Chapter 23
“Care if I sit?” Ulrik asked.
Vaughn bit back an angry reply. “I’d rather you didna.”
“Too bad.”
Vaughn rolled his eyes as Ulrik lowered himself to the ground beside him.
“This isna the Vaughn I know,” Ulrik said.
“People change.”
“We’re no’ people.”
Vaughn fisted his hands as his irritation spiked. “Dragons change.”
“You should be fighting for her.”
“If she doesna feel I’m her mate, it’s pointless.”
“But you think she’s yours.”
Vaughn turned his head to look into Ulrik’s gold eyes. “I know she is.”
“Sitting here willna get you your mate. Go after her.”
“You make it sound easy.”
Ulrik’s lips twisted as he issued a half-shrug. “It is.”
“She’s known who I was from the beginning. She’s known where I was the entire time. If she felt I was her mate, she would’ve returned to me.”
“A dragon would’ve, aye. She’s only half-dragon.”
Vaughn shot him a flat look. “Do you think I doona know that? I’m all too aware.”
“All I’m saying is that she might feel things differently being only half-dragon. Her Fae half may interfere with her discovering her mate. Right? You can no’ deny there’s a chance.”
“There’s a chance. But I doona think that’s true.”
Ulrik frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“They doona want any Kings in Zora. No’ to live. No’ even to visit.”
“But…Con and V are there now. Varek was there. You were there.”
“Varek wasna there of his own volition. From what Eurwen told me, Brandr wasna happy she built the doorway to allow Con and Rhi in.”
Ulrik’s lips flattened as he nodded. “Then you arrived.”
“That’s when Eurwen told him that the two of us had met long ago.”
“I’m guessing he didna take that well.”
Vaughn lay back to look up at the sky, linking his hands behind his head. “You could say that. Eurwen willna consider living here. She said her place is on Zora, ruling with her brother.”
“And they doona want us there,” Ulrik said into the silence. “Shite.”
“Precisely,” Vaughn replied in a dry tone.
Ulrik released a sigh. “Eurwen might well want you, brother, but she finds herself torn between two places.”
“There’s no way around that.”
“There’s always a way.”
Vaughn snorted. “Doona throw my words back at me. I said them regarding legal issues.”
“You can no’ deny it works in this scenario, as well.”
“You’re trying to give me hope.”
“And you’re giving up entirely too easily,” Ulrik retorted. “The Vaughn I know doesna back down from a fight.”
Vaughn rolled his head to look at Ulrik. “This isna a battle, my friend.”
“It’s a battle of your heart.”
“When did you become so romantic?”
Ulrik’s gaze drifted away. “There isna a King here who hasna spent lifetimes yearning for his mate. The Fae and even the mortals continually search for the other halves of their souls. We’re lucky that we’re able to discern it.”
“The Fae and humans can—and do—live without their mates, even if they find them. We can no’.”
Ulrik’s gaze jerked back to him. “You’re needed here.”
“That isna true, and you know it. Dreagan would continue. The Kings would continue if I died. That is true of any of us. We doona have a purpose anymore. We accepted the mortals here, gave them a home. And then let them dictate how things would be. We allowed them to push us until we had no choice but to send the dragons away.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We had a choice. We chose to be true to who we are.”
“Aye. I’ve told myself that for a long time. Now, I wonder if I’ve been telling myself a lie.”
Ulrik lay beside him. “You say that because you’ve been to Zora.”
“Eurwen and her brother have the humans contained to a certain place. Dragons doona venture there, and the mortals are no’ allowed on the dragons’ side.”
“Ah, but they do cross.”
“No’ many,” Vaughn argued. “Eurwen and Brandr have given the dragons a place to prosper and grow.”
Ulrik drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “That is working for them now. It willna always. What do you think Brandr and Eurwen will do? What do you think the dragons will do if the humans attack?”
Vaughn’s heart clutched in his chest because he didn’t want to answer that question.
“They’d stop the humans by any means necessary,” Ulrik said for him. “We both know that. Varek told us that Zora is similar to our realm thanks to Erith, but it doesna hold the magic that chooses us as Kings.”
“Nay,” Vaughn replied softly.
“It’s that magic that kept us in line, so to speak. It chose only the bravest and most lethal dragons to lead. But first and foremost, those dragons needed a good heart. There is nothing like that on Zora for the dragons or Eurwen and Brandr.”
