Page 22 of Dragon Blood (Dragon Island #3)

K ai’s head reeled with everything that he’d learned during that video call and the implications attached to that information overload.

After the call, all four drove to the airport in Kai and Astred’s rental, where they returned it to the company.

Aaron boarded his flight to Europe where Kane was headquartered, while Kai, Astred and Bayn flew to Asia. Bayn had decided his presence would facilitate the retrieval of the stone, since Astred had no previous experience dealing with his family.

The flight touched down before dawn, allowing them to take advantage of the darkness to travel the rest of the distance in dragon form.

It had been decades since Kai had last seen Shǒuwàng Zhě territory.

Bayn had been like an older brother, though he and his older brother Dai Zen were actually his grandmother’s brothers, and he understood why they’d never told him about the circumstances around Kolina’s presence in the east. Granted, he’d never asked him, either. Those questions had been relegated to his father, who’d refused to entertain Kai’s curiosity. Hence why he’d known little of his own history and heritage.

Now, it seemed, his existence, due to Aeleftherian politics, had taken on a new facet.

He glanced at Astred as they followed Bayn through the royal compound.

He’d met her purely by chance.

Hadn’t he?

Her red-sailed ship had floated into the harbor down the hill from his penthouse.

Now that he thought about it—really thought about it—he wasn’t so sure.

He’d been strong-armed by an old friend of Bayn’s into attending a charity party that he’d had no interest in, where he was specifically introduced to the fiery red-haired beauty with the swagger of a sailor and the magnetism of a starlet.

She’d instantly captured his heart, sailing away with it at the end of the enraptured weekend.

Six months later, she returned with it, freshly scrubbed with sea air and adventure for a night on the town.

And a hell of a night it had been. He hadn’t been able to believe she’d picked a fight at every bar she’d hopped them to, paranormal and human alike, then invited him to make love to her in the aftermath.

How could he not, after the way she made his blood burn?

Wild and fearless.

It had taken many more returns to port before she’d started to let him see her softer side. He’d had to coax it out of her, but found it he did.

He’d known at first sight he wanted her.

As she’d wanted him.

Once he finally met the deepest part of her, he’d known it was forever.

His heart felt that desire in hers, in the way she looked at him, the way she relaxed into the security of his arms.

Or so he’d thought.

He’d been foolish to believe that someone so untameable would settle into a commitment of any sort.

Curious how those memories reeled him back to that past, now, when they were about to face a far deeper past that included both of them, long before either had been born, rippling through time with beckoning fingers.

Like they’d been destined for this moment, though Kai couldn’t see his involvement in it.

Yet.

He glanced at Bayn’s set face as he opened the door to his brother’s study. The head of the Shǒuwàng Zhě.

King Dai Zen Long.

But that sense of destiny slithering up through him persisted.

He did have a part. Somehow.

The king of the Watchmen looked up from his laptop set on a heavily carved centuries old teak desk.

“Joey told you we were coming?” Bayn said to his brother.

“She did. It’s been a long time, Kai,” He turned to Astred. “Princess Astred Arakkil.”

She stood, shoulders level, taking in his measure, though she dipped her head. “Your Majesty.”

“I’m not so formal in here. Out there is another matter.” He jerked his chin toward the door.

She smiled. “I prefer captain to princess, but here we are.”

The king’s brow lifted. “Ah, a kindred soul. Well met. I had to trade in my beloved airship for this post.”

“My condolences, your highness. I hope to be spared that particular grief for many years yet. With your help, of course?”

“Clipper?”

“Galleon. Seventeenth century.”

Dai Zen whistled. “Classic.”

“She is my pride and joy. Her crew is incomparable.”

“Of course.” His eyes twinkled. “I do believe I recall some rumors of a pirate princess sailing the seas. Red sails?”

“Guilty.”

“The stone,” Bayn reminded them.

The king turned his assessing gaze from Astred to Kai and back again, thoughtful. “You want me to give you the stone?” His attention narrowed on her, asked the obvious but seeking something more in her answer.

“Want it? Hell no. Need it? Maybe. Hopefully not, but Ms. Kane insisted that I may need it to stop a traitor from annihilating my mother, if she decides to try to break into the vault.” She drew a breath. “As far as I’m concerned, no one ever knew where it was, therefore it’s safest here. But if my mother’s life is at risk, I have to do what I can to stop this threat.”

“Even if it means putting everything else at risk.”

