Chapter 32 #2
I descended the stairs into the main foyer, where I was unexpectedly greeted by the shiny bastard himself and two burly Earth Fae guards.
“Good evening, Lord Titus,” he greeted with false kindness. I guessed I wasn’t done wearing my High Lord mask yet. “Lord Folliade, I wasn’t expecting you to be searching the castle so soon,” I stated as patiently as I could. I had somewhere to be, and I didn’t have time for political games.
He stuck up his nose arrogantly as he replied, “Yes, well, the information I was looking for in the records office in Embris proved to be fruitless.”
“I see. Well, you are welcome to search the entire castle, including the library archives. There is only one restricted vault containing sensitive information that would risk the security of my subjects. All other wards have been modified to allow you to search anywhere else. My staff will show you to your rooms, and let the fire sprites know if you need anything,” I said graciously, straining a smile.
“Thank you, Lord Titus. Your hospitality is greatly appreciated. Say, were you able to remedy your livestock issue with the crystals you claimed from the Enchanted Mines?”
“Yes. I read a report today that livestock production is back to normal—and then some—so no need to worry. There will be no hungry dragons ruining your stay here in the Kingdom of Flame,” I taunted.
He chuckled before doing something completely unexpected. He placed his gemstone-encrusted hand on my shoulder and offered me a warm smile.
“I know this search is a shot in the dark, but I had to try for peace of mind. I know I will not find her, and likely not find any documentation. So after my search concludes, I’d like to talk about a potential reinstatement of our alliance while I’m here, old friend.”
My eyes widened. For the first time, I felt like I may have done something right as High Lord.
It felt like I had taken a step toward peace and safety for my kingdom.
Hearing the High Lord of Land say those words was verbal proof that I was not my father—that I, as Delilah had said, was indeed the apple that fell far from the tree.
I fought the compiling emotion building within me to maintain my fierce High Lord persona, allowing only a fraction of it to come through in my words.
“That sounds real nice, old friend,” I said, returning the term of endearment with a warm grin and a firm handshake.
“Shall I expect you at dinner service tonight?” he asked. “Uh, no. I’m sorry. I have prior obligations,” I said regretfully.
“Ah, well, my arrival here at the castle was early, so no offense
taken. Enjoy your evening, Lord Titus,” he stated with a slight bow.
I returned the gesture and heard Draxxinar land outside the doors with a booming thud. It startled the High Lord of Land.
“Sounds like my ride is here,” I said with a smirk as I made my way outside and greeted my beast of a dragon.
In the sky, I flew to Dragon’s Maw, where I knew my mate and Calpurnia were practicing their flying skills with Aurelius. As Dragon’s Maw came into view, I heard a raspy, thunderous roar in the sky, but I wasn’t worried. I’d recognize that old beasts roar anywhere.
A large orange dropped from above beside Drax and me— Veyraxxies and Cercies. Together, we circled the training plateau that doubled as a nesting ground until we saw that freak of nature’s blue-green wings and tail below.
Both of our dragons landed in a dramatic show of power and force, sending all other dragons back to their dens.
Zephyros held her ground but dipped her head to the giant red and large orange in respect.
Draxxinar let out a beckoning growl as he swiveled his snake-like head, looking for something—or someone, but I could tell from the bond that he was looking for her.
Delilah was strapped into the double saddle on Zephyros with Aurelius pressed close to her back. Too close. It seemed the females were taking turns going on short rides with the Master of Dragons.
Aurelius gave me a smug look as he removed his hands from my mate’s waist. I popped my knuckles as I squeezed my fists, and my teeth began to grind. I loathed the sight of any male’s hands on her— especially his.
The females ran to us, and although I was annoyed, I couldn’t help but chuckle when Cercies pointed out that they greeted our dragons first. Draxxinar was very fond of my mate. I could tell he was physically more relaxed knowing she was no longer mounted on Zephyros and closer to him.
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise!” Calpurnia giggled.
“To what do we owe the occasion?” my mate asked playfully.
I took a moment to admire the training leathers I had custom-made for her from behind.
They were every bit as detailed as a standard army-issued uniform but designed in a feminized cut with lighter fabric.
I could already see the effect of the elixirs she’d been taking.
Her frame was finally starting to pack on muscle—but it was her ass that would be the death of me.
I loved the way she looked in those leather pants. I couldn’t wait for them to be on my fucking floor.
Ever since I marked her, I craved her—day and night. She lived in my fucking head like a parasite. So, I needed this romantic gesture to work, because I needed her—her body, her affection, all of it. All of her.
“Delilah, are you okay? You have blood dripping down your arm!” Calpurnia shrieked.
I dismounted Drax and fast-traveled—just a quick magical sprint—to be beside her in an instant. Aurelius rushed to her other side.
“Oh, I’m fine. It’s nothing. My bandage must have flown off in the wind from flying and ripped open this… uh, cut,” she explained.
