Under His Wings(60)

Somehow, in spite of already having mated once in his life, he’d bonded with Tamar.

“One more thing.”

Nico’s bark of laughter rang in the night, bitter and ragged. “More?”

“It’s about Pria.” Bastien stepped forward. “I’ve been thinking about this since seeing Tamar’s stunning resemblance to your wife.” His emerald eyes narrowed, his unwavering regard turning speculative. “You said you dreamed of Pria prior to meeting her.”

“Yes,” Nicolai said, nodding. “It’s how I realized she was my mate.”

“Right,” his friend murmured. He freed a hand from his pocket and tapped his bottom lip. Nicolai recognized the thoughtful gesture. Bastien had retreated to the methodical, analytical section of his mind. “But unlike with Tamar, you never mentioned whether or not you and Pria shared dreams. It stands to reason that if Tamar dreamed of you, then Pria would have as well. Did she?”

“Yes, of course. I—” Nicolai stopped. “She was a dream-walker.”

“I don’t believe so.” Bastien prowled several feet away then retraced his steps. “After Pria died and you took up the role as Dimios again, I investigated Pria’s lineage.”

Nicolai gaped at him, stunned, but the simmer of anger brewed in his gut. “Why?”

“Because it was unheard of for a hippogryph to lose a mate and not chose to either die with them or go into nepenthe. You were the first.”

“So…what?” Nicolai snapped. “I became an experiment for you? One of your scientific trials?”

Surprise lifted Bastien’s brow. “What? No.” His face lost the “doctor” detachment and he glared at Nico, looking offended and ready to throw a punch. “I wanted to discover the truth for you. If there was any way to alleviate even a portion of your suffering, I hoped to find it. And I wondered if the answer might lie in your behavior.”

Bastien threw him another glower. “I learned Pria’s parents were bondmates so the gift she inherited was passed down through both paternal and maternal lines. Pria’s parents were not dream-walkers but pyrokinetic. Pria couldn’t have been your bondmate.”

Shock, sickening and paralyzing, somersaulted in Nico’s stomach like a gymnast on speed. He couldn’t have heard Bastien correctly over the din roaring in his ears.

“I’m sorry,” Bastien said softly. “I wanted to tell you but it would have caused you more pain, not comfort.”

“That’s not possible.” Damn, he sounded like a broken record. Those three words should be branded on his forehead. “I dreamed of her. She was…”

Nicolai allowed his mind to traveled back five hundred years to a time he had purposefully avoided. Seeing Pria for the first time in the open-air market. The joy that had leapt in his heart when she smiled shyly at him. When Nicolai had told her he loved her, confessed he’d dreamed of her, Pria had thrown her arms around him and hugged him tight.

“I’ve always dreamed of this moment,” she had whispered.

Oh shit.

“Your bondmate, Nico,” Bastien murmured. “You dreamed of your bondmate. But not Pria.”

It took several long moments before the gravity of Bastien’s statement sank into Nicolai’s head. Disbelief, anger, joy—the emotions rioted through him. He was swept up in a whirlwind of confusion, and when its chaotic winds ceased he would be forever changed.

“Tamar.” He stared at his friend, his voice as rough as the gravel that seemed to line his esophagus. “I dreamed of Tamar.”

Bastien dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “Tamar doesn’t look like Pria—Pria looked like Tamar, your future bondmate.”

Nicolai back-pedaled several steps and sank onto the swing Bastien had vacated. He peered into the darkness beyond the porch, his thoughts once more returning to the past.

Pria and her family had come from a small community in northern Italy. Her parents had been flattered and proud when the prince of their people had courted their daughter. He’d assumed Pria shared his gift because he’d dreamed of her and she hadn’t disabused him of the idea. Even told him she’d dreamed of the moment…

But what if she’d meant envisioned, not literally dreamed? And he, in his delight at finding his mate, had misinterpreted her words? Because he’d wanted a mate—his bondmate—so badly. He’d been tired of being alone. Of witnessing others finding their companions. Of watching others mate, bear young. He’d yearned for someone’s face to light up when he came home. He’d craved the intimacy, the sharing. Longed for his other half.