Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
VIZARIOS
We are both startled by Ragnakor’s hasty retreat. As he left, I saw a look on his face that made me realize I wouldn’t be able to change his mind. I already understand what he feels, what he’s thinking.
He imagines himself an intruder. He sees himself as our guardian, and now that we have succeeded in reconnecting, he will withdraw. He’s a stubborn dragon with stubborn morals.
Nissia rises as if to go after him, but I catch her arm.
“Stay,” I murmur, wishing I could bring my captain back, too, but knowing he’s already made up his mind. It cannot be solved by chasing him down the hall.
“But...” She chews her lip. “But I liked him being here.”
“I know.” I tug her back down to the bed, encircling her in my arms. “I’m sorry.”
“What did I do wrong?” Her voice shakes.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. He is simply... made differently.”
It’s all I can think to say, and she settles reluctantly into me. I’m not insulted, though. Her trust in me is still tentative, while Ragnakor brings security. It simply shows me where I will need to grow to better take care of her.
Hmm. I like the sound of that. When I tighten my hold, Nissia presses her back to my front so I can spoon her better. My cock nudges at her ass, but it’s not an urgent, pressing need, not anymore. Now she’s covered in my smell, and I feel sated all the way through, from my throat to my feet.
I awake the next morning to someone wriggling beside me.
“I’m sorry,” I hear Nissia whisper as she tries to squeeze out from under my limbs. “I have to pee.”
I snort as I release her, and then she scurries out of the room.
I wait for a time for her to return, and when she appears naked in the doorway, her dark brown nipples hard and her hair bound up in a scarf, I spring to my feet as if I’ve been awake for hours.
I push her up against the wall, conquering her mouth as I spread her thighs and then hike her up to my hips.
She welcomes my cock eagerly, her head falling back against the wall as I take her, my body intent on emptying inside her again and again until she’s big and swollen with my dragonling. Even then... the thought arouses me more, and Nissia wails as I pry a climax out of her before releasing.
As much as I want to drag her back to bed for more, I have pressing matters. There’s always work to be done. But first, both of us are slick with our sweat and sex.
“Share a bath with me?” I ask, kissing her shoulder.
She furrows her brow. “Mine’s not big enough.”
“There’s another one. A big one. I can show you.”
“What?” She perks up at the suggestion. “Yes! Show me.”
We slip on our robes and head out the door, where Quillion is waiting for us. He arches his unscarred eyebrow when I appear beside her, a smirk pulling at his lip.
I lead Nissia by the hand to one of the hallways that guides us deep into the mountain. “There is a hot spring,” I explain as we descend some steps, the hall lit by torches. “We can only use it for a short time, though.”
“Why?”
“It’s hot, even for a dragon.” I wink. “But we have a shallow pool that should be a good temperature for you.”
Nissia grumbles about us thick-skinned dragons as we reach the hot springs. Quillion steps aside at the entrance, taking up his position.
The pools are inside a cave that’s been carved out with a high ceiling, the walls lit by torches and the waters reflecting them. My queen pauses at the entryway, and her mouth forms an O.
“Wow. Gorgeous.” She peers up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe this has been here all along and I had no idea.”
I lead her down toward the pool I had in mind, admiring the way her small hand fits inside mine.
“I’m sorry. I should have shown you sooner.”
“You should have.”
I cringe. Yes, I have been an inferior husband until now, and she has every right to hold it over my head.
Finally, we reach the water. We’re alone in here today, but given how early it is, I’m not surprised. Nissia sheds her robe and slides in, resting on the natural rock formations under the surface.
“This is wonderful,” she murmurs, leaning back so she’s enveloped by the pool.
I step in beside her, relishing the heat of the water on my scales.
It’s been some time since I used my body so vigorously, and my muscles ache in strange places.
Seating myself beside Nissia, I sling an arm around her back and let it drop down until my hand rests on her perfectly pert rear, then lean in close so I can whisper in her ear.
“I wonder if it’s happening right now.” My other hand snakes down under the water to smooth over her belly. “If my seed is taking in my wife.”
She lets out a startled breath and widens her legs so I can dip down between them. I close my eyes as I enjoy her soft human anatomy.
I know I need to go do my job and then smooth things over with Ragnakor—but I’ll enjoy this for now.
RAGNAKOR
I take pride in knowing when I am needed and when I am not. I was needed to bring the king and queen together; I am not needed to create an heir or rule the kingdom. That is for the two of them alone.
It was difficult to leave them, but it was the right thing to do. They need time to develop their stunted bond, and my relationships with each of them complicate that.
