Seduced by Seven
Автор
Jen Cooper & C. Swallow
Прочтений
935K
Глав
56
Chapter 1
TAVORA
“Are you there, Tavora?” Reingard, my soon-to-be husband, calls out from the other side of my dressing room door. I’ve just finished dressing, taking pride in the lace wedding gown I’ve painstakingly hand stitched.
Reingard is supposed to see me in this dress for the first time by the waterfall, where we’re set to exchange vows in just two hours.
“Reingard, you shouldn’t be here,” I say, pressing my hand against the door. “You can’t see me yet—” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
“Something’s…um…” Reingard’s voice sounds choked. Is he unwell?
“Tavora, it’s urgent. I’m really sorry, but you need to open the door,” he pleads, sounding unlike himself. Something must be terribly wrong.
I open the door, only to be taken aback. Reingard isn’t alone. He’s dressed in his wedding suit, but he’s holding the hand of a beautiful woman I’ve never seen before.
She smells of fear and…Reingard. My Reingard. A fresh, red dragon’s brand marks her neck, her eyes as pale as the moon.
A silver wolf pendant rests against her collarbone, its glow matching the golden dragon pendant around Reingard’s neck. They’re both radiating light.
I blink, my mind echoing with the lessons I’ve learned: these are talismans. They’re not just wearing jewelry. They’re adorned with talismans from different realms.
Our realm, the realm of dragons; hers, the realm of wolves. But who is she, and why is she holding my fiancé’s hand?
“Is she lost?” I manage to ask, my voice shaky.
But my words trail off as Reingard avoids my gaze. Instead, he looks at my dress, but he doesn’t see the effort I’ve put into it. He doesn’t even acknowledge it.
“This is Aella.” Reingard takes a deep breath, finally meeting my eyes. “We are mates.”
I freeze, my hand gripping the door tighter as anger begins to boil within me. I must have misheard. Any other explanation is unthinkable.
“I’m really sorry, Tavora. Reingard and I met at the lake this morning,” Aella speaks up. “The connection between us was so strong, we’ve already mated by the water. And I—I’m really sorry that the realms have done this to you. You don’t deserve this.”
Reingard picks up where Aella left off. “It’s messed up, I know. I can hardly believe it myself, but we can’t go against what the realms dictate. Your family is aware. I’ve already spoken to them. The wedding will still happen, considering all the effort we’ve put into it.” He tries to smile at me.
“For us?” I ask, stunned. He couldn’t possibly mean to use the wedding that we had planned so carefully for anything other than us. He couldn’t be that thoughtless, could he?
“No, for my mate, my wolf, Aella.” Reingard winces at the hurt in my eyes.
I’ve been staring blankly between them, wondering if this is some sort of nightmare. A terrible nightmare.
“But I am a Blood Raven, Reingard,” I hiss.
Aella flinches and hides behind him.
“I love you. You’re my man—you’ve been my best friend and my dragon, since we were kids—”
“I loved you too,” Reingard interrupts, his eyes welling up with tears, “just not the way I…” He doesn’t finish his sentence.
It would be adding insult to injury to say how much more he loves her. So he stops. But it’s already too late.
I manage a smile through the tears streaming down my face, letting out a small laugh.
“Tavora,” Reingard stammers when he sees the look in my eyes. “What are you…”
I see no reason to hold back. I say in the sweetest voice I can muster, “I’m going to kill you both, and the last thing you’ll hear will be your true mate screaming for you.”
MADELINE
Four years since being marked by my Twin Dragon mates, I’ve been a—cough—compliant brat. I mean, um, a compliant slave!
Because, of course, all mortals are slaves to the Sky Gods. Even their precious, beautiful mate, me!
The dragon brand I received never caused me pain, and from the moment I’d discovered I was immune to their heat and emerald fire, my fate was sealed.
We’re natural enemies, yet soulmates all the same. We have two beautiful children, and we’re a loving family—but for them? Behind closed doors, I am their slave.
They enjoy making me follow their rules, and yes, I’ll admit, I willingly submit to Hael and Lochness…sometimes. But being a natural born dragon slayer, I’m also a natural born brat.
And today? I was feeling particularly bratty. I wanted to do things my way.
An intense earthquake earlier in the day had opened up a new cave system in Requiem Mountain, our home. Curiosity piqued, I immediately went exploring and found that a crack in the wall had caused a collapse.
It had opened a tunnel in the closet of my bedroom, which was located almost at the peak of the mountain. The fact that it led right out of my Twin Dragons’ nest was too tempting to resist.
So I slipped away without telling anyone. After hours of exploring the new cave systems without permission, I returned to our warm cavern.
The sun must be setting by now. An emerald-green fire is burning in the fireplace, indicating that one of my mates is nearby.
I walk past my golden cage, toward the shower against the wall, where warm water is flowing into a shallow basin. I kneel to wash my hands, removing any evidence of my recent adventure.
I hear a whimpering sound and the scrape of metal. It’s coming from around the bend in the ochre-colored rock. The pleasure room?
I lick my lips and glance down at my leather pants and bra, checking for any rips or tears that might give me away. I pat myself down and tiptoe toward the vault door that leads to my mates’ “punishment” chamber for me.
The pleasure room is both my heaven and hell. The heavy metal door is slightly open. I peek inside.
Hael is there, rummaging through the drawers by the bench where he likes to make his own ropes. Hael’s collection of toys, ropes, and chains are tucked away in here like precious treasures, ready to remind me that I’m his plaything, not just his sweetheart.
Hael is my master, there’s no question about that. And I love him… But he’s not the only one I have to deal with.
His twin, Lochness, is a rogue dragon who spends most of his time flying or grumbling about the surplus of humans on the mountain. He might not be here at the moment, but he has a knack for appearing out of nowhere and shifting behind me when he senses I’m up to no good.
Dealing with two masters is more challenging than one. Any opportunity to discipline me will draw Nessy back, so I decide my best strategy to avoid punishment for my earlier escapade is to act like it never happened.
“Hello, sir,” I say, pushing open the door. “What are you searching for?”
Hael pauses, then stands up straight. His freshly washed emerald hair is darker from the moisture and still dripping water that trickles down his sculpted abs.
He’s clearly here to unwind for the afternoon. I know he expects me to behave. He sees me standing there, looking so perfectly innocent that I almost certainly seem guilty.
Hael’s eyebrow twitches once, and the massive shadow he casts looms over me.
“Maddie. You vanished the entire afternoon.”
“No,” I respond, perhaps too quickly, so I add another fib. “I was helping an elderly slave who needed assistance.”
“I heard Elisha broke her arm,” Hael says casually.
“Yes, that’s right, I helped—I just came from her room—”
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