Chapter Thirteen
Kai let his head thud against the door for at least the third time today.
She wouldn’t open it, though. Brenna had been inside of her chambers for the entire previous day and halfway through this one as well.
It was time for the mid-day meal, he realized, when Nunu walked down the hallway with a tray.
“Is she at least eating?” he asked.
“Princess eat.” Nunu replied with a sad smile. “Some.”
“Can you tell her to speak to me? Please?”
“Nunu try.”
The gnome disappeared, taking the tray with her and Kai could hear voices on the other side of the door as Nunu delivered the princess her meal. A moment later, the gnome reappeared beside him, shaking her head.
“Nunu failed.”
“Thanks for trying,” he mumbled, dropping his head back onto the door with a thud.
Once the gnome had gone back to whatever it was that she did around here, Kai knocked on the door once again.
“Brenna, please come out. It’s been a day. Don’t you think you’ve punished me enough?”
The door flew open and a very angry Brenna glared at him.
“No, I haven’t,” she growled. She started to slam the door again, but he caught it with his foot, shoving himself into the room. “Get out of my chambers!”
“No!” he snapped back. “I’m tired of being ignored. You can’t drop something like that on a man and then just run away and ignore him!”
“I can do whatever I want. You don’t get to tell me what to do. You’re not my—”
“Your what?” he asked when she cut herself off. “Your mate?”
Brenna clamped her mouth shut and stomped away, stopping in front of her mirror.
“Is that what you think I am?” he said softer.
“No!” she said, then bit her lip. “I don’t know!”
“Aren’t mates a thing for mages? Or do dragonites have them too?”
“It’s rare but yes, we do.”
“I’m not a dragonite, though. So how—”
“Drake’s mate isn’t one either.”
“That’s right,” Kai said, stepping closer. When she didn’t flinch or run away, he took that as a sign to keep talking. “She’s the princess the gnomes brought here, right? Like with me?”
“Yes. She broke his curse and now she’s his mate.”
“So you assume because I broke your curse that I am your mate too?”
“I… I don’t know what to think,” she replied, wrapping her arms around herself.
He could see her reflection in the mirror and moved to stand right behind her, watching as her eyes flicked up to his and down again.
“How would you know if I was your mate?” he asked. “Is there some sort of sign?”
“Not exactly.”
“Or a way to test it?”
“I’m not sure. My parents were mates and they just… fit together. I can’t explain it.”
Kai nodded and lifted his hand to her hair, letting her golden curls slip through his fingers. Her gaze watched him through the mirror. The gold in her hair was similar to her scales in dragonite form and he was fascinated by both. Was that a sign? What else could be?
“What if we try something?” he asked, moving her hair off her shoulder, baring it to him. He saw her eyes flutter in the reflection as he lowered his head down to her neck and placed a soft kiss there. From the way her breath caught, he knew it was having an effect on her, the way it was to him.
“What if it doesn’t work?” she asked.
“What if it does?” he replied, turning her around to face him.
Slowly, he tilted his head down and she lifted hers up, meeting him in the middle as their lips connected in a kiss that was realms different from their first. She kissed him back, hesitantly at first. He tried to be gentle, so as not to scare her away, but it wasn’t long before he couldn’t hold back anymore.
His hands found her waist, and he pulled her against him. She came willingly, moaning into his mouth as he deepened the kiss. It was glorious. Tender yet fiery, all at once. He’d never felt anything like it.
Other women were more interested in the idea of being with a prince than the actual act of being with him and this was the first kiss he’d ever had that made him forget he was a prince altogether.
It was different than other kisses had ever been. Was it because they were mates or because he felt bonded with her other form? Either way, he couldn’t deny the way his body hummed in satisfaction as she leaned into him.
Breaking away, Brenna looked up at him and a smile crept across her face.
He might have been smiling too, he wasn’t sure.
He felt as if he were smiling on the inside, at least. Unable to help himself, he rubbed his nose against hers, the same way he had in the cavern to break the curse, making her giggle.
It was in this position that they were found when the door flew open and a deep male voice rang out.
