Page 23 of Ink Sworn (Greatdrakes #3 | The Fae Universe #24)

V alentine couldn't remember falling asleep the night before. Or had it been morning by that point? He opened an eye and tried not to panic because he couldn't remember where he was.

Yelena was asleep facing him, her silver hand curled around his and holding it close.

Oh. That's where he was.

He took a moment just to stare at her shamelessly. The dark circles under her eyes were almost gone, and color flushed her cheeks. Valentine would never forget the way she had looked half-frozen, her lips blue as death.

Logically, he knew she was impossibly strong and could handle anything. His dragon didn't feel logical things.

He had never had an overabundance of emotions and had thought it was just how he was built. He was reassessing everything. He had bound his dragon when he was a teenager, and maybe it was his dragon side that was emotion and passion.

Yelena would help him free it. She would make sure he didn't hurt anyone. He had never seen her dragon, but he had felt her magic and knew without a doubt that she could take him in any fight.

Valentine had never slept with anyone before, and he wasn't sure why he had stayed. They had bathed, and he had tucked her in. Yelena had taken his hand and pulled him down beside her, and there he had stayed. There had been no asking or argument.

His head had hit the pillow, and there was nothing. He never went to sleep that quickly.

The soul-destroying orgasm might have had something to do with it. Or the huge amount of magic he used. Or both. Either way, he hadn't been so clear-headed in a long time.

"Overthinking already?" Yelena murmured sleepily.

"No," he replied unconvincingly. "How are you feeling?"

Yelena opened her blue glacier eyes and stretched like a well-fed cat. She flexed all of her fingers. "I feel good. Whole. Curious to see what I can do with this hand, magic-wise."

"Want some company while you practice?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Yelena smiled. "That would be nice. I want to experiment outside the city."

"Are you going to show me your dragon?" he asked hopefully.

Yelena raised a brow. "If you show me yours. We will have to fly to the place I usually practice."

Valentine rolled onto his back and touched the locking sigil on his chest. "Would you think less of me if I admit that I am nervous about what will happen if I do?"

"No," she replied simply. Cool silver fingers traced the design. "But you won't be alone, Valentine. I know you feel disconnected from everyone else, but you aren't. We are all here to help and support you, no matter what happens. "

Valentine placed his hand on hers and held it to his chest. "What if I let it out and become a different person?"

"It doesn't work like that. Did Bas become a different person? Or Apollo? Look at your brothers. It will not change who you are. You will simply become more of who you are."

Valentine chewed on his lip. "They didn't lock theirs up like I did mine."

"You let it out to save me, and you haven't gone mad. What makes you think you will now?"

Valentine stared up at the roof, struggling to find the right words.

"I feel different since the change. I've been.

..emotional. I have always tried to keep myself in check because when I have felt things, they have been extreme.

I lost my temper while tracking you. I could have been more strategic.

I let my emotions get the best of me, and everyone died.

I don't want to turn into some killing machine every time I get pissed off. "

Yelena hummed thoughtfully. "I wouldn't use that example as an average day.

According to what I was told, you shifted back, opened a portal back here, all the while under that so-called rage.

No one should be able to open a portal into the city except for Taranis.

You had the power at your fingertips, and you used it to get everyone to safety.

I don't want to downplay your concern, but you are always more in control than you believe. "

Valentine looked over at her. "I didn't feel in control, Yelena."

"You didn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve to be hurt. I won't let you lose yourself to the dragon. I promise," she said, and the certainty in her tone and strength of her gaze settled the nervous flutter in his stomach.

"You'll bring me back if I get lost?"

"Of course I will." Yelena bopped him on the nose. "You're the only one who gets me, silly. I can't lose a friend like that. "

Valentine narrowed his eyes. "You chain all your friends to the bed?"

"Only my very special ones," she teased and bit her lip. "Why? Does that thought make you jealous?"

Yes . Valentine fought the growl that wanted to burst from his chest. "I don't know about jealous. Definitely murderous. See? Maybe me becoming more dragon is a bad idea."

Yelena moved and brought her face close to his. "Or the very best of ideas."

"I don't know if I should be more worried about my dragon or you," he whispered.

Yelena's smirk sent a thrill through his whole body. "Always be more worried about me." She lowered her head to kiss him when someone banged on the door to her chambers. Her eyes shimmered silver. "Damn it. They have found us. Better put some clothes on. We are about to have company."

