Chapter 3

T he sun was shining, and Brogan had his fingers tangled with his mate's. As far as Brogan was concerned, that was the perfect way to start a day—especially one that included the enormous amusement park they'd entered and the sexy blond in floral navy shorts holding his hand.

"Can you believe they haven't laid out the cake bar yet?" Dra'Kaedan asked, his nose scrunched with irritation.

"It's nine in the morning," Renny replied. "We haven't even had a chance to fully digest breakfast."

"Speak for yourself, I ate less than normal so I'd have plenty of room for cake," Dra'Kaedan replied.

Brogan glanced skeptically at the man who'd changed his life in the best ways possible since they'd first met decades ago. It was odd, but at some moments it was as if their romance had recently begun, and other days warmth suffused Brogan as he reflected on all they'd shared and how their love had grown.

"You ate less than normal?" Brogan asked his notoriously gluttonous other half.

"Yeah, didn't you notice?"

Leaning down to account for their high difference of more than a foot, Brogan brushed his lips across Dra'Kaedan's, and his dragon roared with approval. Although he and Dra'Kaedan had a favorite pastime of sparring, Brogan and his beast adored every inch of the powerful sorcerer with the sweet tooth and heart of gold.

"No, I'm pretty sure I saw you inhale a few stacks of pancakes."

"I didn't go for a third plate," Dra'Kaedan said with just a hint of naughtiness dancing in the navy eyes, which were the same deep, dark blue as Brogan's dragon.

"Are you sure you don't feel faint from starving yourself?" Renny teased.

"I'm ignoring you," Dra'Kaedan told his familiar.

"Perhaps we should plan what ride we wish to ride next," Protector Roriethiel D'Vaire of the Fae suggested.

Normally Renny's impetuous mate terrified Brogan when he was beyond the sanctuary of home, but with the amusement park covered in several layers of magic, he refused to worry. Or at least, Brogan hoped he had nothing to fret about that day.

It was normally his job to ensure each D'Vaire was safe, and he took it seriously. Some argued too seriously. But that was too bad. No one was going to be hurt on his watch. However, the amusement park was protected and swarming with sentinels. Nothing could happen.

Brogan's mind eagerly put together a hundred scenarios of danger finding one of his loved ones, and he sucked in a breath.

"Brogan, what's wrong?" Dra'Kaedan asked, as attuned to him as ever.

"Idle thoughts of random invaders, death, doom, and destruction," Brogan muttered with his eyes scrunched closed.

"Nope, we're not doing this," Dra'Kaedan replied, patting Brogan's arm. "Today, you're going to forget that you're a control freak. We'll ride some rides. Eat some cake. And you aren't going to follow anyone around demanding they worry about danger that's only in your head."

"This is hard," Brogan grumbled.

Dra'Kaedan wrapped his free hand around Brogan's elbow and tugged him down for another kiss. "Come on, let's go find a roller coaster and clear your head. I want you to enjoy yourself. No one can get into the park unless I let them, and you know I'm not letting anyone near our family."

"We should start with the largest and scariest roller coaster first," Rorie enthused.

Like Dra'Kaedan and Brogan, Rorie had on shorts and a T-shirt, but the fairy had opted to add a magical sparkle to the fabric, so he left a little streak of glitter behind him wherever he went. It dissipated quickly, but Brogan supposed it was a physical manifestation of Rorie's excitement.

"Agreed," Renny said. Rorie grabbed Renny's face, and Brogan's brows flew up as he tongued the warlock familiar so deeply that Dra'Kaedan chuckled.

"Or they could find someplace private," Dra'Kaedan mused.

Renny pulled away from Rorie with pink cheeks. "Don't give him any ideas," Renny pleaded.

"It is a long day here at the park," Rorie replied with a saucy glance at Renny. He shoved his light blond ponytail with its dark streaks of blue off his shoulder and skipped forward. "But for now, we must find a ride."

Brogan tugged the park map out of his pocket and handed it to Dra'Kaedan. "Where do you want to head first?"

After unfolding it, Dra'Kaedan stepped closer to Renny, who grabbed one end of the map.

"So, this one looks like it's the fiercest," Renny said, pointing to a colorful spot on the page. "It's not far from here either."

"Perfect, let's go," Rorie replied.

Dra'Kaedan tried to refold the map, then growled at it. A second later, a golden puff of magic surrounded it, and he handed it back to Brogan, perfectly folded. Brogan tucked it away and laced his fingers with Dra'Kaedan's again.