“Get your filthy hands off my sister.”
~*~
Brenna jumped in front of Kai without realizing it, facing her brother who was standing in the doorway.
Her heart was already pounding in her chest, then made worse from the surprise of being caught.
It was a good thing Drake hadn’t arrived a moment sooner.
Their nose rub was nothing compared to the delightful kiss they’d just shared.
“Drake!” Brenna said, forcing herself to take a breath. “You’re back. How was the journey? Find what you were looking for?”
“Don’t try to change the subject, Brenna,” Drake said, scowling. “I just saw him with his hands all over you.”
“They were hardly all over me. Don’t be so dramatic.”
“I know what I saw,” her brother said, stepping into the room. “Who is he?”
“He,” Kai said, stepping up beside her, “is Prince Kairon, of Nivea. Who are you?”
“I am Drake and you are leaving.”
“No! He’s not. He’s staying. He’s my…” Brenna said, looking over at Kai. “He is my mate.”
Her heart did a little patter when Kai gave her a quick wink and then faced her brother again.
“I take it you are Brenna’s brother,” Kai said, giving a bow. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Uh huh,” Drake said with a smirk, before his gaze found Brenna’s. “Bren—”
“Oh, there you are,” a feminine voice said just before Elda entered the room. “I thought we were going to the cavern to see—Brenna! Is this her?”
“Yes,” Brenna answered before her brother could. “The curse has been broken. I was able to shift.”
“And just who…” Elda’s eyes widened in surprise. “Kairon? You can’t be serious. Really? This is the prince Manny and Nunu brought? What?”
“Esmerelda,” Kai said, bowing again. “It has been a long time.”
“I’m not sure long enough,” she murmured but put on a smile to cover it. “You kissed her dragon and broke the curse?”
“In… a way.”
“I am curious to hear the story, myself,” Drake chimed in.
“And we can’t wait to hear about your travels,” Brenna interjected, hoping to move the conversation back to her brother. “The stone?”
“We did locate a stone, and we will tell you all about it over a meal.”
“That sounds lovely,” Brenna said, forcing a smile.
“Now,” her brother replied.
“Yes, we will be right down.”
Drake gave Kai and her both a stern glare before his mate took his arm and all but drug him from the chambers. They didn’t close the door as they left. However, Brenna still sighed in relief once she was alone again with the prince. That was, until she remembered what she’d just said.
“I told them you were my—I panicked. I’m sorry.”
“No,” Kai said, quickly stepping over to her and lifting her chin to force her eyes to his.
“Don’t apologize. I don’t know anything about mating or even much about you.
Hell, I probably know very little about women in general, if I’m being honest, but…
I know how I felt when I kissed you. It was… I’m not even sure how to… what it was…”
“I know,” she replied, covering his hand with hers. “I felt it too.”
“My father will likely try to remove my head when he finds out about this, but I can’t argue against what you said. It’s certainly too soon to be love but perhaps, it’s magic?”
“Mating magic?”
“If that’s a thing,” he said with a short laugh. “I didn’t know dragons were a thing either.”
“Dragonites,” she corrected him, softly.
“Right. Dragonites.” He lowered his head and gave her a gentle kiss. She felt it all the way to her toes. He continued to kiss her between words, “Beautiful. Dangerous. Golden. A little spoiled.”
“Spoiled?” Brenna gasped and pulled back in mock outrage. “You did not just say that!”
“You like to pout at me when you don’t get your way, remember? In both forms.”
“Point taken.” Brenna smothered a laugh and rolled her eyes, taking his hand and leading him from the room before she gave her brother a reason to return.
They walked hand-in-hand down the stairs and through the parlor. She wasn’t sure if his acceptance of their possible mating was enough to make him stay with her, but it was worth trying.
She’d never formed a connection with any of the male dragonites she’d met. She always assumed it was because of her dragonite type and status as princess, but what if it wasn’t?
What if she was just meant to hold on to her heart until the right person came along? And what if he was the one rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand right now?
She’d give anything in the realm to find out.