‘‘I have nothing to do with them!’’ Kostya yelled, slamming his hands down on a metal table.

‘‘If you have not, then who has?’’ Gabriel argued. ‘‘Who would wish to do harm to the silver dragons? Fiat? His battle has nothing to do with us. Bastian and his blues are on friendly terms with the silver dragons. Neither do we have a grievance against the red dragons, no matter if their wyvern is Chuan Ren or another. The green and silver septs have long had a history of mutual friendship and trust.’’

‘‘Which is why you sided with Fiat to destroy Drake and claim Aisling as your mate?’’ Kostya asked in a sneering voice.

My gaze went to the man at my side. He flickered a brief look at me, his jaw tightening as he said slowly, ‘‘My intention was never to destroy Drake or the green dragons. Fiat was intent on doing both, and I simply did what was necessary in order to lessen the massive destruction that was sure to follow if he proceeded unchecked.’’

I looked thoughtfully at the very pregnant Aisling. A faint smile twitched her lips. ‘‘He never really wanted me, you know. He just wanted a mate.’’

A painful knot gripped my stomach as I wondered if it was merely for a mate that he had so enthusiastically embraced me.

‘‘No,’’ he said, watching Kostya.

It didn’t matter . . . or rather it did, but now was not the moment to examine the basis of the man I’d bound myself to. As Gabriel said, there were more important things at hand, such as the whereabouts of Maata and Tipene.

All the same, the words echoed in my head: He just wanted a mate.

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

‘‘Well. I’ll say this for Gabriel—he has good taste in houses.’’ Cyrene dropped the handle of her suitcase with an audible thump on the rich carpet of the entrance hall. ‘‘I hope the rest of the house is as nice as the entrance. It’s much nicer than my flat, and certainly better than that dark little hole you inhabit. How many rooms did he say it has?’’

‘‘Seven bedrooms.’’ I closed the front door, consulting a small card to punch in the code needed to pacify the security system.

‘‘I shall graciously accept Gabriel’s invitation to stay with you until he gets here, then,’’ she said, opening up the door nearest us. ‘‘Sitting room. Kitchen back here, do you think?’’