Chapter Twenty-Five
Ember
I stormed through the house, my fury at a boiling point. Nobody bothered me. The couple of dragons I did see simply stepped out of my way. Smart of them. With the mood I was in, I wouldn’t want to be around me either. If I were going to be miserable, I would make others that way, too.
Not that they deserved to suffer, but I didn’t either.
Did I? I stared at my hands, which were gripping the metal bar so tight that my knuckles had turned white.
Why had Dela come into my life when I couldn’t be available?
Where was she a year or two ago, when I could have given in to my urges and followed her into her room?
Though the invitation hadn’t been extended, it was there.
All I’d had to do was promise her I would come back and find her once the Fire Realm was secure.
A few simple words, and I could have my face, or my cock, buried between her legs.
Her screams would have filled the room as I took her and showed her what real pleasure was all about.
I could still smell her sex on my hand, the scent tickling my nose with its thick musk, making my cock stir and strain.
I doubted a workout would satiate my hunger or frustration.
Only one thing could do that, and it was out of reach, all because of my fucking sense of duty.
Damn the God-King and his stupid centennial ritual.
Why did he have to take my parents? Why had Blaze not had the good sense to pick a better mate?
Growling in frustration, I snatched the bench press off the rack and started puffing out reps.
The bar bent slightly in the center from all the weight on either side, but I knew it would hold, despite my vigorous efforts.
I didn’t bother counting reps. I wasn’t properly working out.
I’d come to the gym to burn off steam, to try to calm down, but it wasn’t working.
All I could think about was her pretty little face scrunching up and her cries of pleasure as she came for me.
I should never have let myself cave like that.
Maybe that was why I was mad, for failing to keep the proper distance between myself and the beautiful, charming, lustful, irritating, witty, stubborn human.
I’d known, probably for longer than I would admit, that she was a danger.
A distraction. That was something I could ill afford, and I had to do better.
I had to be better. Not just for myself but also her.
Because if I hurt her, or worse, broke her heart, I would destroy myself.
Never had I cared so much about the treatment of a human on a non-physical level. Not the way I did about Dela. She affected me differently than anyone before, male or female. I actually gave a shit about her feelings. That was … new. Unexpected. Frustrating.
Tossing the bar back onto the rack with a tremendous clang of metal and thud of weight settling, I sat upright, clenching my fists, trying to even out my breathing.
I couldn’t go to her. Not after how I’d left.
Hell, I shouldn’t go to her. Allowing myself to indulge in her would only lead to trouble.
I had a princedom to lead, and as hard as Dela made my cock, she couldn’t help me solve that problem.
“Ember, you okay?”
Pyre stood at the entrance to the gym.
“No, fuck off,” I growled, wanting to be alone.
The younger dragon smiled without teeth. “No.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fuck off. Now.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? You look like shit,” Pyre observed, coming to stand closer to the bench, eyeing the number of weights on each end of the bar. “And not just from working out. I know that much weight isn’t enough to fuck you up like this.”
“How observant of you,” I said sarcastically.
“This human is getting to you.”
“I think you missed your calling as a psychic.”
Pyre snorted. “It doesn’t take someone of my genius to realize you’ve let her get close, Ember. Dangerously close, for a human.”
“I’ll handle it,” I growled warningly. I didn’t want to discuss it.
“Will you?” Pyre asked. “Because it looks like you’ve been doing the exact opposite. You’re letting her get in your head, Em. She’s distracting you. You’re supposed to be leading us, finding a mate, and securing the princedom. That is what is required of you.”
“I know my job!” I snarled.
“Then why are there no dragon women with us here?” Pyre said. “Where is Ari? Or Cali? Or anyone else? You should be spending time with them, not this human. Trying to find out which one of them is your mate.”
“None of them are my mate!” I barked, lashing out. “They’re just … people. There’s no connection.”
“Connections don’t happen instantly,” Pyre said. “You have to spend time with them and forge one. Ari might be trouble, but she wants to be with you. You have to do what’s best for the princedom, Ember. Just as we all do.”
“I’m trying,” I said, reining in my temper as best I could, trying to hold back the heat. “But I don’t want to rush it.”
“You’re just about out of time.”
“If I go too fast, I run the risk of picking wrong, and then I’ll end up like Blaze,” I said hoarsely.