Vaughn briefly closed his eyes. “The twins are so intent on no’ making the same mistakes we did that they willna be able to see that they’re making new ones.”
“From what you and Varek have said, Zora is beautiful. That will all change the moment Eurwen and Brandr feed their dark side and kill the humans. The Eurwen you know now will be gone.”
Vaughn didn’t like to even consider that situation.
“Varek likes Brandr, but Brandr willna listen to anything any of us has to say.”
“Eurwen might.”
Vaughn looked up at the stars above him. “I’m no’ so sure.”
“We should try.”
“There’s no reason for either of them to even consider what we’re saying because nothing changes on Zora.”
It was Ulrik’s turn to snort. “Oh? Some person Jeyra called the crone managed to pull Varek from our world to theirs. I’d say that’s something to think twice about.”
“I forgot about that.”
“Understandable. You just found the woman you’ve spent eons combing the Earth for.”
Vaughn met Ulrik’s gaze. “The crone needs to be found so we can figure out what she did.”
“And make sure she can no’ do it again. My thoughts exactly.”
“I have to return to Zora.”
A smile pulled at Ulrik’s lips. “That you do. And while you’re there, remember why you’re so good at being a lawyer. You’ve got a gift.”
“For understanding and using the humans’ legal system,” Vaughn stated with irritation as he sat up.
Ulrik followed him, shaking his head. “That’s only part of it.
You have a cool head, Vaughn. You’re able to hear what others say.
You doona just listen, you understand. You’re also able to get them to understand you.
That isna something to discount. It’s time you realized your gifts and used them properly. ”
Vaughn nodded, a plan beginning to form. “Aye.”
“And while you’re there, you might also want to spend some time with Eurwen.”
“If she’ll allow it.”
Ulrik grinned as if he were hiding something. “Oh, she will.”
Vaughn frowned as he cocked his head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see once you’re in her realm.”
“I’m no’ supposed to go back.”
Ulrik got to his feet. “Says who? The door isna closed. Besides, Con is still there.”
That was a good point. Vaughn stood and faced his friend. “There’s still a chance this willna work.”
“What would you rather do? Sit here and slowly die? Or go to Zora and fight for your mate and her realm?”
“You know the answer,” Vaughn replied tartly.
Ulrik laughed and slapped him on the back. “It’s the answer for any King. You just needed to be reminded of that.”
“Thank you.”
“You would’ve come to that conclusion alone. I just helped you get there quicker. Shall I bring you to the doorway?”
Vaughn grinned. “Of course.”
Ulrik held out his arm with the silver cuff. It had been given to him by a Fae and allowed him to teleport. The instant Vaughn put his hand on him, Ulrik jumped them to the Dragonwood.
“The doorway is there,” Ulrik said, motioning with his hand.
Vaughn knew they were in the right area, but that didn’t mean Eurwen had left the doorway open. “Are you sure?”
“Rhi put the two white pebbles on the ground to mark the doorway,” Ulrik explained.
“That makes things easier for us.” Vaughn took a step, then paused. “There’s a chance Eurwen willna be happy to see me.”
Ulrik’s nose wrinkled as he shrugged. “She feels something for you, brother. The more time you spend together, the more she’ll see it. It doesna matter what realm you’re on.”
Vaughn knew Ulrik was right. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to chase after Eurwen. He had searched for her all this time. He would continue for as long as he had hope that she cared for him.
Ulrik was right. Eurwen did feel something for him. It was there in her kiss, in her touch. Even in the way she smiled at him. Either she didn’t know her feelings, or something else was holding her back. It was time he pushed to find the answer—for both of them.
And if she ultimately rejected him and left him without a mate, at least he could look back and know that he had done everything he could.
Vaughn looked over his shoulder at Ulrik. “I doona know when I’ll return.”
“Con and V will have your back there. We’ve got you covered here,” Ulrik said with a grin.
Vaughn squared his shoulders. It hurt that Eurwen had left to return to her realm, but had he actually expected her to stay after what had transpired between them? He took a deep breath and took two steps. With the third, he was in Zora.
Ulrik released a sigh of relief as Sebastian walked out from behind a group of trees.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Sebastian cautioned.
Ulrik looked into his topaz eyes. “There was no other choice.”
“Let’s hope Eurwen reacts as we hope.”
“And Eilish doesna skin me alive,” Ulrik said with a grimace.
Sebastian laughed. “Oh, she will. I just hope I’m there to see it.”