17. Kaida

Watching her men fly toward the mainland from the edge of their hilltop left a sour taste in Kaida’s mouth. The thought of them leaving twisted her gut so badly that she wanted to hurl her breakfast. She wished they had allowed her to join them. If recent events had proven anything, her power and magic would keep them safe against most of the army.

I could have just roared, and the army would bow to me.

They would have bowed to our dominance, but that does not mean they would have bowed to you with loyalty. The people could reject the idea of you being queen and ignore the fact that we are meant to rule them.

I’m a better option than Gemar and Nande.

I know that. They would, too, if Gemar were not controlling them.

I don’t even know if the people know that Gemar has that ability.

They’ll know soon enough.

The four dragon forms of her mates disappeared into the clouds. Kaida pushed her love through the bonds so they knew just how much she cared for them as a tear slid down her cheek. As much as she wanted to believe that everything would be fine and they would return to her as soon as they found the intel they needed, Kaida knew the dangers of them going on this mission. Gemar was not a stupid man and could anticipate them doing this. He would watch the skies for them if she knew the king well, which she felt she did after their last run-in with him.

"Ugh, I wish Adrien was here. At least she could have given us a spell or potion to camouflage them," Kaida said to herself as she turned back toward the house.

The guys were adamant about her staying away from Blaze while they were gone. Under the circumstances, she decided to listen to them. The Dark Dimension’s hold on him seemed deeper than it was when it infected her. As much as she wanted to break its hold and claim her mate, Kaida did not want to do it without backup. If Blaze got out of the cage, he could kill her. Mate bond or not, the Dark Dimension would override his instincts. That had been proven when her dragon attacked Beckett the first time it happened to her.

Kaida walked onto the porch and sat on the stairs. "What the hell can I do around here? The guys are gone, and so are my friends."

You could walk around town. Maybe the townspeople have some things that you could assist them with. It’ll give you something to do, her dragon suggested.

Kaida mulled it over for a minute before getting back onto her feet. It was the only idea with any substance to keep her from worrying about her men. If she sat around the house, that is exactly what she would do: worry.

While walking down the path, Kaida could hear the hustle and bustle of the town. Kaida heard laughter and merriment from the people for the first time in weeks. A smile grew on her face as she stepped onto the cobbled road to find a group of kids running down the street. It was a section of housing so people could be close to the businesses, so the children did not seem as out of place as Kaida felt them to be. She wasn’t used to seeing or hearing the children since she came here, and it was a pleasant surprise to see. One dark-haired little girl caught up to a little blonde girl and yelled, "You’re it!" before turning the other way. The other five kids in the group ran in other directions away from the blonde, all laughing or smiling. A black-haired woman with a swollen belly watched them from afar. The woman was shorter than Kaida but had a muscular build. Her pregnancy gave a glow to her skin, and she rubbed her belly absentmindedly. Her green eyes caught Kaida’s, and then she bowed her head. Kaida walked up to her and bowed her own.

"Good morning, Your Grace," the woman said before her eyes returned to the children.

"Good morning. How are you today?" Kaida trailed off, hoping the woman would give her name.

"Amy, Your Grace. I am well. How about you?"

Kaida smiled again as the calm energy swirled around the woman. She was getting better at guessing what element each person had power over from their energy or scent. Kaida breathed in and got a nose full of rich dirt and nectar of flowers. Amy was a Terrain Dragon, and judging from the energy that rolled off her, she held a decent amount of power.

"I am doing well. Are all of the children here?"

"As in all of the children on the island? No. These are just the ones I care for while their parents are at work. My daughter, Andrea, is the black-haired beauty over there."

Kaida looked over to see Andrea dodging the blonde girl’s attempt to tag her and then running away. "I’m sorry that has fallen onto you. Are there any schools on the island?"

Amy looked at her and frowned. "Just one, but the children are on break."

Kaida could see the look in Amy’s eyes—the one that said, "Why is she asking these questions? Doesn’t she know anything?"

And here I thought I could make headway with the people here.

She frowned at Amy. "I’m sorry. Am I bugging you?"

"No! Not at all."

"I’m just new to the island. I’m trying to learn as much as possible to help improve it in the future."

Amy bowed her head again. "I’ve heard of the princes taking you as a mate. I wasn’t at the town meeting but saw you. Is it true that you are mated to Prince Enzo as well?"

Kaida’s heart clenched at hearing Enzo’s name. Many people on the island still did not like Enzo, mostly because he was a Storm Dragon, and the generational hate against Storms still ran strong here.

"I am. He rejected me, and that is why I came here at first. However, he and I have solidified our bond since he returned to right his wrong."

Amy’s face contorted into an expression that Kaida could not interpret. "You are also mated to the princes of the island?"

Kaida nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Forgive me, but how is that possible?"

Kaida laughed. She was aware of this phenomenon, prepared herself to be asked this question often, and responded, "It is because I am a Plasma Dragon. Our rarity causes multiple bonds to be opened. I don’t know much because the texts about my kind are limited. However, I have experienced it and can say that my dragon is paired with one of every dragon to increase the chances of more Plasmas to be born."