“Not only will that suck for me, but Pyre, if I fail, the responsibility will fall on Ashe. He’s not ready for it.
Albright at least fears me. He won’t fear Ashe.
He’ll just declare Ashe to be too affiliated with humans and unfit to rule.
Enough will support him, and you know it. ”
“Which is why you have to do this soon,” Pyre said. “Stop flitting around with your human, and be a leader!”
I grunted.
“That’s not good.”
Glancing up, I lifted an eyebrow in question.
Pyre frowned unhappily. “You didn’t fight me when I called her your human.”
“God-King,” I hissed. “You’re right.”
It was getting bad. I hadn’t so much as flinched at the words. Was that because they were right, and I considered her to be mine? Or had I simply not been paying attention?
“You’re thinking of her right now, aren’t you?” Pyre accused.
I shoved an image of Dela out of my mind, trying to forget the way her lips rounded into an O as I rode an imaginary version of her in my mind. Or how her breasts bounced as I thrust deep into her soaking cunt, eager to empty my seed within her and claim her as my own.
“No,” I croaked.
“Please tell me you respect me enough not to expect me to believe that bullshit,” Pyre said, crossing his arms.
“I—” I sagged, staring at the floor in abject frustration. “Fuck. I should have known better. Kept my distance.”
Pyre squatted down next to me. “She’s really getting to you, isn’t she? You were serious about the idea of her as your mate, weren’t you?”
I shrugged. “It’s crazy. I should never have said anything. Even if I wanted it to be, it can’t. I have to pass the Test. There’s no way a human could do that.”
The God-Kings Test. It loomed over my head as much as who my mate was.
Together, we would venture to the top of Mount Drakonus, where we would undergo the Test. Although nobody ever spoke of what it entailed, all dragons knew it was designed to test the compatibility of those who would rule.
Lower dragons could mate with whomever they desired, whoever their heart longed for.
Not me. I had to be a “perfect match.” I had to find my true mate and then demonstrate to the God-King that I believed in that decision.
If he agreed we were meant for each other, I would be crowned the Prince of Fire and rule the realm.
Albright’s little rebellion would be quashed, and peace would return to my lands.
But if I failed …
“Maybe not,” Pyre agreed. “She’s a human, though admittedly a feisty one. But you have to let her go, Ember. Let me take her home. Don’t go to her.”
I grunted, not ready to agree or disagree yet. I needed to sleep on it. Sleep on it, and regain a clear head. Which I wouldn’t get from working out. That much I’d figured out. That would only make a hard situation worse. I needed a shower. A hot shower, then a cold one. A very cold one.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I grunted, heading for the door.
“Get some sleep,” Pyre said, rising from his crouch.
“Yeah, I’ll try, maybe I—oof!” I recoiled as one of the other dragons came rushing into the room and collided with me. “Watch it!”
“Sorry,” he apologized. “But you need to come with me. Now.”
“Why?” I asked, noting the wide eyes and tightness of his cheeks. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“He came through the portal. He’s waiting for you now. Demanded to speak with you.”
I glanced at Pyre. He shrugged.
“Who’s waiting for me?”
“Albright.”
I looked at Pyre again. The surprised look he wore mirrored how I felt. “Albright came through the portal? Is he attacking?”
“What? No. He’s just standing there. Says he needs to speak with you. Won’t say anything more.”
“Since when does Albright want to talk?” I mused, the question directed at Pyre, not the messenger. “That’s unusual.”
“I don’t know,” Pyre said.
“He’s not responded to any overtures we’ve made since Blaze died, and he declared me unfit to rule, stating he was the rightful prince. Now he wants to come here and talk?” I shook my head. “I don’t like it.”
“Me neither,” Pyre said thoughtfully. “Me neither.”
“Gather the others,” I told him. “Just in case it’s a trap. I want all sorts of backup ready at a moment’s notice.”
Pyre nodded and jogged from the gym, taking the other dragon with him. Leaving me alone.
“What the fuck do you want, Albright?” I muttered, debating whether or not I should take a shower and freshen up before meeting the leader of my opposition.
If I did that, I’d be giving him respect, I decided. Fuck that.
“You can deal with it, you conniving bastard,” I growled and stormed from the room.
Maybe Albright would be nice enough and give me an excuse to kill him.