The three sorcerers chatted excitedly as they made the short walk to the roller coaster. Brogan, on the other hand, carefully scanned his surroundings with every step, and his anxiety lessened with each sentinel, fallen knight, harpy, and Eldrvalkyria that caught his eye. They were safe. More importantly, the man he adored wouldn't be harmed on this adventure.

Brogan loved when Dra'Kaedan's enthusiasm bubbled up, and it was rare for him not to enjoy himself when Renny and Rorie were nearby. It was one of the many reasons Brogan was so fond of Dra'Kaedan's familiar and his mate. They approached the line, and some of the tension Brogan hadn't realized he'd been hoarding melted away.

Ahead of them were Aleksander and Rafe, with the two wolf sentinels resurrected for the duo and tied to their souls. Brogan wondered if he could convince the High Kings to loiter around the cake table for hours. It would be such a relief for him to keep the pair in sight.

"You aren't going to relax today, are you?" Aleksander asked Brogan.

Rolling his shoulders and pretending his dragon was growling with approval at being in such close proximity to their rulers instead of fear of potential dangers, Brogan did his best to look innocent. "What do you mean? I'm relaxed. We're about to ride a roller coaster. I'm having fun."

"Except everyone can tell from your scowl that you're about one meltdown away from shitting yourself," Dra'Kaedan muttered.

"No, I promise, I'm good. I'm letting everyone enjoy themselves. No one needs to check in with me. Unless, of course, they wanted to. I don't mind. If that makes anyone feel safer, I'm here. I have my phone. Feel free to text or call."

"Literally no one is going to text or call you," Aleksander replied with a chuckle. "None of us is sure why you're pretending so hard not to need to know where every D'Vaire is today."

Brogan sighed heavily. "Maybe I'm tired of being told I'm obsessed with security. I'm trusting in magic. We have a bubble. We're good."

"I give you an hour before you're using our family group chat to check in with people," Renny said.

"Agreed," Rafe replied.

"I'm ignoring all of you," Brogan retorted. He'd opted to test himself today, and he would succeed in relaxing despite being far from the mansion he'd ensured was the safest spot on the planet. Once everyone was inside the park, the orcas had also armed their security, and it was the most advanced system on the planet thanks to the Royal Order of the Gargoyles.

"Good, because we have to get on this coaster," Dra'Kaedan said.

A helpful orca lined them up so they could quickly enter the carts as a roller coaster rolled into view. The two wolves walked through the train cart and stood on the opposite side where they'd wait until their High Kings were finished with the ride.

"Yes, Mortis, we will head to the water park next," Rafe assured his wolf. The orcas couldn't allow the wolves to ride the coasters, but they could make use of the water park and smaller rides that posed no danger to the wolves.

Brogan took his first glance at the track and gulped. With so much of his energy invested in not worrying about safety, Brogan hadn't prepared himself to tackle a roller coaster. It was his first trip to an amusement park. But he would be fine. His dragon was worried, but Brogan was excited.

Or petrified.

"Scary, right?" Brogan remarked as he allowed Dra'Kaedan to hop in ahead of him.

Without an ounce of fear in his dark eyes, Dra'Kaedan grinned. Excitement glittered in his gaze, and it reminded Brogan of how he'd looked that morning as the Grand Duke had eagerly sunk into Dra'Kaedan's gorgeous body. For a split second, a wave of lust overshadowed his concerns and fears.

Then the safety bar lowered into place, and the orca tugged on it to ensure it'd locked correctly. The little bubble of desire was forgotten. Panic from both man and dragon replaced it as the coaster left behind the people waiting for their turn to ride it.

"How fun is this?" Dra'Kaedan enthused as the coaster slowly went up the first large hill. With each click or clatter of steel, Brogan's tension grew. His dragon was demanding he get right the fuck out of the cart.

At the top of the hill, everything went still, and a wave of relief swept through him. A scream tore from Brogan's throat as they barreled downward. His stomach churned unpleasantly. He worried briefly that he'd somehow be thrown from the train. Before he could adjust, they whipped around a curve.

His head swam as they flipped upside down. If Brogan was screaming, he was unaware. All he could focus on was surviving the next few minutes.

How the fuck long does a roller coaster last? Brogan thought as they were flung around and dragged along the track at speeds that made dragon flight feel sluggish. Nausea overwhelmed Brogan, and he swore his vision dimmed as they continued the ride from hell.