Amy smirked. "I guess you can say that you are blessed with having to deal with multiple men instead of just one, then. Might I say... good luck with that?"

The joking tone in her voice caught Kaida off guard but still made her laugh. "I am going to need all the luck in the world."

"I am happy to have only one. One is enough. A fair warning: they can be work."

Kaida thought of Blaze and rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I know."

Amy looked at her sympathetically. "I will assume you are talking about the Ember Prince, Blaze?"

Kaida glanced sideways and smirked. "Your assumption is correct. How did you know?"

"He has been a ‘royal’ piece of work for as long as I can remember. He’s a good guy, don’t get me wrong. There are just times when his anger can get the best of him."

"That is putting it mildly."

Amy put her hand on Kaida’s shoulder and squeezed it, "Be patient. I remember what happened to his parents. It was a sad day on the island to hear of their passing. Of all the princes’ parents passings, as much as he pretends not to have feelings, Blaze always seems to feel things deeper than the others. I know some Ember dragons, and they all have that in common. They feel so deep that it scares them. However, once they fall in love with their mate, nothing in this world would stop them from loving or protecting them."

Kaida smiled at Amy and patted her hand. "Thank you. That gives me some hope that things will work out."

"They will. I’m sure you can see in the bonds that he is slowly coming around. I have a friend who is mated to an Ember Dragon. She came around to the bond much faster than her mate."

"Are you trying to tell me that all Ember dragons are like this?"

Amy laughed. "It’s part of the fire element burning inside of them. The fire will start glowing with a few flickers before it becomes roaring, heated. Give it time. He will come around when he can no longer fight it."

Kaida frowned at that statement. There might not be much time left for them. With Gemar knowing they planned to move against him, an attack on the island could come any day. Then, with her mates going to the kingdom to get intel on the weak spots in its forces, the attack could come sooner if they are caught.

"Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind."

"You are always welcome in our home, Queen Kaida."

"Please, just Kaida."

Amy squeezed her shoulder again, "You are more welcomed around here than people let on. You may be a stranger, but we can feel a balance that wasn’t here before. We may not know much about Plasma Dragons, but we can read energy. Your power will bring peace to us all. I can feel that."

That was the thing about Terrain Dragons. Their ruling element tended to make them more level-headed than the others.

"I hope I bring you the justice you believe I can."

"You already have. You have been protecting us against forces we haven’t even seen. You have managed to keep the death toll at zero, even with many of the people going berserk. I assure you, people are noticing. Some people just don’t know how to show their emotions properly."

"You say this as if the island was in disarray until I came along."

Amy touched her chest and laughed, "Heavens, no. But we could see things weren’t how they should have been. We feared for years that the king and queen would disintegrate us someday."

Kaida laughed nervously. "Well..."

"We all know he isn’t happy with your union with his son. That is apparent just from you being here. Royals don’t really reject their mates. Something about you intimidated him from the start. Now, you can see why. You are stronger than he is."

"Why are you sharing all of this with me?" Kaida blurted.

"Because you deserve to have someone outside your mates and friends to back you when you don’t know if you are doing what you should be doing. I know the look. The princes often had it while walking around here before you came along. I also pay attention to the news we hear from Dragaal. We have heard about Gemar’s dislike of you. Those who deal with the kingdom’s men to bring supplies here talk. It’s no secret that things are about to get hairy around here."

"I didn’t know that. I’m sorry that we aren’t informing people about it. We didn’t want to cause a panic." Kaida fumbled with her words, but Amy gave her another sympathetic look.

"That is what a leader should do. Many will try to say that people must know everything. However, many forget about the darkness of our world. People should remain in the dark and go about their lives rather than know about every dark thing happening."

Kaida laughed nervously but looked at the sky. It was true. She did not know everything that happened in the kingdom, even with her father on the council. He didn’t want her to know about everything, so she didn’t worry about things that were out of her control.

"Sometimes, I forget about things like that. My father sits on the council for the throne. I didn’t know everything, even with a father who did."

"You see my point, then. You and the princes are doing things the right way. I just happen to be nosey and find things out."

"That doesn’t bring stress to your pregnancy?"

Amy looked down at her stomach, smirked, and rubbed her belly. Kaida could see the fabric of her green, flowy dress ripple from the kick Amy received from the child inside.

"Not at all. I know some people will ensure my and my kids’ safety. I know that if the king made a move here, I would already be put somewhere safe, and my husband would join the fight. I know many others who would do the same. Yes, there has been pushback about the talk of going to the kingdom’s shores and fighting for our equality, but if it came down to it, every inhabitant on the island would jump in to defend it."

Kaida sighed, and her shoulders sagged from the relief Amy’s words brought. She didn’t expect to hear that the people would rally behind her. No matter how much she has grown into understanding her place in this world now that her dragon has emerged, the sliver of doubt always managed to creep in. If people were just giving themselves time to adjust to her ascending to the throne, that was easy enough to allow.

"Thank you. You have relieved some of my thoughts about what is going on."

"Anytime. I believe you should talk to others from time to time. It’ll settle your nerves more once you see for yourself."

Kaida looked toward the children. "I plan to."

Amy’s kind words gave her a new perspective, and Kaida walked toward where they had caged Blaze.