Chapter 12 #2
The touch of his mate's hand against his scales sent a wave through Romilly that he couldn’t describe in any language he’d been taught.
The dragon went utterly silent inside him.
Every cell of his body was focused on that point of contact, on the warmth of those small human fingers pressed gently against what he was.
What he truly was.
"They're warm," Archer said softly, like he was talking to himself. His thumb traced the edge of one scale, following the overlap to its neighbor. "I thought they'd be cold. Like a fish or something. But they're warm."
"Yes," Romilly managed.
"And they're the same color as the picture I drew. But, I didn't know. I was just — I chose blue because it seemed right. And now that I’ve said that out loud I realize that's a strange thing to say."
Romilly chuckled softly. “Not to me. Fate works in mysterious ways.”
Archer grinned at him, his lips curving in a tempting manner Romilly found hard to resist. His mate turned his attention back to the scales. He turned Romilly's arm over, looking at the way the scales caught the fading light from different angles.
“Can everyone in the horde do this?” Archer asked while continuing his inspection.
"In varying forms. Dragons are not all the same. Colors and sizes differ. Some of my family are larger in their shifted form than others."
"Soren too?"
"Yes."
Archer bit his lip before asking, "Is that what happened yesterday? When I heard the sound outside the window, and everyone in the room looked at each other?"
"Soren arrived in their shifted form, yes. I apologize. It was not how I intended for you to find out. I moved quickly to keep you from seeing." Romilly replied honestly.
His mate nodded slowly. He no longer gazed at the scales. Archer was fully focused on Romilly now. The look on the little human’s face would forever stick out to him.
“You were trying to protect me.”
“I was,” Romilly agreed. “You needed to hear the truth from me. Getting surprised by my sibling’s arrival wouldn’t have been good. Plus, Soren was rather frustrated when they came to my office. You did not need to meet them that way.”
Archer turned his focus back to the scales he continued to stroke. “I want you to know first and foremost that I’m not angry at you for keeping this all a secret. If you’d told me any sooner, I would have panicked. Even if I already had some idea…”
“You thought you knew we were dragons?”
"I knew things were different here. The town.
The way it felt when I got off the train.
My whole life I didn't believe in anything like this.
I thought the universe was indifferent at best and actively unkind at worst." A small pause.
"But when I stepped onto that platform, I felt…
warm. I think I've known since my gut told me to get off the train that this was where I was meant to be.”
Romilly had thought himself prepared for whatever emotions his mate felt after the truth came out. He’d turned each scenario over in his head anytime he wasn’t with the little human.
But this had never crossed his mind.
His mate telling him that the bond had moved in him enough to get off the train. That Archer had followed something pulling him here, something he couldn't explain, and hadn't turned away from it even when it would have been sensible to do so.
His dragon, which had been motionless since the moment Archer touched his scales, made a sound deep inside him that Romilly had never heard before.
This was ancient magic.
The mate bond.
“Do you know why I felt pulled here? Is that part of this too? Am I like a latent dragon or something?” Archer questioned.
Romilly kept his expression steady despite the way he wanted to laugh. His mate was fucking adorable.
A latent dragon? Yeah, that didn’t happen. They were too much a part of us to ever be suppressed.
"There is more I need to tell you. Not today. Today I think this is enough. I will tell you all of it. I don't want there to be anything between us that you don't know."
When Archer merely nodded, Romilly couldn’t tell if he should be relieved or if this was the beginning of the end. Not knowing his mate’s thoughts proved to make life more difficult. He couldn’t wait until they were bonded and he had the telepathic connection with his human as well.
“Are you frightened?” Romilly asked the most important questions floating through his mind.
“For a second, maybe. The scales were startling at first. Part of me understood I should have panicked. It wanted me to run. But then I remembered who I was with. You’ve shown me more kindness and care than anyone else in my life. You would never hurt me.”
“Never. You will never be harmed again so long as I am alive.”
Archer grinned again. This time more mischievous than before. “Oh, really? What about if I stub my toes? Or I get a speck of dirt in my eye? Those can hurt too. You won’t be able to stop them.”
“I will do my best to prevent it all. You should only ever feel comfort, peace, and love when here with me and my family. And if that ever changes, you must let me know. Promise me this, little one.”
“Promise,” Archer said, moving one hand to cover his heart. “Now then… Will you tell me more about the horde? Whatever you’re willing to share is fine.”
Romilly didn’t hesitate to dive into more about his family, both blood and chosen.
He explained to Archer how the people of his horde lived alongside the humans of San Noctis.
About the layers of old magic that kept the balance.
He told him about the different shifter species, about the Fae and their factions, about the wolves, organized and feral both.
He spoke carefully, leaving nothing out except the one thing he was saving.
Romilly watched Archer's face with each new fact shared.
When he described Hadrian's shifted form, which was enormous and ungainly in a way that matched his personality so accurately it had always struck Romilly as Fate's finest comedy, his mate giggle.
Archer asked a number of questions along the way. Most of it had to do with how they’d been able to live with humans for so long without being found out. When Romilly explained some of them knew and worked to help keep it secret, his mate immediately pegged one of them.
“Belinda is a human!” The victorious shout amused Romilly.
“Yes, little one. She is.”
“And she keeps the secret for you.”
Romilly nodded. “Yes, she does. She has known for thirty years and has never once spoken of it. She makes exceptional food and she is extremely discreet, which makes her one of the most valuable people in this castle."
Archer smiled at that. "I feel like that's the most diplomatic thing you've ever said."
"I am occasionally diplomatic."
"Occasionally," Archer agreed, and it was so dry that Romilly laughed.
The look his mate gave him at that sent flames through his entire body. Romilly’s dragon made that noise again, this time loud enough for the little human to hear.
“Umm. What was that?”
“That is my dragon. He is very pleased at you teasing us. He likes you very much.” Romilly pulled the scales back into himself, turning his skin back to his normal state.
Archer pouted at his arms, almost like he wished to play more with the dragon part of him. Romilly would have allowed it if his dragon weren’t so on edge.
“I like him too. At least what I’ve seen so far. One day I’d like to meet all of him.”
Romilly stood then, his body too energized to continue kneeling. Archer rose too, his arms lifting, waiting for the other man to pick him up.
There was no power great enough to keep Romilly from doing as requested. Lifting his mate this time around came with more emotion. His little one had touched his scales and liked them. He’d heard the truth, most of it anyway, with an open mind.
There was more to tell. One more truth left to give, and that one was the largest. He would give it tomorrow, or the day after, when Archer had had time to let today settle.
Hopefully his little human took being fated mates with the same ease.