Chapter Two
Before I could answer the King, Vas burst out onto the balcony. Then stopped short. Not because of the King. I don't think he even noticed His Majesty.
Vasren's stare locked with mine as he whispered, “Kat.”
Oh, fuck. Why would he use that name when he was only there to arrest me? And his voice was full of relief. What? Oh, no. No, he couldn't.
“Vas.” I stepped toward him.
A heavy hand landed on my shoulder and held me back.
I jerked my head to look at the Dragon King.
He lifted an eyebrow.
It was then that Vas finally realized we were not alone. “Katai, what have you done?”
I looked back at him. “Vas, I—”
The King cleared his throat.
“Your Majesty, this is Sir Vasren Tsai of the Rushao Dread.” I motioned toward Vas. “Vas, this is King Raventar of the Tabaa Dread.”
The men eyed each other. Vas was dressed in a fine suit of the latest Rushaoian style, the deep blue coat embroidered with gold at the lapels and high collar. His chestnut hair fell in perfect waves over his shoulders, looking effortlessly handsome. He was everything polished and civilized.
King Raventar was not exactly the opposite, but close.
Where Vasren radiated modern refinement, His Majesty oozed savage style.
His hair, though pin-straight, hung in wild abandon around his massive shoulders.
And those shoulders were coated in leather.
It was traditional Tabaa wear, featuring a wrap tunic, pants, and high boots.
The cream-colored leather of his tunic was beaded instead of embroidered, with the kingdom's symbol on his back—a white owl with wings spread.
Even his crown was barbaric, made of gold but shaped like feathers.
He was brutally sexy and still every inch a king.
A pale blue stare clashed with turquoise eyes. Two shades of blue that were an ocean apart.
My heart jumped into my throat. Had Vasren searched for me out of love instead of hate? If he had, I had made a terrible mistake.
“What are you doing in my kingdom, Sir Vasren?” King Raventar's voice held a subtle threat.
Vas looked at me. I stared back, hoping he could see my heart in my eyes.
“I'm sorry to interrupt your party, Your Majesty,” Vas said. “I'm here—”
“Yes?” The King's hand slid down my back to curl around my hip.
Oh, fuck. What had I done?
Vasren stared at that hand. His face twitched. His hands clenched. For a second, I thought he would attack the King.
“Your Majesty, the man you're with is a fugitive. He's murdered over twenty people and was the head of one of Kochan's most feared crime organizations. He is not someone to cuddle up to. Unless you like to lie with snakes.”
I gaped at him. But that look. No, this was pain, not true disgust. He was angry at me. Not for leaving him, but for turning to another Dragon for protection. From him.
“Vas,” I entreated.
Vasren focused on the King.
Seeing that hard look, I couldn't help but retreat into my own armor. “Over twenty, Sir Vasren? I believe King Tor'rien killed most of the Eljaffna dealers before they were imprisoned. And that had nothing to do with me.”
“He is a master manipulator,” Vasren said to the King. “He fooled me into believing he was in love with me. And then he revealed himself to be Hallaxgral, the very villain I had been in pursuit of.”
“Now, that's not exactly true either!” I crossed my arms. “You were guarding the King. Claw Shinkai was investigating the clues I left him. He was the one in pursuit of me.”
King Raventar chuckled.
Vas and I looked at him with wide eyes.
“Sir Vasren, I know about Katai's past.” King Raventar transferred his hand to my shoulder. “He has confided everything to me. I can imagine how it must sting to lose a lover like this. But you are purposefully leaving out all the good he's done.”
“And what good has he told you he's accomplished?” Vasren hissed.
“Vas, for fuck's sake. Really?” I huffed. “I had to leave. You know that. I couldn't stay after—”
“After you deceived the Talon Force and King Tor'rien? After you terrorized the city and abducted a child? After you murdered people in horrendous ways? Or after you used me to get close to the investigation and then tossed me aside to run from the consequences of your actions?”
“Yes, I did terrible things. But I didn't hurt any innocents. I—”
“What about me?!” Vasren roared. “Was I not innocent?”
“I didn't mean to hurt you,” I whispered.
“Oh, yes, you did. Great fuck, Kat. You buried yourself alive to make it look as if you were a victim. You even planted a bomb on yourself. Do you know how scared I was for you? The things you did . . .” He shook his head. “They don't justify the results.”
