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

V alentine's luck held until he got to Taranis's private wing. He dropped the glamor and stepped inside only to find Taranis, Quinn, Reeve, and Charlotte were all hanging out and chatting over a late brunch. Conversation died, and they all stared.

"Well, well, well, walk of shame, is it, sweetie?" Quinn piped up.

Valentine only smiled. "I have no shame."

"Interesting look you are rocking there, bro," Reeve said, his coffee halfway to his mouth. "What happened to your pants?"

"Trying something new," Valentine replied.

Taranis looked like he was about to explode with laughter. "I'm sure it's good to give everything an airing out sometimes."

Valentine only smiled wider. "Save me some breakfast," he said and tried not to run into his rooms. He could hear them cackling like a bunch of gossiping hens.

Only Charlotte didn't look surprised or interested in his state of undress. She tended to stay out of the drama, and that was one of the things Valentine liked about her .

Valentine changed his clothes and tried to get some of his usual composure back. He looked at himself in the mirror and the few delicious marks left by Yelena. He grinned at them, and it was wild and happy. His eyes were still red, but the dragon seemed to be content to slumber.

Thank the gods because Valentine didn't need any extra commentary in his head to make his anxiety worse. They would all ask him about what was going on with Yelena, and he had no clue how to answer. He had no idea either.

Thankfully, Yelena had joined the others at breakfast by the time Valentine made it out. She was dressed in shades of gray, and even though it suited her coloring, it annoyed Valentine that she had muted herself down. He knew it was her defense, but he hated that she felt compelled to resort to it.

"Come and eat, Valentine. Here, next to me," Taranis said, pushing out a chair on his left side. "I want to talk to you about the hand you made for Yelena."

Valentine took the hint and didn't argue. He poured himself a coffee. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. It's a beautiful bit of craftsmanship," Taranis replied.

Valentine was half expecting some threatening whispers about Yelena, but Taranis seemed more interested in the hand.

"You know, I'm sure Mananan still has old Nuada's hand in his vault. It wasn't as fine as yours, though. I can't pretend to understand the magic you both used to get it connected, but it seems to be working beautifully," Taranis said, once Valentine was done.

Valentine looked down the table where Yelena was chatting with Charlotte. "We are going to leave the city today to run some magical tests on it all the same."

"You're going to shift? Can I watch?" Reeve asked, interrupting them. "I can hear my dragon, but maybe if I see how you do it, I will be able to understand the process better."

"There's no process. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, " Taranis said with a sigh. "You human magicians want to overthink everything. I thought you were the laid-back one, Reeve."

"I have to know what the rules are before I break them," Reeve argued.

"Valentine is going to undo the sigil binding his dragon," Yelena said sweetly. Valentine glared at her, but she only batted her eyelashes.

"What do you mean by binding it? Val hasn't bound his dragon. He..." Reeve stopped talking, his surprise turning to anger. "You have got to be fucking kidding me. Really, Val? Since fucking when?"

Valentine suddenly felt very old and tired. "Does it matter? It's almost unravelled anyway."

"For fuck’s sake! Yes! It matters!" Reeve shouted.

"Now, Reeve, let's use our inside voices. Valentine has a good reason for it, I am sure," Charlotte said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We should all go and watch him shift."

"Can you not?" Valentine grumbled.

"No. I'm definitely coming. I'm the queen here, and I get to watch," Quinn said stubbornly. "Also, Owain won't shut up about how big and ugly you are as a dragon, and I'm not missing that."

Taranis gave Valentine an apologetic smile. "Sorry, lad. I want to see it too. You can use my launching space so there's no one else around, but if you are undoing binding magic, I should be there."

"Fine," Valentine muttered and finished eating. He didn't look at Yelena. He wanted to keep the binding thing to himself because Cosimo would lose his shit, and his brothers would berate him. He was tired of the argument before it even began .

Maybe it is time for them to know the truth , his mother's voice whispered to him. Haven't you hidden long enough?

To that, he had no answer.

Valentine let the others' enthusiasm carry him through the rest of the meal. He wasn't sure how exactly, but by the time they made it through the palace to Taranis's private launching space, Emyr, Owain, Vidar, and Avallach were waiting.

