Chapter 18
AERIN
Aerin can hardly believe her eyes. There is a living, breathing Dragon standing before her. Said to be long extinct, they were once the fiercest predators of Novhelm. Giant creatures with scales and wings who breathe fire, collect treasure, and live deep in the mountains.
Only this Dragon isn’t deep in the mountains, and it isn’t only a Dragon, it’s Malice. Right? Aerin thinks of the desperation on her personal guard’s face while he demanded she leave. Those weren’t the expressions of someone trying to keep a secret. Malice was trying to protect her.
And if that’s the case, then is the Dragon Malice? The way the Shifters are themselves in their shifted forms? Or is it something else entirely?
Questions swirl in Aerin’s head, an unrelenting string that only quiets when hot breath rushes over her body in a gust.
The Dragon is gorgeous. Breathtakingly so.
Taller than the trees around them, Aerin could stand between his front legs and not hit his chest. He is on all fours, wings folded over his back, tail ending in a giant spiked club, feet bearing massive talons that dig into the soft ground below.
His entire body is covered in the same scales Malice wore when half-shifted: black and rippling with iridescence, shifting from blue to green to violet under the full moon’s glow.
The Dragon’s eyes burn orange. He brings them level with Aerin’s as he lowers his snout.
Aerin finds herself taking steps forward, lifting her hand toward him.
His teeth are terrifying, and warmth bleeds into their surroundings with each exhale.
She has no doubt he can breathe fire—incinerate her in an instant.
The Dragon is ultimately the one to close the distance between them, pressing his massive snout to Aerin’s hand. His scales are firm but not rough against her skin. A rush goes through her.
There’s a prodding in her head, against her mental barriers. Taught from a young age how to protect her mind, she looks at the Dragon with intention. A question. He huffs in response, sending warm air rushing over her.
Smiling, Aerin opens a small door in her mind. The Dragon immediately speaks in her head, a booming rasp that is nothing like Malice’s voice.
[Let me see you.]
He demands it.
Aerin wants to argue, fire off her own demands. But the longer she stands in front of him, the more she’s sure this is not Malice at all. And if it isn’t Malice, then she definitely doesn’t want to piss him off.
Taking a few steps backward in the grass, Aerin does a slow spin before him, her breath sitting tight in her chest. She’s ready to protect herself but she hopes it doesn’t come to that.
[Let me see you.] He demands it again, curling his talons deeper into the ground. It oddly reminds Aerin of how Malice opens and closes his fists. Aerin starts with her sneakers, kicking them to the side. He seems placated by this.
Aerin can’t let herself wonder why she is about to strip naked in front of a Dragon in the middle of the forest. Now is not the time to question her gut. Aerin pulls her tank top over her head, unbuttons her shorts and shimmies them off her hips. They fall to the grass at her feet.
The Dragon’s orange eyes appraise her.
[Let me see you.] He says it one more time.
Frustration rises.
“You’ve seen me!” Aerin snipes back, folding her arms over her chest. “Tell me who you are. Tell me how you exist inside of him.”
The Dragon narrows his eyes at her before speaking again.
[I have existed inside the strongest of his bloodline for thousands of years. When he dies, I will go to the next. What is your name?]
“You haven’t been paying much attention, have you? I’m the one he came to Valtara for.”
[I don’t find much interest in his daily life.] There is another pause as he seems to examine her. [Who are you?]
“I am Princess Aerin Tolvare.”
[You are more than that. More than a Tolvare.] He narrows his eyes at her again, accusing.
“What does that mean?” Aerin demands.
[You could be like me. A Dragon.]
Aerin has never considered using her magic to turn herself into something so formidable. It would take a massive amount of power, which feels beyond her grasp, especially when her magic has been locked away for so long.
[Trust yourself,] he tells her, as if reading her thoughts, though Aerin knows he hasn’t. Her barriers are up tight. [Let me see you.]
Sighing, Aerin examines her toes. She figures it can’t hurt to try. Letting magic wash over her, Aerin reaches for the water in the lake, pulling at it, manipulating it into what she wants it to be. She sees the form she wants to take, only vaguely, and allows her magic to do the rest.
The first time she takes the shape of something is always a surprise, a lot of herself often shows through. It takes practice to make herself truly indistinguishable from the creature she becomes.
When Aerin opens her eyes, she finds her gaze level with the Dragon’s.
She looks at her own toes again, only to find pale opalescent talons.
She digs them into the grass, relishing in the feeling.
She flicks her clubbed tail. When she meets his stare again, he lets out a noise that can only be described as a purr.
Something inside Aerin’s Dragon brain rejoices.
He nuzzles her neck with his face.
One-word echoes in her new mind.
[Mine.]
When Aerin wakes, she’s back inside her Fae body, her grip on the magic long lost. The creature lying beside her is no longer a Dragon either, Malice’s arms wrapped around her mostly bare body.
