10. Kaida

Kaida stood before Blaze’s door, holding up her hand in preparation to knock on it. She froze when she realized this would be a conversation leading to either the bond opening or an all-out brawl. None of the guys thought this was a promising idea, but Kaida put her foot down. They wanted to be there so they could help facilitate the conversation. Something about them being here made Kaida think Blaze would take it as five against one. That was not a way for him to open up to her.

No...I need to do this on my own.

She could smell his campfire scent from inside, so Kaida knew he was there. She could also smell popcorn, which did not seem like something Blaze would casually enjoy. Kaida had an image of Blaze only eating raw meat due to his constant rage. It didn’t make much sense, but it’s what she pictured. Knowing that he enjoyed popcorn gave Kaida a small glimpse of hope that she could get through to him. Small talk of enjoying the same treat was an icebreaker.

Yeah, we will go with that.

Knock, knock, knock.

The scuffling inside the room turned into what sounded like a body hitting the floor. Kaida smirked as she imagined Blaze rolling off the bed, his foot catching on a blanket, and falling to the floor. The scrambling afterward meant he dropped entirely onto the floor and was trying to get his footing. She could see the shadow from the space under the door. Blaze stopped just before the door; Kaida could hear him sniffing the air and the low growl that emitted from his throat.

"What do you want?" Blaze snarled.

Kaida sighed, "I think we need to talk."

"I beg to differ."

"Open the door, Blaze," Kaida put a small amount of power in her plea.

Kaida could see his shadow standing still on the other side. If he contemplated opening the door, she was in better shape than she could have hoped. It could mean he wanted this bond between them but was too afraid to do something about it. Arlo and Esen went through the same issue.

"Please," Kaida added, laying her hand flat on the door.

The sound of the door handle moving made her heart skip a beat. She swallowed as the door slowly creaked open. Blaze stood in the room with nothing but a pair of boxers on. Seeing his taut body had Kaida’s mind wandering about what she wanted to do to it. Blaze cleared his throat, and Kaida realized she was staring at his chest.

"Right. Can we talk?"

Blaze stepped forward with a predatory look in his eyes. He lifted his right arm and leaned it against the doorframe. He was a few inches from where she stood, and she could feel the heat from him rolling off him in waves, bringing his intoxicating scent with it. Kaida inhaled it on instinct, leaning slightly into it. Blaze smirked at her, and his eyes glistened with mischief.

"What could we possibly talk about, princess?"

Kaida’s dragon came to the surface, bringing a feeling of calm with her so she could straighten herself out to meet Blaze’s gaze. He was doing this to distract her or intimidate her, but the dragon wasn’t having it.

"Our mate bond, Blaze. You can try to ignore that there is one there, but deep down, you don’t want to do that."

Blaze didn’t move an inch, but his smirk grew wider. "You think that will work on me?"

"I can feel it. You want to explore it, but you are holding back."

Blaze lifted his other hand to stroke Kaida’s face. The trail of fire that was left behind made her shudder. Once his hand left her skin, Kaida whined from the absence.

"You may think I am, but that is just you projecting what you want onto me." Blaze took a step back and straightened himself out. "I promise you that I do not want to explore that bond."

Kaida growled. "What the hell happened to you for you to be so jaded about mate bonds?"

Blaze crossed his arms over his chest. The fire in his eyes was hard to ignore. Kaida locked eyes with him and fought the urge to walk closer to him. He still wore a smirk on his face, as if he were enjoying the fact that she wanted to argue with him.

"Nothing, Princess. I just never wanted a mate, and being given one doesn’t change that."

Kaida stepped into his room, and the glare on her face could have burned holes in his skin. "What is so wrong with having a mate? My life changed for the better after finding mine, all of mine."

Blaze laughed, and Kaida had to fight herself to join him. The sound was intoxicating to her ears. She had never really heard him laugh like this before. He genuinely thought what she said was funny.

"You were rejected by your mate, Princess. The person the Great Dragon chose for you tossed you aside like it was his job because he didn’t see a reason to stay after finding out you didn’t have a dragon. If anyone should be jaded against mates, it’s you."

Kaida clenched her hands at his explanation. She hated that he could use Enzo’s past transgressions to his advantage. The only weapon she had in her arsenal against this was the fact that Enzo wasn’t the one who actually rejected her.

"Yeah, he did. There is no arguing that. However, it wasn’t Enzo that rejected me, you dumbass. It was his father."

Blaze gave her a sideways smile. "The fact that you believe that pathetic excuse of a prince just shows me that you will believe anything. The fact that he is your mate and can influence you doesn’t help either."

Kaida could feel the energy of her magic crackle in her palm as rage rose inside her. Blaze seemed like a pro at throwing things in people’s faces. This was going to be a much more difficult discussion than she thought.

"I didn’t need the mate bond to know he was sorry for his actions. He never wanted to reject me. I know that for a damn fact because of my time with him before that night. He didn’t give a shit if I ever got my dragon. He was just thankful that the Great Dragon gave him a mate, as one should."

