by Meg Xuemei X
I’d thought after what we’d gone through—breaking each other’s curses, fighting the demons and hunters, and winning the battle to come home—there was nothing we couldn’t overcome.
Yet here we were. We couldn’t rise above our own opinions and disagreements.
“Let’s all take a step back before any of us says anything hurtful,” Rai said.
“Four of us are equal in this bonded relationship,” Iokul said, siding with Blaze. “It isn’t just one person’s opinion that counts. If we have a disagreement, we vote on it.”
The three of them would vote for me to leave the realm. If I rejected it, would they leave without me? If they stayed, would they resent me? Was our mating bond strong enough to survive everything? And was I a bitch for insisting on having my way?
Insecurity swept over me, and I suppressed a wave of panic.
I couldn’t picture a future without them.
I turned to Jarrod, purposely ignoring my mates, so I wouldn’t spit something out that would aggravate the situation.
Jarrod tried his best not to dart his nervous, yet curious glances between us.
“If Lady Lysandra is determined to rule, why doesn’t she do it from the throne here?” I asked. I knew nothing about this consort. “The Dragon Realm is the center of the Danaenyth dynasty, and she can easily fix the damage in the castle.”
When my ancestors established the Danaenyth dynasty, we named the castle and the towns under the hills the Dragon Realm, where old magic prevailed. Dragons, half-dragons, and humans who had thick dragon blood flowing through their veins, mostly lived in the realm, unable to resist the call of the potent magic in the soil.
Outside the Dragon Realm, there were six cities where the humans who had diluted dragon blood lived. Over the centuries, the cities had also accepted and assimilated pure humans from other parts of the world.
Magic didn’t exactly extend to those cities where technology now dominated.
The six cities were always part of the Danaenyth dynasty, despite my grandfather allowing the humans to govern themselves. They paid tributes and tithes to King Daghda every quarter to acknowledge Danaenyth royal house as sovereign.
At Jarrod’s uncertain look, I asked, “Has something transpired while I was away?”
“It’s important to the humans that Lady Lysandra chooses to have her new throne in the City of Amethyst instead of in the Dragon Realm,” Jarrod said. “It signifies the shift of new power and human dominance. She wants to establish herself as the leader of the new age, which puts humans first and above all.
“All six cities back her up, and the humans have the numbers we don’t. King Daghda hasn’t tended to the realm for a long while. The humans regard him as a relic and menace that needs to be replaced. They’ve wanted one of their own to sit on the throne for a few centuries now. They hold the belief that this world belongs to the humans. They want the end of the dragons.”
My mates growled in distaste.
“King Daghda burning the castle and deserting the Dragon Realm played right into their hands,” Jarrod said.
“Except, they hadn’t expected the return of the heir to the throne,” Rai said.
Jarrod nodded. “This is a great day for the realm. For all of us.”
I nodded my appreciation. “Lady Lysandra sounds like an ambitious type. I want to know more about her. Is she pure human?”
Jarrod shook his head. “No one knows much about her. One second, she was just there. Then, all of a sudden, the king announced her as his consort. But she isn’t a dragon.”
“She might be the one who sent the assassin,” Blaze said, “if she’s gotten wind of our mate’s return.”
“But no one was supposed to know,” Iokul said.
“Someone obviously knew,” Blaze said. “An assassin ambushed us in the palace, and he was targeting Daisy. Elvey—”
“—stayed behind on Pandemonium,” I said. “He had nothing to do with the assassination.”
I wasn’t happy with his snide tone from earlier, and I wasn’t going to give him a break when he constantly blamed Elvey for everything that went wrong.
Blaze slanted me a sharp look.
Rai gave Blaze’s shoulder a nudge to remind him to tone it down. The lightning dragon had noticed the tension between his brother and me. Iokul seemed to be glad of it, even though he’d taken Blaze’s side when it concerned my safety.
There would always be sibling rivalry between them. They’d competed against each other for nearly a century. After we mated, they wanted my attention and affection even more, though they wouldn’t stab each other in the back. They knew where the bottom line was.
“We’ll find out who learned about Daisy’s return and how,” Rai said. “Since we’re going to stay here for a while, we’ll have a lot of work to do.”
He’d backed me up on the issue of staying in my realm. So, it was two against two, which meant I could outvote them, because this concerned my dynasty.
I sent Rai a grateful glance, and he smiled, his sapphire eyes warm.
“How many pure-blooded dragon knights do we have, Jarrod?” I asked.
“Twelve, including Adrian and me.”
My chest heaved up and down at the news. We’d had over two hundred pure-blooded dragons in my time.
My mates had informed me of the decline of the dragon race in their realm. The Oslan Dominion was less populated than the Danaenyth dynasty, but they had over fifty dragons.
“Our glorious days have long passed us,” Jarrod said, seeing the grief in my eyes. “Most of us Faded in time, from lack of purpose or being fed up with living.”
“Then the dragons need to find a purpose again,” I said. One of my new missions would be to increase the dragon population. We needed to reproduce more, and faster.
My mates seemed to read what was in my mind and grinned at me, heat in their eyes.
