Chapter 15 - Draco

Another evening of training means I’m distracted again. Brantley, one of the dragon soldiers in the clan, joins me as I wait on the bench, watching the others fighting.

“Alpha Draco,” he greets as he takes a seat.

“Brant,” I nod back. My brother, Felix, is up next in the fighting ring.

As the flash of his transformation and the roaring fire from his dragon lips ignite the air, I lean my elbows on my thighs, looking up at the sky.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Brantley comments.

“We’ve been so busy with training, we haven’t stopped to appreciate it much, have we?” I add.

“It’s not that any of us mind, Alpha,” Brantley assures me. I glance at him to find him smiling earnestly at me. “It’s just that we’ve been too busy to notice, don’t you think?”

I turn back to the sky littered with glowing stars and the waxing crescent moon. Sighing, I soak up the calmness that it brings. Like a soft quilt, it hugs me in the embrace of tranquility.

For some reason, appreciating the night sky stirs up memories of the night Lily fell from the ledge. I wonder if she’d been able to appreciate the beauty of the navy canvas painted with stars.

Or had she been so intent on running away that she hadn’t cared much for the beauty of the night? After all, there is much to be appreciated here in Aurora Island. The vast greenery and luscious gardens make the island picturesque and heavenly. The rest of the world has never seen such beauty—the closest thing to the Garden of Eden.

A pang of guilt grips my chest, then. It’s unfair to the human, who’d been kidnapped from her ordinary life and locked away in the castle.

It’s just my reluctance to take her as my mate that has me keeping her in there. I can’t show her the rest of the island if I let her return to her own world. It’s something I remain undecided on.

Even if I know that as Alpha of the Aurora Dragons, I don’t have a choice.

But then again, this whole thing with the human has caused me to neglect my duties to the clan. Sighing, I pull my gaze from the sky and say, “Perhaps we should arrange a feast for the clan.”

Brantley—who is as old as the twins—beams excitedly. “That would be awesome!” he cheers.

Chuckling lightly, I pat him on the back. “Would you mind setting it up for a week from now?”

“Of course, Alpha.” He bows his head just as he’s called up for the next round of sparring.

When he leaves, I turn back toward the castle, glancing at Lily’s bedroom window. I decide then that I’ll remove the shield from her window later tonight. At least, that way, she can see the sky and not feel so claustrophobic.

Perhaps it’s her determination to leave the island that has me changing my mind. Although it would be easier just to let her go, I find that I can’t bring myself to do that. I can’t accept her as my mate, but I can’t fathom the thought of her not being here anymore.

I guess it’s an attachment formed by our passionate night. A mistake, I do admit. But it makes it difficult to let her go. And as if there’s an unshakable bond because of that night, I feel drawn toward the castle while training goes on.

“Felix,” I call telepathically. “Please take the lead on training. There’s somewhere I need to be.”

‘Got it, Draco.’

When he heeds my instruction, I return to the castle. Hesitantly knocking on her bedroom door, I’m surprised at myself for my sudden politeness.

I’d usually just burst in as if she didn’t deserve privacy.

“Kai? Is that you?” she calls from inside.

“It’s me, Draco,” I reply, gulping nervously when a moment of silence passes.

Of course, I could just go in. But I’m trying not to be obtuse. It’s a sigh of relief I breathe when she replies.

At least I don’t have to be a brute right now.

“Come in,” she replies flatly.

Taking a deep breath, I unlock the door and remain composed. But as soon as I inhale for the first time over the threshold, I’m frozen into place.

My airways fill with a sweet scent that’s whirling in the air around me. My nostrils flare, in search of the source of that floral scent that oozes honey.

And that’s when my face turns toward Lily. Seated on the bed cross-legged, she has her arms crossed while she stares ahead of her. Like a misbehaving child, she pouts as if she’s sulking after just being scolded.

“Lily?” I call out tentatively, almost as if I’m making sure the scent is from her. That’s when she turns her head, the faint breeze of the action sending her scent through the air.

Just as I suspected, she’s the source of the tooth-aching sweet scent that fills the air.

Perhaps it’s her shampoo—though it’s doubtful. I’d smelled a floral scent in her hair before. And this right here is much sweeter.

“What?” she snaps, only snapping her head in my direction quickly before turning back to face the wall.

Blinking in disbelief, I cautiously walk into the room, afraid of what I can smell. I’ve never been afraid of anything before. But I’m scared of what this could mean.

I ignore her and walk up to the window and part the blinds. Once the moons silver rays filter in lightly, I step back and close my eyes.