Blaze shook his head. "You can’t force the unwilling, sweetheart."

Kaida chuckled. "I felt the King’s ability myself. I know that statement is actually a lie regarding his ability. It was the darkest magic I’ve ever felt in my life. If you can recall, I went up against the Dark Dimension and won. To my surprise, imagine his ability felt awfully familiar to that."

If Kaida had blinked, she would have missed it. Blaze’s expression changed when she mentioned that. He had no clue the ability could rob someone of their free will, just like the Dark Dimension.

"As much as you want to blame him, you need to recalibrate your thinking because it isn’t true. Enzo did not wish to reject me. He argued with his family about that before our ceremony. Gemar didn’t want the ceremony to move forward if I was dragonless. I am convinced he tried to force my shift with his ability, and when it didn’t work, he turned his attention to Enzo. He knew his son would accept the Great Dragon’s gift, so he rejected me for him. So, if that is your argument on why I shouldn’t want a mate, I think you need to develop a better one."

Blaze growled and closed the distance between them. He glared down at her and held her gaze. Kaida could feel his power swirling around them as if he were using it to make her submit. Kaida’s dragon pushed out her power to show Blaze there wasn’t a chance in hell they would back down from him.

"I didn’t want a mate after I watched my parents fawn over each other and choose each other over their people. A mate weakens those who accept the bond. If I want to take control of the kingdom, I will not risk my chances by going soft for a mate."

"A mate only strengthens the dragon and magic that burns inside us. You choosing to ignore this bond is ignoring the chance at power like you’ve never felt before."

Blaze grabbed the back of her neck and bent down just an inch from her face. Kaida felt her knees buckle, but Blaze holding her in place saved her from collapsing. She managed to place her hands on his chest to steady herself. If he reacted to her touch, his face never gave it away. The heat underneath her touch dared her to explore. Her mouth ran dry as he continued to hold her gaze. Neither of them blinked as they waited for the other to give in. Kaida did her best to stand her ground, but their bond opened just enough for her to want to give in.

No. I can’t. He wants me to so he can say the bond made me weak. I can’t give in. I need to hold myself together.

"If you want this to gain power, I will continue ignoring it. I will never say yes to giving you more power than you have already," Blaze breathed, and Kaida felt her knees wobble.

"You are missing the point. It won’t be just me who gains power. You will, too."

"You will say anything right now to make me cave. You crave this touch and this bond so much that I cannot believe a damn word you say."

Fine. You don’t want to believe it is just me who needs this bond completed? I guess I will have to bring out the big guns.

"It’s not just me you are denying. You are also denying Beckett, Arlo, and Esen. They can feel the bond between us. Well, the lack of bond. It makes us all weaker without you. You are denying us all the possibility of becoming stronger. We can take that whole fucking kingdom and make it bow down to us. You just need to suck it up and give in to the one damn thing that is going give you everything you’ve ever wanted."

Blaze held her gaze still, but the fire slightly dimmed. It felt as though he was considering the information. It was the only thing Kaida knew he wouldn’t tolerate. His friends meant everything to him. They grew up together and called each other brothers. If he was hurting them, he might let go of believing it was beneficial to ignore the bond.

"You will say anything you can to win, won’t you?" Blaze growled and let her go.

When he walked away, Kaida whined once more as the cold from the absence of his presence smacked into her. She wanted him to turn around and come back to her. She needed him to understand what this was doing to her and the others. How could she get him to see?

Kaida felt her dragon take control of her, and it felt like she was shoved to the back of their mind. She watched as she marched up to Blaze, turned him around, and pushed her hand into his chest. Blaze’s face conveyed his shock at her boldness before a flash of purple blinded her vision. Kaida felt the bonds’ energies flicker inside her, and the image of the flames came to the forefront of her mind. The flames burned bright with the silver thread of energy linking them together. The space where Blaze’s flame should be showed a tiny red flame. It was an ombre of reds, bright from the tip to dark at the base. It was a fraction of the other’s flames and showed the flame growing smaller with each flicker. As it decreased in size, the other flames became discolored. It would remain that way for a second before returning to normal, only for it to flicker in a darker color than before. Without Blaze’s flame, everyone else’s grew weaker.

Oh, my gods... My dragon is showing him how he is hurting us all.

Blaze broke Kaida’s touch with a slap of his hands. Kaida backed away before he was able to shove her. The fire in his eyes was more predatory than before. She remembered the same darkened look on his face from the day he nearly killed her. A flash of sadness spread across his face before he closed his eyes and turned away from her.

"Leave. Now."

Kaida walked to the door and stopped as she reached inside the doorway. "We need you just as much as you need us, Blaze. I hope you can accept that sooner rather than later."

She walked down the stairs with her head hanging low. She did the exact opposite of what she wanted. Instead of bringing Blaze closer, it felt as if she pushed him further away.

Damn it. How can I make him understand?