Page 37 of The Dragon's Gambit

Reiya nodded her head. “I’m fine. I’m so excited that I was able to help him,” she said as she felt another pair of tight arms around her.

“No more! You’re not allowed to hurt yourself over these lizards.” Chelsie held onto her, leaned close to Reiya’s ear, and said, in a barely audible voice, “You smell heavily like someone …”

Reiya felt the unforgiving heat rise to her face. She cleared her throat. “Where have you been? You’ve been gone for a while now. I figured I wouldn’t see you until the morning. Did you see my brothers? How were they? How was the pack?”

“Hunter and Chasen are good. In fact, they gave me this to give to you.” Chelsie pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it to Reiya.

Reiya took the paper delicately and gently opened the seal.

Hey Ray of Sunshine,

Are you missing us like crazy? We miss you.

I heard you’re being kept in the West Dragon Kingdom. I’m going to be honest … both Chasen and I want to bring you back here. Dad said to leave you be for now, but you know you come first to me. Say the word, send Chelsie back, and in an instant,we’ll be there for you. We’ll bring you back home where you belong.

Do me a favor though, Reiya … don’t travel anywhere alone. There are a lot of weird things going on lately. There’s a pack of demon wolves that have been roaming the area. The Black Ice Pack had a run-in with them once. It was only brief, and everyone’s fine, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of them. Don’t worry about us, though. I know how you are. We’re fine. We’re all doing good, Ray Ray … just missing you and your troublemaking (haha).

Anyhow, I know you must be having a tough time after leaving here. I’ll always be here for you, and you’re always welcome home with me. Chasen said to tell you he feels the same way. You and Brody will always have a home here.

We both love you and will see you soon. We sent a special letter just for Brody, too. Didn’t want him getting jealous. Chasen said to take care of Brody for him, since he can be a bit of an emotional wreck (haha).

Reiya, please stay safe and be careful. If you ever need me … us … don’t hesitate to reach out.

-Always-Hunter and Chasen

Reiya felt the dampness around her eyes. She did miss them like crazy. She loved them and her pack. It gave her an overwhelming feeling of homesickness when she read the contents.

Brody brought her in for a hug. “I miss our brothers, too. Don’t worry. We’ll see them soon, Reiya.” He felt her soft nod into his chest.

“There she is!” A voice called out from the outer hallway of the castle.

Reiya turned to see two people walking toward her. Not far behind them were a couple more people that she didn’trecognize, and slowly trailing them was the familiar slime dressed in purple.

Chapter 25 Love Bites

Mason was being practically pulled toward Reiya by Ruby. Once Ruby reached her, she dropped Mason’s hand and unexpectedly jumped into Reiya’s arms for a hug. “Thank you so much. It’s been so hard to be without my mate, but I was goingto wait for him forever. You are a godsend. Because of you, I can finally be with him.”

Reiya was initially surprised by Ruby’s hug, but she soon regained her composure and patted her kindly on the back.

“Thank you, Reiya. You will never know what this means to me. In the future, I will always be there for you. Consider the East Dragon Kingdom an ally for life. Life is what you gave to me, and in return, I will forever be indebted to you.” Mason spoke with conviction. It was music to Reiya’s ears, as long as he was true to his word.

There were two young women and a man standing behind the new couple, who seemed annoyed with Mason and Ruby’s acceptance of Reiya. It was obvious by the way they were looking down at her. Mason was the king, and Ruby would be the queen now. These were two people at the top of the chain of command saying they were indebted to her, a non-dragon. They did not approve of the way their royalty was behaving.

“I’m very happy for the both of you, and I’m happy that I was able to get rid of the curse. I wish you both the best,” Reiya said politely as Ruby stepped back and leaned into Mason.

“We mean it, Reiya. We’ve both agreed. We are indebted to you. We know that things are shaky with the demons and fairies right now. We’ve already discussed it. If you need our aid, we will bring the full might of the Eastern Kingdom with us.” Ruby affirmed what Mason said. They would not leave the fairies to their demise.

Reiya felt an instant relief in her chest. Xander had declared himself an ally of hers, and now the King and Queen of the East have promised their full might. Somehow, Reiya was managing the impossible. She could do this. She did do this. Ruby was also a princess of the Southern Dragon Kingdom. Maybe she could help her talk to her brother? In either case, things were finally starting to work in her favor.

“Thank you. That means so much to me,” Reiya said in a hushed tone.

“UUOOH!” One of the girls behind Ruby gasped out loudly, pointing at Reiya. Reiya looked at the girl curiously. What did she do? Chelsie and Brody each took a protective stance at Reiya’s side as they stared at the shocked girl.

“Your … your ... neck!” the girl gasped out, and all eyes were now on Reiya.

Reiya felt the unforgiving crimson stain on her cheeks as she realized what they were now all staring at. She felt anger building up in Brody beside her. Her brothers had always kept men an Olympic-size pool’s length away from her. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes bore into her side.

“Who did that to your neck?!” Clovis bellowed out as he stepped closer to Reiya.