“I think they do.” I lifted my chin. “I'm so sorry I hurt you, Vas. I still love you. That was very real. But we're doomed anyway. We were together for over a month, and you never mated me. We are not meant to be together. It was better for both of us that I left.”
Vasren went still. “You think that justifies what you did to me? We weren't mated, so it was fine for you to deceive me and run away?”
“No. I'm just saying that I didn't walk away from something that would have been forever. And all those evil people were brought to justice.”
“How do you know that? You fled before they were tried.”
“Actually, I didn't.”
“I searched the entire city for you.”
“I was in an enchanted cabin on my ship.”
“Your ship? You own a fucking ship?”
“That's how I fled. I sailed across the channel. Vas, I'm trying to start new here. Please, if you care about me at all, forgive me and let me go.”
His face twitched and softened, but then he breathed in deeply and set his shoulders. “It's not for me to decide.”
“No, Sir Vasren,” the King finally stepped in. “It is for me to decide. Katai is now a citizen of Tabaa. I have heard his testimony and listened to your interaction. You have confirmed what he said to me. And I have made my judgment.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty, but Katai did not wrong you. You don't have the right—”
King Raventar lurched forward, grabbed Vasren by his throat, and snarled into his face.
“I don't have the right? This is my kingdom, boy. You are merely a visitor. Here upon my tolerance. If your king feels that Katai has wronged him so greatly, he may come and request that I release Katai into his custody. But you—a mere knight—are not taking him from me.”
Vasren, instead of cowering as he should have, growled and bared his teeth. He grabbed the King's tunic and shoved back. “He is not yours! He will never be yours! Katai belongs to me!”
I jerked back, eyes wide, my stare ricocheting between the men. What the fuck was happening?
“You little prancing asshole!” The King shoved Vasren against a wall.
“Do you really think you can challenge me and win?
Look at you, with your pretty clothes and your pretty hair.
You're one of those civilized Dragons who go to war over the smallest slight.
I'm a real Dragon. I know the value of peace, but I also know when to fight to protect what's mine.
I don't throw my weight around recklessly. When I challenge someone, I follow through, and they die.” He bared his teeth. “Are you looking to die, Sir Vasren?”
“Don't let my clothes fool you, King Raventar.
I don't have to wear leather to prove I'm a man.” Vasren grabbed the King's throat and shoved the King back while launching himself away from the wall so that the two of them stood in the middle of the balcony, gripping each other in a matched show of strength.
“And I don't let other men take what's mine, no matter who they are!”
Raventar snarled, and I knew Vas was about to die.
“Stop!” I shoved myself between the men—not the easiest maneuver, but it helped that I was so much smaller than they were. I wound up pressed between their heaving chests, facing Vas. “Vas, please. It's over.” I laid my hand on his cheek. “We're over. There's nowhere for us to go.”
Vas shuddered and jerked back, breaking the King's hold as he released him. He panted and stared at me as if I had betrayed him again.
“Do you truly not understand why I did what I did?” I held out my hand to him. “Have you never desired vengeance for a loved one or yourself?”
“That was not the way to get it,” he snarled.
“You don't understand,” I whispered. “How could you?
You've never been mistreated. Not like I have.
You don't know how it feels to be looked down on because of your race.
Your death would be investigated. The murderer would be hunted down because you're a Dragon.
You can't understand the bitter pain of watching your people get treated as if they're worthless.” I took a shaky breath and blinked rapidly to keep from crying.
That would ruin my rant. “All you see is that I hurt you. You don't see why.”
“I see you, Kat. I've always seen you, and I never treated you as less-than because of your race. But you let vengeance come between us. You chose it over me.”
“I had to.”
Vasren sighed. “And I have to bring you back.” He glanced at the King. “I will send word to my king. This is not over.” He turned away.
“Vas!” I moved toward him, but King Raventar pulled me back, locking his forearm around my waist to hold me against his chest.
Vasren turned, saw that thick arm around me, and growled.
King Raventar hissed back at him. Then he said, “Katai may have been yours once, but now, he's mine. Get the fuck out of my kingdom and don't ever come back.”
With one last look at me, Vasren left.