Chapter 22

DAMIAN

I stretch and yawn, feeling my strength returning. Prince Cian and Michael managed to extract the poison from my system, and I’m on the mend. But Valkyrie isn’t so lucky. She’s not responding to anything, and they’re scrambling to find an antidote.

I step out onto the balcony, stretching again and cracking my neck.

“Feeling better?” Leo asks, walking into the room.

“Hey!” I greet him with a smile.

“Yeah, you’re definitely better. Seems like you’re invincible,” Leo jokes, patting my shoulder.

“Jerk,” I retort, laughing. “So, what’s the latest?”

“Not good. Your brother’s really stressed out,” Leo sighs. “The king has to fulfill his duties.”

“But his queen is sick because of me,” I say, guilt washing over me.

I know Valkyrie was just trying to help me, but it doesn’t lessen the guilt.

This is my fault. I let my guard down. As dragons, we should be more aware of humans carrying tamer weapons.

“It’s not your fault, Damian. Valkyrie was just doing her duty as queen,” Leo reassures me with a smile.

I frown, mulling over his words.

“You’re right,” I admit, though it doesn’t make me feel any better. Valkyrie was just doing her job, protecting her people. But the fact that I caused her harm still gnaws at me.

“Let’s go see her,” Leo suggests. I nod in agreement.

***

As we approach her chambers, we find Prince Cian pacing the hallway, a troubled look on his face.

“Cian?” I call out, but he doesn’t hear me. “CIAN!” I shout louder, finally catching his attention.

“Hey, what brings you here?” Prince Cian asks, still frowning.

“We came to see Valkyrie,” I tell him.

“Not now,” Prince Cian cuts me off. “No visitors.”

“Why not?” Leo asks, confused.

Prince Cian sighs, glancing between us before turning away and telling us to leave. Leo gestures for me to follow him. What’s going on with Prince Cian?

“We’re heading towards Dimitri’s chambers. Why?” I ask, puzzled.

“Dimitri’s in his room. Let’s go,” Leo says, not offering any further explanation.

We knock on Dimitri’s door and wait for his invitation to enter. We greet him as we walk in, finding him on his bed, drinking.

The smell of alcohol is so strong it makes me nauseous, and that’s saying something since dragons are usually immune to alcohol. But Dimitri’s been drinking heavily.

He’s sprawled on his bed, wearing only black trousers, his hair a mess, and his face flushed.

“You’ve been drinking, Dimitri. What’s going on?” I ask, grabbing a jar of wine and moving it away from him. “Talk to us!”

Dimitri just stares at us and laughs. He’s drunk.

“Valkyrie,” Leo murmurs.

Dimitri’s laughter stops, and he glares at Leo. He’s clearly worried about her. Is he hiding in his room because he doesn’t want anyone to see him like this? I’ve never seen him this way before.

“Stop it, Dimitri,” I plead. “Valkyrie wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

“She wouldn’t tell me shit,” Dimitri mumbles, sounding more annoyed than angry.

“Leo, could you give us a moment?” I ask. Leo nods and leaves the room. Once he’s gone, I sit on a wooden chair and look at Dimitri. He yawns, his eyelids heavy.

“How long have you been drinking?” I ask.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Dimitri deflects.

“I asked you a question. How long?” I press, anger creeping into my voice. Dimitri scoffs and sits up, holding his head.

“Seriously, Dimitri, if this is how you act when Valkyrie’s sick, I can’t imagine how you’ll handle it if she leaves,” I say, causing Dimitri to growl softly. He can barely sit up. “Go to sleep,” I order.

I help Dimitri lie down and make sure he’s asleep before leaving his room. I decide to head back to Valkyrie’s chambers to see if Prince Cian is still there.

Something about Prince Cian’s behavior is off. I look around and see no one. I quietly open the door and walk in.

“Damian?” a voice whispers, startling me.

“Damn it, Mia!” I hiss.

Mia is holding some dirty laundry, in the middle of changing Valkyrie’s clothes.

“Is Cian here?” I ask, scanning the room. My eyes land on Valkyrie’s still form.

“No,” Mia mumbles.

I nod and walk over to Valkyrie’s bed. She’s sleeping so peacefully, it’s hard to tell if she’s even breathing.

I sit on the wooden chair next to her bed and take her hand. It’s cold, unnaturally so.

“Why are her hands so cold?” I ask Mia.

She glances at me and quickly looks away.

“Mia?” I prompt.

“We don’t know. Prince Cian noticed it this morning and has been worried ever since,” Mia explains. “It’s like she’s slowly fading away.”

Is this why Dimitri’s been drinking?

“Valkyrie’s body isn’t responding to anything. Michael tried to heal her, but his powers just passed through her body.

“Michael was so taken aback that he kept trying until he was completely drained,” Mia shares, settling down next to Valkyrie. “Damian, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I respond, turning to face her. Mia’s biting her lip nervously. “What’s on your mind?”

“Um, just… Why doesn’t Valkyrie have a mating mark?” Mia asks, her voice barely above a whisper. “Isn’t she Dimitri’s mate?”

I sigh, looking at Valkyrie. Gently, I stroke her face. Her usually fair skin looks even paler now.

I can’t deny that I’ve been pondering the same thing. It’s odd that Dimitri hasn’t been able to locate her mark. As dragons, we share this mark with our mates.

