Page 24 of Ancient Promises

He told the males the highlights of his brother’s insanity. “It’s why I left,” he said. “I didn’t want to be party to any more loss of life, not when the reason for attacking the nest was because he wanted to take the king’s daughter as a mate.”

“But he’s not here,” Rehlik said. “You don’t even know if he knows where you are right now.”

“Well, he could find out if he was watching the FSA registry,” Trace said. “There’s no way for us to know who’s accessed your file in their database.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him to check up on me, to find out where I was just so he had the information.” Eivross looked at the males. “When he killed our father, and our uncle, he told me that he was going to be king no matter what. I’m eldest, I should have been next in line for the throne. He started killing the people in the nest he believed were loyal to our father and uncle, all the while daring me to come against him. I pledged my fealty to him, and promised him I didn’t want to be king.” Eivross sighed and rubbed at his temple. “I went on a date with a female dragon after things had settled. My car was run off the road on the way home. She was attacked while I was held back by a handful of masked males. She survived, but not without scars. I confronted Zihndyr, but he claimed innocence. I knew it was him, though. He was proving that he would take out anyone I was close to.”

There was silence as he finished speaking.

“You won’t claim her because you think your brother will come for her?” Trace asked quietly.

“I won’t put my truemate in danger. What kind of male would I be?”

“This half-assed protective thing you’re doing isn’t going to work for the long term. I don’t believe you can keep her safe by not mating her, and I’m not going to let you drive her insane by being close to her but not claiming her,” Rehlik said.

“I know it’s not fair to her,” Eivross said. He ached to claim her. Ached to the very center of his being to hold her in his arms again.

“Will those females come back?” Novak asked.

“I told them I had a mate and not to return.”

“Good,” he said, nodding.

Rehlik put his hand on his shoulder. “You need to figure things out, because that female in there is hurting and it’s definitely not the way a male of worth should behave.”

Eivross nodded. The males dispersed, leaving him alone in the street. He turned his attention to the living quarters above the bookstore. He couldn’t hear her crying anymore, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still hurt. In fact, his dragon was very certain he’d broken her heart, and that wasn’t something he could live with.

He toyed for a heartbeat with leaving, walking away from Cider Falls and Diem forever and finding some remote mountain to live out the rest of his life alone. But even though the idea was appealing in some ways, because it would ensure she’d be safe forever, he couldn’t leave.

He wouldn’t.

Chapter Ten

Zihndyr stared at the goblet of wine, the base a wrought iron design meant to mimic a dragon’s paw, claws curled around the glass. The female he’d mated when he took over the nest from his father, and also his uncle, was seated a few spaces from him at the massive dining table. Her head was bowed and her plate untouched.

He could scent her unhappiness in the air.

It had everything to do with the other female across the table, who he’d claimed as his second-mate, an ancient right given to king dragons to ensure their family line continued for eons.

Neither female was happy. His original mate, Dhianna, because he had taken numerous lovers over the years, and now his second mate, Eloise, because he’d killed her father when he failed to turn over her and his territory to him.

Well, it wasn’t his responsibility to keep his females happy. They were supposed to keephimhappy.

The dining doors swung open and his new second-in-command, Arthur, appeared. “There’s someone to see you in the throne room.”

“I don’t have any appointments.”

“It’s a female from a nest in Florida. She has news of your brother.”

He let out a low growl, the metal creaking as he squeezed and then released.

Shoving back from the table, he stood and nodded to his mates. They ignored him, sniffling unhappily.

He should make a decree that females had to smile around him or face punishment. A few nights in the basement prison would change their demeanor.

Striding out of the room, he said, “What kind of news?”

“She wouldn’t say, she only wanted to speak with you.”