Reign of Embers: A Rejected Mates Romance (Fall Mountain Shifters Book 7) Read online

  Her eyes flash with humour. “He’s in one of the bars on the main street, drinking the expensive and old whiskey they serve there.”

  “Thanks,” I tell her. “See you around.”

  “Later, wolf princess,” she calls to my back, making me smile for a second before everything crashes back down on me.

  Two guards immediately try to stop me from leaving the castle, and I meet the gaze of one of them, who I don’t know. “I’m in a city full of dragon guards. I’ll be fine, and I’m leaving one way or another.”

  They look at each other, and I sigh. “I’m your queen. By the fires, let me out.”

  The guards bow their heads and move out of the way, and I hear Devika’s light chuckle to tell me she witnessed all of that. I need to get used to being their queen, seeing as I’m mated to their king.

  I catch a look at my reflection in the water fountain outside as I pass it, and I barely recognise myself anymore. My skin has a gold shine to it that makes the black markings peeking out of my top brighter somehow. My hair is as black as the night, and I miss my blonde hair, as I really don’t think black suits me. The part that surprises me is my eyes. They once looked like a light green sea, but now they are dark green flames with a ring of gold on the outside of my iris.

  Draycian’s gold.

  So much happened recently that I can’t process any of it, not right away. Arawn’s visions of the past flash back into my mind, with what my real father did. He was a monster, an alpha, and he hurt my mother. I was a creation of all that pain, and I can hardly blame her for giving me up when I was a baby. I just wish she told me the truth, all of it, because I think I’m owed that at least. The pure truth, even if it rips my world apart and makes me question who I am.

  If my father was a monster, does it make me one too, like Arawn said? Could I be like him one day? If I spiral out of control?

  I push all the invasive thoughts to the side and focus on what I need to do today.

  Nakoa. He’s stuck in the prisons, and I have absolutely no idea how to get him out, and I know Draycian isn’t going to let him out. Thankfully, I think I know someone who might be able to get him out of the city. I head down the many, many steps towards the main part of the city, and everyone stops when they see me, some shocked still, and I incline my head their way. Most of them bow, and others incline their heads back at me before going on with their day. I look up at the castle once, knowing Aunt Reine is going to be looking for me soon, and I need to get a move on. I rush, without running and attracting too much attention, to the part of the city where there is a row of popular bars and pubs. The first pub is empty and looks closed, and the second one has a few people but not the witch lord I’m looking for.

  The third pub has its door open, and I head inside, the warmth blowing over my skin. Tarrent is leaning against the bar, looking deep in thought, and I take a second to really look at the immortal witch lord. His swords rest against the stool he is sitting on, and his black coat is resting on the bar. He is wearing a deep blue button-up shirt tucked into black trousers, and his dark hair looks like he has run his hand through it a few times. That pull to him only intensifies the longer I stare, and I realise he really is beautiful.

  Tarrent turns his head my way, his bright, piercing blue eyes locking onto me, and his lips tug up in a breathtaking smirk. “Hello, princess.”

  “Hello, witch lord,” I reply with my own smile. I walk over and pull myself onto the stool next to him, glancing at the barkeeper.

  “Good to see you up and about, Serendipity,” Aedh, a bulky dragon shifter and barkeeper, states. He comes over and smiles at me. “Where are your guards?”

  “I’m sure if I get in trouble, a dragon shifter as strong as yourself can guard me?” I suggest.

  He laughs. “What can I get you, trouble?”

  “The wine you sneak me into poker night would be nice,” I reply, and he winks at me before going to make me a drink.

  “Poker night, do tell me about that?” Tarrent murmurs, his hot breath blowing against my cheek. I turn to him, running my eyes over his shaven face that makes his features look even more defined.

  Damn, that jawline.

  “It’s a secret that my aunt wouldn’t be happy to know about,” I reply. “Do you like poker?”

  “Sometimes,” he responds, taking a long sip of his drink. “I’d enjoy a game with you sometime. Maybe you can teach me.”

