Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Mother. I was just about to come see you.”
Her eyes flare as she focuses on something behind me, or I should say, on someone.
I know what she sees—Elsie covered in nothing but a bath sheet with that look on her face. It’s a look only a well-fucked woman wears.
“You’ve mated,” my mother whisper-exclaims.
Almost immediately, a frown pleats her brow. The tangible harmony that exists between mated couples is impossible to miss, yet the disagreeable atmosphere in the room is palpable. My mother’s questioning eyes rest on my face. She’s wondering why, if we’ve mated, that harmony is absent with Elsie and me. But she wipes her doubtful expression away quickly before schooling her features.
Holding my gaze with a tilt of her chin, she says, “I need to talk to you.”
“By all means.” I step aside. “Let’s not do it in the hallway where the walls have ears.” My smile is cool. “Come in.”
“Alone,” she says in a firm tone.
“What I have to say concerns Elsie too.”
“Aruan,” my father says. “What you want to say will have to wait. You will speak with your mother first.” He stresses, “And you’ll do it as she requests—alone.”
Maybe it’s better like this. Elsie’s emotions are still too raw. It’s best to give her more time to deal with everything before throwing the wrong that’s been done to her in her face. Nothing can change what she’s suffered. However, I’d be cursed if I don’t make it right.
“As you wish,” I say, my manner cold even as red-hot fury sizzles inside me.
My mother turns and heads down the hallway. “My quarters.”
The look I give Elsie holds an unspoken message. We’ll continue our conversation when I return.
The longer I stare at her vivid eyes, so alive with hurt and betrayal, the bigger the chance grows that I won’t leave at all, so I tear myself away from her and follow in my family’s footsteps.
Elsie’s plea is spoken to my back. “Don’t lock me in.” Then she resorts to begging. “Please.”
It’s impossible to harden my heart against the outcry of my mate. I turn to face her. “You’ll stay here.”
She nods enthusiastically. “I won’t leave your rooms until you get back.”
She hasn’t earned my trust, but I give it to her anyway. It’s not because I feel guilty about taking her silence as her agreement to come inside her. It’s a step in a new direction, showing her that I’m prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt. Or so I tell myself as I walk with long, angry strides to my mother’s reception room.
It’s so typical of the queen to face me standing instead of sitting, even in her weakened state. My father takes up a position at her right while Vitai stands a small distance to her left. She’s dismissed the guards, which means the subject she wants to discuss is sensitive, too sensitive for the ears of the commoners, but she’s summoned my cousins.
The presence of Suno and Tarix shows just how important the matter is. Suno is the legal arbitrator while my mother values Tarix’s advice above that of everyone but my father.
My father isn’t holding her elbow or supporting her arm, but he looks ready to catch her at the slightest sign of swaying or fainting.
My mother holds herself regally, an iron will shining in the silver gaze she fixes on me. “What happened? Why wasn’t the mating successful?”
I clench my teeth. “I don’t know.”
She considers me for a moment before declaring, “She rejected you.”
“Did she?” Vitai sounds surprised. “That’s unheard of. No person on Zerra has ever rejected a mate.”
“Our circumstances aren’t exactly ideal,” I say, a tad defensive.
“The bond won’t be forged if she doesn’t accept you,” my mother says.
Irritation rises in me. “What does that even mean? I thought that fate was undeniable. I’ve claimed her. What else is there to do?”
“It won’t work if she doesn’t love you.” My mother gives me a pitying look. “Establishing a physical bond is easy. Acceptance comes from the heart. You need both for the bond to be complete.”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it.” I scoff. “No other mated couple on Zerra has ever had this problem.”
My mother sighs. “Normally, mated couples love each other. It comes naturally.”
Vitai smirks. “It looks as if you have your work cut out for you, Aruan. You’re going to have to win your mate over.”
I slide my gaze his way. At my cutting look, the smile vanishes from his face.
“That’s not why I asked you to come,” my mother says.
“Naturally,” I drawl. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I heard about something that happened even before Elsie tamed a dragon,” she says. “The talk is that spiked pets and pixie dragons swarmed to her in frighteningly great numbers, right here in the palace. Does she know how to control her power?”