"Really, Vidar? You too?" Valentine asked.

Vidar shrugged. "I need to see if there is any truth to the nonsense these three talk."

"Oh, come on, Val, don't be shy," Quinn said, putting an arm around him and squeezing. "We just want to support you. It's not like you to let your brothers get ahead of you at anything, and Bas and Apollo have already shifted!"

"Maybe because he bound his fucking dragon," Reeve growled behind him.

"And with that attitude, you wonder why I did," Valentine shot back. "It's my body and my business."

"Come on now, we aren't attacking you," Taranis said, putting his hands on Valentine's shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze. "We are here for you."

Valentine wished they weren't there at all. Yelena turned back toward them and pushed Quinn and Taranis's hands off him.

"Leave him. He doesn't want to be touched right now," she said, no trace of her sweet smile. To their credit, Taranis and Quinn backed off. They moved to stand with the others in a loose semi-circle, the cold wind blowing around them.

"Thank you," Valentine said, his shoulders hunching inwards. His anxiety was burning through him, and if anyone else grabbed at him, he would snap.

Yelena said softly, "I know you are mad at me, but they needed to know about the binding, Val. The magic would have broken, and Taranis, especially, would have felt it and panicked. I didn't want that to happen. Everyone is tense enough right now."

She was facing him but not trying to reach for him. Thank fuck. How she knew he didn't want to be touched was a mystery. No one ever noticed things like that about him. He was fighting not to walk away from the whole shit show, but somehow her calm presence kept him where he was.

"You better not care if I'm an ugly dragon," he muttered, staring at his boots because he couldn't bear looking at everyone's expectant faces.

Fuck, this was a bad idea. All he could think of were the things that could go wrong. Was this the day he went truly crazy?

"It's not possible for you to be anything but gorgeous. They are only teasing you," Yelena said and tilted her head to catch his eye. "Look at me, Valentine, and forget about them. You have this. Anything happens, and I'll be right here."

Valentine sighed. "Fuck, this is going to hurt."

"Only for a moment, then you will feel better than you've ever had in your life."

Valentine's lips twitched. "I don't know about that. I felt pretty good last night."

"You will tonight too if all goes according to plan," Yelena replied, a teasing note in her voice.

"What plan is that, baby girl?" he asked, anticipation coiling inside of him.

"You'll just have to wait and find out," she said and lowered her voice to a husky purr. "Now show me what I missed when I was in the ice. I want to see all of you."

A shiver swept over Valentine's skin. "Please, don't make me get hard on top of everything else today."

"You had better start undoing that binding then, or I am going to start telling you in detail exactly what I want to do to you. "

Valentine laughed softly. "And people think I'm the evil one."

"I'm not evil." Yelena made her eyes go big, and she gave him the sweetest baby girl look he had ever seen. "I am impatient, though."

"Okay, okay, I'm going. Fuck," Valentine grumbled, but he was feeling better.

"Look at that. He can smile," Avallach called out, and Valentine flipped him off.

"You've got this, Valentine. I'm right here," Yelena said, and he believed her. She wouldn't let him hurt anyone, not even himself.

Valentine rolled his neck and shook out his hands. He walked further out onto the stone platform to give himself plenty of space. He stared at the mountain range in front of him and let the wind drown out all the other noise around him.

"Please don't hurt them," he begged his dragon. He got no reply.

Valentine blew out a long breath and crouched down. He placed his hand on the firm stone of the mountain, using it to ground him, and let his magic rise within him.

Scarlet and black threads danced out of his skin. There was no silver amongst it, and he found he missed the sight of it. The binding was all his magic and had none of Yelena's silvery influence.

The threads of his magic reached his chest, and the tattoo began to shiver.

He groaned as the rings began to move. There were parts of it that had been shredded since his last shift, but now he finally surrendered to the pain.

The bindings tore free, and he screamed.

Ink and blood and magic poured out of his skin and down his arm to smear against the stone.

At last, we will be free , his dragon roared, making him clutch at his head.

Valentine screamed again as the beast tore away the last of the bindings around it, and there was nothing he could do but let it drag him under.