Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“We need to talk,” Preston said as we sat at the table eating dinner. Everyone had separated to shower and clean ourselves of the Exostalon stench before meeting back up for food.
“Okay?” I said hesitantly and set my fork down.
“Your re-engagement, do you know who it was to?” Preston asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“Is that what you’re searching for?” Zeke asked.
I shook my head again. “No, my search is for something my mother said would unlock my future. That I had to find the ones to activate it. She said it was a gift from an alliance that had been forged and that it would secure my future.”
“And it has to do with your necklace,” Preston said.
Fear coursed through me. “Perhaps.”
Wayne frowned. “You’re still doubting us even after today and all of the time we’ve spent together?”
I felt like I should apologize, but also wanted to argue that we hadn’t known each other long enough to truly trust one another. Their actions today went a long way in building that trust, but I still had doubts.
Preston slid a folded piece of paper across the table. The paper slid to a stop right before my plate.
Hesitantly, I picked it up and unfolded it.
Immediately, my heart plummeted and I leapt to my feet. Scout chirped in worry and shifted into its drone shape, though they hadn’t let any guns out yet.
“Where did you get this?” I demanded. Had one of them seen my necklace when we’d been fooling around?
I’d destroyed the paper Troya had given me before I made it back to the ship, so they couldn’t have seen that.
I knew I should have taken my necklace off during our dates, but I’d been worried one of the others would go snoop around in my room while I was busy!
“Easy, pet. We aren’t your enemies,” Preston said.
“Quite the opposite,” Zeke muttered.
My brows furrowed. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Please, sit down,” Wayne said in a soft tone.
I sat, but with my chair farther back, so I could run out of the room if necessary.
Not that I had much of an escape available as we were flying through space.
The escape pod was always an option, though that would mean landing back on Exostalon since it was the only planet nearby, which was far from ideal.
The four Dragonkin watched me, Preston and Gage looked amused while Zeke looked bored and Wayne looked worried. What were they about to tell me?
“This is what we’re searching for,” Preston said.
“Our leaders gave us this drawing of a necklace with a symbol that has a special meaning to us. They told us that the person with this symbol was of utmost importance, in danger, had to be found as soon as possible and … is our betrothed. The knot is the symbol for Dragonkin mates, a knot tying hearts together, no matter the race.”
“Perhaps we should introduce ourselves properly?” Gage suggested and stood. He bowed at the waist and said, “Good evening, Princess Xoe. I am Prince Gage Thren of the Eastern Dragonkin and your betrothed.”
Wayne stood and bowed next. “I am Prince Wayne Solvex of the Southern Dragonkin and your betrothed.”
Zeke stood. “I am Prince Zeke Rhyx of the Western Dragonkin and your betrothed.”
Preston smiled from his seat. “I am Prince Preston Vorthal of the Northern Dragonkin, son of the High King and Queen, leader of this clan, and your betrothed.”
Had I been the type to faint, I would have certainly fainted at their introductions and statement.
I was their betrothed? Me? They were princes?!
“I don’t believe you,” I whispered and shook my head.
Preston smirked. “I assumed you wouldn’t.”
Gage pulled a faded envelope out of a folder I hadn’t noticed on the table and slid it in front of my plate.
My heart raced as the seal on the envelope spun to face me, the image was one that had been engraved into my brain from my earliest memories. My father’s seal, the royal seal that the king wore as a ring.
With a shaking hand, I picked up the envelope, lightly stroking the seal, and opened it.
The letter inside was written in elegant cursive, my mother’s writing, and signed by both my father and her.
They had agreed to my betrothal to the four princes in exchange for my safety and explicit instruction that it would be my decision to bear any offspring, if I wanted to.
I had begged my parents not to arrange a marriage for me, terrified of being a broodmare. That was likely why they’d added that clause.
Tears slid down my face and I tried to sniffle, but a sob escaped instead.
Wayne rushed over, knelt beside me, and rested a hand on my thigh.
