CHAPTER 17
I wake up well rested, like I have been asleep for days.
I go into the bathroom to pee and wash my hands.
I stare into the mirror to see my skin glowing, my eyes vibrant, even my hair looks healthier and has more shine to it.
But the most startling thing is the purple tattoos running down my face.
They have spread down my neck. They differed from my normal Fae markings from when I manifested.
These feel warm to the touch. I pull my shirt off to find that from my temple down the side of my neck to my shoulders and wrapped down my arm, are what looks like purple flames.
The ones on my face are still tiny violet flower blossoms with intricate vines that are a darker purple with amethyst leaves but from where my mark sits on my neck, they change to a swirling pattern of silver, gold, and purple.
The flames bleed out of my mark and run the rest of the way to my elbow.
The patterns swirl and sparkle under the lights. Putting my shirt back on, I give up trying to figure out what it is, going into the closet and grabbing some leggings. Once I’m dressed, I head down the stairs looking for my mates, only to find Abigail in the kitchen.
“Abigail, are you alright?” I ask, stepping into the room. She has tears staining her cheeks.
“You’re awake,” she says, looking at me in shock. I nod, stepping a little closer.
“Yes, I just woke up. Is everything alright? You look like you have been crying.”
“Yes, everything is fine. Just tired,” Abigail replies.
Just as I’m about to go to her, I feel a hand tug me back, sparks running up my arm, and my heart beats erratically in my chest at the sight of him.
“You’re awake, little one,” Silas says, pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around me.
I melt into him, loving the feel of his touch and his warm embrace.
Gazing up, he stares down at me, kissing my lips softly.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.
If he is surprised, he doesn’t show it. Silas chuckles against my lips, and I step back, remembering Abigail is in the room with us.
Turning around, she is gone. I walk further into the kitchen to find her, when Silas’s hand on my arm stops me.
“Where did she go?” I ask aloud.
“She has work to do,” Silas says but by the tone of his voice he seems mad at her which confused me. Silas pulls me against him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking us into the corridor. Then he pulls me toward the library.
When we enter, Matitus and Dragus peer up, a smile on both their faces, and I can’t help but smile back at them.
The mate bond is in full force; It’s making me want to run to them, pulling me toward them.
It feels strange, but I also like it. Dragus comes to me first, kissing me and picking me up.
I wrap my legs around his waist, then feel Matitus behind me; he kisses my shoulder and I shiver.
I feel him tug the collar of his shirt that I am wearing away, gazing at the mark.
“What?” Silas asks when suddenly my shirt is being pulled off. I shiver from the cold draft pressing closer to Dragus and stealing his warmth. Fingers trace my markings, their shock evident through the bond we now shared.
“Is it bad?” I ask, confused.
“I’m not sure, I think it’s because we marked you,” Silas says.
“I recognize the marking though; they’re Fae symbols for Dragon,” Matitus says. Silas’s fingers brush over my breast, and I moan when he squeezes my hardened nipple, making my legs tighten around Dragus’s waist. Dragus laughs while Silas tugs my shirt down and I instantly miss his touch.
“Obviously, the bond has kicked in,” Dragus chuckles, leaning in and inhaling my scent.
Dragus turns around, placing me on the edge of the desk.
He stands between my legs, and I peer down at what they are looking at.
My grandmother’s journal is open and I can see the writing.
I go to pick it up when it vanishes from my hand.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, holding my hand out expectantly. Silas puts it in the safe and I frown. He’s hiding something.
“What did it say? Does it say how to break the curse?”
Silas is silent for a second before turning to me, and Dragus moves. Silas takes his place between my legs and I can feel Matitus and Dragus are a little uneasy about something.
“It tells you how to break it, doesn’t it?”
Silas glances to Matitus over my shoulder, and I look, too. Matitus is glaring at Silas, making me frown. What has gotten into these two?
“It does,” Silas says, staring down at me and my eyes light up excited to know. If I break the curse on the Dragon Kings, it means I can break the curse on the Fae.
“It doesn’t matter right now. We can discuss it later,” Silas tells me, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.
Silas then pinches my chin between his fingers and bringing his lips to mine.
Arousal floods me instantly as I pull him closer, and he groans into my mouth.
