Page 11 of Shards of Desire (Dragons of Sin)

Chapter Ten

THEO

As the doors closed behind me, my eyes locked onto Lucius leaning against the wall nearby, clearly waiting to ream me out. Fury was etched into his pinched brow, and a narrowed gaze that promised wrath was trained on me.

“You’re lucky I consider you a brother, Theo,” he warned, “because my dragon is thirsting for justice with the disrespect you have shown me since she got here.”

Planting my feet wide and crossing my arms against my chest, I mulled over his words. In a fight, I’d kill him with ease, so I felt no threat in that regard, but the memory of his scent all through Siyana’s chambers had my muscles bunching and flexing as I attempted to control the rage simmering in my blood.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” he prodded, and I shrugged.

I couldn’t help but let out a huff of breath at his attempts to rile me. It was bold of him. Even if I wasn’t his king, my dragon far outranked him in terms of our power and size.

“You’re treating her like she’s your mate,” he goaded, kicking off of the wall and stalking up to me. “But she isn’t.”

My upper lip peeled back as a snarl came from the depths of my dragon within, sizing Lucius up as a possible threat to my wife. He circled me and I resisted the urge to turn with him, not allowing him a chance to have my back exposed to him. I wouldn’t show him that he was successful in making me uneasy.

“You said she’d be your wife only in the terms of a political arrangement, yet here you are, smothering her with your scent and sequestering her from the world she lives in now,” he surmised before coming to stand at my front once more. His eyes traveled over me before landing on my face. He scoffed. “You’re so down bad for her, brother. Admit it so we can figure out a way to win her over and put your pissy dragon to rest before blood is spilled.”

Ice bloomed across my fists as I lowered them to my sides. Unrest swirled within my stomach as I forced the words out. “I don’t owe you an explanation, as your king, but she means nothing to me,” I spat. “I’m merely protecting her while she is here. As soon as the curse is broken and both of our sides are back to the way they were before my father’s rule, I will break our contract and send her home.”

A pang of sorrow slashed through me, as if my dragon was physically clawing at my chest from the inside. I knew what was best for us, though. I merely felt this draw because she was the only option around. It would be better when she was gone and out of our space.

Lucius tilted his head at me and huffed, “So, you wouldn’t mind if I took a pass at her after it’s over, then? She’s quite delectable and my?—”

I didn’t hesitate as I closed the distance between us and wrapped my hand around his throat. I tightened my grip as I walked him back to the wall, enjoying the way he gasped as his eyes bulged.

He would never touch her.

The desire to be rid of him overcame me as I pictured him trying to court my wife. My nostrils flared as my bones cracked, and I struggled to contain the shift that was threatening to overcome me.

Lucius wheezed as his hands tried to desperately pry mine from his throat, with no luck. I reveled in his desperation. He wasn’t strong enough for her. She deserved the best. Someone who could protect her from all threats, and he would never be able to protect her from me .

My eyes zeroed in on his lips forming the silent words I was preventing him from uttering.

“Yield. I yield.”

His submission knocked me from the haze of my quest to make him see his place in the food chain. Releasing my grip on him, his hand instantly went to the red skin around his throat, rubbing at it as he took in deep, gasping breaths.

I shook my head, wondering what his intentions were to purposefully incite violence from me.

Glancing down at him as he bent over slightly, I murmured, “That was stupid, Lucius. Don’t do that again.”

He laughed before going into a coughing fit as he straightened up to look at me. After clearing his throat for a few seconds, he answered, “Sure was, but I got the confirmation I was looking for, and you should have too. Your dragon isn’t going to give her up, no matter what logic you try to convince yourself of. There are only two options here: bond with her or kill any unmated drackya that looks her way. Either way, she won’t ever be leaving to return home.”

My lips thinned as I blocked out his words. She’d go home as soon as the curse was lifted. It was clear she didn’t want to be here, and I’d never accept a mate who despised our kind the way she did.

“Enough,” I commanded, turning on my heel to walk down the hall. “Make yourself scarce for the next few weeks. I can’t promise to reign my beast back in again.”

He called out at my retreating back, “Theo! You can’t run this castle with no staff while she’s here. There is too much to be done, and you cannot do it all while also trying to find a way to break the curse with her. Allow me to find mated drackya to take over a few positions in the meantime, at the very least.”

My feet came to a stop and I glanced over my shoulder. “Fine. Mated staff only. For the ones I severed from their positions, see that we find them a new job outside of the castle. I don’t need to give them further reason to incite a coup or make an assassination attempt. When she’s gone, they can return.”

When she’s gone.

Immediately, my dragon surged to the surface and scales ran along my forearms, shocking me. I’d never had such little control over myself or my dragon. I prided myself on not being like the others beneath my rule that couldn’t rein the beast in. I couldn’t allow her to be the reason I unraveled and showed such little restraint now.

I clenched my fists before forcing them to relax, repeating the movement over a few times as I took deep breaths.

You cannot afford to show that she is your weakness.

Even if the desire to protect her was from my beast, the others wouldn’t see it that way. They’d think of her as the perfect way to get me to bend the knee to their demands, if only they could get their hands on her.

The thought struck me. Perhaps keeping her confined to our wing of the castle wouldn’t be enough. I couldn’t be with her at all times, that much was clear. Yet I had duties as the king that must be attended to. That exact reason was why I’d not been able to find the time to dig into the curse enough as is, though. Something had to change if I was hoping for a different result now, with Siyana here. Time was of the essence.

Here I was, thinking things could continue as they were, yet I was giving commands to empty the castle and completely change the staff, thinking that wouldn’t raise suspicion.

