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“Is it true? Was the light you saw blue?” Aneirin asked.

Glov’s eyes flickered to the wall as he thought back before they widened in realisation. “Yes, it had definitely been blue.”

“I am sure Glov explained to you that Amalia had chosen to ride me on that altar.” All eyes came back to them. “She had two reasons for doing so. She did not have that dagger in her hands yet, and she needed to take my magic in order to increase her power so she could remove the multiple hexes on me in one go.”

“I did not know Witches could obtain magic this way,” Aneirin whispered as he brought a paw up to cup his snout in thought.

Once again, Rurik’s eyes found Amalia’s face. She looked incredibly uncomfortable being presented like this. Her lips were pursed together, her eyes crinkled in embarrassment and worry, her brows furrowed.Still so beautiful.

“And once she had taken what she needed to save me, she had pierced her own womb to make sure my seed would not take and could not grow that child without my consent.” Rurik let his eyes fall back to Fionnlagh in particular. “You accuse her of trickery, but if she really wanted it for evil purposes, she would not have made sure it was not possible. They gave us both teas to increase our fertility. It would have been her perfect opportunity.”

“This does not matter! You cannot have this Witch as your mate and we have already discussed that we do not want a DragonWitch to be created,” Fionnlagh said. “Even though we are not supposed to intervene in a matehood, we still cannot allow you to keep her.”

“You will not take this Witch from me!” Rurik snarled while throwing Amalia behind him again. He’d been trying to explain this calmly, but the pale lavender Dragon just wasn’t listening. “I have chosen her, and she ismine!” He brought his free hand forward with tension in his fingers, wishing he had claws to threaten with. “I did not kill Strolguil and then watch her die for anyone to tell me I cannot have her. I did not bring her back to life with my mark for anyone to tell me that they will not approve of this union!”

Rurik took a step forward with a dangerous growl emitting from his chest, his anger rising quickly and steadily. He was running out of patience, and he barely had any to fucking begin with!

“I did not go through my own broken wings, being forced to take the life of my own kind in mercy, and then used as a toy in the Vast’s plans while he mocked and threatened me with a horrible fate, just for you to tell me no! I did not complete my blood debt to her by saving her from the stake, something that is just as painful as our scales being removed, for you to tell her no! I did not lose a toe-” He was still rather upset about losing it. “And think that this Witch betrayed me so that I threatened her with what she fears the most, for anyone to tell us that what we have suffered together is not enough proof that our matehood is pure!”

Rurik kept Amalia behind him as he shouted at the Elders, none of them stepping back in shock at his anger. He did watch Fionnlagh’s snout bunch more though while Nayana’s and Aneirin’s brows came together in thought.

“I have defeated and taken the head of our most wretched villain.” Rurik pointed to the skull behind him. “I have obtained my goal of a hundred kills, plus the kills I do not count because I did not grab their skulls to mount on my wall as proof. What I have done is far greater than the tales you three have accomplished in the long years of your lives put together!”

His lips drew back. He gritted his teeth, his nose crinkled to the point he could see his own scar blocking a part of his vision.

“No one is allowed to tell me what I can have or what I can do when I have done all this, done what has seemed impossible to our kind for centuries.” He put his arm behind him to hold Amalia closer to his back. “I will have the child that is promised to me, and if any of you try to get in the way, I will rip your hearts from your chests and feed it to her so that she can live as long as me!”

“You are talking about extending her life with blood magic,” Fionnlagh gasped with horror.

“If there is no other way then so be it! But I will not have her die before me. I will not have her age and wither away, leaving me to take care of that child. If I cannot find another way to do it, then I will find an old Dragon and rip their heart from their chest after they have taken their last peaceful breath, and I will make sure she has it.” Then Rurik pointed to them. “Unless you anger me enough to take yours as vengeance for trying to separate us.”

“You are serious. You wish to keep this Witch alive as your mate, even though you once swore to us that you would never lay such a hand on our kind unless in mercy,” Aneirin said, but his voice lacked any kind of anger.

“You once told us that you held the lives of Dragons so sacred that you would rather one kill you than to kill it,” Nayana added. “That, no matter your short, ill-mannered temper, you knew you would never allow yourself to take the life of one of our own in anger or revenge.”

“Does that not prove to you then that I am determined about this? That I have made my decision on her, and I will not falter from it even with my own beliefs against me?”

Rurik backed up a step to be closer to Amalia protectively when Nayana came forward. A snarl so vicious fell from him that even he thought it sounded awfully barbaric.

She didn’t approach them directly, but she did come to stand next to them. Then she turned around and sat, facing the other two Elders.

“I have chosen my side. I will allow my son to have this bond and the child it will create,” Nayana stated, her eyes coming to the corner of her lids to look at them before they fell back to the other Elders.

It was true, Nayana the Loathsome was indeed Rurik’s mother.

It was believed he got his temper from her, as well as his thoughtful nature. His mother was dark blue while his father was bright red, creating the purple in his scales. His strength came from both of them since his parents were strong and formidable.

His eyes fell on Nyotakara who was standing to the side. He knew she must have been with his mother when Glov arrived to tell them of Strolguil’s death.

It was why she was often with the Elders.

“You cannot mean such a thing! You are only siding with him because he is your son. You are meant to be unbiased!” Fionnlagh shouted.

“She is your mother?” He heard Amalia whisper softly, and he could feel that her body had turned to face her.

“Yes, I am this brute’s egg carrier,” Nayana answered while leaning her head to the side to be closer when she spoke.

“I disagree,” Aneirin said to Fionnlagh before he took a step forward. “I believe she has made the right decision.” He came to stand on the other side of Rurik and Amalia before turning to sit. “I see no problem with this bond. If Rurik will be alive to father the child, then I see no issue with it being born. We feared it would be taken and corrupted as a power against us, but he would never allow that to happen.”