Chapter 9 - Draco

As I saunter back to the ground, my father waits for me at the cusp of the meadow.

“Father,” I acknowledge with a curt nod when I’m back in human form.

He greets back in the same way, offering me only a nod as I pass him. When he clears his throat, I pause at the entrance of the castle.

“Son…”

“Yes, Father?” I reply as I turn around slowly. The tension in the air is palpable, enough to have me realize that there’s a lot he wants to say to me. I’m not exactly in the mood to hear anything.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned in the thousand and two years of my life, my father deserves the utmost respect.

After all, he saved the Aurora Dragons from complete extinction through his valiant service in the war. It’s a known fact that Dedrik Vulkan saved our clan and the other dragon clans in the war.

He’s never been able to live it down since then. And he deserves the honor that comes from his bravery during that war. Though I hadn’t even been born then, I’ve heard all the tales of his bold fighting against Zark’s brother—the ex-leader of Blaze Legion who began the war.

It was Father’s final blow that ended the war.

Hanging my head with the shame of my recent abrupt behavior, I sigh heavily. “Forgive me, Father, I—” I begin, but my father stops me when he clicks his tongue.

“There is no need, Draco,” he interjects as he takes a step forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. “How have you been?”

I look up with a frown, realizing Father’s innocent question that isn’t pressing at all. He stares at me longingly, a faint smile curving his lips.

Relaxing momentarily, I ease the tension with his hand on my shoulder. It’s a much-needed moment of release, all things considered.

“I’m alright, I guess,” I admit earnestly. “It’s just been a strange few days.”

My father chuckles lightly as he releases his hand and walks away. When he goes toward the patio just outside the castle, I follow him there. He sighs as he takes a seat on the swing, and I join him there.

A pleasant silence follows while we enjoy the cool air and stare ahead. The night sky is painted by the stars where I’d enjoyed a lonesome flight earlier. I needed the time alone to think. To gather my thoughts and decide what I need to do next.

“How is the human?” he asks after the long moment of silence. He continues staring out, allowing me to be brutally honest as I stare at the moon.

“Lily…” I whisper softly as I take a deep breath. “I haven’t been able to speak to her much. She’s… stubborn.”

Father chuckles. “Well, she cannot be blamed. She’s been kidnapped to the island and has no idea who we are.”

I press my lips into a firm line. “I don’t think I can go through with it, Father. She’s too weak.”

“You underestimate the human, Draco,” he assures me firmly. “The process of choosing a human mate for you comes after much deliberation by the Council. We know what we’re doing.”

“I’ve watched her, Father. She’s not strong enough to bear dragonspirit offspring. She’s weak.”

Father turns to me and shakes his head. “Yet, she’s the only human female who matched your DNA, Draco. Give it a chance.”

I purse my lips, deliberating my options. Of which I have very little. It’s not like I can refuse my destiny here. After all, I cannot take Skarlett as my mate. She’s… impossible.

As Father rises off the swing, he turns to me to give me one more piece of advice.

“Take my word for it, Draco,” he begins, “You’re paving the way for a new norm amongst our kind. For centuries, we’ve only protected the humans. But with this, they’ll learn to protect themselves. I’ve always imagined a world where we can live harmoniously with their kind.”

Father’s parting advice is what sticks with me long after he’s left the patio. All by myself on the swing, I cross my arms and continue staring at the sky. If my father wants a world where humans and dragons can coexist, we’ll need to prepare.

Dragging myself out of the swing, I head up to the fifteenth floor of the castle. There, I pause outside Lily’s bedroom door but decide against going in.

It’s going to take time for me to adjust to the idea. Father’s great plan. For now, I’ll focus on strengthening my leadership in the clan. Just in case we’re ever met with resistance.

***

“What’s this all about?” Felix asks as he picks up an apple from the basket on the center of the table. He raises his brows speculatively, a loud crunch resounding in the kitchen as he takes a bite.

“Nothing in particular,” I shrug. “It’s been a while since we’ve trained our dragons, that’s all.”

“This is gonna be fun!” Stryker, the youngest of the twins by a few minutes, pitches in as he enters the kitchen. “We haven’t trained in ages!”

“The last time we did, you lost your fire!” Stryder chuckles as he follows his twin. “Remember, Draco?”

I can’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I do.”

“Hey! You’re supposed to take my side here!” Stryker protests with a pout. He’s clearly still indignant about the last time we’d trained. He’d been in a friendly fight against one of the soldiers when he lost the ability to breathe fire. All he managed was a whiff of smoke, and became the laughingstock of the clan.

Of course, I’d stepped in to put an end to any insults that came his way. It doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to make fun of him.

I am the Alpha, after all.

“Sorry, Styk,” I apologize before turning to Felix. “Please send the word out to the others. We’ll meet before midnight in the meadow.”

Felix nods as he juggles his apple in the air while he leaves the kitchen. I hear the mind link he sends out to the other members of the clan—calling them to the meadow later tonight.

“You’re training the dragons?” Kairo asks cheerfully as she enters the kitchen. She sighs as she places a bunch of gift bags on the counter.

“Yeah,” I nod. “Special occasion?” I ask, peeking at the bags.

