Two Worlds; True Mates

Chapter 1

Falyn Pov

I shivered, closing my eyes as I wrapped my hands around the sword and let out a soft breath. Exhale, swipe foot to the left, inhale, spin around, lift leg into the air, and hold my breath till the last possible second. My heart was pounding as I went through the motions, my father’s voice echoing through my mind despite the fact that he hadn’t needed to lecture me in a few years now. Everything was down pact in my mind. Every step, every swing of my swords, every slide of my body as I moved like the water, dancing and twirling dangerously around the field. I exhaled as much as I could as I gripped the twin swords in my hands, pulling them closer to my chest as I slammed my foot into his chest, shifting all of my weight into the kick to knock him off guard. “Holy f**k!” Robby groaned, falling to his butt and sliding backward against the ground, a grimace on his face as he took deep breaths.

I felt the pull before I saw him, but I didn’t need to see him to know he was there. A soft smile lifted on my face as I heard the slow clapping, the slap of skin against skin echoing through the field as he started to walk over to me. Robby groaned as I took a step towards him, sliding my swords into the sheaths attached to my hips as I held out my hand, taking deep breaths as sweat poured down my forehead and slid down my cheeks. Robby shook his head at me, grinning as he accepted my hand and allowed me to pull him up. Then I felt him standing behind me and I shivered once more, either from the way the sweat dried on my skin and made me feel cold, or from the mate pull, making me feel drawn to him. “You’ve gotten so much stronger the past few months, my love,” he whispered in my ear.

I turned towards him as Robby dusted himself off, noticing I was busy, and walked away. It didn’t matter, that was my match for the day, it was almost dinner time it looked like, and if he was here, that meant he was coming to drag me home. “Lord Arlo,” I said, giving a small curtsy towards him as I tried to wipe the sweat from my forehead. It wasn’t befitting of me to appear in front of him so disheveled, but then again, I had to train, and there was nothing anyone was going to do or say to make me stop training. It didn’t matter that the last time we saw any sort of battle was five years ago when I had been kidnapped, I wasn’t ever going to stop training. I didn’t think I could even if I wanted to, because as my fingers slid against the hilt of my swords once more, my body sang in a way that it never could with anything or anyone else, the metal inside the swords calling to me, begging me to pick them up and keep going in my endless dance of swords clanging against swords. The metal was drawn to me because of my element, something I’ve known for two years now, since I had turned eighteen. Now I was used to the pull, I could handle being surrounded by metal without feeling overwhelmed, and I was stronger than ever.

Arlo held out his hand for mine, an unreadable expression in his chocolate brown eyes as he lowered his eyelashes and lifted my hand towards his lips, gently kissing the tips of my knuckles as his light brown hair curled around his head, gently tickling my nose before he pulled away. “You don’t need to address me with a title,” He said with a stern tone, guiding my hand to the crook of his elbow as he led us from the training ground towards the houses.

I turned around to look at Robby, feeling slightly annoyed that I hadn’t been able to talk to him and discuss anything with him before Arlo pulled me away. I liked to spend time afterward asking the one I fought against what they thought about my technique, if they thought I had missed a step or was lacking in any way, so I knew what to work on for next time. Plus, he was like an uncle to me, and I would have liked to thank him for his time, make sure he was okay, and at least say goodbye to him. But he had his back turned, signing something to his wife Lea, and I sighed, shaking my head and facing forward once more. “You’re a Duke, Arlo. The last remaining Duke of your family, you deserve the title more than most others for what you’ve had to go through.” I said honestly, a slight tint of admiration in my voice.

Arlo had come to live with us half a year ago, after being the sole survivor of a fire. On a night when the wind was strong and the lightning was striking everything in its path, Arlo’s home had caught fire, his parents and him sleeping inside, and while he had tried his best to get them out, he had failed, barely managing to survive himself with burns over his back and shoulders from a burning beam falling on him. My mother had brought him home, wanting him to stay with us until she could find a place for him, but it only took a matter of seconds for us to feel it, the bond. One of the older distinguished families before my parents took over as the King and Queen of the Dragons, Arlo’s parents were very important to the Dragon kingdom and very loved in the community for everything they'd done, not only for the previous rulers, but the current ones as well. And while Arlo, unfortunately, wasn’t able to get his parents out in time, he had managed to go to the houses next door, despite having a large flaming burn wound on his body, and wake them, making sure they were out of their houses and safe just in case the fire spread. He was a hero, and he deserved my admiration. “That is true,” Arlo said with a hint of humor in his voice. “But you’re forgetting something, princess. I’m your fiance, your mate. You don’t need a title with me,” he said with a shrug.

I nodded, agreeing with his words. “That’s true, I know. It’s just hard to go against what I’ve always known all my life. To call you by title, that’s how I was raised,” I said with a soft laugh.

He turned to look at me, his eyes staring into mine, and for a moment I wondered…is this it? Is this…the passion? And then he smirked at me and I shrugged, thinking this had to be it. We’re mates, after all, this must be passion, even if my blood wasn’t racing, and my body wasn’t aching. “Will you call me Lord even when we’re in bed together?” he wondered.

I felt a blush slide over my cheeks, and shook my head back and forth, my mouth hanging open as I pulled away from him, gently swatting him on the shoulder. “Sir, that’s uncalled for,” I said sternly, frowning at him as he let out a soft chuckle. “We won’t be doing any of that until we’re married,” I said with a huff.

He laughed, holding his arm out for me to grab again, and while I wanted nothing more than to smack him again for even bringing up such a matter, I understood the protocol of being led by a gentleman. Plus, even now, my parents refuse to let me go anywhere without an escort, and even if Arlo hadn’t come to fetch me, then Robby would have taken me home instead. It used to bother me, but now it was nothing; just something I was used to. “There’s something your parents want to talk to us about during dinner. I don’t know what it is, but I felt like you should be warned just in case.” He said with a shrug, his tone neutral as he quickly changed the subject.

I wasn’t sure if he changed it because he was scared I’d smack him again, or if he was simply tired of talking about it, knowing I wouldn’t relent. He had tried more than once at the beginning to convince me that because we are mates, because we are engaged, we would be fine being together, but I wanted to wait. Wait for what, was the question. I wasn’t sure what it was I was waiting for, but if it was my marriage night, then that was what I was going to do, even if he thought I was a prude for keeping him at a distance. “I wonder what it’s about,” I said with a frown, curious.