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The dragon inside roared in fury and betrayal. It spit ice and lava. It raked its claws down my consciousness, demanding I relinquish control, so that it may tear all of Thalassar apart if only to get my mate back.
For that reason alone, I kept him tightly tethered.
There had to be some explanation for her departure, even if I didn’t want to accept it to be true. Had I pushed her away with my insistence that we wed? Despite what she’d said last night, inside, had she been afraid? And could I really blame her?
We were so different. She came from a line of powerful royals and love, and I came from a line of hybrids. And like a beast, I’d been relentless in my conquest of her. Like a dragon, capturing a fish to play with it, tossing it from one clawed hand to the next, only to find it dead in its paws.
I should have been more careful with her. I should have listened and not forced my status and my love on her so viciously.
But, like Odele said, I was a beast.
A beast desperate for love.
Instead of getting the happy ending I longed for, I destroyed the future I’d dreamed of.