The appearance of the mark is a public declaration that we’ve found our mate. In this case, Dimitri claimed Valkyrie as his mate the first time they met. But how could he be so certain?

I recall my father sharing stories about our ancestors’ marks and how they surfaced. They didn’t need to bite their mates, or engage in sex to make it appear.

All they had to do was kiss the area on their mate’s body where they believed the mark would be. But did Dimitri even attempt to find her mark?

“I need to talk to Dimitri about this,” I murmur.

“Well, I’m going to grab some fresh clothes,” Mia announces, standing up. “Can you stay and keep an eye on her?”

“Of course,” I reply, managing a weak smile.

I turn my gaze back to Valkyrie and sigh.

“When will you wake up?” I whisper, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. “This is all my fault, and I’m sorry,” I confess, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

***

I feel a gentle nudge and open my eyes. Did I fall asleep?

“Hey, wake up,” a voice commands.

Blinking sleep from my eyes, I turn to see who’s behind me.

“What the hell did you do?” Michael demands.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Valkyrie!” Michael snaps.

I glance at the bed and frown. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I stand up so quickly that the chair topples over. Fear grips me.

“Where is she?” I stammer, bewildered.

“That’s what I want to know, Damian. What did you do?” Michael retorts, his tone laced with anger.

“Nothing!” I protest, panic setting in.

Valkyrie is nowhere to be found. Did she wake up?

“Damn it!” Michael swears.

I follow Michael out of the room.

“Mia?” I call out, my voice shaky.

Mia turns to look at me. She looks just as scared as I feel. What happened while I was asleep?

A loud crash draws our attention to the door.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN VALKYRIE DISAPPEARED?” Dimitri roars.

Swearing under my breath, I rush toward the entrance. Leo has Dimitri cornered while Prince Cian is bleeding from his forehead.

~“Fucking help me!”~ Leo mind-links me.

“Calm down, Dimitri!” I try to reason, stepping between them. “Losing your temper won’t help.”

“SHUT UP!” Dimitri bellows, effectively silencing me.

Dimitri’s face twists as he struggles to keep his beast form at bay. I can’t let Dimitri transform into a dragon here. The room isn’t big enough. He could wreak havoc on the entire area if he changes.

“Did you search everywhere for her?” I ask Leo.

“We have men combing the entire mountain. We can’t find her anywhere. It’s like she vanished,” Leo reports.

Dimitri growls loudly, shoving me aside. He starts advancing on Cian.

“Stop it!” I bark, “I was with her. This is my fault!”

Dimitri whirls around to face me.

“Your fault?” Dimitri echoes, confusion etched on his face.

“Yes, I was with Valkyrie earlier and then I fell asleep. If Michael hadn’t woken me up, I wouldn’t have realized that Valkyrie was missing from her bed. It’s my fault, not Prince Cian’s,” I explain.

Dimitri seizes my neck and slams me against the wall. “How the fuck didn’t you notice anything?” Dimitri hisses, his anger palpable.

“I don’t know. I was there and I somehow fell asleep,” I try to explain, but instead of understanding, Dimitri lands a hard punch on my face.

“Asshole,” Dimitri spits as he storms off. “Gather everyone, NOW!” he orders Leo.

Mia attempts to help me up, but I brush her hand away. I need to find Valkyrie.

“How did she disappear?” I ask, turning to Cian. His blue eyes bore into mine.

“The real question is, how did you fall asleep?” Prince Cian counters.

“What are you suggesting?” I growl.

“I’m just curious how you managed to sleep through it all,” Prince Cian replies, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. “It’s odd. But you know what? Don’t bother answering.”

He turns on his heel and heads back to Valkyrie’s room.

“Didn’t you see anything, Mia?” I ask her. Mia shakes her head. What the hell happened?

I search the entire palace but find no trace of Valkyrie. The thought that someone could have taken her terrifies me. Do we have spies?

I mind-link some of the men, asking if they’ve seen anything.

So far, no leads, and Dimitri is on the verge of killing someone. His rage is palpable and every ten minutes, he makes the entire palace tremble.

As I pass a group of human girls, I overhear them whispering among themselves. I frown, straining to catch their conversation without being noticed.

“Should we tell someone?” one girl whispers to the others.

“But she might kill us if we do,” another whispers back, her voice trembling.

“Are you nuts? We have to. If you two won’t, then I’ll tell the king,” the third girl, with long black curly hair, declares, clearly annoyed.

Deciding to confront them, I watch as the girl with the black curly hair walks away. I reach out and grab her arm. She spins around, looking surprised.

“I need you to start talking,” I murmur to her.

***

I call everyone into the throne room. Dimitri is seething, his gaze fixed on the human girl who is nervously fiddling with her hands.

“Your name,” Dimitri demands.

The girl glances at him before quickly looking away.

“Sarah,” she mumbles out. We all notice how Dimitri’s intensity is making her jittery.

“Sarah, do you know what happened to the queen?” I ask. She jerks her head up to look at me, her eyes wide with surprise.

“I heard you and your friends talking about needing to speak with the king. I think now would be a good time,” I chide.

“Yes,” Sarah agrees, letting out a sigh. “We saw who took the queen.”

“Name,” Dimitri commands.

The girl looks around the room. Pressing her lips together, she lifts her head and says, “Lilly.”