They’d been mated for a really long time, much longer than I’d been alive, and I loved them both equally.
Story loved me right back, which was a miracle since she’d had to uproot her life the moment Declan felt my call.
Normally, dragon riders bond with unmated dragons since the bond was so special between rider and dragon. But Declan, Story, and I were different.
Would always be different.
It was unheard of to have a mated pair, yet I had it.
Not that I was bonded to Story like I was with Declan. But if anyone could do it, it’d be the prince of the dragon riders.
“She’s beautiful,” Blythe breathed, reaching out her hand slightly.
There was no possible way that she’d reach Story, but the dragon must’ve sensed her wanting to touch her, and turned her mouth to the side to slither her tongue out, touching Blythe’s hand.
Blythe giggled and pulled back her hand, cradling it to her side as she surveyed the land before us.
Darcy Manor was built on over nine hundred acres of prime Texas land and was the most beautiful place in the world to me.
The Meridian kept the land strong and lush, with flowers in bloom year-round and stately trees, full and green, amply shading the grounds. Grass was a luscious, vibrant green, and the water was as pure as it was thousands of years ago before humans trashed the planet.
“Oh, wow,” Blythe breathed, catching sight of one of the lakes.
Instead of the muddy greenish/brown that most North Texas lakes resembled, this one was a pure, crystalline blue. You could see all the way to the bottom, clearly making out every single thing that made the lake its home.
“Where are we?” She gasped, her eyes darting every which way to take in all that she could see.
Pride filled my chest as I said, “Our home. Darcy Manor. The dragon sanctuary.”
She froze.
“How come you’re trusting me with this place?” She asked suddenly. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll tell someone?”
No.
Before I’d read that book, I would’ve been. Yet, I knew my father wouldn’t lie about something so important. Also, I didn’t want to tell her all what I’d just read in that book.
She was being fairly calm about everything right now, and my need was high to get her back to my place and into my safety zone. I wasn’t sure, though, how long she’d continue to be calm once she learned the things that I knew she needed to know.
Something that I wouldn’t be putting off seeing as I was more of a ‘rip the Band-Aid off’ kind of guy.
Procrastination was the bane of all evils.
I’d given her only the bare minimum in terms of information when I was talking to her about her powers and controlling them.
She didn’t know she had my powers yet. Didn’t know that we were pre-destined to be mates. Nor did she know that I was the Prince of the Dragon Riders, or that where we were currently touching down was the palace that we called home.
“Oh, holy shit!” She squealed when the three ice dragons that we were fostering scrambled up to Declan’s feet and started trying to crawl up his legs.
Declan shook them off like annoying insects and held out his tail to allow us to step down with more ease.
Dragon scales were unique, but resembled a large snake’s in some ways. They didn’t shed their skin like a snake, but the texture of it felt nearly the same.
They had huge claws and a large barb on their tails that they used for protection.
Each dragon was different in the terms of magic they possessed.
Declan was unusual, though, with his ability to communicate telepathically, which afforded me the ability as well.
A dragon rider always gained the same powers or set of skills that his dragon had and vice versa.
Since I was able to control all of the elements—earth, wind, water, and fire—that indicated to all outsiders that Declan could as well.
My brother Nikolai’s powers were nearly the same as mine, but much more muted in terms of strength. Though, he had some abilities that I didn’t due to his dragon possessing different abilities that he could manipulate with those powers.
Speaking of Nikolai, I found him and Farrow standing on the deck that overlooked our back yard, about fifty feet from where Declan touched us down.
Farrow was obviously pissed, and Nikolai didn’t look much happier.
“Who are they?” Blythe asked from her position on her knees.
I looked down at her, my eyes taking in her glossy brown hair and warm hazel eyes. “My brothers.”
Her brows rose. “They don’t look like you.”
I shrugged. “My brothers and I all have the same coloring, but that’s about it. Our sister’s blonde. She really looks nothing like us.”
She nodded. “I recognize the one on the right. He’s the one you were dragging out of the apartment yesterday. He’s also the one who makes Macy forget that she has responsibilities—like her job. Then she doesn’t come in for her shift when she’s supposed to, which means I have to work my ass off to cover both of our sections.”