  “Serendipity might be a pretty lass, but she isn’t the best at poker,” Aedh calls me out, passing me my drink. “But, witch lord, join us anytime.”

  He nods to Tarrent as I thank him for the drink, and he goes back to cleaning some glasses at the other side of the bar. I don’t think for a second that he isn’t listening in on our conversation, and I will need to ask Tarrent to come somewhere else for what I need to tell him.

  “I haven’t been a witch lord for long, and I’m still not used to that title,” Tarrent admits. “Or the responsibility that comes with it. Do you ever feel like you are being tugged on two different paths?”

  I think of Nakoa and Draycian first and then of the city and my mother’s pack lands. “Yes.”

  He watches my eyes. “Maybe we can find a middle ground for us both, then.”

  I chuckle. “I doubt it will be that simple.” I lower my voice. “We need to talk. Alone.”

  He nods, the humour vanishing, and he starts to whisper foreign and enchanting words under his breath. I feel a wash of magic against my skin, and soon the room seems to be frozen around us. Aedh is paused, picking up a glass, and he doesn’t move. I look back at Tarrent, who smirks. “I can stop time for a while, but anything that happens physically in this time turns back to normal. It’s useful for private chats.”

  The way he says private sends shivers down my spine.

  “I’m trusting you and only you with this.” I pause and look down. “I don’t know why, but I’ve trusted you from the moment we met, and I have a really shitty history of trusting people. Don’t break it, please, because I need a friend right now.”

  He picks up my hand off the side and links our fingers. His touch sends heat coursing through my body, and it’s unexpected. “You can trust me, Serei.”

  I search his blue eyes, and even though I’m not sure I’m good at making decisions on who to trust after Arawn, I’m taking this risk. Something about Tarrent feels different.

  “Don’t hurt me, Tarrent,” I whisper.

  “Never,” he earnestly states. “I’m on your side. What’s going on that has you frightened? I can see the fear in your eyes, princess.”

  I pick up the wineglass and take a sip of the sweet, tangy wine and let it slide down my throat for a little courage before I speak. “The Wolven gods came to me in a dream last night. It was like I was really there but still dreaming, and I can’t explain it. I could feel their power, and it was unlike anything I’ve seen before. They told me that Draycian stole power from them years ago to save his people.”

  “The fool,” Tarrent growls.

  I agree after seeing the Wolven gods, but also, I understand why Draycian did it. It was the only way to save his people, and there isn’t a line I wouldn’t cross to save them all. “They want the power back, and the only way to get the power back is to kill him. They said I have to kill him, and they made it very clear there’d be consequences if I didn’t.”

  “They threatened you?” he angrily demands. “Then they are dead. God or not.”

  My cheeks burn. “Even as powerful as you are, Tarrent, they are stronger, and I don’t want all of us dead.”

  We both stay silent for a second, and I let him take it all in before I ask for my favour. “I need more than help with the Wolven gods. I need you to get Nakoa out of the prisons and take him far away. To your city, please.”

  “Do you love him?” he questions, searching my eyes. I look away, my black hair flowing around my shoulders with the strands of gold that Nakoa gave me every year on my birthday. I smile. “Yes.
I haven’t told him, and I wish I did. He’s my best friend, and I didn’t have a clue he had any feelings for me until that kiss. I know if I go anywhere near them, Dray is going to know, and he’ll no doubt punish Nakoa for it. I can’t let Nakoa spend a lifetime down there while I talk to Dray about not being a possessive asshole.”

  “He doesn’t own you, Serei,” Tarrent says, squeezing my still-joined hand. Touching him feels so natural that I forgot I was even holding his hand anymore.

  “I know that,” I tightly reply.

  “Do you?” he counters. “You could have anyone you wanted, and the king couldn’t stop you. You choose who has your heart and body, Serei. No one else.”

  I don’t reply to him, unable to, because what he is suggesting is something I want. Nakoa and Dray have my heart, but the pair of them will destroy each other.