The memories of last night are fuzzy. Closer to feelings than thoughts. Aerin remembers being joyous, feeling safe and content. She wonders vaguely if Malice remembers more than she does, if he had a front row seat to her stripping for the Dragon.
Aerin pulls herself out of Malice’s arms and uses her magic to bring her clothes into her waiting hand. Feeling Malice shift behind her, she pulls her clothes on with her back to the Fae. Once covered, she looks at him.
Malice gives nothing away. Instead, he spends a long moment scanning their surroundings from where he is seated in the grass next to her. When his blue eyes finally meet hers, he scans her body in much the same way. Clinical. Aerin swears it’s easier to read the Dragon than the Fae in front of her.
Getting to his feet Malice tucks his wings in tight before offering to help her up. Aerin takes his hand. He avoids looking at her as he helps her up. Light hangs just above the horizon. They’ve been out here all night.
“We—”
“I’ll do it,” Malice cuts her off quickly. “I’ll bond to you.”
“What?” Aerin’s mouth falls open in shock. For weeks there hadn’t been a single hint of Malice budging on the blood-bond. Even after they kissed, he kept his distance.
“We need to get back,” Malice says instead of offering any sort of explanation.
She wants to protest, wants him to tell her everything he keeps locked in his head. Instead, Malice unfurls his wings.
“I’ll fly us.” Malice holds out his hand. Not offering but demanding.
Aerin enjoys the flicker of emotion over his features as her own wings burst from her back. Large with golden feathers they practically touch the ground behind her. Malice’s eyes track over them as he stands stock still.
“You’re not who everyone thinks you are.” He sounds critical in his assessment.
“Neither are you,” Aerin accuses. Malice’s jaw flexes, teeth held tight. “Land at the wall and I’ll disguise us to slip back inside.” Before he can reply, Aerin pumps her wings and takes off into the sky.
They fly quickly and land at the edge of the forest.
“When we cross, act casual. I’ll use my magic so you appear as an Ursine Shifter, and I’ll be a Lion, until we get back to my apartment. We’ll go straight there, yeah?” Aerin spits out the plan.
Malice is tense all over, like he’s thinking too many things all at once. His hair is disheveled, face tired.
“Hey.” Aerin offers her hand. Malice stares at it before snapping his gaze up to hers.
“You should have left when I told you to.” Malice’s voice is cold, hard. The words hit Aerin like a blow. Malice storms away, disappearing through the wall.
The magic of the wall ripples over Aerin like a heavy blanket. When she steps through to the other side, she appears as a Lion Shifter. Malice stands as an Ursine shifter a few feet away.
They walk side by side in silence towards her apartment.
Part of Aerin wants to be mad at Malice.
The vindictive part who blames him for everything.
The part who sees him as the force that separated her from her brother.
The part who sees him as a stubborn, controlling Fae, just like her father.
The part that aches, knowing she has other bond-mates out there, and yet this Dragon-Fae will be her first bonded-mate.
The other part of Aerin, the quiet part that is often buried, desperately wants to talk to Malice. To understand him. To discover him, like a gem hidden deep inside a mine.
The quiet part wins as she says, “It seemed to go alright, last night.”
Malice stiffens.
“I am not privy to those interactions but judging by the fact that you’re neither Dragon food nor torched, I’d have to agree with you.”
Aerin wonders if he’s exaggerating.
“So, you didn’t see me naked?” Aerin smiles, attempting at jest. The smile only widens when Malice stumbles a step, furiously blushing.
Aerin knows he didn’t mean to have such an outward reaction to her words, but Aerin’s magic is tricky.
Malice doesn’t just look like an Ursine Shifter right now, he is one.
And because the Dragon-Fae isn’t used to that, he struggles to control his outward responses the way he usually does.
“Why were you naked?” Malice straightens his posture, grinding his molars as he tries to control the reactions in this body.
“Don’t think about it too hard Grizzly, otherwise those pants will become awfully tight,” Aerin teases, smiling once again.
“Why do you do that?” he snarls, making Aerin jump. Aerin’s heart pounds in her chest at his irritation, she finds herself disappointed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aerin answers petulantly. They step onto the red-brick bridge that spans the slow-moving river.
“You are insufferable,” he murmurs, looking out at the water.
“And yet you are about to tie yourself to me forever,” Aerin doesn’t exactly hold her tongue in the way she means to. This Shifter form is smug, feeding off Aerin’s pride.
Malice stalls on the bridge. Aerin can see it was the wrong thing to say. That everything she’s said has been the wrong thing. Her gut twists as she watches war wage across his features. It’s the most expression she’s ever seen on him. Disbelief. Then pain. Finally anger.
“I used to think all the great mistakes of my life were behind me. But as it turns out, coming here was the greatest of them all.” His voice is low, his tone, brutal.
It cuts Aerin like a knife.
Regret crosses his features before he steels them from her. He storms past her, speaking as he goes. “Please, grant me this last reprieve and don’t speak again until the bonding ceremony.”
Indignation burns brightly inside of Aerin, but she snaps her mouth shut.