I did, however, return to my own room and relieve the pressure under my armor. My cock was hard and swollen, wishing it could have unleashed in that room with them. But I did my duty, and now it’s time to tend to the details.
All I have to do is remember Vizarios’s cock sliding in and out of his queen’s delectable cunt and I’m lurching forward, my seed arcing out and landing on the floor.
I wonder what it would be like to be inside Vizarios while he did it. What if I were the one filling up Nissia, instead?
These intrusive thoughts won’t clear away as I go to bed that night, and they chase me long into my dreams.
The next day, I am surprised to find the king never returned to his room. I wait outside the door patiently until, at last, Vizarios appears. He smells of sulfur from the hot springs, so I know where he’s been.
“I’m glad you showed her to the pools,” I say as Vizarios leads the way inside his quarters, where he takes off his old robe and exchanges it for a new, clean one.
“Nissia enjoyed it.” He turns to me as he covers himself up, then cinches his belt on. “A little grumpy I hadn’t taken her before.”
“I imagine you will be making up ground for some time.”
Vizarios merely quirks an eyebrow, when he surely would have snapped at me before for such an insolent remark.
“And what of you?” he asks, heading back out into the hall. He clearly intends on working today, so I follow him. “After you left and hurt my wife’s feelings?”
I balk. “What?”
“Mm-hmm.” Vizarios twirls one of the tassels on his robe. “She wondered what she did wrong for her Papa to leave her that way.”
Damn it. I didn’t want that.
“It’s what’s best,” I say instead.
He doesn’t answer, just hums and keeps walking until we reach his study. I feel like there is something he isn’t saying to me, which is an unusual turn of events.
All day while Vizarios works with Syzari, I chew over what he told me. I truly didn’t mean to upset the queen, not after such an intimate experience. But the place I hold in their relationship is a minor one, a supporting role to the main act.
I wish I could apologize, but what would I apologize for? She doesn’t need me the way she thinks she does, and I shouldn’t encourage her to see me the way she sees her husband. While it’s not common, some dragons have relationships with multiple partners—but not the king and queen.
At last, evening rolls around, and Vizarios hastens to dinner with Nissia and her friend. I stand guard with Quillion while they talk and eat, and I do my best to keep my eyes straight ahead, though Nissia glances at me from time to time with a creased brow.
I always make sure to look away. I need to recede into the background of her mind and not encourage any relationship between us.
After dinner, I go to follow Vizarios when he departs, but the queen stops me.
“Ragnakor?” she asks, lightly touching my arm. “Can we talk? About last night?”
Vizarios pauses, looking over his shoulder at us. The last thing I want is to get in the middle of this new relationship, when Nissia’s attention should be on her husband.
I need to nip this in the bud and make it clear to her I am not a part of it.
“There is nothing to discuss,” I say in as neutral a tone as I can muster. Then I draw away from her, and her lips press together. The queen searches me with her gaze, looking for something I can’t offer her.
She backs away then, lowering her head. The hurt is clear on her face, and I regret I had to be the one to cause it—but it is also necessary.
“I see.” She turns away, squaring her shoulders, and stalks out of the dining room.
Then I’m dismissed, and I return to my quarters to change. Out in the training yard, I wait for my partner, exchanging pleasantries with Tralazan as I stretch out my muscles. When she arrives, though, I don’t recognize the expression on her face.
Until now, I have mostly seen the queen smile. I have seen her frustrated, sad, exhausted, and self-satisfied. But this is a new one, where her eyes look sharp and dangerous.
“Hello, Captain.” She passes me and swipes her training sword off the wall, then walks by me again out to the yard without a further word.
I swallow and take my own weapon. Is this what the queen is like when she is upset?
She’s already found her stance when I enter, and she waits for me to take my own starting position.
Then she lunges at me. Her attacks are swift, purposeful, and surprisingly threatening.
She lands a blow on me in the ribs almost immediately, and there’s enough force behind it that I stumble a step back.
She retreats, returning to her starting position while my side smarts.
“Again?” she asks.
“Again.”
Nissia fights fiercely, more than I’ve ever seen her fight, as if her quarrel is with me and me alone. But if she has so much fury to dole out, I will take it. I deserve to. I let her vent her frustration on me, not blocking when I should, letting her eke out a victory here and there.
I lose two more bouts before she drops her sword.
“I’m done,” Nissia says, her voice cutting. “You’re not even trying.”
And with that, she sweeps out of the training yard, leaving me by myself while the king watches.