Or was I misguided? Could I even be wrong about it?
I looked away from him, unable to meet the intensity of his probing gaze. My heart raced uncontrollably.
"Animus," Leveret murmured.
He took my hands, gentle as ever.
"Whatever is scaring you, or holding you back... we can fix it together," he said. "I won't let you be alone. I'm here."
As Leveret squeezed my hands, a wave of magic flowed from my fingertips into the rest of my body, like a tide leaving the shore. It shocked me. I sucked in a soft breath.
Was this sudden increase of magic coming from Leveret after all?
I snuffed out the flame of hope, afraid it would spiral only for me to be let down later. It couldn't be true.
Leveret couldn't be my fated mate—unless everything I thought I knew was a lie.
"Animus," Leveret said. "Do you believe me?"
I levelled my gaze at him. "I want to," I said softly.
"Then kiss me and tell me you don't feel it."
It was difficult to breathe. My heart felt like it’d burst from my chest.
And yet, I chose to trust Leveret.
When I closed my eyes and pressed our mouths together, stars exploded in my blood. Magic flooded from my lips and poured into every part of my body. The shadowy wings on my back flared, enlarging. Energy pulsed inside me like the beating of a heavy drum.
I pulled away with a gasp, staring into Leveret's shining eyes. My heart thumped rapidly as the realization dawned on me.
This familiar energy signature... it was fated mates magic.
It’d come from within me, with Leveret as the catalyst.
Leveret was right. Hewasmy fated mate.
And just as I realized it, something exploded from the lake.
Fifteen
Leveret
Water rained on my head, which was odd because there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Where did that come from?
Annoyed, I turned to the lake and saw a figure standing on the water's surface. He had a dragon's head and tail combined with a man's body and a shark fin on his back. There was something familiar about him.
Beside me, Animus grunted and shook the water from his hair. He narrowed his eyes. Steam rose from his body, like the morning sun burning up the previous night's dew. A second later, he was completely dry while I remained soaked.
"Oh, good," Animus said. "Look who decided to show up on his own."
The familiarity suddenly made sense. Although I'd never met him before, I recognized the floating figure. He was Nautilus, father to my uncles Nero and Nishiki, grandfather to Zak, Cloud and River—and Animus's brother.
Nautilus's mane bristled and his long whiskers twitched with anger.
"What areyoudoing here?" he boomed, sending jagged ripples of water towards us like miniature waves.
I blinked in confusion. As far as I knew, I hadn’t done anything to draw his ire.