I blinked, and my face flamed. They expected me to set an example.
“Where are the other ten dragons?” I asked. “Have they all left with my grandfather?”
Jarrod nodded. “If they hadn’t, they might have ended up like Segomo.”
“You didn’t leave with the rest of the dragons,” Iokul said, his icy silver eyes narrowing on Jarrod, “and the smoke-entity didn’t possess you, either.”
“Jarrod isn’t our person of interest, Iokul,” I said. “He proved his loyalty to me centuries ago. He doesn’t need to prove it again.”
Jarrod stared into the distance. “The day after you ran into the Forbidden Forest and we failed to get you back, Your Highness, we should have been punished to death, but the king exiled us instead. Adrian took off to look for you, but he made me vow to stay in the realm to wait for you. I’ve been alone for a long time. I didn’t Fade because I promised the general. I stay out of sight of the others, but I’ve been keeping watch.”
And he’d found me.
“You did well, Jarrod,” I said.
His throat bobbed up and down with emotion.
My gaze swept over the sprawling town down the hills.
Could I make the realm my home again? Or should I make my mates happy by taking the easy way out, going to their kingdom, and living happily ever after in a new home with them?
Rai wrapped an arm around my shoulder, feeling my need for comfort through our mating bond. Iokul kissed the top of my hair. Blaze didn’t come to me, though I felt a spark of regret from him for losing his temper at me.
I did not want distance from any of them. I did not want to alienate any of my mates.
We hadn’t gotten enough time to know each other since our insatiable sexual need for each other topped everything, and emotionally, we became more vulnerable. The slightest friction between us could bruise us easily.
CHAPTER 4
“It isn’t just fate pushing us together,” I told my mates. “I chose you because you are warriors in your hearts and in every aspect of your lives.” Of course, the fact they were smoking-hot had h
elped a lot. “I appreciate that you’re protective of me, but you also promised to respect me as your equal partner. You said you’d try not to be overprotective. I’m asking you to try now.”
“But you also need to respect our opinions,” Blaze said. “They should count, too. If you want to play the equality card, then you should be fair.”
“Of course,” I said. “We have even votes. Rai is on my side, because he knows we don’t run from a fight.”
“We run when we see no chance of winning,” Blaze said. “Or when the odds are stacked against us. Being a great warrior means one accepts a strategic retreat.”
“I agree,” I said. “But can we at least find out our chances before we withdraw?”
Iokul and Rai crossed their muscled arms over their chest, remaining silent to let Blaze and I work it out.
Blaze sighed. “Fine, let’s investigate first.”
I smiled at him.
We returned to our cloaked ship soon after, not wanting anyone to know I’d returned, though it might be too late for that since our enemy already knew I was here.
Jarrod came with us, and we made a plan to visit the City of Amethyst.
I needed to find out what my people wanted and learn more about this new consort.
“We can’t just all barge into the human’s city,” I said. “We’ll bring too much unwanted attention.”
“Not all of us,” Blaze said. “Just the three of us. Of course, Jarrod will be our guide, so you will have four escorts.”
I eyed my mates. All of them were striking, even with their masks. “If all three of you go with me, all the ladies’ eyes will be upon you.”
They grinned at my flattery.
“But we don’t want that,” I added.
They frowned in unison.
I could use glamour to disguise us, but my instincts warned me against it. The human cities were uncharted territory to us. My enemies’ spies could be everywhere, or the cities could be in my enemies’ iron claws.
“We can stay inconspicuous,” Blaze said.
“Impossible,” Jarrod said, staring at his mask, but he had the good sense not to point it out. “You are giants of men, compared to the humans. One giant man can probably get by, but three of you?”
“Then I should be the only one to accompany Daisy,” Iokul said. “Spying is my specialty. My ice magic can shield me and make me unnoticeable. I guarantee you that no one will pay any attention to my mask.”
“Then you can use your ice magic to cover us all,” Blaze said.
“That’ll be too much work on my side,” Iokul said. “My purpose should be to help our mate get the information she needs, not focusing on shielding the two of you.”
Blaze glared at Iokul, who smirked at him.
Rai intervened before the two of them could snipe at each other. In the end, we decided to divide into several teams and enter all six cities. We needed to know if all the humans were supporting the consort and to what degree.
Since the consort had taken residence in the tallest skyscraper in the City of Amethyst, that would be our main focus. Jarrod would get Rai into an upper-class costume party tonight, and Iokul and I would attend a grand event with the theme of Humans Superior and First, hosted by the human liberals.
Blaze would stay in the ship with the backup team and watch over the Dragon Realm.
“Why must I always stay in the base?” Blaze growled.
“I stayed in the base last time,” Iokul said.
“You were sleeping!”
“Maybe you deserve a punishment?” Iokul offered.
“For what?” Blaze snarled at his brother but gave me a wary glance.
“For being rude,” Iokul said coldly.
“Don’t goad him, Iokul,” Rai warned. “Blaze is frustrated already, and you’ve secured the spot beside Daisy. Stop kicking the dog when he’s down.”
“I can go to the costume party with Rai,” Blaze said. “I don’t even need to get a mask.”
