16. Maya
Maya
“Marco?” I asked, confused as I tried to keep up with him, my face flushed by the energy soaring through our bond.
It was a heat that was whipping away anything else as I shivered from the raw power of it.
I had felt his energy amping up consistently since we had arrived here, but I honestly hadn’t known what it would result in.
This was something else entirely. I let out a relieved sigh as we left the ballroom and began down a hall, the pressure of eyes from my parents and apparent brothers suddenly gone as I felt like I could be myself far more.
Marco’s fingers were intertwined with mine, my left hand quite warm as he rubbed his thumb over the skin in a soothing pattern.
Specifically the finger next to my pinky.
It confused me because I almost felt like he was hiding my hand, encompassing it completely with his own as people watched us in passing.
“This is going to drive me up the fucking wall,” Marco mumbled under his breath.
Before I could ask what he meant, I was quickly pulled down an empty side corridor, his massive body crowding mine up against the smooth, hard surface.
His tense demeanor softened slightly as he ran his nose down my neck, seeming to consider something.
“Marco? Are you okay?” I asked softly. I tried to angle my face to see him, but he kept me locked there, his entire body tense and his dragon shifting under his skin, causing his pulse to hitch.
“Can you do something for me, baby girl? Wear something for me?”
“Yes?” I tried to pull back again to see his expression, but it was almost impossible with how he was holding me. I could feel his dragon right under his skin, trying to escape, so the rumble that came from his throat at my movement wasn’t very surprising.
What was surprising? The cold, delicate band I felt slip onto my finger, a flash of something shiny bouncing off the walls in reflection.
Had he just put a ring on me?
Marco slowly pulled back as I immediately brought my hand up, my eyes widening, first in confusion and then awe at what was on my finger. Because there was absolutely no way to not see what was on my finger. I mean, it was huge!
“What is this?” I asked softly, emotion catching in my throat at the vulnerability on Marco’s face when I looked back up, his eyes trained on my expression.
“Something that I have been wanting you to wear for a bit now,” he confessed roughly, looking down at my left ring finger. “It looks beautiful on you.”
I nodded, unable to focus on the shiny piece of jewelry because I needed him to help me understand what was going on here. I opened my mouth but he kissed me, deeply, as I let out a happy hum, trying to decide how to shape my question.
“This is my ring finger,” I pointed out breathlessly as he pulled away. “A ring is on my ring finger. Like, the finger that you are supposed to wear a ring on while married.” Okay, this wasn’t ending up a question.
Marco’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Yes, that is the finger, and it does have a ring on it.”
“So what does this mean to you?” I asked softly, my voice thick with emotion, wanting him to say what I hoped it meant, even if it was only an ‘eventually.’ Even if it meant feeling awkward on how to handle this.
I didn’t want this just to be about him being protective, because I had noticed my mates were very much so.
Marco’s voice turned soft and velvety. “It means the same thing as the brand on your arm and the bites on your body. It means you’re ours. Forever.”
Oh. My heart began to inflate.
“And you’re mine?” I clarified before smiling. “You know… you may end up having no places left to mark me between all of this.”
“Always yours,” Marco answered sincerely, his eyes burning with truth before he admitted, “You know how much I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Plus, there are always other ways to make it very obvious who you belong to.” He leaned down and nipped my lip, making me sigh into him as his fingers ran up my waist and his thumb drew lazy circles on my stomach.
“I want all these fuckers to stop trying to steal you away from us. I’m selfish with your attention.
I didn’t realize how much I would hate having to share you with the rest of the world.
I want to mark you in every single way possible, Maya. It’s like a damn compulsion.”
“You have all of my attention,” I promised, running my tongue against the seam of his lips as he let out a throaty groan.
“So you will wear it?” His voice was absolutely intoxicating, and I was pretty sure the man could convince me to do absolutely anything.
“I didn’t realize it was a question,” I pointed out shyly.
Marco’s eyes darkened as he kissed me again. “Good girl.”
My hand slid up his chest as I smiled further, looking at the ring. I couldn’t help but look up at him, my face flushed at his words of approval. “It’s really sparkly.”
