Free Blood Awakening by Tessa Dawn

see Nachari, it felt like an eternity. Finally, the wizard appeared,
and like a swan gliding across a lake, his proud gait carried him effortlessly
to her side.
    “You asked for me?” His voice was deep with
concern.
    Ciopori tried to hold his gaze, but her own eyes glazed
over with tears, and she had to turn away. It was written all over his
face—Nachari knew everything—but then, of course he would: Marquis was his
brother, after all, and he had seen the two of them together. Ciopori searched
for words but found none.
    “I am so sorry,” he finally whispered, “not just
for you—but for my brother as well.”
    Ciopori drew in a deep breath and forced herself
to face him. “Then you know who the...female...is then?” She nearly choked over
the words.
    Nachari nodded, the soft lines of his face
hardening. “Yes, when I reached out to my brother just moments ago, I felt her
energy in the air around him. As she is someone well known to our family, I
recognized her right away.”
    Ciopori began to cry, and she brought her hands up
to cover her face, ashamed.
    “Please do not be embarrassed.” Nachari sighed. “Whatever
you are feeling, I’m sure my brother is as well…”
    Ciopori wiped her eyes. “Nachari, does he have
to—”
    “He does, Ciopori.”
    She sniffled and tried to regain her composure. “But
why? Why can’t it be changed? Has anyone ever tried?” She knew she sounded
desperate, but she no longer cared. “Surely, I am not bound by this curse. There
must be some kind of exception, some way for Napolean to intercede with the
gods. He is from the house of Andromeda; if anyone can do it, he can.”
    Nachari looked out toward the forest, carefully considering
his next words. “Honestly, Ciopori...I wish it were so.” He shook his head and
ran his hand through his silky mane of dark hair. “It is true that there are a
lot of unknowns in this situation, but, Princess, the Blood Curse—that just
isn’t one of them. Nor is the sacrifice my brother must make at the end
of the Blood Moon.” He paused then and took a deep breath before going on. “Kristina
Riley—the destiny the gods have chosen for him—is the only female who
can give him what he must have right now.”
    Ciopori felt his words like a knife slicing through
her gut. Although she knew he meant no offense, no words had ever wounded her more
deeply. Unwilling to give up so easily, she gathered her courage once again and
defiantly squared her shoulders to the handsome wizard. “Forgive my insistence,
Nachari, but you simply do not know that. From what Marquis had already told
me, there is only one woman who can bear your children...without suffering a horrible
fate...and that is your chosen destiny . But there are things you don’t
know, reasons why Marquis and I believe we are meant to be together...”
    Her voice trailed off. There was no point in
trying to convince Nachari of the rightness of her union with Marquis. She
needed to stick to the facts, the logical argument. “Is it not true that the woman
who ultimately bears the imprint of a male’s constellation on her wrist actually
has small traces of celestial blood in her veins? And is it not true that it is
the celestial blood that makes them compatible...in terms of having children?”
    “Yes, that’s part of it,” Nachari conceded, “but—” 
    “Then do I not possess more celestial blood than
any destiny the gods have ever chosen?”
    Nachari hung his head. The compassion in his eyes
was as maddening as it was painful. “You have pure celestial blood,
Ciopori. No one would argue such a thing. But your blood is that of the goddess
Cygnus, is it not? Marquis’s destiny was chosen at birth by Lord Draco,
and it is Draco’s blood his mate will have running through her veins. The blood
of the dragon god is the only blood that is compatible with Marquis’s.”
    Ciopori stared at the wooden planks on the veranda
for quite some time before regaining her courage. She