Long after Brogan was ready, they finally came to an abrupt stop. Dra'Kaedan was laughing at his side, and Brogan wondered what the hell was wrong with his mate. Had Dra'Kaedan actually enjoyed it?

Brogan couldn't stop to wonder. Being attentive to Dra'Kaedan was his honor and usually his priority, but he climbed right the fuck over the love of his life and charged out of the cart the minute the safety bar flew up.

Someone shouted his name, but he had no time to figure out who. Brogan ran with all the speed he could muster, then skidded to a stop. Grabbing the sides of the trash can, he emptied his entire breakfast into the nearly empty plastic bag inside.

"Are you okay?" Dra'Kaedan asked, his hand landing on Brogan's back.

Although he was still heaving, Brogan didn't miss the amusement in the warlock's voice. Why wasn't he throwing up too?

Brogan's head was spinning, and his dragon was growling with irritation at his irrational decision to board a roller coaster, but he forced himself to stand up. With the trash can clutched in his fists, Brogan glared at the little crowd standing around him.

Aleksander's grin was especially annoying. "You okay?"

"You guys enjoyed that shit?" Brogan asked, swiping the spittle from his mouth.

Dra'Kaedan made a gagging sound. He created a magical mint and handed it to Brogan. "Your breath is rank."

"That's because he just puked into the trash can," Renny snickered.

"I'm fine if anyone wants to know," Brogan groused, sucking on the delicious mint his mate had handed him. A wave of calming magic swept through him, and he was incredibly grateful to have a sorcerer as his other half. Even Brogan's dragon relaxed.

"We asked you how you were," Aleksander argued.

Leaning against him, Dra'Kaedan rubbed the tension from Brogan's spine. "Do you want a stronger calming spell?"

"No, Baby, I'm good. Thank you. Do you want to head to the food area again?"

"Actually, I want to get on more rides, that was so much fun," Dra'Kaedan said.

Brogan smiled sickly at him. Although he'd hated every damn second of his roller coaster experience, he refused to let Dra'Kaedan down. "Okay, what ride are we going on next?"

"Let's go to the water park with Rafe and Tallosaur," Dra'Kaedan suggested. Brogan was so excited, he kissed him and tugged his lithe form close. Not only did he have a small respite from another coaster, but he could stick to the side of his High Kings too.

Dra'Kaedan pulled away slightly, and Brogan was ridiculously satisfied by the desire in his grin.

"Don't worry, I didn't know you were afraid of the coaster," Dra'Kaedan said, eyeing Brogan with enough promise in his gaze that it left no doubt about whether they had an exciting night ahead of them once they left the cakes and coasters behind. "I'll give you a mint to suck on for each ride if you insist on getting on them with me, which I know you will. With some magic, we can make it a fun experience for you."

"To think magic once creeped him out," Renny mused.

"Please, he still doesn't trust it fully," Dra'Kaedan commented.

"I like it better today than I ever have, but I do trust it…especially warlock magic," Brogan assured his mate, brushing their lips together again. "We need to update our pros and cons list. Pro: Dra'Kaedan can always provide magical mints and calming spells."

Dra'Kaedan chuckled. "Con: Brogan pukes after fun rides."

Personally, Brogan hadn't found the ride fun, but he was so grateful to be off the damn thing he didn't argue. There was no point. They'd started their pros and cons list at the start of their relationship decades ago, and whether Brogan liked it or not, Dra'Kaedan would add whatever he wanted. The man was a bold force of nature.

And Brogan thanked Fate for bringing him into his life every day. So, he shook off his embarrassment at not being able to handle the horrid ride and girded his loins for a long day of magic soothing him. He was incredibly lucky to have a warlock mate, or he'd probably be sitting on the ground crying like a baby following a few more awful roller coasters.

"Come on, let's go see the pictures from the last ride," Rafe said.

Aleksander laughed as he brushed a dark curl from Rafe's forehead. "Yeah, Brogan screamed through the entire thing, he probably looks hilarious."

"Thankfully, my mate is fond of fire and will burn it immediately," Brogan remarked with an aggrieved sniff.

"Oh yeah, I'll totally burn it," Dra'Kaedan commented, but the amusement on his face told Brogan he'd be keeping a copy of it somewhere if it was as funny as they expected it to be. Annoyed that no one else was sick from the roller coaster, Brogan ignored his loved ones and trudged to the photo kiosk.

For once in his life, his excitement for the cake bar outmatched Dra'Kaedan's. If his other half was devouring sweet treats, it meant Brogan could keep far away from the blasted rides he was already dreading.