Chapter 9
Galadon
As soon as Rayna exited the tunnel system, I leaped out of my chair and began pacing the length of my chambers. It had taken everything in my power not to reach for her during our conversation, especially toward the end. I knew I’d hurt her. It had to be done, but that didn’t take away from the soul-rending pain I felt at doing it. Perhaps I should have denied her request to discuss our relationship—or lack of one—but she’d stood there so determined, and I found I couldn’t deny her that much despite knowing the end result.
Why couldn’t she have left well enough alone?
I knew the answer because she’d stated it. I’d saved her life instead of letting her die that day, but in my defense, she’d saved me once before as well. It was only fair. True, she hadn’t expected anything in return, but when I found her eviscerated and bleeding to death, I couldn’t stand to watch the light leave her eyes.
The world would have been colder without her in it, and she was the only person who saw straight to the heart of me. It was likely why she had been willing to take a chance coming today because she wasn’t wrong that I cared far more than I should for her.
Then there was that day we’d been together. I’d been unable to control myself the moment I’d held her naked body in my arms—like a parched dragon finding water after days without it. She’d responded to my every touch, kiss, and nibble with such fervor that it heightened my pleasure like never before. It was as if she’d been made for me. Even now, I could feel the invisible threads stretching between us. I’d only solidified our connection by becoming intimate with her, making the situation even more complicated.
Rayna might be a formidable slayer, but she’d wholly submitted to me when it came to sex, and I’d reveled in how easily she let me take control. It made me feel more powerful than ever before. I lost count of the number of times I came inside her that day because it was all a blur of want and ecstasy. My cock could hardly soften after each round before she said or did something to harden it once more.
Even now, I ached with wanting her and was glad I’d stayed seated so she couldn’t see the evidence. That was one of the reasons I’d planted myself in the chair. The very thought of her braving my private domicile and standing within my resting place had me thinking lustful thoughts before she arrived.
I ran a hand through my short hair, still pacing and thinking. Remembering how good we were together didn’t change anything. It would undoubtedly hold as the best day of my life, but it could be nothing more. I would never make the mistake of trusting a slayer again—not even her.
Footsteps sounded down the tunnel. I waited, having no doubt who would come. Other than my mother and I, no one else could get down here without hitting layers of spells meant to confuse and strike fear into any living being’s heart. Not even a squirrel or mouse would try.
“Galadon,” Ujala said as she entered my chambers with fury on her usually kind features. “Have you completely lost your mind?”
Probably since the day I’d met Rayna last summer, but I wouldn’t tell her that.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I growled.
She wagged a finger at me. “You always have a choice, and that woman was destined to be your mate, you fool.”
I let out a mirthless laugh. “Fated mates are a myth, and even if they existed, they wouldn’t be so cruel as to tie a dragon and slayer together.”
Well, if Aidan and Bailey were to be believed, there was a dragon and female slayer who were cursed to be together many thousands of years ago when an enraged sorcerer transformed him into a human for a period. The couple had supposedly given birth to the shifter race during that time, but it hadn’t ended well for them. He’d eventually returned to his dragon form permanently once the curse lifted and had to leave the slayer and his children forever. She had gone on to live thousands of years, not dying in battle like the rest of her kind, and continuing to help protect the human race. No one knew what became of her.
“Fated mates do exist, but only under rare circumstances.” She sighed and shook her head. “Your situation fits those requirements, and you’ll need her in the coming years. Enemies won’t stop coming to this territory for a long time yet. Fate gave you someone fierce who can fight at your side and complement your magic, but of course, you threw her away like garbage.”
I ground my teeth. “You have no idea what you’re talking about because if you’d been here over the last six centuries or even stayed for those first few years, you’d understand the reason I can’t trust a slayer.”
“Why don’t you tell me about it, son? I can’t understand when you refuse to explain anything about our time apart,” she said, giving me a pleading look.
Fine, I would give her this one story if it would calm her down. At least, a short version.
“About six months after you left, when the wards you erected began to fail, two dragons found and attacked me. I was doing my best to fight back, but I was young then, as you know. Just as I thought for certain they would kill me, a female slayer arrived and slaughtered them. She made it look easy. I lay there in my beast form, too injured to move, but rather than finish me as well, she carried me to the den you dug for me.”
Ujala moved to take a seat at my table. “She saved you and tended your injuries?”
“Yes, Amari nursed me back to health.” My throat tightened as I recalled that period in my life. “Not only that, but she stayed and helped teach me how to survive. We hunted for food together, cooked, and talked for hours when there was nothing else to do. She took away my loneliness.”
The slayer had also helped me solve the problem of my clothes becoming too small, though I decided not to mention that to my mother since I didn’t want to add to her guilt more than necessary. Amari had connections with sorcerers who could spell fabric so it wouldn’t burn from a shifter’s overheated skin. She also needed such things, or else she would have lost her garments nearly every time she fought one of my kind. They weren’t quite as sturdy as the camrium cloth shifters preferred to use, but I hadn’t cared back then.
She took care of all my needs without hesitation. There were many nights when I cried, missing my family, or had nightmares from those months alone when I’d struggled to survive and hide from predatory dragons. She’d held me and sworn she’d never hurt me or leave me. I’d believed her.
My mother met my gaze. “How long did she stay with you?”
“About four years. Until the winter when I was twelve years old. I’d just mastered flying the summer before, and Amari had been so encouraging and proud. At that point, we saw fewer dragons sneaking into my territory as they got discouraged by all those who entered and never returned. She was strong and taught me how to fight, along with finding someone to teach me how to build wards, and that kept our enemies out, too.”
I paused to draw a breath. “That year, it grew too cold and the snow too deep for any dragon to venture outside or for her to travel far enough to find those hiding in their den. She held out eight days before she couldn’t take it anymore and turned on me.”
Ujala covered her mouth.
“Yes. She’d been like family and a companion for nearly four years. I loved her more than you can imagine, and I believe she deeply cared about me. Then, one day, she attacked.”
Tears filled my mother’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. How did you survive?”
“I’d like to say she held back, but I’m not sure she did. She was too far gone by the time she lost control. I was a good student, though, and I knew all her fighting strategies.” I paused to carefully choose my words because my mother didn’t need the worst details. “While I didn’t come away without significant injuries, I managed to tear her throat out, and she died quickly after that.”
“It must have been awful for you.”
I sank into my red chair across the room, needing some distance. “It was—very much. I barely remember the weeks that followed as I healed and mourned. So, if a slayer could resist temptation and not kill a child for four years yet still turn on him in the end, how could I trust Rayna? Unlike the other slayer, I don’t think I can kill her if we become mated. She’ll end up turning on me, and I’ll die. She will hate herself for it.”
“Surely it is different with fated mates,” Ujala argued.
“I don’t see how.”
She gave him a pointed look. “You should talk to the Taugud pendragon. Maybe he can give you insight we don’t have on the matter, considering he should be an expert by now.”
I didn’t like the idea of talking to anyone about my personal issues, but to appease my mother, I didn’t outright refuse. “I’ll consider it.”
“Good. See that you do.”