Chapter 17
dimitri
. . .
Glimmerspire Amphitheater in Cursinia glittered like a floating jewel above the Moonfall River.
Its crystal architecture refracted the sunset into violet and gold shards across the marble courtyard.
Siren-carved pillars were enchanted with faint melodic notes as wind brushed them.
Soft glowing vines curled around the entrance archway, glowing faint blue like starlight trapped in petals.
This location was truly breathtaking, and it would be my first and last time playing here.
It was finally time for my final recital, my last public appearance as a pianist.
The perfectly crafted life I’d been raised to uphold was now something I was officially choosing to leave behind.
Yet, all I could think about was whether Rune would like the piece I’d created for her. I knew she wasn’t into music, but I hoped she could feel the emotion I’d poured into the melody for her.
A soft tremor moved through my chest just imagining what the bond would send me while I played and she listened.
It would also be the first time she’d heard me play.
Sabine had allowed the two of us the night off because of this recital, and she was everything I wished my mother had been. Jesper had assured us that our absence for one night wouldn’t hurt anything.
It wasn’t the perfect time to do this, but it was something I had to do.
I had to close the door on this life once and for all.
The faint smell of resin and polished wood clung to the air as I smoothed my fingers across the glossy black of the grand piano waiting center stage. My fangs hummed with anticipation, and my magic responded to my mate sitting in the front row of the audience in the seat I’d reserved for her.
The matebond was bright and warm, buzzing with excitement and pride.
It made my knees weaken, and my nerves knotted in my gut.
When the lights dimmed, the crowd hushed, and my name echoed across the hall.
The velvet curtains spread, and the stadium opened around me, the cathedral carved from literal crystal with arched ceilings, with beams glittering and floating lanterns drifting lazily above the audience.
Rows of velvet seats gleamed softly from enchanted lights beneath them.
I used to think it was my dream to play here, but now…
I sat at the piano.
My only dream was being an agent alongside my mate, who shared the dream of making Kalista a better place.
The crowd disappeared, and Rune’s presence in the matebond pulsed like heat along my spine. There was anticipation, admiration, and the intoxicating feeling of love that made my heart pump harder.
My fingers moved across the keys in soft, low chords. The vibrations reverberated through my chest, trembling with the emotion I didn’t know how to speak aloud. The amphitheater swallowed each note and sent it echoing upward toward the shimmering rafters.
The melody grew, climbing gently before it soared higher, as if trying to grasp something beautiful and unreachable all at once.
It was the feeling that swirled through me the moment I met my fated mate and every moment after. Watching her incredible abilities and knowledge of being an agent had only made me admire her more.
A warm ache spread through her chest straight into mine. Her admiration wrapped around me like her hand resting on my chest.
The piece shifted into a darker flow. It was richer, heavier, and filled with the grief and longing I’d carried my entire life.
I longed for her the moment I saw her, but I never thought I could have her…
I felt her pride sharpen into something protective.
I closed my eyes, letting the music speak where I couldn’t.
By the time the final note settled into silence, my hands were trembling.
Then, the applause hit like a tidal wave.
It was deafening, but all I felt was Rune’s awe.
I stood up and bowed, but my gaze sought hers instinctively. She was standing in the front row, where I knew she’d be, clapping. Her bright golden eyes were glassy with emotion.
I had never wanted someone’s approval this badly, and having it was an indescribable feeling.
Afterward, once the staff cleared everyone out and the lights dimmed, I was packing my sheet music when my phone buzzed with a call from a prison in Cursinia.
I answered, already knowing who was calling. “Yes?”
My father’s voice cut through the static on the other end. “Your last recital, Dimitri? Truly? You shame yourself.”
“And us,” my mother added. “You had brilliance. You had an opportunity many fought for. And you threw it away for—”
“For a life I chose,” I finished.
“A foolish one,” my father snapped. “You could have been immortalized in the music world. And now? Now, you chase danger with that…that basilisk—”
My fangs slid out, anger radiating through me. “She’s my mate.”
Rune strode across the stage toward me, still in her dress from the recital. It was a dark green silk that shimmered against her skin, her hair in loose curls around her shoulders. Slater had, of course, picked out her dress. It fit her perfectly.
The matebond pulsed with concern as my father continued, “This is our final attempt at preserving our relationship with you, Dimitri. If you choose to waste your life, then you are no child of ours.”
“I choose to spend my life helping other supernaturals with my fated mate,” I bit out. “And if you really want to talk about wasting your life, perhaps you shouldn’t have joined a cult and murdered other supernaturals. That landed you in prison. That’s wasting your fucking life.”
My mother sighed sharply. “You are dead to us.”
