Page 43 of Ink Sworn (Greatdrakes #3 | The Fae Universe #24)

A week to the day, Valentine finished knotting his tie and tried to mentally prepare himself for the noise of the family that was about to bombard him. Slender hands came around him to feel over his waistcoat.

"That's very distracting," he chastised and had to start the knot all over again.

Yelena's beautiful face appeared in the mirror. "So are you dressed like that. I know we promised we would have a party, but you are really asking for it in that suit."

Valentine turned to sass her, and his eyes took in the halter dress of dark scarlet she was wearing.

His hand went to his chest, where his mating tattoo pulsed.

Her long hair was done up in an elegant style, and a long hairpin of a black three-headed dragon with ruby eyes was skewered through it. She was beyond stunning.

"You…aren't wearing pale colors," he said, and then wanted to smack himself in the face.

Yelena's lips, painted the same shade of red, lifted into a smile. " I don't have need of them anymore. Why? Would you prefer me to go back?"

"No! I mean, no, you look good. Not pale. Fuck," Valentine babbled. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. All the blood is now in my dick, and words are hard."

"As well as your dick," Yelena said, laughing softly.

"Not helping." Valentine glared at her, but it was playful. It was a side only she could bring out in him. "Oh, gods, a week wasn't enough."

Yelena finished doing up his tie and tucked it in behind his waistcoat. "We have lifetimes. We can give them a night."

"I don't know if I can," he admitted. He was already thinking of ways he could lock them all out of his tower.

He had felt his family come home in the past few days, but none had tried to approach him.

Food appeared on a table in his study, and he didn't know if it was the house or Bas's magic providing for them.

Yelena went up on her toes. "Don't you want to introduce the new Mrs. Valentine Greatdrakes to the world?" she purred, her eyes turning dragon on him.

"That's not fair," he growled.

Yelena only pinched his chin. "Get used to married life, sorcerer." She sashayed toward the door, the satin of her dress swishing about her hips.

"Fuckkkkk, wait for me," he said and hurried to open the door for her.

They made it downstairs without Valentine grabbing her and carrying her back into his tower, but it was a near thing. He didn't know how he was going to get through the night without staring at her like a dumb idiot the whole time.

As Valentine had expected, Cosimo was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, a glass of scotch in his hand .

"If you still need to have a good yell, can it wait until tomorrow?" Valentine said before Cosimo could get the first word in.

Cosimo took Yelena's hand and kissed it. "You look lovely. Welcome to the family, daughter."

Yelena pulled on his hand, yanking him toward her and into a hug. "Thank you, Cosimo. Your son makes me very happy, and I promise I will stop him from doing anything stupid again."

"Have you met any of my sons? They love to do stupid things so much," Cosimo said, but he was smiling as he said it. "Everyone is out in the garden. It's the only place in the mansion big enough to hold everyone."

"Maybe we need to build a feasting hall like Kian," Yelena replied with a bright grin.

Cosimo laughed. "No, no, we don't. Valentine is the last one of my sons to be mated, and that means no more mating parties."

"Except for yours, maybe one day," Valentine commented.

Cosimo's eyes narrowed. "I'm trying not to yell at you for endangering yourself to a mind sucking maniac. Don't make it harder."

"Yes, Dad," Valentine said, unable to hold in his smile. Cosimo muttered something in Italian about asshole sons, and it only made Valentine's grin wider. He hugged Cosimo before he could get too worked up. "I love you, Dad."

"That's not fair," Cosimo said, his arms holding him tight. He sighed. "I love you, too, Valentine."

Valentine held onto Yelena's hand as they made it outside, where someone had decorated heavily in scarlet, black, and silver. Cheers went up as soon as they were spotted, and their sprawling family crushed them into hugs and congratulations.

Valentine accepted it all with as much grace as he could muster. It was only one night, and he didn’t hate being hugged quite as much as he used to .

When it started to get too much, Yelena was there, subtly moving in to protect him from getting too overwhelmed. He had never loved her more.

"How did your punishment go?" Valentine asked Imogen. Her grin said it all. "Glad you enjoyed it after all. Thank you for the help."

"Anytime, kiddo. Well, maybe not summoning Gwyn but helping in general," she replied.

"It was a very good summoning, if that counts?"

Imogen waggled her brows at him. "I think it was the jazz hands that did it."

Valentine was still laughing when his brothers came to stand with him.

"So I'm pretty sure if Mpreg was a dragon thing, Dad would have shat an egg after he found out that stunt you pulled going to Midir," Apollo commented, making Bas's drink come out of his nose.

"That's…graphic," Reeve said, laughing at Bas and offering him the napkin he was holding. "But not untrue. We all thought he was going to shift, but no such luck."

Valentine watched his father across the gardens, talking with Oberon and Mananan as they smoked cigars. A tired-looking Taranis was standing under the trees nearby, Quinn under his arm.

Avallach had meant to be his Seneschal in the North, but since that was no longer needed, Avallach and the knights were in charge of investigating the other lords.

Taranis was talking about abdicating as king, but Valentine didn't know if it was only because the betrayal of his lords had hit him so hard.

Ella perched on Mananan's lap, laughed loudly at whatever Cosimo was saying.

