Page 27 of Ink Sworn (Greatdrakes #3 | The Fae Universe #24)

T hey flew back to Mag Argatnél on quick wings. The landing platform was blissfully empty. Valentine shifted back into his human form without any difficulties. It was barely a thought, and it happened.

For so long, he had expected the worst of his dragon side. That it would fight him for control, and he would be gone. It was the opposite. The constant pressure in his head and chest was gone, and he was able to take full, deep breaths.

Yelena went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I will see you at the meeting."

Valentine let her braid slide through his fingers. "Don't wear pastels."

"Don't tell me what to do," she tossed over her shoulder as she walked away.

There was a sway to her hips that told Valentine she knew he liked her ass, and he could only shake his head at her teasing.

It was good that he had some space to think, but he also knew he had to check in on Reeve before anything else .

The halls of the palace were mostly empty, and no one gave him any eye contact. That wasn't unusual, but now, he could smell a whiff of fear coming from the servants that he hadn't sensed before. He was confused by that but let it go. He would never understand people.

Taranis and Quinn were talking in low voices at the dining table when he walked into their wing. Both looked up and smiled at him, and that unclenched something inside him. He had half expected Taranis to kick him out of the city altogether.

"I... I'm sorry," he said, moving towards Taranis. "I didn't know it had three heads and that I would hurt people when I roared."

"Valentine, please take a breath," his uncle said, and his smile widened. "I don't think anyone could have been prepared for that shift. The release of your bindings was like a shock wave."

Valentine ran a hand over the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to cause anyone else to shift either."

"We know, honey. The knights were just surprised. Apparently, three heads are super rare," Quinn said, wrapping him up in a hug. "Do you have three of anything else?"

Valentine choked. "No!"

"Hmm, pity. That would have been cool," Quinn said and held him tighter. "I'm glad you're okay. Cosimo would kill me if anything happened to you."

Like Apollo, Quinn was affectionate, so Valentine hugged her back and tried not to count down until it was polite to release her. He only seemed to like Yelena touching him for longer than a few seconds. Now he knew why.

Taranis put a hand on his shoulder. "We knew you would be an alpha too, Val. Any dragon that has been around you could smell it even before the shift."

"Is Reeve... Is he okay?" Valentine asked.

Taranis nodded. "He's fine. It surprised him and scared Charlotte, though. She might still be cranky at you about it, but you know how she doesn't like surprises. He was overdue to shift anyway, and seeing you as a dragon triggered something in him."

"Like a pack thing," Quinn said, letting him go.

Valentine frowned. "But Bas and Apollo didn't trigger either of us."

"Bas and Apollo aren't alpha. You are, and Reeve is your family.

In normal dragon families, all the siblings shift roughly at the same time.

It's like a chemical reaction," Taranis explained, and patted his shoulder once before letting it go.

"Go and see him, and be quick about it. We have about an hour before Midir contacts us, and we have to be ready. "

"It's not face-to-face?" Valentine asked, a little disappointed. He wanted to get the bastard's scent and figure out a way to put a tracking spell on him.

"Unfortunately, Midir isn't that stupid. You can be surprised by the magic we use because if I start telling you now, you will get too distracted," Taranis replied.

Valentine laughed. "Good point." Both of them stared at him. "What?"

"Your smile is different, that's all," Quinn said.

"I feel...lighter," he said carefully. "I'd better go and see Reeve." He hurried to where his brother’s guest rooms were before they could ask him any more questions.

Valentine knocked on the door. "Open up. It's me."

The door was yanked open, and Charlotte glared up at him. It usually took a lot to get under her skin, but when she was fired up, it was good to remember that she was an Ironwood, and they all had the same temper. And knife training.

"Come to do some more damage?" she demanded.

Valentine put his hands up in surrender. "Charlotte, you know I didn't mean it. I couldn't control it. "

"Let him in, Charlie," Reeve said from where he was lying on the couch. He looked pale, but he was in one piece.

Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "Don't upset him, or you will deal with me." She pushed past him and out of the room.