“Preferably not.”

“They’ve been to the Nexus.”

The king’s gaze shot to Bayn. “You witnessed this?”

“No, Odson called me. Heidi Brandt oversaw it while the Wardens conducted the ritual.”

The king nodded. “And you?” His gaze pierced Kai.

“I made the journey with her.”

The king exchanged looks with his brother, studying Kai for an eternal moment before he seemed to make some decision. “You’ll make the next with her, too.” To Bayn, he said. “Summon Wu Keone Sun. He has work to do. They’ll need to prepare.”

Startled, shock straightened Kai’s spine.

Bayn nodded, looking between Kai and Astred, “I’ll be back with your father and his retinue as soon as possible. In the meantime, you two should settle in and rest up. You remember the way to your room, Kai?”

“Yes.”

“Good, Princess Astred will be given the stateroom at the end of that wing. You’ll see her to it?”

Kai bowed his head. “Of course.”

“I’ll need a minute to write the official summons.” The king said to Bayn, nodding his dismissal to Kai. “It was good to meet you, princess Astred Arakkil. Your mother has been a long-time friend and ally. You may understand that this relationship between our nations has been kept quiet for the safety of the greater good.”

Astred nodded. “I do. Obviously, the Consortium never considered your court would have any connection to ours, given their attempts to secure the mountain seal, as well as access to our vault. No doubt, they’d have sought the stone to find some way to use it.”

“We are very conservative when it comes to outsiders.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Joey is dedicated to extracting the third seal from the Consortium. She’s spent eons of time trying to pinpoint where they keep it.”

“You know her well?” Astred lifted a brow.

Bayn said, “Joey is my brother’s consort.”

The king laughed. “More like I am hers. Though it takes nearly every ounce of my will to stay out of her projects. My duty is to maintain neutrality.”

“The Watchers.” Astred nodded.

“Indeed. But now and then a storm rages, and when it does, we hit hard. Never doubt that. A balance must be maintained. This is why we partner so closely with the Shield Claw. They are our connection to earthly affairs in this sector of the world. What affects dragons has an impact on all the paranormal world. As you will see for yourself.”

Bayn glanced at the window behind his brother, then to his watch. “The sky lightens.”

The king turned to his desk, eyes lifting to Astred. “We will have dinner this evening. You’ve had a long flight. Go and rest.”

Kai opened the door of the king’s private study, allowing Astred to pass through before him.

An attendant awaited them in the corridor, as protocol demanded.

Kai nodded respectfully to the steward, whose gaze softened as he assessed Kai. “It is good to see you, Master Chan.”

“And you, Kai, welcome back. You will reside in your old apartment?”

“The king wishes it.”

The old man nodded and bowed to Astred. “Princess Arakkil, a pleasure.”

They followed him through the winding corridors to the guest wings. Kai’s eyes lingered on the ancient woodwork as they made their way through, reminded of the Aeleftherian decor. So different, yet the similarities were unmistakable.

One society. Dragonkind.

His people, though he’d never really thought so, favoring his Tiger ancestry his entire life. Until now: Yes, he was a dragon, too, though still an outsider.

Always was, always will be.

But he’d come to terms with that long, long ago. He’d had to. And now it was his strength; not too mired in the ways of just one society but well acquainted with many, which had so many commonalities among their differences.

He appreciated the acceptance that the Long family had shown him, despite his status as a hybrid. Perhaps it had made the exposure to his Aeleftherian heritage a little easier to swallow?

They’d understood the Aeleftherians in ways that the tiger clan couldn’t.

Kolina had sought him out to reconcile in her way. She hadn’t made it about her trying to save a relationship with him, but for him to have a relationship with his sister. She’d done that. Reunited the siblings and taken a step back, though she’d made her regrets clear. Now it was up to Kai to decide if he wanted Kolina in his life.

Without a doubt, he’d wanted to see his sister again, despite his misgivings that she might have turned into a carbon copy of their mother.

The similarities were there, but she was her own woman and dragon.

That was evident in her choice to commit to her relationship with the mountain dragon, Jori. An odd king, if Kai had ever met one, so different from any before in his life. Jori’s upbringing as a human was glaringly obvious. He lacked the ingrained apex qualities that signaled his dragon side, let alone his royal one.

But then, Astred was different too, in her own way.

Kai followed behind Astred as Master Chan led the way to the royal guest wing.