  “Let’s start with the Wolven gods. I know of them, but we call them something else. They’re called the Ancient Wolves to witches, and they’ve been around since the dawn of time. My mother used to sing me a song about the Wolven gods, but I don’t remember it all. I just know they are to be feared and they are powerful. If the king really took magic from them and they want him dead, if you don’t do it, someone else is going to be tasked with that.”

  “He can’t die. He’s my mate,” I breathe out. “I can’t kill him, not even to save everyone, and I know how selfish that makes me, but I can’t. I’d rather die myself.”

  “How lucky he is to be loved by you,” Tarrent whispers. He reaches over and runs his fingertips across my chest, over the top of the markings. I gasp at the contact and how warm he feels. “I can see these new beautiful markings on you, and they make you a fierce queen, Serei.”

  “Do witches have markings?” I breathlessly question.

  “We do, but you’d have to get me a lot more naked to see them,” he replies with a teasing arched eyebrow.

  “Maybe another day,” I chuckle for a second before my smile fades. “What am I going to do, Tarrent?”

  “The problem with mates is that they take on each other’s past without even blinking. Their enemies too,” he softly replies.

  “It sounds like you’re talking from experience,” I question.

  “One day, I’ll tell you about my mate,” he replies with a strange look in his eyes.

  “Okay,” I reply, feeling a strange sadness in my chest that he has a mate out there. “Is your mate back at home?”

  “No, I’ll tell you about my mate when I finally have a mate, but that has not come to pass yet. Now, the plan is this. You need to ask Draycian about the Wolven gods and find out what you can. I’ll ask my people,” he starts, crossing his arms. “Getting your lover out of the prisons, in a city full of dragon shifters? Tsk, big favour.”

  “Please,” I plead.

  He meets my gaze. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. I’ll always do anything you ask, princess.”

  I go to ask why, but he keeps talking and doesn’t give me a chance. “But I can’t do it with your help. You need to make a big distraction. With all the guards, or most, in the castle.”

  An idea comes to me right away. “I’m sure I can figure something out.”

  He laughs. “I’m sure you can. Come with me.”

  I let him lead me off the seat with our joined hands, and we walk around the bar to the back, through a door into a small, tight corridor that leaves little space. He shuts the door and swiftly pushes me against it. I gasp as his hard body lies perfectly against mine, and my heart pounds as I breathe in his drugging scent. He scents like berries bathed in midnight. “Tarrent, what are you doing?”

  “I want a kiss for saving your lover,” he tells me, leaning closer. My eyes flicker to his lips, and a jolt of pleasure builds heat in my lower stomach.

  “A kiss is what got him landed in prison, and you have a mate,” I counter. Secretly, I don’t want him to move away from me. It feels so right, him pressed against me like this, and I don’t want him to stop.

  “My mate is not mine yet. Kiss me, Serei,” he purrs. “And we have a deal.”

  Truthfully, he’s not asking for anything I don’t already want, and I find myself leaning into him, lifting myself up on my tiptoes and pressing my lips to his. His soft lips come down on me in a fevered, passionate kiss that sets my entire body on fire, and a deep groan echoes from his chest. I gasp as his tongue dives into my mouth, possessing, claiming, dominating me with a single kiss, and I give him everything he wants. He picks me up by my ass, pushing me against the door, and I wrap my legs around him on instinct. I run my hands up his back, and he groans once more against my lips, pushing into me, showing me how much he likes the kiss. I gasp again at the contact, the increasing heat in my stomach building to an impossible amount. It feels better than when I touch myself, and I want so much more when he pulls away from me.

  His eyes blaze with desire, and I’m sure I look the same as we both pant. “That felt—”

  “Perfect,” he finishes for me. “I collect my next kiss when I’ve rescued your lover.”

  He puts me down and starts to walk away, but I catch his arm. “Thank you, Tarrent. I mean it.”

  “For the kiss?” he questions.

  “No, for being the one I can turn to when everything feels like it’s crushing me,” I truthfully tell him.

  He steps closer and presses a soft kiss on my forehead. “Always, princess.”