My hand goes to his side as I pull him closer to me, my core pulsating in anticipation.
I have never felt this aroused. The sparks rush over my skin, threatening to set me on fire.
I hear their voices resounding around me yet their lips aren’t moving. Matitus speaks to both Silas and Dragus, and I pull away, peering up at Silas questionably.
“What?” Silas asks, giving me an odd look. Did I just imagine it? Did I hear correctly? Silas kissed me and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“She’s going to hate us, she will never agree, Silas,” Dragus’s voice says in my head. Or maybe I was in his?
Silas’s growl vibrates through my head like a freight train as he kisses me more fiercely.
“She doesn’t have a choice,” he snaps back at Dragus. I pull back.
What the fuck are they talking about?
Silas groans, annoyed I stopped kissing him. He reaches for me, pulling me closer to the edge of the desk. But I don’t answer when he kisses me and he growls.
“What? Why are you being like this now?” he whines, making me look at him.
“Why am I going to hate you?” I ask. Silas glances at Dragus and I can sense their confusion.
“What are you talking about?” Silas asks.
“Dragus said I would hate you, that I will never agree, and you said I have no choice. Now what the fuck are you talking about?” I demand. Silas’s anger comes through the bond and the realization of what I said coming from Dragus and Matitus.
“You could hear us?” Dragus asks, stepping closer. I nod, confused myself.
“That’s a Dragon trait, not a Fae one,” he says, glancing at Silas.
“Must be her mark,” he answers, and it kind of makes sense. Silas pulls on my hand, wanting me to get up when I shake my head.
“Are you going to answer me?” I ask, looking to Dragus, his eyes instantly snapping to Silas for permission. Silas growls and the bond goes quiet. They have put their walls up blocking me out. They will not answer.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about right now,” Matitus answers, but I know they are lying. Silas tugs on my hand and I pull it back.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on,” I tell them.
Silas’s breathing becomes heavy, and I can feel his anger radiating out of him, threatening to suffocate us. Standing, I reach in his pocket and grab the key to the safe. He grips my wrist tightly.
“It’s the book, isn’t it?” I ask, staring at Matitus and Dragus who don’t answer.
“Give me the key,” I tell Silas, but his grip only tightens and for a second I think he is going to break it. Matitus gives in, and I am pretty sure it’s because he is worried Silas is about to hurt me.
“We need a magical sacrifice.”
My gaze snaps to Matitus and Silas growls behind me.
“A magical sacrifice?”
“Yes, only the Oracle can break the curse or spirit user,” Matitus says.
My mind instantly goes to Abigail. She is a Witch. Was she a spirit user though? And when they say sacrifice, do they mean to kill them?
“So, you need a Witch or an Oracle?”
“No, a Witch is bound to their element and there are no Witches left anyway so a new Oracle can’t exist.”
“So that means?” I ask, confused.
“The book says only the blood sacrifice of the Oracle can break the curse or a powerful magical sacrifice.”
“I still don’t understand, why would I be mad about that?” I ask.
“Because if we can’t find the Oracle or she doesn’t exist to break the curse; it means we will need a Fae to give up their magic because besides the Oracle, Fae are the only spirit users.
Dragon magic can’t be sacrificed because we charge from the fire element, mermaids, the water, Witches the earth.
The angel is air. Except the Oracle, The Oracle is also a spirit user, and without an Oracle that leaves only a Fae to break the curse. ”
“So, you need my blood? And what else?” I ask, trying to remember how the pentagram balance worked.
“For the Oracle to break the curse, we need her blood sacrifice and the blood of the night and light, so Vampire or Werewolf because they are cursed to the moon in a way and humans are light. It’s the same way they created the balance that created the treaty.
Blood from each element and blood of the moon and sun binding us all to stick to the treaty. ”
“Then how did the treaty break?”
“A spirit user broke the balance.”
“How?” I ask, staring at Silas who looks extremely uncomfortable. His aura was deadly.
“That doesn’t matter. They broke the treaty, and the kingdoms fell; that’s how the war started. And that’s how we and the Fae were cursed.”
“I still don’t understand what you need me to do?” I try to piece all together.
“We need you to give up your magic, sacrifice it. You will become a Fae without magic,” Silas growls loudly. Dragus grabs his arm, and I can feel him wanting to hurt Matitus for what he said.
