Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
RAOUL
Iwoke with Adele sprawled across my chest, one leg thrown over mine, her breath warm against my skin. Our bond hummed between us, satisfied and deep in a way that made my dragon rumble with pleasure.
Mine. Finally, completely mine.
She stirred, her lashes fluttering. “Morning.”
“Morning, love.” I kissed her forehead, reluctant to move. “How do you feel?”
A slow smile curved her lips. “Thoroughly claimed.”
Heat flared through me at the memory of last night—her cries, the way she’d taken me, the moment our bond had snapped into place. “Good. Because I plan on doing it again. Often.”
“Promises, promises.” She stretched, her body sliding against mine in ways that made my cock wake up with interest. “Though we have a Summit to attend.”
Right. The Summit. Reality crashed back in, bringing with it the responsibilities I’d momentarily forgotten. “We have a few hours yet.”
Her hand drifted down my stomach, wrapping around my length. “Then we shouldn’t waste them.”
Fates, this woman would be the death of me. A glorious death, but still.
“My thoughts exactly.” I rolled her beneath me and kissed her until she writhed for my touch.
We made it to breakfast eventually, though later than intended, Fletcher padding after us. He’d slept in the sitting room.
Demi took one look at us in the dining room doorway and grinned. “Someone had a good night.”
“Shut up,” I said, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
Adele’s cheeks flushed.
We sat and staff brought us fresh tea and plates. We served ourselves from heaping platters.
Adele reached for a slice of meat and fed it to Fletcher, who grumbled approval. “Is everything ready?”
“It is.” Demi slid a stack of parchment across the table.
“Here’s the final guest list, seating arrangements, and the ceremony schedule.
The delegations from Silvervale and Goldwing arrived about an hour ago.
Queen Mortiven and King Trevare are settled in the guest wing.
I expect the other clan leaders and their advisors will arrive within the hour. ”
“Any issues?” I asked, scanning the papers.
“None. They’re being remarkably cordial to each other, actually. Almost friendly.”
That was promising. The last time those two courts had been in the same space, accusations had flown like dragonfire.
Adele set down her cup. “I should review the weather magic one more time. Make sure everything’s coordinated.”
The opening ceremony was scheduled for mid-afternoon in the great courtyard, where hundreds of shifters could gather.
As the hour approached, I paced our rooms while Adele dressed in the formal gown Demi had commissioned to our specifications.
Deep green with silver embroidery tracing patterns of wind and rain across the bodice, it shimmered like storm clouds.
“Stop fidgeting,” she said, adjusting the circlet in her hair. “You’re making me nervous.”
“I’m not fidgeting. I’m thinking.”
“You’re wearing a path in the floor.” She turned from the mirror, and my breath caught. Fates, she was stunning. Regal and powerful and entirely mine.
I pulled her close. “I need to tell you something.”
“If it’s another declaration of love, I might combust from happiness.”
I laughed against her hair. “Not quite. I just wanted to say that whatever happens today, I’m proud of you. Not for the magic or solving the crisis. For everything you are.”
Her arms tightened around me. “I love you too, you sentimental dragon.”
“Practical witch.”
“Overprotective king.”
Our banter settled my nerves. This was right. We were right. Everything else would follow.
The courtyard was already packed when we arrived. Representatives from seven different courts had gathered, including some I hadn’t seen in years. The air buzzed with conversation.
Demi met us at the entrance. “Everyone’s here. Mortiven and Trevare are in the front section with their delegations. The other courts are arranged by protocol.”
I scanned the crowd, finding Queen Mortiven and King Trevare standing close together, speaking in hushed voices.
Mortiven tipped her head back and laughed, and Trevare stared at her, seemingly stunned. She laid her hand on his arm and looked up at him through her lashes. Would something interesting come from the Summit, something we hadn’t expected?
We took our places on the thrones on the raised platform at the courtyard’s center. Adele sat beside me, her hand in mine, only a few tremors running through her.
It’s going to go well, I said.
I think so too, but that doesn’t mean I’m not terrified.
That’s why it will go well. If you were complacent, the fates would add a few glitches.
She squeezed my fingers, then released them as I addressed the crowd.
“Welcome to the Summit of Scales,” I said, my voice carrying across the courtyard. “We gather to strengthen bonds, share knowledge, and celebrate the ties that connect us all.”
Polite applause rippled through the assembly.
“This year’s Summit holds special significance,” I said. “We’ve witnessed cooperation that prevented tragedy, alliances forming from conflict. Queen Adele will now demonstrate the power of weather magic, a gift that has served not just Emberforge, but all dragon-kind.”
I smiled her way.
She rose and moved to the center of the platform, her posture straight. She closed her eyes, reaching for her magic, and the atmosphere shifted.