"Maybe Dad is holding his dragon back somehow," Valentine said finally. "Do you think we should worry about him? "

"He's Dad. He has always had better control over himself than the rest of us," Bas commented.

"Oh, gods, you don't think he has bound his dragon like you did?" Apollo said, wrinkling up his nose. "That sounded so painful."

Valentine lifted his drink to his lips. "Only toward the end."

"It all seemed to work out," Bas replied with a bright smile. "I knew Yelena would get through all your prickly bullshit eventually."

Valentine found his mate where she was talking with Elise and Chrissy, her hand resting on Elise's stomach.

She hadn't announced anything to the wider fae community yet, but the family now all knew.

Yelena looked so happy that his heart did the weird, bursting feeling that he was still getting used to.

"She loves a challenge," was all Valentine said to his brothers.

They all grinned the Greatdrakes smile at him.

Apollo bumped his shoulder against his. "A good thing, too." He raised his glass of wine and pouted when he saw it was empty. "Damn it. I'll have to go to the cellar for another bottle."

"Let me. I need some quiet time for a few seconds," Valentine said, patting him on the back.

"Okay, but you better not do a disappearing act because Quinn is going to sing too," Apollo replied.

Valentine cocked a brow. "You think I would leave my mate alone with you miscreants? Unlikely." He hurried across the lawn and through the back kitchen door before he could get stopped again.

The silence of the cellar enfolded Valentine, and he took a moment to shut his eyes and let it calm him.

"Who are you and what in Minerva's name are you doing in my house?" a woman's voice said, startling Valentine and making his magic flare to protect him .

He looked around the dimly lit shelves. "Hello?"

The ghostly outline of a woman was glaring at him. Her curly, dark hair was piled up on top of her head, and she wore black, moth-eaten clothes.

"You aren't Cosimo," she said, fear coming into her eyes.

"I'm not. I'm his son Valentine." He stepped closer and reached out to touch her shoulder. There was nothing there. "Are you a ghost?"

"What? No! I'm… No. It'll take too much time, and I don't know how long this spell will hold. Tell Cosimo to find Maria," she said as she began to fade. " Cazzo ! It's wearing off. Tell him to follow my trail and watch out for strega."

"I will…" Valentine began, but he was alone. "What the fuck was that?"

He forgot all about the wine as he bolted up the stairs into the kitchen and crashed into his father.

"Val! Are you okay? You look white as a ghost," Cosimo said, holding him upright.

"Dad… Dad… I saw her!" Valentine stammered, holding his father by the shoulders. "I saw Auntie Maria in the cellar."

"I felt a magical disturbance in the house. It's why I came in," Cosimo replied, and his face went serious. "What happened? Oh, gods, she's not a ghost, is she?"

Valentine shook his head. "She said she wasn't, but she was like an apparition. I think it was a vision? I didn't have time to figure out the magic. She said to tell you that you need to find her."

Cosimo threw up his hands. "I've been trying to find her for nearly thirty years!"

"She said that you need to follow her trail," Valentine said.

"Tried that too, but she was so secretive about what she was up to at that time. Probably because it was dangerous, and I would have tried to stop her," Cosimo huffed. "Anything else? "

"She said to watch out for strega," Valentine replied. "That was the whole message."

Cosimo groaned. "Fuck. I told her to stay the fuck away from the witches! Now, I have to go and talk to them and find out where the fuck she is."

"No . We do," Valentine corrected him. "Dad, we are Greatdrakes. We stick together, especially when it comes to rescuing family."

"I don't like it, but you are right." Cosimo sat down on one of the kitchen stools. "I don't understand. I've tried to find out what happened to her over the years. I've scryed and done tracking spells too many times to count."

Valentine crossed his arms, and the answer came to him like a smack in the face. "Her dragon. Dad, she has a dragon waking up inside of her, and she has no idea. Maybe it is what has given her the power to reach out from wherever she is."

Cosimo's eyes widened. "Gods, you are right."

"He usually is. It is very annoying," Yelena said, coming into the kitchen. She slipped an arm around Valentine's waist. "What did I miss? What is wrong?"

Valentine pulled her close, needing her warmth to anchor him. "How do you feel about a honeymoon?"

Yelena smiled. "Good. I take it you have a destination in mind?"

"Italy."

"And what would we be doing there?" she asked.

Valentine smiled innocently. "Oh, you know, trying to find a Greatdrakes that has been missing for thirty years and might be a prisoner of hostile witches?"

"We don't know if they are hostile," Cosimo said, getting up again. "I need to go tell your brothers." He hurried out of the kitchen, a determined look on his face .

"They are all coming on our honeymoon, too?" Yelena said and started to laugh.

"Unfortunately, but there will be time for us," Valentine assured her. "And I mean, come on. Saving rogue family members and stirring up other magic users is a Greatdrakes specialty. And you are a Greatdrakes now."

"Damn straight I am." Yelena put her arms around his neck. "And there's no taking it back either."

Valentine pulled her close. "Baby girl, you're mine, and there's no way I'm ever letting you go."

"Gods help you if you do," Yelena said, and pressed her lips to his.

Valentine knew his love for her meant that she was wrapped around his soul tighter than any binding spell, but for the first time in his life, all he felt was a sense of freedom.