“Disregard what I said, Lucius,” I breathed out and locked eyes with him. “Bring the regular staff back in two days and don’t let them know that I requested their leave in the meantime. I name you Counsellor in my absence. I need to focus all of my attention on breaking this curse so I can have her gone, for her sake and mine, as quickly as possible.”

His brow pinched as he stared at me in shock before quickly recovering. “Of course, Your Highness. I’m honored. Can I ask where you both will go in the meantime? Also, I will do my best to cover the scent she’s left behind to avoid questions, but you know that if they get a single whiff, rumors will swirl.”

My hand lifted to pinch the bridge of my nose as the semantics of leaving my post, even for a brief time, overwhelmed me. Was this even the correct choice? This was becoming far more complicated than I’d anticipated. I shook my head and held up a hand to wait as I opened my connection to the elder dragon I needed answers from before I made the final decision.

“Alstrid?”

His answer was swift. “Yes, My King?”

“If I were to need to reside in one of the dragon caverns for the time being, with my wife, is there an alcove that would be a far enough distance from the nesting dragons?”

His scoff of incredulity sounded loud and clear before his response. “Such a space doesn’t exist.”

I felt a ‘but’ lingering, and waited for him to add onto his response.

“Is this a dire circumstance?”

“Yes. We put all of the drackya and my wife at risk if we stay here. I must hide her presence. It’s become clear to me that I didn’t take every scenario into consideration before bringing her here.”

“I told you that you need to mate her,” he murmured, with a tone of arrogance I didn’t appreciate.

Annoyance bled through in my response as I retorted, “And I already told you that isn’t an option, Alstrid. Now answer my question. Is there an alcove we can occupy?”

A heavy sigh echoed. “I will make it so, Your Highness, though it comes with risks that we cannot fully eradicate. Are you sure it is safer here than within your castle walls?”

Was it? I was beginning to admit to myself that, for the first time in my rule, I wasn’t entirely sure of my decisions.

“I’m not sure, but I almost killed Lucius twice today already,” I admitted begrudgingly. “You know of the delicate control I have over the unmated drackya, already. If they find out she’s my weakness while she remains my wife, yet unclaimed as a mate and open for others to stake a claim…”

He grumbled. “A precarious position, indeed. I had only been focused on the risk to her safety from the full-blooded dragons, but it seems we may indeed be the lesser evil of the two right now. Give me until tomorrow morning and I will shift a few of the alcove assignments around.”

While I may have been regarded as the king of all of the undine, full-blooded dragons and drackya alike, I found our relationship less strained when I appointed Alstrid to be a point of contact. The full-blooded undine took better to commands from one of their own, even if they were being handed down by me, through him.

The mental connection severed and I turned to face Lucius fully. “We will go stay within the mountains for now. Perhaps while we are there, I will think of a better plan, but you’re correct in saying I can’t keep a handle on my duties and keep her safe at the same time. The castle must continue to operate as is while we focus on breaking the curse. It’s likely the search will take us out of our territory, as is, so enacting you as Counsellor is for the best.”

His dark hair fell forward as he dropped his head and lowered his eyes in deference. “I will do my best in your stead.”

I hummed my agreeance as my feet began to pace back and forth. Dropping all formality, I asked, “Am I doing the right thing, Lucius?”

A huff of surprise came from the only being I would consider a true ally. Halting my pacing, I glanced at him, waiting for his answer.

His shoulders lifted in a shrug as his head swayed back and forth. “I think we’re in uncertain times, Theo. But you haven’t been able to find the answers on how to break the curse in the span of your short rule thus far. It could be your best bet to look outside of the castle for the answers.”

I mulled over his words, finding myself agreeing with them before he tacked on, “However, I am not of the royal bloodline. They may see this as an opportunity to finally take over the throne while you are gone. You know that only your dragon is revered as the authority due to the fear you strike into their hearts. I will do my best, as I said, but we must be honest about what you may come home to at the end of this.”

Indecision plagued me, and the urge to soar through the sky overcame me. I needed to just exist within the clouds and feel the snow on my scales. It’d done the trick earlier as I’d tampered my overwhelming desire for Siyana while in my chambers, but I couldn’t leave her again. I’d naively thought her safe within her chambers then, but this conversation, and seeing her rebel against my word to stay put, had truly highlighted just how wrong I’d been.

“I have to take the risk,” I muttered as my mind conjured the image of an overrun castle and the drackya who found himself foolish enough to sit upon my throne. “Either we find a way to lift the curse and establish peace and prosperity to ensure my rule continues, or we find mutiny at our doorstep anyways.”

Lucius took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s hope it doesn’t end in my death while you’re gone. I will prepare horses and supplies for your journey into the mountains.”

“There’s no need for the horses,” I grumbled, thinking of how long and arduous the journey would be for the creatures. They’d barely managed the journey yesterday as hard as we’d pushed them. I’ll have to swallow my pride and take her myself.

He raised a brow, clearly thinking I was unable to do exactly that. “You’re going to let her ride your dragon?”

I waved him off. “Just gather food and supplies that she can carry. Try to prepare enough for a few weeks, but I can always hunt for more food as needed. The animals will be scarce heading into the winter months now, though.”

Lucius chuckled and turned to do as I asked, but I stopped him. “Do you think he can fit me tonight?”

His dimples flashed through his trimmed beard as he grinned. “I hope I remember this moment forever. The fearsome undine dragon king, asking if the saddler can fit him in for an appointment to allow his human wife to ride him.”

“Don’t make me strangle you again,” I deadpanned, earning a laugh in response from him.

Just this once, I vowed to myself. Just this once will she ride me.