Kairo purses her lips in deep deliberation, then finally lifts out a box from one of the bags. She holds out the black velvet box for me to see, lifting the lid. When a diamond-encrusted necklace appears, I grunt.

“I’m not trying to sweep her off her feet, Kai,” I rebuke dismissively, turning away from the piece of jewelry as if it churns my gut.

“Oh, come on, Draco!” she protests with a stomp. “You need to do something to get her on your side. She clearly hates you. And I don’t blame her.”

“Pfft!” I debunk the idea like a disobedient child. “She’ll have no choice but to be on my side. It’s for her own good.”

As I leave the kitchen, I mentally drown out my sister’s protests behind me. I don’t wish to stick around to hear her complaining about how I’ve been handling things with Lily.

It’s my choice, after all, in a situation where I hardly had a choice to make in the first place.

Spending the rest of the night in the study, I add the finishing touches to the new training strategy. It hasn’t changed much since our previous one—there are just a few new in-flight sequences to spice up our existing ones.

When I exit the castle, the dragons of the Aurora clan are gathered in the meadow. Awaiting their Alpha, they bow their heads when I arrive.

“Aurora Dragons,” I address them as I make my way to the center of the circle they’ve formed. I stifle my grunt when I find Skarlett amongst the group.

I read out the instructions for the dragons to follow before giving them the go-ahead to shift into dragon form. Skarlett is obviously the first volunteer to shift—the only female dragon who insists on being a warrior in the clan.

Ignoring her earnest attempt to be the center of attention, I wait for the others to shift before doing so.

Raising my arms on either side of me, I lift my head to the sky and invoke the spirit of the dragon. It comes to me like an invisible flash of lightning, igniting the fire deep within my soul. My wings sprout first, lifting my human feet off the ground to become the dragons paws.

I let out a thunderous roar into the air as I flap my wings, carrying my large dragon frame up into the sky. The clan has already gathered flight over the ocean, and I’m about to join them when I feel a tug in my heart.

Like my heartstrings have just been strummed, it pulls my attention back to the castle.

That’s when I witnessed Lily falling off the side of the balcony.

Without giving the clan a warning, I flutter my wings with enough power to send me toward the ledge. Just as Lily’s feet leave the safety of the floor beneath them. There’s nothing inside me except the need to protect her screaming at me mentally. Chastizing me for ever leaving her side and allowing such danger to befall her.

Nothing even matters right now, as I flap my wings to send me higher. Within a split second, I fly underneath, deftly catching Lily in my arms.

The sigh of relief that escapes my lips then is a breath that fans her face. Appearing so tiny and fragile in the arms of a dragon, Lily’s eyelids flutter open. When her eyes meet the serpent-like eyes of the dragon, her lips lift in a faint smile.

She curls up further in the sanctity of my arms, a lilting sigh falling from her lips. Without even a single glance behind me, I whisk Lily back to the fifteenth floor.

When Im above the balcony outside my bedroom, I drop the shield of the dragon and land softly on human feet.

Lily remains in my arms, the gentle glow of the moonlight kissing her cheeks. Its so perfect, it takes me a moment to appreciate how creamy her skin appears. The urge to lift my hand to her face is intense.

A strong urge I have to fight to remain sane. At least, momentarily. Long enough to carry her through the sliding doors toward the bed.

The warm rays of silver light filtering into the bedroom remain on Lily like a spotlight. The color of her hair lightens, as if illuminated by the natural light. When her body is safely on the bed, and her head touches the pillow, my hand hovers over her face.

I cannot take her back to her bedroom. The regret of not keeping her close washes over me like a torturous shiver. Its why I remain hesitant to touch her.

Yet, I throw caution to the wind as I stroke a few stray strands from her face. Tucking them behind her ear, I realized how wrong Id been.

About everything.

Its a challenging feat—admitting defeat as the Alpha dragon of a clan that has stood the test of time. An Alpha of my caliber, from a bloodline of dragonspirits who have never accepted being subjugated.

But even with the Alpha dragonspirit raging through my veins, I know Ive done a great disservice to myself.

The human girl, Lily Turner, may be weak. But her feisty spirit is what led her to the ledge on the fifteenth floor.

God only knows what she was hoping to achieve, especially with two left feet. Still, she persisted. Seeking the truth, perhaps. Seeking knowledge.

Her spirit cant be ignored.

Neither can I ignore the intense pull I feel toward her. Towering over her, my shadow covers half her face. The moonlight illuminated the other half, prompting me to lean in. As if beckoning me with her innocence, I kneel at the side of the bed.

Her lips were mere inches from her face, and my eyes traced every detail I could find. Like the freckles on either side of her nose, strategically placed as if painted there with a brush. Her lips part on every exhale, inviting me with the sweet scent of her breath.

Im only ashamed because I hadnt noticed it before. Id been so resentful of my fate; Id been a fool not to see how beautiful she was. How innocent she is, needing my protection as much as she needs the air in her lungs.

Without thinking, I move in closer. Closing the little distance left between us. Her breath draws me in until I feel the heat of her lips on mine.

When I look up, her eyelids flutter like the wings of a young butterfly. Newly emerged from its cocoon. With a fresh pair of eyes that naively question my motives.