But I knew it wasn’t a cut she was talking about. It was my damn mate mark that wouldn’t heal.
Knowing a mate mark couldn’t be healed magically, I tore a strip of cloth from my undershirt and handed it to her to stop the bleeding. As long as she didn’t show anyone or say what it was, we could keep the marking a secret.
She turned for privacy, unzipping the high-neck leather tank top and pressing the fabric to the bleeding wound.
I noticed Aurelius’s white healing light beginning to gather at his hand.
Fuck. This was not going to go well.
“Allow me to heal that for you, Lady Delilah,” he said in his stupid, fucking, annoyingly polite, regal way.
She and I both shouted, “No!”
But it was too late. He was already facing her, holding her wrist forcefully away from the wound, peering at the bare skin on her chest.
I was a High Lord until I saw him touch her—then I was only male. A mated male. I fast-traveled right into his fucking face. When I appeared, I was more flame than flesh.
I grabbed his wrist—the hand he dared lay on my mate—and crushed it with my bare hand. The sound was dramatic.
A muted, wet crunch beneath my palm.
His bones folded like brittle twigs.
His hand went slack instantly, fingers curling inward as the structure gave way. His healing light flickered and died as his wrist dangled uselessly.
Aurelius didn’t scream at first.
He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth — disbelief more than pain.
I couldn’t stop myself.
A raw, strangled sound tore from him. I leaned in closer, my voice low enough that only he could hear it. “You will not touch what is mine.” And then I let him go.
The females shrieked in horror.
Cercies knew better than to intervene. You never laid a hand on another male’s mate—especially the High Lord’s mate.
I could kill him for this. I should kill him for this.
“I knew it!! I could tell by the way you’ve been acting; you marked her, you son of a bitch!” Aurelius snarled, bracing his dangling hand.
I reacted on pure, impulsive rage and drove a hard punch straight into his fucking mouth. The force of the blow sent him to the ground. Zephyros growled, but Draxxinar answered with a single, earth-shaking roar that silenced her.
I didn’t take my eyes off him.
“That’s none of your fucking business!” I growled “Test me again,” I said quietly, “and I won’t stop at your wrist.”
The Dragon Master spat out a mouthful of blood as he stood and summoned his healing magic again—this time to his own broken wrist. I turned my back and began to walk away when I heard him speak.
“Do you scent that, brother?” he asked with a wicked, blood-stained smile.
I turned and gave him a questioning look, wondering if I’d hit the fucker too hard and now he couldn’t form logical thoughts.
“That extra sweetness in her scent?—she’s almost at peak fertility,” he stated with a darkness that chilled up my spine, one vertebra at a time. It was a darkness from him I had never seen before.
My flames crept up my arms and rolled from my shoulders. “If you’re going to challenge the rank, then challenge it right here, right now—with me. Leave her out of it,” I growled as I stepped in close to his face.
I looked down at him to remind him how much bigger and stronger I was than him—how easily I overpowered him in every way.
With my flames scorching through the threads of my fire-resistant leathers, I grabbed him by his collar, raised him to my height, and matched his darkness with my own. He froze and said nothing.
“That’s what I thought. Aurelius the bitch— all bark and no bite, like usual.”
I released him, and he stumbled to his feet, disheveled.
I left the Master of Dragons behind to heal himself as I composed myself and reined in my anger so I could get back to smoothing things over with my mate. I mounted Draxxinar.
Calpurnia and Cercies were already saddled and ready to depart, but Delilah was still on the ground, looking at Aurelius.
Did she feel sorry for him?
“Delilah, get on the dragon!” I commanded.
“Better obey your master,” Aurelius said to Delilah. “Are you okay?” she asked him.
“Just go. I’ll heal,” he replied sharply.
She turned her back, and Drax helped her mount.
We took flight, and I didn’t look back at my injured brother, but my General did, and I hated the sting that pierced through me when I noticed.
For years, it had been the three of us, not just brothers, not just allies, but pillars, three forces braced against the weight of a volatile kingdom.
Three temperaments balancing flame, strategy, and instinct, three males who had survived my father’s reign and rebuilt something steadier from his ashes.
Aurelius had been the sky, Cercies the shield, and I had been the fire at the center.
Together, we had held this kingdom upright, unbreakable, until today.
I hadn’t just crushed his wrist. I had cracked the foundation beneath us.
The air rushed past my face as Draxxinar climbed higher, but the pressure in my chest only deepened. The three-pillar system would never stand the same way again, and I knew it. I had chosen. Not the kingdom. Not tradition. Her.
For Delilah’s honor, I would burn the world if I had to.
But as the wind howled around us and my General kept glancing back toward the plateau, I felt the quiet grief of a ruler who understood the cost of that choice.
Some fractures do not heal.
Some pillars, once cracked, never bear weight the same way again.
And I had done it with my own hand, for her.
Kingdoms are not the only things that burn when you decide to cleanse them.