Never the prim and proper princess she was expected to be. A rebel and a sailor. A pirate for a time, sailing the high seas, stealing hearts, mending others.

An outsider by choice. Her crew was composed of women of all kinds. A mix of human and paranormals. Their common thread was their need. The Crimson Claw was a sanctuary, the crew a chosen family.

Kai had his tiger clan, and by fostering, the Longs. He’d never really fit into either, but wherever Astred went, she was the missing part of every gathering that made it whole. Perhaps that was another facet of the gemstone that she was, which drew him to her. She fit. Everywhere. No matter who was involved.

Astred was a shining light in the world.

Kai remained in the shadows, where he was comfortable. Both a watcher and a protector, as needed.

He’d be there, guarding Astred’s back against whatever was coming her way.

Work would wait. His corporate team could handle the contracts in his absence.

There was nothing and no one else that needed his attention for anything as important as this.

Master Chan finally stopped at a gilded door at the end of the guest hall.

“Thank you, Master Chan, I’ll find my way in a moment.”

“If you need anything, please use the call button,” the old man said to Astred. With a short bow to Kai, he left them alone in the dim corridor outside her room.

Aside from the strained hours traveling from the Crimson Claw to Black River and then driving from Black River to Toronto, they hadn’t been alone.

Not since those moments on the beach.

Astred’s expression when she’d found him in the bathroom slammed back into him. The raw desire and longing in her eyes that he could not give into.

Words flowed to the tip of Kai’s tongue, but he swallowed them back.

The sense that things needed to be said, after the Nexus, when there hadn’t been time and he’d been unable to pick out the right words.

Astred’s eyes met his with the same intensity, hand on the shining door handle.

She had words too, though she’d never hesitated to speak her mind before.

Now she did.

The tip of her tongue slid over her lips, uncertain. “Do you want to come in?” Her gaze flicked to the empty hall behind him.

He didn’t turn. He couldn’t deny the flicker of vulnerability in her eyes. “Yes.”

The journey into the Nexus had been harrowing for both of them, and they’d have to face another journey of some kind.

She needed him.

Those weren’t her words. They never would be, but her eyes spoke it when her breath hitched over her parted lips.

She couldn’t say it, but she could let him feel it.

The door swung open with the softest click, admitting them to a room lit with a glowing hearth. They stepped inside, and Kai closed the door behind him.

An uncorked bottle of fine wine sat on a narrow table between two high-back armchairs. Two etched wine glasses glimmered in the golden firelight.

Two.

How would Master Chan know that Astred would have a companion?

Bayn.

Yes, Bayn, who knew him better than anyone else, had also been the one to instigate that first meeting. Of course. The older air dragon, an eternal bachelor, who had a heart with a golden lining. Thoughts of his old friend, uncle and foster brother, fled his mind as he met Astred’s intense gaze.

His heart melted at the expression of doubt warring with need. She blinked away unshed tears looming at the edge of her lashes, clearing away the lapse of her dragon armor.

“What’s this about?” His voice was soft as he reached up to wipe away the moisture.

Straightening, head up, she met his gaze, clear and direct. “Kai, I’m sorry.”

Kai’s heart stopped beating. The only sound in the room was the crackling flame consuming heated logs. A particularly loud snap brought him out of his momentary shock. His heart resumed beating at breakneck speed. He drew a breath. “You have no reason to be sorry, Red.”

She stepped toward him, chin tilting up a fraction, her voice challenging. “You deny my apology? Kai Sun of the Shield Claw, fosterling of The Watchers?”

A shiver raced up his spine at her simple acknowledgment of who he was—who part of him was.

I’m just Kai.

She was now seeing this aspect of him, just as he’d met more facets of who she was; princess and defender of the Aeleftherian people, heiress of the Oracle to the Dragon Mother. The world’s greatest treasure.

What an honor it was to witness her emergence as she slowly embraced her destiny, though reluctantly.

She swallowed, licking her lips. “I hurt you, and I left you. Without any explanation.”

“Astred, I always woke up alone at the end of the weekend. There never were any explanations.”

She stepped closer, searching his face. “That last time was… different.”

He nodded, allowing that. “It was. But you weren’t.”

“I am now.”

He leaned back from her. “Are you?”

She nodded, eyes on his lips. Kai’s body turned to molten steel.

She wasn’t drunk this time, like she had been on Perenga’s island. There were no other males to challenge. There were just the two of them.

Just Astred.

Just Kai.