Page 4 of Her Fated Alpha Prince (Royal Dragons of Blackwater Islands #1)

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KAEL

Kael stood alone on the palace’s eastern watchtower, arms braced on cold stone, watching the moon rise over the sea.

He hadn't shifted since bringing Ariana inside. His dragon coiled beneath his skin like smoke sealed in glass—silent, simmering, and not at all settled. Not since she arrived.

Not since she looked at him like that.

He closed his eyes.

Her scent still clung to him—salt and silk, fear laced with something sweeter. Something that made his blood surge in ways he hadn’t felt in years.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was human. She didn’t belong here.

And yet, the moment she’d opened her eyes in the jungle, something inside him had clicked. Not gently. Not like fate weaving a delicate thread. No—this was a violent, ancient snap. Like a bond being forged in fire.

He’d known then. He just didn’t understand what he knew.

Behind him, footsteps echoed across the stone floor—soft, deliberate.

He didn’t turn.

“I hear you’ve been busy,” came Seryna’s voice, smooth as wine left out too long.

Kael didn’t answer.

She moved beside him, far too close, her crimson robe fluttering like smoke in the ocean wind. “A stray girl with no history appears from the sea, and you just happen to be there to catch her? Curious.”

His jaw flexed. “You heard Elder Varos. She’s a noble’s daughter.”

She smiled, slow and cutting. “You know I can smell lies better than blood, Kael.”

He turned to face her, eyes cold. “Then you should smell this one: stay away from her.”

Seryna didn’t flinch. Her lips curled like she’d been waiting for that exact threat. “You’re not thinking clearly. She's clouding your judgment. And judgment is the only thing that’s kept you from falling into ruin like your brother.”

The words hit harder than he let show.

Kael’s voice dropped. “Say his name again, and I’ll show you what clouded judgment really looks like.”

A flicker of something crossed her face—disappointment, maybe. Or satisfaction.

“I only want to help you,” she said softly. “Like I always have.”

Her fingers grazed his wrist.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak. He just stared down at her, letting silence speak for him.

When he finally stepped away, she didn’t follow.

“She’s not one of us,” Seryna said behind him. “And sooner or later, the court will see it too.”

Kael kept walking, the heat in his chest burning higher with every step.

Not one of us.

The words echoed like a curse.

Maybe Ariana didn’t belong here. Maybe he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by pulling her from the sea.

But if that was true… then why did the bond still hum under his skin every time she looked at him?

And why, gods help him, did part of him already hope she’d never leave?

Kael didn’t remember crossing half the palace.

One moment he was standing on the tower, a cold wind biting at his face. The next, he was in the east wing corridor, staring at the carved wooden door that marked Ariana’s room.

Her scent lingered here.

Soft. Bright. Earth and salt and woman.

It curled around him like a memory he didn’t own, invading places he’d kept locked. His hand flexed at his side, aching to reach for the door handle.

But he didn’t move.

He couldn’t.

Everything about this was wrong.

He’d broken sacred law to save her. Lied to the court. Pulled Elder Varos into his deception. And now, here he stood, one heartbeat away from crossing another line.

She wasn’t just tempting. She was destabilizing.

The way she’d looked at him earlier—wide-eyed, steady, not flinching even when Seryna practically bared her teeth—he’d felt something shift inside him. Like his dragon had recognized her before he had.

It made no sense.

The bond hadn’t been tested. No ritual had been performed. And yet… his instincts reacted to her like she was already his.

Kael took a step back from the door, exhaling through his nose.

He couldn’t go in there.

Not like this.

Not when every part of him wanted to claim her. Not just touch her— own her. Burn his mark into her neck and tell the entire court that she was untouchable.

But she didn’t know the rules of this world. She didn’t even know what he really was yet.

And until she did, until she looked him in the eyes and accepted all of it—scales, fire, curse and crown—he had no right to take what she hadn’t offered.

So he turned.

Started to walk away.

Then her door creaked open behind him.

He froze.

“Ariana?” he asked, without turning.

A pause.

Her voice came softly. “I couldn’t sleep.”

The sound of it wrapped around his chest like a snare—quiet, unsure, but not afraid. Never afraid.

Kael turned slowly, keeping his face neutral. “You should rest. You’re safe here.”

She stepped into the corridor. Bare feet. White robe, slightly too long. Her hair was damp, like she’d just bathed.

She looked like something sacred.

Or something sent to test him.

“I know I’m safe,” she said. “You keep saying it.”

He swallowed. “Because it’s true.”

“Is it?” she asked, eyes searching his face. “You keep looking at me like… I’m dangerous.”

Kael’s voice was rougher than he meant. “You are.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came.

He clenched his jaw and stepped back, farther into the shadows. “Go inside, Ariana.”

Her breath caught, and for a second, he thought she might press him. She didn’t.

She gave a small nod and slipped back inside.

The door clicked shut.

Kael stood there a long time, staring at the grain of the wood, fists clenched, dragon raging.

Then he turned and walked away.

Kael didn’t return to his quarters.

He needed distance—from her scent, from the heat under his skin, from the hunger curling tighter in his chest every time he heard her voice.

Instead, he stalked through the palace’s northern corridor, a path only those in the royal inner circle dared to tread. Guards stepped aside. No one spoke to him. One look at his face made sure of that.

He found Elder Varos in the private study just before midnight, seated by the open hearth with a scroll in one hand and a glass of dark red wine in the other.

Kael didn’t wait for an invitation.

“She’s not just a human girl,” he said.

Varos didn’t look up. “No,” he said, sipping. “She’s not.”

That stopped Kael cold. “You knew.”

“I suspected,” Varos said calmly. “But I needed more time to confirm it. Unfortunately, time isn’t something your decisions have given us.”

Kael stepped deeper into the room, jaw tight. “What is she?”

Varos finally met his eyes. “I don’t know yet. Not fully. Her aura hums differently. The flames react to her, even the old stones in the foundation do. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?”

Kael didn’t answer.

Because yes—he had.

The air around her shimmered when she laughed. The plants in the garden near her window had already begun to bloom out of season. When she’d stepped onto sacred land, the fire hadn’t hissed in rejection. It had curled toward her.

“She doesn’t know what she is either,” Kael muttered.

“No,” Varos agreed. “And that’s dangerous.”

Kael crossed his arms. “More dangerous than Seryna?”

Varos’s lips curved faintly. “Seryna plays power games. This girl might shift the board itself.”

A long silence passed between them, broken only by the soft crackle of the fire.

“What do I do with her?” Kael finally asked, voice low.

“Protect her,” Varos said simply. “Keep her close. Let her come into it on her own. If she’s who I think she might be… there won’t be a force on this island strong enough to deny her.”

Kael nodded once, though the answer did nothing to calm the unrest inside him.

He left the study with flames in his blood and a single thought pounding behind his ribs.

Ariana wasn’t just someone he’d saved.

She might be the reason he was ever meant to rule.

And if that was true… then the court, the laws, and even Seryna herself would just have to burn.