

She laughed at that and shook her head. “You’ll keep Ionus on his toes, that’s for certain. That’s good, though. He’s needed that for a long time now.”

“He’s very old, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Will he die if something happens to me?” I blurted, heart hammering because out of all the questions I needed to ask and things about dragons that I wanted to know, that was the biggest and most important of all of them.”

“Yes,” she replied and oh how I appreciated her blunt honesty. “Dragons do not survive long after losing their mates. It is one of many reasons that they are so protective of them. One of the others is just how long many are forced to wait before they find them, especially if their mates are not dragon or dragon-kin.”

“Dragon-kin?” I said, stunned and thrilled to have confirmation that dragons weren’t the only mythical creatures that existed in the world.

“Wyverns, for one, are a close cousin to dragons, as are basilisks and cockatrice,” she explained. “Some would argue that they were all the same species once, and that genetic anomalies and the prejudices formed against them are the reason we have the different species today, but that is a longstanding debate for which there is not enough concrete evidence to know for certain.”

“Wow, but there is evidence?”

“Some and most of it can be found right here,” she explained. “Ionus has one of the most extensive libraries on the subject that exists today.”

“Then I hope he doesn’t mind me reading every book on dragons I can lay my hands on.”

“Actually, I believe he would be quite pleased.”

“My heat ended.”

“I know,” she said, giggling a little.

I was glad she left the ‘duh’ off, even if it was echoing in my head. I could be such an awkward dork sometimes, especially when it came to stating the obvious.

“I don’t know if it’s ‘cause he knocked me up, or it was just time to be over,” I tried again.

This time she nodded, though she still wore her bright smile.

“The only thing I know less about than dragons are babies,” I blurted as she rose from her seat and turned, heading for the shelves and slowly beginning to select books.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of,” she explained. “Until a few days ago, you didn’t even know dragons existed.”

“You don’t think it’s weird?” The words poured from my lips before I could attempt to hold them back. “That I’m an omega that knows nothing about taking care of children?”

“Should I?”

“I guess it’s just humans who expect everyone to fall into the same easy molds.”

“No. I know a dragon or two who has the same tendencies to think that way,” she replied. “It’s just not my way of thinking. Your designation doesn’t define you. Believing that you, as an omega, should have all your hopes and desires wrapped up in providing an alpha with a family would be the same as expecting that as a woman, that’s all I’d want, too. It isn’t fair and I abhor disparity.”

I could appreciate that on so many levels and hoped that in time, Raven would become a true friend and confidant. I’d never had one before, outside of Gramps.

“These will get you started,” she said as she placed four books on the end table beside me before resuming her seat.

I appreciated her limiting the number. Too many and I’d have started to feel overwhelmed.

“Could I give you some advice?” she asked.

“Please!” Oh my god, I could have hugged her, and I hadn’t even heard what she had to say yet.

“Trust in your heart and in your dragon,” she said. “He might be an ancient being, but his heart feels every emotion that yours does and his soul has ached for you for a long time. Read the books to begin learning about dragon culture, history and tradition, but seek answers from Ionus for the rest. He will never lie to you, and he will never withhold information that you need to know. You two have just embarked upon a beautiful journey together, one that, Goddess willing, is destined to be long and filled with magic and little snouts nudging between you when they take over your bed. Embrace each moment as they come and explore them. Getting to learn with your mate will just bring you closer.”

Nodding, I felt like I could relax a little. “I feel so out of my element. Too bad there isn’t a manual for what to do when you stumble into a den of dragons and find yourself claimed by one.”

“You could always write your own,” she replied. “Who knows, someday another mate may arrive with all the questions and concerns you have.”

“I wish they’d get here soon, then we could learn together. Hey, if that happens, would you consider teaching a class? How to be a dragon’s mate 101.”

“101 implies that there will be a 102 in the future,” she said, but she was smiling, and it felt good to know that I could count on Raven, despite all the work I’d made for her since I arrived.

“And maybe a 202 and a 302,” I suggested just to see her smile grow.

“I tell you what, you write the manual, and we’ll teach it together,” she offered and in that moment I realized something.

I wasn’t just Ionus’s mate, I was the first mate. Had that given the other brothers hope that there were mates out there for them? Were they a closeknit family? Were his brothers happy for Ionus or jealous of him? Should I stay hidden and away from them so as to not be a reminder of what they didn’t have?

Raven was right. I needed to spend time with my mate talking now that the sharp desire of my heat had been curbed. Ideally, I’d have had the answers I needed before any mating took place, but the fates must have known that I’d have resisted the idea of a mate with far more vehemence had it not made my body crave what my heart had been afraid of.

Then a stray thought hit, and I felt a fleeting moment of panic.

“You said he’d die if something happened to me,” I blurted. “But I’m human. Even if I lived to be a hundred, it wouldn’t be enough to keep from cutting his life short. He’s going to die because he claimed me, isn’t he?”

My cheeks were wet, my eyes were blurry, the tears had come with such a swift sharpness that they’d stolen my breath away.

“No,” she said, having crossed the room without me realizing it to sit on the couch beside me and take my hand.

She gave it a gentle squeeze while encouraging me to breathe until the tears had stopped and I could breathe without my chest feeling like it was being stomped on.

“From the moment he transferred that piece of flame to you, your body not only healed the damage you’d done to it in the tunnels, but it started growing stronger, preparing you to be by his side for far longer than a human lifespan or two.”

And now I was floored again. She could have knocked me out with a feather to the face at that moment, I truly needed time to process that and the future...holy shit…

I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it would bring.