I knew how much they hated the masks that concealed half of their faces. Once I got the realm’s situation under control, the first thing I would do was find a way to completely break my mates’ curse.
“Someone might recognize us if we both show up,” Rai said. “We need you to stay here to supervise the operation. I’ll trust no one more than my own brothers to watch my back.”
Blaze accepted his role grudgingly. He and Iokul exchanged a few more snide comments. In the past, I would have rubbed my temples at their banter. Now I could mostly block them out if they didn’t directly involve me.
Jarrod sent me a sympathetic glance. I knew he was wondering if my three mates always parried like this.
“Peace is possible,” I told him. “And we’ll get there, eventually.”
“Always look on the bright side, Your Highness. That’s the spirit,” he said with a smile, but I knew he didn’t envy me.
I gave all my mates a once-over and decided I would take on any trouble for these magnificent, hot men on any single day. My mind drifted to how they worshipped me in bed, my body tingling at the thought of their lips and hands on me.
A buzz ran through the conference room, shattering my reverie.
“Highnesses,” a crew member’s voice sounded timidly through the intercom. “His Majesty wants an audience.”
Blaze, Rai, and Iokul traded a quick look and grunted. They turned to me, their agitation clear on their faces.
Blaze ran one of his large hands through his golden hair. “How did Father even find us?”
“We can have the crew tell him we aren’t available at the moment,” Iokul said.
But before I could reply, a holographic image landed with a whoosh in the center of the room. A giant male wearing a heavy golden crown glared at us. He had blue eyes, rich brown hair, and sun-kissed skin. The handsome, formidable man had to be King Oriel of the Oslan Dominion.
“Uh, Father,” Rai murmured. “What a surprise.”
The king narrowed his eyes. His son’s lukewarm welcome clearly didn’t please him.
A second later, three female figures popped out around him. Their images flickered before they solidified. I blinked when the image of three stunningly beautiful women became clear. One was dark-haired, the other a redhead, and the last a blonde. They all wore silver crowns.
The three queens had to be my mate’s mothers. The women’s gazes shifted from doting to frowning, back and forth, depending on who they looked at. I could easily pinpoint which of my mates was which queen’s son from the expressions on the queens’ faces.
“This is going to be messy,” Iokul whispered.
“Leave us,” King Oriel told the warriors in the room. “I’ll have a word with my sons, alone.”
The warriors bowed and filed out. I made to follow, but Rai grabbed my waist and pulled me to him.
“My mate stays,” Rai said. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of her.”
The king’s eyes bulged. “Your mate? When did that happen?”
“When we headed to Pandemonium to seek the Furies,” said Rai.
“Rai, my son!” the dark-haired queen moved a step closer to us. “That’s wonderful! You’ve finally found a mate.” Her gaze swept over Iokul and Blaze haughtily as if to condemn them for being unable to find their mates. She gave the other two queens a sidelong sneer before fixing her attention on me.
The other queens glared at me as if it was my fault for being Rai’s mate.
The dark-haired queen took her time sizing me up. “She’s lovely, Rai. Which noble house does she belong to?”
“She might not come from any noble house,” the blonde queen said. “The girl has a sultry look. Your son might have picked her up from some backwoods street.”
Rai growled.
“Really, that’s what you think?” I frowned at the blonde.
“When you talk to my mate, you’ll show respect, Mother,” Iokul said.
The blonde queen blinked. “What?”
And hell broke loose.
The queens yelled at each other, then at the princes. It was really hard to make sense of what they said as their raised voices overlapped each other.
My princes looked baffled, then Iokul stepped to my other side, his arm sliding around my waist. Blaze moved to behind me since his brothers had taken the spot on either side of me. The fire-dragon prince placed a possessive hand on my shoulder to lay his claim.
“Do not yell around me,” the king thundered. “Quiet! With all of you going off like that, I can’t even think straight. I need to sort this mess out. Silence!”
The queens stopped talking but still glared at each other, then at the sons of the other queens. Then all the glares shot my way.
I tried to smile to the best of my ability and controlled my urge to shift to my dragon and flee from the room. Stop being a coward! I scolded myself.
“Oh, hi, hello, everyone, good king and queens,” I said, my voice husky.
Apart from staring hard at me, they ignored me, and my mates scowled at their snubs.
“What do you mean she’s mated to all of you?” King Oriel demanded.
“She’s mated to all of us,” Rai said proudly. “She chose us all as her true loves.”
King Oriel punched his palm with a big fist before holding up a finger. “Let me get this straight. The three of you rushed to answer King Daghda’s bounty call in order to take the three heads of the Fury beasts, so you could inherit his kingdom. Instead of acting as the mighty warriors you were born to be, you played lovers. And instead of cutting off the beast’s heads and bringing the biggest dragon kingdom to me, you married an unknown maiden secretly because she’s pretty. You’ve always made messes, but you’ve never fucked up to this magnitude. This is unthinkable! And the three of you hotheaded idiots, who have never agreed on anything, agreed to share one woman?”
“It’s not what it looks like, Father,” Blaze protested.