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Chapter Nineteen

The temptation to never return to the McArthur Vegas offices nor see Jade Lascaux again was strong. Just scrap the acquisition and let Jade flounder in her bright, perfect corner office.

He’d bared his heart to her, and she’d poured acid in the open wound. If he revealed everything about the story, she would have only accused him of further exaggeration.

Niko gradually floated downward into the watery abyss. His water magic ensured he had no need to breathe under the surface. The depths were the one place where he was king. Here, he was powerful, and above all, it made him feel safe.

Jade’s unwavering refusal to see things a different way had him questioning his own line of thinking. What if he had dreamt it? What if Julian had been the savior and not the villain?

Even as the thought crossed his mind, he rejected it outright. No mate in their right mind would attack the second half of their soul, nor the child they’d waited centuries for.

Even after today’s frustrations, thinking about hurting Jade was unfathomable.

Yelena had never been unstable; Ivan would’ve sensed it. A prime of unimaginable strength, he would’ve noticed if his mate had gone rogue. The signs weren’t exactly subtle.

As they aged, Sagani magic destabilized. The longer they went without connecting to the anchor—the queen—the greater the likelihood of going rogue. The more magic they used, the more their power deteriorated.

When that happened, they lost the ability to reason, and along with it, the ability to use their psychic gifts. Rogues became animalistic, defined by their red eyes and permanently extended fangs.

One way to avoid that fate was the mating process. It stabilized them. Finding the second half of their soul calmed their magic and soothed their voracious appetite for violence.

An immortal turning rogue after they’d mated was nearly unheard of. It only happened on occasions where their mates had perished and left them behind without a part of their soul.

Young Sagani played a waiting game. They were only able to recognize the bond once they matured.

If they were lucky, after they walked the earth for a few hundred years, the bond would arise when they were near their fated one.

If they lost the game and the mating never happened, most immortals chose to seek the next life once their magic started to decay.

Few unmated Sagani were still alive after they’d seen two millennia. Julian was one of the rare exceptions.

Niko rose toward the surface of the water, slicing upward through the cold. The liquid parted easily beneath his touch, caressing him affectionately as he passed through it. He had the ability to remain submerged for hours, or even days if he wanted to.

It was an escape, but not one his prime would tolerate for long.

When he emerged into the summer night’s air, Roman was waiting for him on the shoreline, arms crossed.

“Your eyes are gold.”

Cursing vehemently, Niko realized he must’ve dissolved the contacts at some point earlier today—most likely when the mating magic had been heightened. The chalky sound of teeth grinding filled his ears, and it took him a moment to realize it was his own.

“What happened to put you in such a foul mood?”

Roman’s gentle question held no accusatory threads, only concern. Niko weighed the value of truth. His prime had always been his confidant, but this business with Jade was like tossing him a hissing snake.

Bound by law to inform the Council, Roman would be punished if he knew of the illegal connection and fail to disclose it.

Loyal to a fault, the man Niko considered his older brother didn’t understand the concept of betrayal.

It was why he’d been so wounded by his forced execution of Yelena, and why the wound still stung centuries later.

He would rather bear a hundred punishments than inform Julian of anything relating to Niko.

Julian had already poisoned the water between the two of them when he took Roman’s mother and had continued to taunt the prime with her whereabouts.

Roman needed the entire picture—because if Jade rejected Niko, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out the root of the problem. And, more fundamentally, because he really needed his friend.

“Jade is my mate.”

Whatever the other man had thought he was going to say, that wasn’t it. Roman strode forward to slap a hand on Niko’s shoulder with a broad grin.

“This is amazing news! We have to celebrate!”

Niko jerked out of his grip, spiteful. “There is nothing to celebrate. Jade plans to reject me.”

All traces of joviality vanished from the other man’s features. “She would reject her fated mate? On what grounds?”

“She’s twisted by Julian’s lies,” Niko sneered. “Jade still believes he’s a good and decent person, and everything I’ve said to the opposite she explains away. I doubt she’d trust the truth unless it slapped her in the face.”

His prime’s keen mind took a few beats to assess the situation. Sighing into the silence half a minute later, Roman tilted his head toward the path along the shoreline, bidding Niko to follow.

“Finding your fated mate is a celebration. There’s still time for her to re-evaluate. This is new. For both of you. Let her adjust.”

“There won’t be any adjusting . She’s bound to another’s lies and determined to reject the bond. If she doesn’t, I will.”

“Rather fatalistic and impulsive, don’t you think?”

Roman chuckled, the sound warm and deep in the summer night. His unique way of finding the positive in everything had never failed him. But this time Niko couldn’t see what his prime saw.

“What’s fatalistic?”

“You’re killing off your future before it’s even begun.”

Roman kicked an errant rock back into the lake, the stone landing in its depths with a splash. The sound grated on Niko’s already frayed nerves, and his annoyance swelled in an irritated growl.

“Get off your high horse, Roman. ”

“Don’t wanna. I like my high horse. Easier to see from up here.”

Frustration made Niko’s skin feel too tight. After the day he’d had, his patience was so thin it was translucent. “You’re one to talk. You refuse to move forward from an event that took place four centuries ago. Even I’ve moved on.”

“Is that why you still hide your eyes, Niko? Because you’ve moved on?”

Niko’s glare turned frigid. “You know why I have to conceal them! Don’t patronize me.”

Roman halted beside him, humor glinting in his eyes. “You need a little patronizing. Want to borrow my high horse? His name is Sparkle.”

“Shove off, prime .”

Niko threw his hands into the air when all he really wanted to do was introduce them to Roman’s face. The man was infuriating.

“You’re the one who warned me about getting too close, and now you’re Jade’s biggest fan?” he snarled. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“You think I’m laughing? You’re moping around out here, cursing the fates, and acting like a child,” Roman returned, all obnoxious teasing gone from his voice. “If she is your mate, grow up and fight like hell to keep her.”

“Haven’t I done enough fighting already?”

“Well, you did lose our match only few mornings ago, lieutenant . You could probably use a bit more practice.”

Rage finally boiling over, Niko’s knuckles met Roman’s jaw.

He threw himself headlong into the battle, allowing his agitation and anxiety to vent against an opponent who could field it without being seriously injured. For every hook or uppercut Roman deflected, Niko threw another, and followed it with kicks or knee jabs, for good measure.

Rough and tumble, knock down and drag out, Niko was fighting dirty. He’d sparred with Roman far too many times to be ignorant of his weaknesses—and he was too mad not to take advantage of them.

By the time Niko was laying sprawled upon the ground, panting and covered in dust, sweat, and blood, he finally found his center again.

It was exactly what his friend had intended. Roman always knew when Niko needed an outlet. The tiger behind Roman’s eyes—even the one nearly swollen shut—looked out with an expression of feline satisfaction. Niko begrudgingly bowed down to his prime’s antics.

“I’m not telling you what to do, Niko. Just think about it. You only get one fated mate, and fate doesn’t make mistakes.”