Page 55 of Dragon Mine (Dragon Kings 2)
She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
Vaughn watched her walk away. He didn’t call out to her, didn’t beg her to stop. She had said her piece, just as he had. He wasn’t sure how he could’ve gotten it so wrong. She wanted to be with him. He wasn’t mistaken about that.
Or maybe he was.
He lay back and laced his fingers behind his head. This cavern had seen his rages, his pain, his suffering and misery. It had never before seen his pleasure. But even that was now gone before it had even taken shape.
Of all the things Vaughn had experienced throughout his long life, he’d never known heartbreak like this. His mate, the one meant for him, had refused him. It was a death sentence for a dragon. Death would be easier than living without her.
Now he understood how Con had felt not that long ago before he and Rhi reconciled. The emptiness was a yawning void. All these years, he’d never given up on his search for Eurwen. When he found her, he’d thought all his dreams would come true. Instead, they had been dashed carelessly upon the stones of Fate.
He went back through his conversations with Eurwen. She had told him time and again that her place was on Zora—and his wasn’t. He’d heard her, but he hadn’t actually listened. Not that it would’ve mattered. Whether he told her about his feelings or not, he’d known the truth. It didn’t seem right that he’d finally found his mate, only to be unable to have her.
Vaughn wondered if it would’ve been better to keep it to himself. At least then he could’ve had time with Eurwen. As soon as that thought went through his mind, he knew it would’ve actually made things worse. The more time he spent with her, the deeper his love went.
“It’s too late, anyway. I was lost the first night we met,” he said to himself.
The only reason he had survived this long was because he had known all he had to do was find her. Now that he had, nothing would ever be the same.
Vaughn rose and found his clothes. He put them on instead of using magic. When he walked out of his mountain, he saw that night had fallen. He hadn’t realized he’d been inside for so long. Patrols flew Dreagan’s perimeter. It wasn’t his night, but the thought of going back to the manor and running into Eurwen didn’t sound appealing.
Or worse, learning that she had returned to Zora.
No, it was better if he remained away from the manor. Minutes ticked by, but Vaughn didn’t shift. Instead, he sat on the slope of his mountain and listened to the sounds of the dragons flying. He missed the roars from Zora. On Earth, they couldn’t roar unless there was a storm to blanket their sound. He missed a lot about Zora. But more than anything, he craved to have Eurwen back at his side.
Vaughn remained seated there throughout the long hours of night. Kings called for him via their mental link, but he didn’t answer. He wanted to be alone with his grief and misery.
He rubbed the area over his heart, wondering how something could hurt so bad. He was sinking into a despair so deep, he knew he’d never be able to pull himself out of it—and he didn’t want to.
Dragons weren’t meant to be alone. It was why they had mates. Why the magic allowed them to find their perfect partner. When the dragons were sent away, the Kings had feared they would be alone forever. Miraculously, many found their mates among the humans and Fae. Suddenly, the Kings had hope again.
Hope could allow someone to continue on long after others would’ve stopped looking and trying.
But hope could also kill with the dullest of blades.