The call ended, just like that. After decades of shaping me, molding me, and demanding perfection, they cut me off like trimming the end of a music sheet. It felt more final than any of the times I had been the one to sever the parent-child bond, and it felt more freeing than anything else.
I stood still, phone in hand, the echo of their dismissal vibrating in my bones.
Was I truly free from them now?
Rune walked toward me quietly, her heels clicking over the crystalline stage. “Dimitri…”
I let out a rough, humorless laugh, shaking my head. “Finally.”
Her expression softened. “They didn’t deserve you.”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “No, they didn’t.”
She reached for me, her hands sliding up my arms, palms warm against my skin. The matebond flared with her affection, reassurance, and unwavering belief in me. “I love you, Dimitri.”
My restraint snapped.
I cupped her face and kissed her. My instincts were desperate, my tongue swiping hers, tasting the comfort she offered freely.
She gasped softly against my mouth.
The pounding need to be inside of her was too much.
I lifted her onto the piano’s wide black lid without breaking the kiss.
Her fingers curled in my shirt. “Dimitri…”
“I’m done letting them define any part of me,” I murmured against her lips. “Tonight is mine. And you, Rune Bloodwyne…” I pressed my forehead to hers, fangs grazing her lower lip, “…you are what I want most.”
Her breath trembled. “Then, take me. I’m yours.”
My compulsion slid out of me instinctively, a whisper curling beneath my tone. “Look at me.”
Her eyes snapped to mine, pupils dilating as my power slid over her, and the matebond drenched with raw need from us both.
“Good,” I praised her. “Everything else disappears now. It’s just you and me and this moment.”
“Just us,” she repeated as her pulse fluttered wildly beneath her skin.
I could hear every beat, feel it through the bond, and taste the need roll off her like heat.
I kissed down her throat and sank my fangs gently into the soft space between her shoulder and neck where my mark rested.
Her blood poured down my throat as I drank in heavy gulps, feeling her shudder under me.
A moan escaped her that made every inch of me burn. Her hands fisted in my shirt. “Dimitri…”
I pulled my fangs out and licked the wound clean as it healed. “Tell me you’re mine,” I whispered against her skin.
“I’m yours,” she promised as I laid her back across the piano.
Sliding my hand between her legs, I found her bare and wet.
“Fates,” I hissed as I pressed my body over hers, lips hovering just above her.
“Please,” she moaned, wiggling underneath me.
I slipped two fingers inside of her. Thrusting them up, she soaked my hand. My other hand came up and tugged the low scooping neckline down, exposing her breasts. I leaned down and nuzzled them, licking and sucking at her nipples. My venom spread through her as I allowed my fangs to cut her gently.
I curved my fingers in deeper strokes, and pleasure shot through the matebond.
Her breath came in soft pants as her hips rolled against my hand. “Please, I need you.”
I slipped my fingers out and unzipped my dress pants, pulling my heavy erection out and lining up with her opening. I sucked hard on her nipple before kissing my way up her neck and taking her mouth with mine again.
She squirmed against me, her thighs spread wide as she reached down and guided me inside her.
My own moan escaped with hers. “You’re going to come for me, okay?”
She nodded, and my compulsion slammed into her. Her back arched as I pushed myself deeper inside, pulling back almost all the way before plunging back in. She spasmed around me, gripping me tighter. I thrust into her hard and deep as she continued to come.
Her screams of ecstasy echoed beautifully through the concert hall, and I found that I loved her sounds more than any music I’d ever heard.
Each hard thrust made her breasts bounce from the force.
I continued to piston harder as she continued her long, relentless orgasm with broken cries and moans. All she could do was grip my shoulders and take what I gave her.
Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as her legs wrapped around me. The matebond was overwhelmed with ecstasy.
I continued to thrust into her as her muscles rippled around me.
Passion burst in a white-hot light behind my eyelids as I stiffened and convulsed, unable to hold back any longer. I was paralyzed by the shocking pleasure of the matebond, and I rocked my hips one more time before cupping her face and staring deep into her eyes.
“You did amazing, lethal darling. You can stop for now,” I whispered my compulsion.
Her body seized under me as she let out an exhausted mewl as her orgasm tapered off.
She swallowed gasps of air trying to catch her breath, and I helped her sit up on the piano, fixing her dress to cover her breasts again.
I pulled out, and our mess glistened on the piano’s lid. Helping her down, I smoothed out her dress, and she wobbled on shaky legs as she clung to me.
I bent down and scooped her up, thankful I’d rented the hall out for the night. “I love you, Rune,” I mumbled against her hair, inhaling her midnight orchid scent.
“I love you,” she yawned, leaning her head against my shoulder. “I also really love your power.”
My heart swelled with love for my fated mate, and I held a newfound motivation in my soul that hadn’t been there before tonight.