“I’m not lying to her!” Matitus yells at him.
Silas’s rage causes the temperature to rise, and I jump as I feel searing heat wash over me, making me scream.
He stops, realizing what he did. My skin blisters, like a terrible sunburn, reminding me of the Dragon heat.
I pant, trying to catch my breath. Matitus doesn’t look affected at all.
Dragus, on the other hand, is just as affected as me, probably because he isn’t a full Dragon.
“Say it!” I scream through gritted teeth.
“Your sacrifice means you can’t bind the Fae back to their magic,” Matitus says just as Silas lunges at him, knocking him into the wall then punching him.
Dragus grips Silas’s shoulders, yanking him back.
Silas throws him, sending him into the desk and falling at my feet. I help him up, Silas grabs him.
“I won’t do it,” I tell them, and Silas freezes.
“What did you say?” Silas asks, letting Matitus go, shoving him backward. Silas turns on me, stalking toward me like a predator stalking its prey.
“I said I won’t do it. I won’t sacrifice the Fae, Silas,” I tell him, moving to the other side of the desk. The look on his face is haunting, like he wants to rip me apart. The rage coming through the bond makes my blood run cold.
“You don’t have a choice, Elora. You will do it.”
“No, I don’t care what you say, nothing is worth sacrificing an entire species!” I yell at him, and he grips the desk, flinging it into the wall, barely missing me. I flinch at the impact as it crashes into the bookshelves, sending books flying in every direction.
“This is what you exist for; you are the only one who can break the curse on the Dragon Kingdom,” he bellows.
“Not at the sacrifice of my people, I won’t.”
“There is no Fae left, Elora. Who are you saving? Marian? She is too old for magic, and you don’t even know how to use it. Your sole purpose as our mate is to bear our children and to break the curse. That is your duty to us. The entire reason you are alive,” he growls, gripping my arm tightly.
“I will not go against my beliefs just to break a curse on your kind,” I tell him.
“You don’t have a fucking choice. You were made for us, solely to please us and do as you’re told, to break the curse. What purpose do we have for you otherwise?” he growls.
It would have hurt less if he punched me, his words cut deeply.
They didn’t want me; they just wanted me to break the curse and bear their children, purely a baby incubator.
How could I have been so blind? All because of a bond I never asked for?
I feel stupid to for thinking they actually wanted me.
Tears brim in my eyes, my heart hurting.
If only I remained cold and distant like I planned. If only the Dragon heat killed me.
“And if I refuse?” I ask, staring at him.
“Then I will burn this kingdom down with you in it,” he says, his voice cold and emotionless. I feel a sense of uneasiness pulse through my bond with Dragus and Matitus. They don’t agree with him, but his word is law, and I realize they won’t go against their mate, not even for me.
“Blaire rejected you, didn’t she?” I ask and Silas freezes, a growl escaping that felt like it vibrated through the entire room answering my question.
“Now I understand why. You’re a fucking monster.
And I will never hand it over. Burn it down, Silas.
Then what? You wait another hundred years for a new Fae, sorry to tell you, but my bloodline ends with me. ”
His hand connects with my face. My head whips to the side and the sound resonates through the room. My face stings from his palm as I clutch my cheek.
“You dare speak her name to me? Your great-grandmother started the war. She broke the treaty. She is the reason I hate Fae and the Aziza family. The reason I fucking hate you is because you look exactly like her, and you are exactly like her. You will do it because if you don’t you will meet the same fate she did.
I don’t need you to love me to bear our children and you will carry them even if I have to hold you down myself,” Silas snaps back at me.
He turns on his heel and stalks out, only stopping when the next words leave my lips.
Fighting back tears and hurt within my chest, I say, “I, Elora Velinia Aziza, direct descendant of the Royal Aziza bloodline, reject the Dragon Kings of the Opal fire Kingdom Sil—”
His hands are on my throat in seconds before I can finish.
I become dizzy as I claw at his hands. Dragus and Matitus try to rip him off me and his hands burn into the flesh of my throat as I struggle to breathe.
His hands restrict my airways, cutting off all my oxygen and I see black dots dance in front of my eyes, growing bigger and bigger until all I see is black.