Caelan Lonan is an enchanter with nothing left to lose. Stripped of his family name after a false accusation, he signs a marriage contract out of desperation with a man he's never met. The moment the blood hits the page, power unlike anything he's ever felt slams through him. An hour later, a furious dragon crashes through the treeline, growling threats.
Domhnall Seisyll chose his beloved Teague over his clan's arranged match and was cast out. Tricked into signing the contract with Caelan, he struggles to hold onto the man who has meant the world to him and the reckless enchanter who is coming to mean just as much.
Teague Leogaire is a fairy who has been at Domhnall's side for as long as he's had the power to choose. He loves his dragon, but fears the captivity that left him weakened and maimed has made him unable to be what Domhnall needs. When Caelan crashes into their lives, he fears the worst, even as a secret part of him dares to hope.
But something is feeding on Bheithri's grounds. People are missing. And the harder Caelan looks into the darkness gathering beneath the manor's beautiful surface, the more he suspects his entire situation was not as accidental as it might seem.
Two weeks ago my life was hassle free. A bit boring perhaps, but it had been uncomplicated. Simple. Now I had people going missing, a lover I barely knew who could not only use my abilities but an entire host of abilities on top of it -- who could talk to my house -- and Teague was lapsing in and out of consciousness and throwing me at someone else. I had no idea what to do.
“I can feel you thinking,” mumbled Caelan into my chest. I glanced down at him. He hadn't moved, his limbs were still twined around me, his face pressed against me. I wanted to wrap him up and keep him safe from the world, and had no idea how to manage those wants when unlike Teague, he actively fought against it.
“I'm not helpless,” he continued with a slight edge in his voice. “I've been fighting one enemy or another almost my entire life.”
I ran my hands through his hair, and he angled his head to enjoy it. “Reading my mind?”
He snorted. “Even if I could, I wouldn't need to. You're all tensed up, and you're grabbing me like a dragon holding fast to his hoard. A dragon.” Then he paused. His head tilted up so he could meet my gaze, and his eyes widened. He jerked back, his arms flailing and tumbled off the couch. “It was you! You --! You attacked me!”
“For all the good it did,” I sighed, and closed my eyes. “I thought you were trying to con me.”
I heard him rise to his feet. There was silence for a moment, and I opened my eyes to look up at him. He was standing, eyes narrowed, glaring at me. His nudity somehow made him seem even fiercer. “I am revoking your signing privileges.”
I spluttered, pushing myself up, but he was ranting at me now.
“What the hell were you thinking? Signing documents without reading them? In an enchanter's signing room? You're not just signing legal documents when they put you in there! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? What if I had been conning you? What if I had been out to get you?”
I waited for anger to set in, but instead all I felt was relief. Relief. I stared at him as he built up a head full of the kind of steam that comes from someone you care about putting themselves into danger. Teague liked him, or he wouldn't have pushed me at him. I wouldn't have to deal with paperwork any longer. He cared enough to rave like this. I felt myself starting to grin, but I didn't care. My grin faded however as things began rattling around us.
Caelan didn't notice as his rant continued. “And then attacking me? Do you realize what would have happened to you if you'd used your teeth or claws and actually hurt me? As it is you're lucky there was no backlash! What if there had been? Do you have any idea at all what signing enchanter-bound contracts means?”
