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“Seals can look after themselves. Your mate cannot. She needs rest, and care, and to be taught to use those wings at the flight range. I would cease the hunt if I were you, sire. I would tend to the needs of this whelp if you want her to survive.”

I am exhausted. I don’t know if it’s growing wings that takes up so much of my energy, or breaking my leg and having it fixed by dragon magic. Any of it would take the energy out of me.

Ornix takes me to bed, to the incredibly ornate room where I am already starting to get comfortable, and he settles me in. My leg doesn’t hurt, but it also doesn’t feel entirely good and properly put together anymore.

“I’m going to get some food for you. Do not move,” he says. “I swear if you move so much as an inch, the punishment will be unspeakable.”

I don’t move. And when he brings food back, I don’t eat it. I am too sick with guilt. I know I have fucked everything up. I’m used to fucking things up, but not like this. I am used to ruining things that are just mine to ruin.

My life, in other words.

I feel like I’ve fucked the whole kingdom up, and maybe the human world too. If people get their hands on the seal, it sounds like very bad things will happen.

“Are you not hungry? You usually eat bread like you’re afraid I just ate the last baker.”

Ornix does notice patterns, I will give him that. Sometimes I think he’s just mean to me, or just annoyed by me, but there’s more—and less to the way he sees me.

“I’m sorry. I know I’ve ruined your whole… empire, or whatever.”

Ornix grips my chin and directs my eyes so that I meet his, those great golden orbs that hold so much power and in the past have held so much annoyance, judgment, frustration. But none of that is in his eyes now. What’s in his eyes now is softer, kinder. It’s love. I see it, even if he hasn’t said it.

“You have not ruined my empire or whatever. You’re part of it. The most important part. I don’t care about the seal if it means you are hurt. Do you understand, Melissa? There is nothing more important to me than you. Nothing. I will never be too busy for you. I will never have anything better to do than you. I will never, ever want anything other than you.”

I start crying. I never thought anybody would ever say those words to me. After all the men I chased through college, men and boys who couldn’t even return a fucking text message half the time, and who treated me like I was irrelevant, to find a literal dragon king who values me more highly than any of his riches or powerful artifacts. I am more of a pain to him than to anybody,and he still wants me, even though every time he tries to take me anywhere nice, I literally turn into a demon.

“Shhhh,” he comforts me, not knowing where my tears truly come from, but also not shying away from them. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Have some bread. You will feel better.”

He’s right. I will feel better if I have some bread.

I have some bread.

I feel better.

Science.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t just be happy with the whole ‘be a brood mate,’” I say. “I know that’s what you wanted. A simple life with a simple mate. You wanted to have a bunch of babies. And I’m probably not even pregnant. All I do is grow wings and break bones.”

“You may not be easy, but we have literally forever to breed. My seed has stopped the aging process for you. You will remain fertile long enough to bear me hundreds, if not thousands of babies.”

“Well, that’s horrific.”

“Is it?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Hm,” he shrugs. “Well, our perspectives never did align in a tidy fashion, did they. Don’t worry, even if you never had a baby, we have Equinox to fall back on as heir.”

“I assume you’re joking.”

“No. The boy is annoying in his own way, but he is blood, and that is all that really matters in these things. It will satisfy history, and any prophecies and such.”

He sounds tired, almost as if he doesn’t really care anymore. I wonder how much weight it puts on his shoulders, being a great dragon king of destiny in a world where everything matters.

“Did you want to become king?”

“It comes with the territory, quite literally,” he snorts, lying down next to me, snuggling me into the crook of his arm so I can rest and eat bread and talk all at the same time.

“But did you want it?”