“And pink,” he mused.
It was pink, and it was so impossibly gorgeous.
The gold band itself was simple, with small diamonds that wrapped around my entire finger, and the main stone was a massive pink oval diamond.
It wasn’t surrounded by anything, it was just stunning in its simplicity.
And sparkly. So ridiculously sparkly. I couldn’t help but let out a small, pleased sound from my throat, my phoenix absolutely loving it.
I wanted to always have this on, and I was really hoping that was an option.
“You like it?” Marco asked, his voice sounding nearly concerned.
“I can’t stop staring at it,” I admitted and then looked up at him. “I don’t know what to say, Marco. It’s beautiful.”
When had he even gotten this? Did the others know? I mean… did this mean I was engaged? I had a ton of questions, but somehow I knew that this was past being engaged or anything like that. It was another symbol of our bond, just like the brand and mate marks. It made me love it that much more.
“Say that you will wear it,” he insisted.
I flashed a smile and reminded him, “You didn’t really ask.”
“Nope,” he rumbled softly, cupping my jaw. Something serious crossed his face again as I frowned, worried about where his thoughts were.
“Of course I’ll wear it,” I murmured. “What’s bothering you, Marco?”
“Your brothers aren’t wrong, Maya. We don’t have a good reputation here for a reason?—”
“I don’t care about your reputation,” I admitted softly. “You didn’t ever question my worth when you found out about the family I came from. Your past doesn’t scare me, Marco. I know you.”
His eyes shone with a warmth and relief that I hadn’t expected, mostly because I wasn’t positive how he could ever doubt how I felt about him.
About any of them. Hadn’t they made a point about looking past everything I’d been through?
I mean, my mother had said enough mean crap about me to scare away anyone from my life, not to mention the effect it had on my confidence.
My lips parted in realization that my doubt about being a burden in their life was similar to the insecurity they felt about being in mine… unneeded. I moved closer into Marco, wrapping my arms around him and letting my head fall back as I bathed in his warmth.
“I don’t want to go back in there,” Marco admitted after a moment.
“Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming between the parent and brother thing. Although, I do sort of want to be friends with Eleven, but I have a feeling she doesn’t want to be friends with me.”
Marco chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s the case, baby girl.
I don’t know the Group Leader personally, but if she’s at Eldur Academy without being a dragon or having any connections, it’s for a reason.
She probably isn’t the safest to be around, so friendship probably isn’t something that she is actively considering with the Dreki realm’s lost princess. ”
Frowning, I tilted my head. “I think my brothers disagree. About the ‘safe’ thing.”
Marco’s face turned slightly more serious. “Your brothers don’t have room to talk. They don’t have to adhere to normal military conduct, so they can do whatever they want.”
My lips opened in surprise because that sounded dangerous, and I didn’t even know what normal military conduct was. Before I could comment on anything, the energy shifted in the hallway and Marco sighed, stepping away just slightly as Queen Cyra peeked around the corner.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt?—”
“Commander Moretti.” Nuriel appeared next to her, offering him a dry look.
“Walk with me.” My mate’s annoyance filtered through our bond, but he kissed my temple and led me forward until I was standing near my mom, her arm hooking with mine as she led me the opposite way of the ballroom, the men following.
I watched her curiously, feeling as though she had something to say.
When we finally made it out to an open air balcony, the two men stayed behind as my mom patted the bench next to her to sit down.
“You’re going to leave,” my mom stated softly, not asking. It didn’t take away from the sadness in her voice, and I felt a surge of guilt at that.
“Yes,” I confirmed, worried she would be mad at me.
I decided to explain myself a bit more fully, not wanting her to think it was because of her.
“I have to know if there are more like me… What I went through, I’m realizing more and more, was not okay.
I can’t live with the knowledge that there are more girls just like me. ”
Cyra examined my face and squeezed my hand.
“You have always been so sweet. Even when you were little you would go out of your way to help others. I want you to know, though, that we can handle this from here. We can send teams in. This is an act of war against the Dreki realm. One where we have been slighted for nearly two decades. I wanted to talk to you about it before we decided anything, but I can’t let this stand. ”