Clouds began gathering overhead, dark and heavy, rolling in from the volcanic peaks. Wind picked up, swirling through the courtyard in spirals that lifted banners. The temperature dropped, not uncomfortably, but enough to notice.
Then the rain came, a gentle cascade that fell in curtains of silver just beyond where everyone sat.
It caught the light and transformed it into something ethereal.
Adele shaped it, conducting the weather like an orchestra, creating a dance of water and wind that left the crowd gasping.
A rainbow. She made the rain dance above the crowd, forming designs, weaving in faelights that made the air sparkle.
She spun patterns with the clouds, pulling them into shapes that told a story. Dragons soaring, courts coming together, peace spreading like dawn across mountains. It was art and magic and power all combined.
She stopped the rain as suddenly as she’d started it, and the clouds dissipated to reveal a clear blue sky. Sunlight broke through, and another perfect rainbow arched over the courtyard.
Silence echoed around us.
Then the crowd erupted, people roaring their approval. The applause was almost deafening.
Adele’s cheeks pinkened as she rejoined me, and I took her hand, kissing the back. “Amazing.”
The formal proceedings began, including reports from each court, discussions of trade and territory border changes, all the usual diplomatic dance.
But the energy had changed. Adele’s display had reminded everyone what dragon-kind could accomplish when we worked together instead of against each other.
As the afternoon wore on, Queen Mortiven rose to speak. “Many of you know that Silvervale recently faced a crisis. Our hatchlings were suffering, and we didn’t understand why. In our fear, we made accusations. We blamed our neighbors and threatened war. We acted rashly.”
Trevare stood as well, sending her a shy smile that she returned. “Goldwing did the same. We pointed fingers instead of seeking answers.”
“Queen Adele found those answers,” Mortiven said. “Not through politics or posturing, but through science and magic and genuine care for children who weren’t her own. She solved a mystery that could’ve torn our courts apart.”
“She gave us hope,” Trevare said. “And in doing so, she showed us a better path forward.”
After exchanging a heavy glance, unspoken words passing between them, they turned to face me and Adele.
“We propose a joint initiative,” Mortiven said. “Weather monitoring stations on the peaks between our courts. Shared information and cooperative analysis. An early warning system for both Silvervale and Goldwing.”
My heart kicked up. This was unprecedented. These courts had been rivals for generations.
“We’ve already drafted preliminary agreements,” Trevare said, producing a scroll. “Pending approval from King Raoul and Queen Adele, of course. Since it was your wife’s expertise that made us realize cooperation serves everyone better than conflict.”
Adele’s hand found mine, her grip tight. I could feel her shock and pride tangling together.
“This sounds wonderful,” she said.
“We’d be honored to help.” I kept my voice steady despite the emotions threatening to overwhelm me.
“There’s more,” Mortiven said. “Silvervale and Goldwing wish to formalize a mutual defense pact, the first alliance between our courts in four generations.”
The crowd’s murmur swelled to a roar. Other court leaders leaned forward, suddenly very interested. If Silvervale and Goldwing could bridge their differences, what else might be possible?
“We’ll need time to review the terms,” she said. “But the principle is sound.”
The rest of the Summit passed in a blur of negotiations and conversations. Other courts asked about the weather monitoring system, proposing their own cooperative ventures. What had started as a standard gathering transformed into something revolutionary.
By the time evening fell, my jaw ached from smiling and my hand was sore from clasping so many others. But satisfaction ran deep. This was what peace felt like.
Adele and I finally escaped to our private balcony overlooking the courtyard. Below, the celebration continued. People danced to music played by talented court musicians. Wine flowed freely. Laughter echoed off stone walls.
Above us, sprites swirled through the air, the tiny magical creatures dancing across the night sky, trailing ribbons of light in every color imaginable.
They wove patterns like living auroras, their glow reflecting off the stone, creating shadows that shifted and played across the faces of those watching.
Adele sighed, leaning against the railing. “So beautiful.”
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back against my chest. “Not as beautiful as you.”
“Flatterer.”
“Truth-teller.” I kissed her neck, and she shivered. “You realize what you’ve done, don’t you?”
“Made it rain and melted some ice?”
“You changed everything.” I turned her to face me, needing her to see my expression. “You didn’t only solve two crises, Adele, you showed these courts a different way forward. You’re not just my wife or Emberforge’s queen. You’re a bridge-builder. A peacemaker.”
Her eyes shimmered with tears. “I did what needed doing.”
“Exactly. And that’s why you’re so amazing.” I cupped her face. “I married you thinking I was getting a practical alliance. Instead, I got a partner who’s changing my world.”
“We’re changing it,” she said. “For the better.”
“We are,” I said, and kissed her.
The celebration continued below, but up here, in this moment, it was just us.
Fated mates, bound by more than magic or politics.
We’d bound by choice.
But now we were bound by love.