Zeke picked me up out of my chair, sat in it, and set me in his lap, his thick arms wrapped around me tightly as he hugged me. His huge body dwarfed mine and made me feel small and safe in his warmth. “It’s going to be okay, Xoe. We’re here and together and we’ll protect you.”
“They’re really dead, aren’t they?” I sobbed. “This was the last thing they wrote, their last decree, and it was to keep me safe.”
“Yes,” Preston said, “they were only able to send it thanks to our messenger.”
I pulled out the necklace and examined it. “And this? Is it just a way for us to find each other?”
“That is a discussion for tomorrow,” Gage said and yawned. “We need to rest. For now, keep it close.”
My tears tripled and I couldn’t hold back the sobs. My wonderful, loving parents had thought of me in their final moments. Had made a deal in their final moments for my future. They had always been kind and just rulers. Pillars that our people had looked up to.
And they were gone.
Forever.
Zeke held me as I cried and Wayne rubbed my legs gently, the only spot he could reach due to Zeke’s thick arms surrounding the rest of me.
After several long minutes, my tears finally stopped and I was reduced to sniffling.
Gage handed some tissues to me and I gave him a grateful smile.
“We will talk about everything tomorrow,” Preston promised.
“Do you want some ice cream?” Wayne asked. “Would that make you feel better?”
A soft laugh escaped and I wiped at my face. He was trying so hard to be nice. “Yes, I think ice cream will make me feel better.”
“I’ll take you to your room. Wayne, meet us there,” Zeke said, stood, and carried me in a bridal carry to my room.
“What are you doing?” I asked softly, leaning back to look up at him.
“Just carrying you to your room, providing you comfort,” he said and looked down at me. “Do you want me to leave you in your room?”
He stopped at the door to said room and I shook my head. “No, I don’t really want to be alone right now.”
I pushed the button to open the door and he walked inside, his broad shoulders barely fitting through the doorway, and he had to duck through as well. He set me down on my bed and sat beside me, immediately starting to rub my shoulders.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but you can ask us anything and we will be patient with you while you accept it all.”
Wayne joined us, carrying three bowls of ice cream with whipped cream and cherries on top. There were sprinkles on one of the bowls that I definitely wanted and hoped was for me.
He handed me the bowl with sprinkles and I tried to hide my excitement, but his smile showed he saw it.
“So …” I took a bite and waited until I swallowed before continuing. “I’m your betrothed. How does that make you feel?”
“Great,” Wayne said nonchalantly. “I already told you I thought you were our mate, so this makes things easier.”
Zeke set his spoon down in surprise. “You said what?”
Wayne shrugged. “I had a feeling she was our mate and I told her as much. She smelled like someone I remembered, which turned out true, and we’ve all felt the connection between us.”
“Wayne!” he shouted and sighed loudly, his entire body shaking with the movement. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“I’m really not sure how I feel about this,” I admitted. On one hand, I was stoked that these sexy dragonkin that I’d started developing feelings for were betrothed to me, but on the other hand, it seemed … convenient. Too convenient.
“I knew you smelled good, and familiar, but it wasn’t until today that we all put it together,” Wayne explained.
“Familiar?” I asked.
“We met when we were nine, almost ten,” Zeke answered. “Your parents brought you to our planet to meet us and sign the agreement.”
My eyes widened as I recalled the day they were talking about, the memory finally resurfacing.
I had been so excited to meet Dragonkin, people who could shift into dragons.
It was like a fantasy and they had been so kind and generous when we’d arrived.
“I remember meeting you all, but my parents didn’t tell me it was for a betrothal! ”
“We were all very young, so they just told us all it was for trade business and to create a treaty between our planets,” Zeke explained. “It wasn’t until later, after you’d left and we were notified that you were missing, that we found out you were now our betrothed.”
This was all so crazy to hear let alone accept. The ship I’d snuck onto for escape, the Dragonkin who I’d gone on dates with, these protective and handsome males, were the ones I’d been searching for.
Was it fate? Had fate led to us finding each other when we had been separated by the cosmos?