"Damn, I haven't seen her that defensive for a while," Valentine said and sat down in an armchair. "You okay?"

"Shaken up, and a bit tired." Reeve saw something in his face, and his eyes widened. "What... Are you okay? You look different."

"Because I have one head instead of three?" Valentine tried to joke lamely. He rubbed at his chest. "I feel different."

"Your whole damn aura is different. I haven't seen you like this since Mom," Reeve cut himself off. His breath whooshed out. "You bound your dragon after Mom died, didn't you?"

Valentine nodded, feeling wretched. "It's a long story, and Dad and Bas and Apollo should be here before I go through it. I only want to do it once because you’ll all yell at me about it.

I thought if I let the dragon out, I would go crazy.

You know the way everyone goes on about the Greatdrakes curse. "

"Except your actual family has never seriously thought you would go crazy or dark lord on us, bro."

"But I thought I would. Now that the dragon is loose, I feel more sane than I have in a long, long time. I'm sorry it forced you to shift, Reeve. If I had known..."

Reeve poked Valentine's leg with his toe.

"Stop it, Val. You can't blame yourself for every damn thing that happens to us.

I couldn't shift on my own. I couldn't figure it out.

It scared me and Charlotte, but it was what I needed to let it out.

Taranis soothed it as soon as you left, and I ended up being able to shift back in under an hour. Heaps quicker than Bas and Apollo."

"Maybe because you've been mated the longest, your dragon was already synced with you," Valentine said, rubbing his chin. "Something to think about. "

Reeve ran a hand through his long hair. "You want to tell me about Yelena? I know something more than a dalliance is going on there. I mean, I knew you liked her since she started writing to you, but..."

"She's my mate," Valentine blurted out because he needed to talk to someone, and Reeve was his brother and knew him best. "I just saw her sing and dance as a dragon, and something happened.

It's like she reached into me and rearranged my insides, and my dragon just knew she was my mate, and I don't..."

Reeve's whole face lit up. "Val, you're babbling."

"I know!" He got up to pace because he needed to move. "I've always hated the idea of having a mate forced onto me, but with her..." He trailed off, still struggling to find the right words.

"You don't hate it? It can be a bit of a smack in the face when you realize what they are to you. Makes sense. You and Yelena are kind of the same. Lots of power, hard for you to make friends, you know, all that," Reeve replied with a slight wave of his hand. "Does she know?"

Valentine paused his pacing. "I don't know. She might? She's kind of sneaky." He let out a helpless laugh. "Fuck, I don't know what to do. She deserves a better mate than me. I'm not normal, Reeve!"

"Yeah, but neither is she," Reeve pointed out.

Valentine whirled on him, and Reeve tossed a pillow at his head.

"Don't glare at me like that. I didn't mean it in a bad way.

She really isn't like other girls, because she's a dragon for a start, and her magic is as insane as yours.

It's no wonder you are mates. No one else could handle either one of you. "

"I don't know how to do feelings and relationships," Valentine said, picking up the pillow and putting it back on the armchair.

"Does anyone? You are very smart, big brother.

You will be able to figure this out. I know it's hard for you, but try not to overthink this to the point you talk yourself out of it before it even starts," Reeve replied.

He got off the couch and stretched. "Worry about it later. We both have a meeting to get to."

Valentine hesitated a moment before he pulled Reeve into a hug. "I am sorry I made you shift as a result of my spell."

Reeve hugged him back. "You are my big brother, and you are a pain in the ass, but I love you.

I'll wait till Bas and Apollo are here before we give you a good kicking for binding your dragon, so consider yourself warned.

You're going to need three heads to try to stop us. Gods, three heads. Only you, Val."

Valentine laughed and let him go. "Don't be jealous that I'm three times smarter than you."

His youngest brother only rolled his eyes. "More like your brain is split three ways, and so you're a bigger dumbass than normal."

Valentine flipped him off. "Try to wear something that doesn't have holes in it to this meeting. Taranis is worried, and we shouldn't add to it by being unprofessional."

"You're up to something," Reeve said, narrowing his eyes.

Valentine shrugged. "When am I not?"