Invoking my power with my arms outstretched to the sides, I hear her speaking behind me.

“What are you doing?”

I ignore the question, reaching my arms out in front of me as I wield the dragonspirit powers. I lift the shield over the window, mentally letting it disappear completely.

When I open my eyes again, the outside world of Aurora Island becomes visible. The starlit night is beautiful outside the window, and I stand back with a self-satisfied grin.

“You can see outside now,” I announce as I gesture with one hand toward the window.

“I can…?” she asks hesitantly as she steps forward. She squints her eyes at the window, turning to me with a frown. “It’s a door?”

“Yes,” I say with a frown, only realizing that she didn’t know that when she shrugs. Of course, she didn’t—the glass window had been shielded entirely.

Shaking my head, I reach out and pull the sliding door open. A gust of cool air billows in, and it’s unpleasant. It’s a wind that amplifies the scent swirling the air. Intoxicating in its sweetness, frightening in how foreign it is.

I shiver from recognizing the scent even though I barely understand why it’s present. While Lily steps out onto the balcony, I take a moment to regain my composure.

“Wow…” she gasps in awe as she stares into the sky and plants her hands on the rail. “... It’s beautiful out here.”

“Sorry,” I say as I rub my nape nervously.

“What for?” she asks as she turns to me with a frown.

“For keeping you locked up,” I admit. “You wanna be free, here it is.”

Lily’s eyes narrow at me. “You call this freedom?” she scoffs, gesturing to the sky. “It’s not like this makes any difference.”

“What do you expect me to do?” I shrug.

“Let. Me. Go.”

“No,” I say quickly, as if I’m riding on instinct. Like the single word of refusal comes from somewhere deep inside. Even though my mind tells me the human is no good as a mate, I can’t let her leave.

Refusing to remain there and argue with her again, I turn on my heels and go back into the room. But a fistful of my sweater is grabbed from behind to stop me.

“No!” Lily yells with rage. “You’re not locking me up in here again!”

I snap back around, grabbing her wrist to get her off me. But as soon as my fingers make contact with her soft flesh, I’m stunned again. It’s like an electric spark rushes through me, keeping me prisoner to the grip of my hand. Stuck there, I can’t do anything but look into her face.

Only to see horror flash in her eyes.

She gasps, abruptly snatching her hand back. I’m momentarily disarmed by the shock of what I just felt. Not because the electric feeling was intense.

But because it was there at all.

While Lily wrings her wrist with one hand, she stares warily at me. Gone is her determination to fight me, I can see that much.

Which allows me to flee.

It’s a flight or fight response, of which I’ve chosen the former. Everything I’ve experienced tonight only seems to point in one direction. A direction I refuse to accept. But even then, it seems impossible that the human girl could ignite a feeling like this.

After all, the fated mate bond was only ever meant to be shared between dragon-shifters. It’s something that hasn’t been heard of for millennia. Not even my parents have shared such a sacred bond—only my great-grandfather and great-grandmother shared the fated mate bond in their time.

Panic rises like bile in my throat as I navigate my way downstairs. A million thoughts race through my mind as I try to understand what I feel.

I’ve only ever heard about it. Read about it in past manuscripts, passed down from our forefathers. Journals I need to consult now.

“Draco! Where are you going?!” Kairo’s voice follows me as I hurry through the corridor.

“Not now, Kai!” I call out without looking behind me. I know she isn’t following me when the walls only echo my pair of rushing footsteps.

But when I enter the study, I’m not alone.

“Hello, Brother,” I’m greeted by Felix, who lounges behind the desk, his feet kicked up on the table.

“Felix,” I acknowledge with a nod. “What are you doing here?”

My younger brother waves the book he’s reading in the air. “I’m going through the Elder Manuscript.”

My heart skips a beat as I take another step into the study. That’s exactly the book I needed to read.

“Any reason why you’re reading that?” I ask with a nervous chuckle.

Felix looks up with a discerning frown. Almost as if he sees right through me. “I’m learning about humans and the old traditions.” He sighs. “Once you make your human pregnant successfully, I’m next.”

“About that—”

“I know,” Felix interjects with a huff. “You don’t have the balls to do it yet.”

“Felix…” I warn with a stern voice, to which my brother lifts his hands in surrender. “If you’re so concerned about finding a human mate, then you’re gonna help me.”

Felix perks up, becoming interested, when he leans forward and tilts his head. “Help you with what?”

“What do you know about the fated mate bond between a dragonspirit and a human?”