Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Which turned out to be a wise precaution, all things considered, but dammit, a heads-up to their descendants wouldn’t have been amiss.
Dimitri was listening but still panicking, his protective instincts going haywire. He clawed at the ward, hissing in frustration. “My king will not hurt my mate. Come out of there!”
Could Sam believe that? He knew mates were beyond precious to dragons, that no one would hurt another’s mate willingly, but…Jaeggi. The Jaeggi were a different beast entirely. Even Sam was freaked out about belonging to that clan, and he had no memory of fighting against them. Unlike the dragons in front of him.
Shit. This really didn’t look good.
Torn, he met Dimitri’s eyes, his own heart in his throat. “I don’t know what will happen to me if I come back out.”
The fear and pain bleeding into Sam’s gaze helped Dimitri regain control of himself. Sam was hurting and Dimitri refused to add to it. He needed to reassure his precious mate that everything was going to be okay, that no one was going to hurt him.
Getting a hold of his dragon, he shoved the beast down and shifted into his human form. Then he stepped close to the magical barrier that separated him and his mate. Lifting one hand, Dimitri reached out but stopped just short of touching the ward. Close enough that he could feel the angry snap and crackle of energy.
Logically, he knew he couldn’t break through the ward despite his massive dragon strength. He’d seen it firsthand when Gunter had been separated from his mate, Nikki. Gunter had raged and clawed at the barrier, but it had made no difference.
He knew this and still ached to fight. His dragon bellowed for him to at least try.
“Samuel, baby,” Dimitri managed in a ragged voice. “Please. Just come to this side of the ward. We can talk about this.”
Sam immediately shook his head, his fingers twisting together into a knot in front of his stomach. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please—”
“Dimitri.” Vasily’s hard tone cut through his pleading. He twisted around to look at the other dragon’s worried but serious expression. He got it. This was way bigger than an archeological scouting mission. The ward was pointing to Jaeggi in their own backyard. They thought they’d defeated them in Europe, wiping out the dark cloud that had hovered over their heads for centuries.
If the Jaeggi were here, if there was even a small chance they could be a threat to the clan, then Rodrigo had to know. Immediately.
“Luka,” Dimitri bit out, his gaze shifting to the dragon beside Vasily. He was the fastest, and Gregori needed to keep working on bringing down the ward while they waited for help. “Fly to the clan. Tell Rodrigo about what we’ve found. Bring back Evora.”
It went without saying that Evora would be accompanied by at least half a dozen other dragons, not to mention the king.
“On it!” Luka shifted in the blink of an eye and was in the air seconds later, heading east toward the Valerii Clan compound. If they were lucky, most dragons and mages would be brought here within a couple of hours.
But he couldn’t wait that long to have Sam safely in his arms again. He needed his mate now.
“Sam, please, come back to me,” Dimitri begged, trying to ignore the fact that it looked like Sam had taken another step away from him. “I will keep you safe.”
“Safe? From your own king?” Sam gave an incredulous laugh.
“Yes. If I must, but I don’t think Rodrigo is going to blame you for what the Jaeggi did. Especially not for what happened more than five centuries ago.”
“And what about what happened less than a year ago? What about the rest of your clan? Are they going to be as forgiving? You told me how your mages were slaughtered. How most of the dragons in your clan died from the loss of their mages or in the war. The Valerii were nearly wiped out because of the Jaeggi. You think they’re gonna be okay with me?”
“You’re not the Jaeggi!” Dimitri roared.
A sad, twisted smile lifted one corner of Sam’s mouth as he stretched his hands out to either side of him. “It’s a Jaeggi ward, and here I am on the other side. What does that tell you?”
“I don’t care what your blood says. You are Dr. Samuel Hunter, archeologist, and you are my mate. That’s all that matters to me in this world.” Dimitri squeezed his eyes shut against the burn of tears and swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. “We haven’t known each other long, but I admire all the little parts I’ve gotten to know. I admire your quick, brilliant mind. I admire how you won’t let anything stand in your way, not even a dickish ex-boyfriend who abandons you at the last fucking minute because he isn’t worth a tenth of you. I love how you stammer when I make you nervous and how you are hands-down the sexiest man I’ve ever met. I want to spend the next several centuries learning everything I can about you, but I first need you to be over on this side of the ward with me.”