Page 185 of I Dream of Dragons

“And Tru,” Jai says, speaking the name like a curse. He wraps an arm around me and hauls me back, against his tall, hard body. “What are you doing with her?”

“That is my business.” Tru’s voice is flinty.

“Is it, now? You like each other because you both tried to kill my mate, is that what this is about?” Jai’s voice is a constant low growl that I feel in my bones. “United in your cowardice, are you?”

“Jai,” I whisper, “she wants to get back to her daughter?—”

“Don’t give excuses for people who value their lives over yours,makhair. You don’t owe them anything. They aren’t worth your time.”

“Come, Athdara.” Tru’s face is pale. “Lady Rae doesn’t hate me. She understands why I did it. Why won’t you give me another chance?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I mutter. “I may understand, but that doesn’t mean I forgive you or that I like you.”

“That’s right, Tru,” Jai says, “we don’t like you. We don’t trust you. Go have fun, fuck under the stars or whatever it is you have planned, and stay away from Rae. Do you hear me? Don’t ever come near her again.”

“You can’t make such decisions for me,” I say, torn.

“I won’t compromise on this,makhair.” He looks unrepentant. “Not where your safety is concerned.”

“Come,” Tru says, taking Amaryll’s arm, his face still white with strain. “Let’s go.”

“For what is worth,” she says quietly, “I’m also glad you made it, Rae.”

Feeling numb, I nod as they turn and go, vanishing in the crowd. I don’t know how to feel about all this. I want to tell Jai that it doesn’t matter, not if this is my last night with him. With everyone.

But he turns me in his arms and his eyes glow with the reflections of stars falling into dark water. “Let’s get something to drink.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

RAE

We sip at sweet blossomwine and nibble on fruity pastries. The lanterns sway, and the scent of night flowers mingles with Jai’s deep, musky aroma as he presses me to his side, his powerful arm always securely wrapped around me as we wander the terrace.

I glance up at his handsome face and the weight crushing my chest from our encounter with Amaryll and Tru falls away.

He’s protective of me, and that familiar, pleasant warmth suffuses my chest. I wish we could be together, I wish… we could go back in time and stop the events that led us here. But one has to live in the moment, and I want to live in this one, with him.

As we mingle with the crowd, the musicians strike another tune, slower and mysterious.

Jai turns toward me and bows, a smile on his lips. “May I have this dance, my lady?”

I smile and reach for him. “Why, most certainly, my lord.”

His spreading grin is bright and devastating. His dimple flashes, weakening my knees and my resolve. The shadows slide around him, lifting his hair, spreading like dark wings behind him as he pulls me to his chest.

We dance slowly, gazing into each other’s eyes. As the music pulses around us, we turn in circles. Spinning under the night sky.

I’m in the arms of the man I love, and in this precious, fragile moment, everything is perfect. The future could branch off into any direction, Eosphors may fall from the firmament, dragons may rise from the sea, the palace could crumble and the gates to other worlds could open, and I wouldn’t even look away from his dark gaze.

As the music winds to a stop and we come to a halt, I lean against him, letting my breathing slow.

I don’t want to let the worries back in, about my flimsy plans, about the little time we have left. Should I trust that my awakened magic will let me kill the king tonight? Without the king, would Phaethon still attempt to open the gates?

The dilemma is killing me just as surely as a dagger to the heart.

As surely as the panic I feel when I think of letting go of Jai. Accepting this is my last night with him. Our last night together. By tomorrow, it may be all over.

Why am I here if we’re doomed not to be together?