Valentine sat up and found his shirt. His pants didn't survive her shredding. Yelena only blushed and laughed when he held up the scraps. She took a fresh linen towel from her bathroom and handed it to him.

"Put this on. You'll be fine," she said, an evil little gleam in her eye.

"I'm going to get you back for this," Valentine promised and tied the towel around his lower half like a sarong.

Yelena wrapped a floor-length robe about herself and somehow looked put together and amazing.

Valentine ran his hands through his hair to smooth it back and followed her out into the main area.

"Yelena Caelan Tuadach, if you don't open this door this minute, I will break it down!" Emyr shouted through the wood.

Yelena laughed and opened the door. Emyr and Avallach were on the other side, and both looked pissed. Their eyes fell on Valentine and his general state of undress, and whatever they were going to say died on their lips.

"What?" Valentine asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I suppose that answers the question of where you went. Reeve was worried because your room hadn't been slept in. We thought you might have run off," Emyr said, coming into the room.

"He knew I was helping Yelena," Valentine replied. His family loved to overreact. He was surprised they hadn't tried to put a tracker on him after Apollo's kidnapping.

"Look what Val made me!" Yelena said, high-pitched and excited. She showed off her hand like some women would show off an engagement ring. Both Avallach and Emyr immediately closed in on her, hammering her with questions about it, turning it this way and that to study it.

"Is there a reason you two came banging on the door this early?" Valentine asked. He would have liked at least another hour in bed, preferably with Yelena naked beside him. Or under him. Or on top of him.

Avallach looked up. "It's almost noon."

"We didn't go to sleep until late," Yelena said with a shrug.

"I bet," Emyr chuckled, and Valentine narrowed his eyes. "Oh, come on, you aren't even wearing pants right now."

Yelena beamed. "I shredded them! They are mine now."

"And this whole place smells of sex," Avallach added, wrinkling his nose. "We are dragons. You can't hide anything from us."

Valentine fought the blush that was trying to force its way up his neck. Yelena wasn't the least bit embarrassed, so he didn't know why he was. "Do you have a point?"

"We aren't shaming you, Val. Calm down," Emyr said, rolling her eyes. "After you went insane trying to get her back, we knew it was only a matter of time."

"And the reason why you're here is..." Valentine prompted. He wasn't going to talk about sex with Yelena. It was no one’s damn business.

"Midir has agreed to a meeting at dusk. Taranis wants you both to be there, and for Midir to know he's failed," Avallach replied, a feral gleam in his eyes. "I will never forget what he did to Yelena and me, but I will wait until it won't start a war before I get my revenge."

It was sometimes hard to remember that Avallach was the oldest of the knights. He was always quick with a joke and a smile, but according to Killian, Avallach was a legend through all of Faerie for his utter ruthlessness in battle.

"We will be there. Valentine is going to help me experiment with my new hand out of the city first," Yelena said with a nod of her head.

The knights looked at him again, and he scowled. "Yes, I am going to shift. You have a problem with that?"

"You didn't fuck him hard enough to get rid of that attitude, little sister," Avallach said with a snort. "Maybe give it another go."

"I will." Yelena smiled serenely. "But I like his attitude just the way it is."

Valentine did blush then. Fuck. He couldn't act like a defensive asshole in the face of her happiness. "I will be careful when I shift. Yelena is going to help me. There will be no rampage this time."

"I rather liked the rampage last time. I've never seen Owain and Emyr look so shocked," Avallach said, and some of the tension went out of Valentine's spine. "You are a scary-looking dragon, but that's no bad thing. We might need you a bit scarier if Midir doesn't calm the fuck down."

"Any luck finding the spies in the city?" Valentine asked. Someone had leaked Yelena's location, and he wasn't going to stop until he found out who was responsible.

"No, but the lords are all invited to this meeting. It will give us a chance to see who is twitchy. They were the only other people who knew where we were going," Avallach replied and cracked his knuckles. "They won't remain hidden for long."

Valentine nodded before looking at Yelena. "I need to go and get some clothes. Come by and get me when you are ready to go," he said.

The other knights were leering at him, so he didn't do anything like kiss her goodbye, only slipped out into the corridors. He pulled a glamor around him, one Yelena had taught him through their letters, and hoped that no one in the palace could see through it.