  Chapter

  Two

  “Do I even want to ask where you were and why you smell like witch magic?”

  I walk up to Aunt Reine, stopping and for a second wondering if Dray is going to be able to scent what Tarrent and I were doing. I imagine Aunt Reine would have outright asked if I had been doing more with Tarrent than just being near his magic.

  I don’t answer her questions. “I came to see my old room.”

  She steps over the small distance between us and wraps her arms around me, and I hug her back tightly, relaxing for just a moment in her arms as I breathe in her scent. “I was worried. I didn’t know you had finally woken up. The guards explained everything that had happened. I presume you needed space to think.”

  I know she means about Sallette, but with everything happening, Sallette is only one of the many things I need to think about. Nakoa. Tarrent. The Wolven gods. My father and the truth behind where I came from. Sallette is at the bottom of the list, even if she did shock me today and I don’t trust her one bit. Dray told me their relationship was toxic, and that means she can’t be as sweet as she seems to be acting. In my experience, immortals are rarely sweet. Time and experience turn them stubborn or kind. Not naive.

  I want to ask Reine about why she didn’t tell me about my father, about the truth, about what happened when I was a baby. But it’s not her fault or for her to explain to me. I know that she couldn’t tell me, and it’s my mother’s truth.

  Aunt Reine pulls back, searching my eyes and seeing right through me. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “Do you like the black hair?” I say, leaning away, and she lets me go. Her eyes flicker with annoyance that I won’t open up to her and that I’m clearly changing the subject.

  “What do you think about it?”

  “It’s a reminder about trusting the wrong male,” I admit. “And how I’m bound to a fallen god because I’m a foolish girl.”

  “You are not foolish,” Aunt Reine states. “Don’t you dare forget who you are because you trusted the wrong person. You are Serendipity Fall, princess of the wolves, queen of the dragons, and born with fire in her veins. No one, not even a fallen god, has the power to make you weak.”

  “My heart does,” I whisper. “I’m so confused, Aunt Reine.”

  “Ah,” she softly says. I know she must have heard about Nakoa in the prisons and why he is there, and no doubt wondering why I’ve been close to the witch lord once more.

  But that’s not what she brings up. “I’ve heard about the ex-lover being back. I wasn’t awar
e the king had a lover who died. The dragons haven’t spoken of it.”

  “There are many things that none of us know about the king. I’ve learnt he is a better male than he lets himself believe he is,” I softly say with a slight smile.

  “He is your mate, and if you have feelings for him, you must fight for him too,” she suggests.

  “I didn’t know you liked him at all,” I say, a little confused.

  She smiles at me. “He was frantic when you were injured. I know that look he had. I felt that way when my mate was dying and I couldn’t stop it.”

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her.

  She looks at the door. “It’s time I return to the pack lands soon. It may be empty of my mate, but I have memories there I now wish to revisit.”

  “So you’re leaving me?” I selfishly whisper.

  She places her hands on my shoulders. “Not until you are ready, and I am aware you are not yet.”

  I nod. “Thank you.”

  “Would you like some food? I was cooking before you arrived,” she questions.

  “Yes, that’d be great,” I reply. She kisses my cheek before leaving me in the corridor, and I look down to where my room is. I head towards my bedroom, running my hands over the old stone walls and touching the jasmine plants climbing them, the scent forever reminding me of home. It doesn’t stop me from feeling sad when I see my room, or what is left of it.

  The door is gone, broken into splinters on the black floor, and there is ash everywhere. The beautiful wallpapers are gone, leaving scorched stone in its place, and the jasmine crawling up the walls is in ashes on the floor. I wanted to escape this room so much that I never once thought about what it would be like to never come back to it. I walk over and touch what is left of the wooden frame of my bed and run my fingers up the burnt oak. As I glance over to my crawl space that leads to the kitchen, it feels like a million years ago when I used to crawl through this to talk to Arawn, thinking he was my only friend in this place, but it was never true. None of it. I need Nakoa. I rub my chest and touch the necklace. I’m going to get him out.