Chapter 41
Gregory
Velvet drapes smothered the windows, keeping the afternoon sun at bay and trapping the heat inside William’s guest room. In the corner, the water in the copper tub remained warm, clouded gray with forge soot. Scrubbing failed to erase the phantom itch of scales retreating beneath my flesh.
Sitting on the edge of the four-poster bed, I tugged on my second boot. William had provided fresh clothes from his own wardrobe after my transformation reduced mine to shredded rags.
Evan faced a tarnished mirror, running a comb through his damp hair. The borrowed tunic hung loose on his frame, the sleeves rolled up to keep them from swallowing his hands.
The comb clattered onto the dresser when he caught my gaze in the mirror.
Evan crossed the room. Without a word, he stepped between my spread knees and climbed onto my lap, his thighs bracketing mine. He sank forward, hands flat on my shoulders as he buried his face in my neck.
His cheek brushed my skin, tearing a shudder through me.
I slid my hands around his waist to lock him in place.
Sweet jasmine wrapped around me, soothing the restlessness clawing at my insides.
When he lifted his head, his mouth meeting mine, I grabbed his ass and hauled him flush against me, deepening the kiss until I tasted the uncertainty he tried to hide.
He broke away first, his breath hitting my chin in short bursts.
A loose strand of damp hair fell across his cheek.
I reached up, tucking the stray lock gently behind his ear.
I cradled the side of his face, my thumb brushing the pulse point, and tilted his head to the side, exposing the skin where my mark was imprinted.
The red threads of our bond had deepened to a rich crimson.
I lowered my head, pressing my nose against the claim to inhale him deeply.
“I called for Lyra in the square, but she wouldn’t even look at me,” he whispered. His eyelids fluttered shut against my palm, his lower lip quivering. “She turned away. And… I have this bad feeling about everything now. Lyra, the Empire, facing Mordaine again, Mom…”
“You don’t need to worry. Give Lyra time. It’s okay for her to be hurt.” I kept my hands firm on him, holding us together. “That’s why we’re here. We’ll make a plan to fight the Empire, Mordaine, and we’ll save your mother.”
“You don’t sound so sure,” Evan said, studying my face.
I exhaled slowly. “I’m not alone anymore. I have you now. I have people counting on me, on us. I’m the Dragon Lord for them. Before, I didn’t have anything to lose.” I tightened my hold on his hips. “If I fail now, everyone dies. You die.”
Evan cupped my jaw, his thumb brushing along my skin. “That won’t happen.” His stare held mine, burning with conviction. “You have me. You have the people of the village. They believe in you. You need to believe in yourself.”
His faith should have calmed the storm inside me. Instead, it fed the panic clawing up my throat. They believed in something I wasn’t sure existed anymore.
“But what if I’m not strong enough? What if they take my head? What if they use the same thing as—”
I snapped my mouth shut, the words dying on my tongue. Heavy silence filled the room.
A crease formed between Evan’s brows as concern and suspicion darkened his eyes. “You’re not telling me something.”
I took a deep breath and held it, my thoughts returning to the wolf’s revelations—the gift the Vramikars had given Emperor Cassian.
Starlirium. The Empire possessed the only weapon capable of extinguishing my bloodline, the very thing they used to drug me and frame me for the Saintess’s death.
And the one that had severed my father’s head from his shoulders, instantly silencing his magic.
The memory turned my blood to ice. That image of him burned into my mind—the moment before we vanished into the tunnels deep beneath the Emberfall Cliffs.
I was not able to bring myself to tell Evan the whole story of what happened before I went into the caves with my mother and siblings.
The truth was worse. I’d seen my father fall, watched the Starlirium blade take his head.
Mother never saw her mate’s ruin. Neither did my siblings.
I dragged them into the darkness before they could glance back, ensuring that nightmare remained mine alone.
“It’s nothing,” I reassured him. “Just old fears.”
A cruel irony twisted in my gut. Evan didn’t know. He had no idea the crystal that brought his soul to this world was carved from that same deadly ore. The magic that gave him life was the only thing that could end mine.
I ran my thumbs over his hip bones, needing to bridge the distance the lie had created.
“I am grateful,” I murmured, “that you spoke for me today. That you stood up when I had to remain stone.” I searched his gaze, hating that I was the danger he stood so close to.
“But I do not want you in the crossfire. I know you were a ruthless man in your other life. You fought your own wars. But this world… It is jagged and unforgiving. I am supposed to be your shield here, my sweet Evan. Not the one dragging you into the slaughter.”
I adjusted my grip on his waist and pulled him closer, burying my face against his stomach. The fabric of his tunic was soft against my lips as I pressed a kiss right over his navel, letting the scent of him fill my senses.
“Alpha,” Evan said, his fingers tangling in my hair. “Don’t do that. You make me more nervous than I already am.”
I lingered there for a moment longer, my thoughts spinning in dangerous directions.
It was a wild, reckless hope, the idea that Evan might already be carrying our child.
If there was a life growing inside him, I wasn’t just fighting for a village.
I was fighting for a future I hadn’t dared to dream of until this very moment.
But if he was, if there was even a chance…
Then I had more than fear driving me now. I had everything to lose.
And I wasn’t all-powerful. Not even close.
A loud knock rattled the door. “Gregory? Evan?” Adam’s gruff tone came through the wood. “It’s time. The council is waiting.”
I straightened without letting go of him. Our gazes locked, and for a heartbeat, neither of us moved. I dipped down, pressing my mouth against the soft fabric covering his stomach one last time.
“Don’t say anything that can put you in more danger,” I rasped against him. “Even if you want to help.”
“I’ll try,” he whispered.