Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“I…I want that too.” Sam’s voice cracked and his hands dropped to his side. “But what about King Rodrigo and your clan? What if they can’t accept me?”
“Then we leave,” Dimitri stated without an ounce of hesitation or doubt. “I think the Burkhard dragons took in some of the Jaeggi who wanted no part of the clan’s evil plans. We’ll go to join the Burkhards. Or we’ll go find the Sodalicium. And if they won’t welcome us, then we’ll go off on our own and start our own clan.”
Sam shook his head as he spoke. “No. This is your clan. Your family. You can’t leave your family.”
“And you are my mate. That always comes first.”
“Sam,” Gregori broke in unexpectedly. “I know we can’t really speak for Rodrigo, but I don’t think he’s going to have a problem with you. Sure, he’s gonna have questions. He has to look out for all of us, but he’ll quickly see that you’ve never been a threat to us, and he’ll be fine.” The dragon huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “But if for some strange reason he does, if the rest of the clan does, then fuck them. They don’t know you, don’t deserve you. If you and Dimitri leave, I’ll go with you. I wouldn’t want to be a part of a clan that doesn’t value such an awesome mage.”
“The same goes for Luka and me,” Vasily chimed in. “We’ll explain things to Rodrigo, vouch for you. And if that doesn’t work, then we’ll leave with you too. We’ll keep you safe.”
Part of Dimitri wanted to gather his brothers up and hug them tightly for their words, but he refused to take his eyes off Sam. Especially as tears now slipped down his cheeks.
But Sam still wasn’t coming any closer.
“Even if I wasn’t of the Jaeggi bloodline, I’m still a mage with a broken core. I’m not worthy of being your mate, Dimitri. Not until I get this fixed.” He slammed his hand against his chest three times as he spoke. “No dragon should be tied to a mage who can’t use magic. And no clan could possibly want a broken mage like me. I need to do this.”
Dimitri shook his head, his heart breaking all over again for the years of anguish and frustration Sam had suffered. He was more determined than ever to replace all those bad memories with good ones, even if it took the rest of existence to accomplish it. “I can accept that you need to do this for you, but I don’t need it to care for you. The only thing that matters to me is that you’re my mate. You being able to do magic isn’t going to change who you are in the slightest. Not for me, at least. You’re still going to be my sexy, stubborn, sarcastic, grumpy mate, and I wouldn’t want you to lose that for anything in the world.”
Sam took a step closer to the ward. Then another. His smile was warm and sweet, while pain continued to fill watery blue eyes. Relief started to unfurl slowly within Dimitri’s chest, but it ground to a halt when Sam stopped just a couple of feet from the barrier that separated them.
“Please, Samuel, come back to me. See? If you come back, I’ll call you Samuel. No more nicknames, I promise,” Dimitri bargained.
Sam’s smile grew a little wider and his voice was choked with tears and laughter when he said, “We both know you’d hurt yourself trying not to call me Sam or Sammy or Sammy cakes.”
“Maybe. But I’d try.”
“I don’t deserve you,” Sam whispered. “But I’m trying very hard to. I’m so close, Dimitri. I can’t turn back now. We don’t even know if there are people inside here still. This ward could have been left behind years ago, forgotten and abandoned, running on old magic. If I don’t at least look, I will have come all this way for nothing. I would have found my mate and been unable to keep him.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Magic or not, I am never letting you go,” Dimitri said fiercely.
“Do you trust me?”
“I will always trust you,” Dimitri declared instantly. “I trust you with my life, with the lives of my entire clan.” There wasn’t an ounce of ill will or cruelty in Sam’s heart, and he’d bet everything he had on that.
“Then wait right here for me. I won’t betray you or your clan. I would never do that to you. I just want to check to see if anyone else is around. And if there are people, how many are here. That’s information you’re going to need to tell Rodrigo and the others, right? So your people are properly protected. I can do this. I can be careful and sneaky.”