Page 46 of Hybrid Heroics

“After telling her mother this, Orsola’s cruelty took a nasty turn. She couldn’t change her daughter’s mind—her only female heir. So, Orsola sought out this mate. And when she found him, she sent him on an impossible quest.

“He was to prove his worth by bringing her dragon scales, given freely by the dragon. If he could return within the year, she would allow the young couple to seal their bond.

“Trian Mac Gearailt not only found a dragon willing to give him scales, but that dragon flew him straight to Catalina’s home. Orsola was so angry when she saw them she ordered them to be executed. But that wasn’t enough to make up for the humiliation she felt.

“The dragon and Trian were locked away, hidden behind Orsola’s most powerful spells. And Catalina was left waiting for her mate to return.”

Novak leaned forward, his lip curled in disgust. “What a bitch.”

I elbowed him again. “Shut up. Let her finish.”

“When the year was up, Orsola told Catalina that he must have died. But she didn’t believe that, because she could still feel the threads of their unsealed bond pulling tightly in her chest.

“Orsola then tried to spin the story, saying that he had simply failed the task, so he wasn’t strong enough to be Catalina’s mate. She needed to pull her head out of the clouds and do as her mother said.

“Remember how Orsola had raised her husband’s children from his first wife?” Amelia asked.

“No,” the vampire drawled in disbelief.

I swatted at his arm, tempted to freeze his mouth shut. But he’d only shout in our minds…

Amelia grinned at him. “Yeah. Orsola created the first successful love potion and tested it on her daughter and her stepson. The two were suddenly unhappily in love. And Orsola had a wedding ceremony organized within days.

“Here’s where the story begins to twist…” she warned us. “Bran de la Mor was a good man caught in a bad situation. He also had a mate that he wanted to be with, but Orsola didn’t care.

“Catalina and Bran were married while under the influence of the love potion. They consummated their marriage under that same deceptive magic, and that was when Alric de la Mor was conceived.

“This sham of a marriage went on for around three years… Until finally, Bran’s fated mate couldn’t take it anymore. She showed up at their home, begging to talk to him. And Catalina let her in, thinking she sought advice. When Bran saw his true love, the spell broke, but only partly.”

Amelia shook her head, as if she was stuck in a memory that wasn’t hers. She wasn’t just telling us this story, she’d seen it. The ghosts in her eyes were evidence that some part of this still haunted her.

“Bran tried to break the spell for Catalina, though nothing would work. His mate told him they had to find her true love. She worked within the guild and had seen Orsola’s scribbled spell-work. And then Bran remembered Trian Mac Gearailt. He knew what he needed to do.

“Bran’s mate convinced him to ask Trian’s family where the mage had gone. ‘Gone?’ his mother asked. ‘I saw my son riding a dragon years ago, but he never came to see me after that.’ Bran didn’t like this answer, because that meant the woman who raised him had deceived him. How could he save Catalina’s heart while also hiding this turn of events from Orsola?

“He asked his mate to stay with Catalina, to keep her from leaving the home while he went to find Orsola. Once he found her, he spun his own web of lies, explaining how he needed fresh dragon scales for a new spell he was working on. If she had the fresh scales, then she was to blame for his misfortune, as well as Catalina’s.”

Novak leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “And she had the scales, didn’t she?”

I glared at him. “Dude. Shut the fuck up.”

“Better,” Amelia told us. “She took Bran to where she had the female dragon chained, and she forced the woman to shift so that Bran could pluck her scales himself. And that was when he saw Trian, chained to the wall, beaten and broken. He took a single scale, telling Orsola that he would come back for more if this one worked.

“Once Bran was out of her sight, he ran home to tell his mate what he had found. When he went inside, young Alric was screaming. Catalina was clawing at her neck, her lips turning blue. And his mate was slumped over, barely breathing as his own three-year-old son attacked the only women Bran had ever loved. One fated to him by the Gods; the other destined to be in his life, no matter what form that took.

“Bran tried to soothe Alric, but it wasn’t working fast enough to save Catalina and his mate. He panicked, and he knocked Alric out. The women were barely holding on to their lives, but with a few healing spells, they rapidly improved. And he was finally able to tell his mate what he’d found.”

Amelia frowned, weaving her fingers together and twisting. Sam placed his hand over hers, and Rig pulled her into his side. Though their behavior wasn’t exactly odd, it cemented my earlier assumption. She was telling us this story based on a memory she had seen.

“But naturally, she was scared of Alric. She wanted to leave, run from the terror Bran and Catalina had created. He agreed, only if he could have this one night to get his sister to her fated mate. Then they could run far away, together, and start a new life.

“As the village became shrouded in shadows of night, Bran promised Catalina the secret of a lifetime. Of course, she followed. She still thought she loved him… Until the dragon moved, showing her Trian, strapped to the far wall, his mouth bleeding and his body covered in bruises.

“And Catalina snapped. The love potion evaporated, cleansing her eyes and clearing her memories to all that had happened. She ripped through the chains and magic that Orsola had been so proud of, and when she turned to thank Bran, he was gone.

“Catalina set the dragon free and took Trian home. She put both him and Alric under a sleeping spell, making sure her child couldn’t harm her already injured mate… And then went to kill Orsola.”

Novak whistled low. “Holy fuck.”