3. Enzo

Enzo lay on his stomach on a plush bed with the softest sheets he’d ever felt. His hands propped up his head so he could read a book he’d been enthralled with on the bed. It was about a villain poisoning all those who opposed him while he played a game of politics with the leaders of other kingdoms. No one ever noticed that the villain was the leader of their kingdom who was poisoning people and killing others in more brutal ways so he could remain the king. Enzo soaked in every word as he connected with a young boy putting the clues together and playing the game more secretively so he could overthrow the king to save the kingdom.

"It’s crazy that there are minds who can create these stories. I am living this life as I read this, and I don’t think I could make people want to read about it," Enzo said to no one in particular.

Kaida was propped up on pillows with her nose in a different book. Her feet were near Enzo’s head, but it looked like Arlo was holding a book in one hand and massaging Kaida’s foot with the other. Enzo felt a growl crawl up his throat. It was still hard for him to share Kaida with the others. His dragon wanted her for himself but understood that she shared bonds with others. That didn’t mean he had to like it. Arlo was on the other side of Kaida, placing Kaida between Enzo and Arlo, leaning his back on a bedpost with Kaida’s feet in his lap. Esen and Beckett were on the floor, playing a board game of sorts. Enzo was never allowed to play such games, so he did not know the rules. He tried to follow along, but each piece could move across the board in a specific way, and if the "king" was taken by the other side, that signified that the game was won.

"I never understood those who could write these stories either. It’s an entire world inside their head, and they spend hours writing it on paper for others to enjoy. It must take dedication to create all of this–dedication I don’t have at all," Arlo responded.

"I don’t know about that. You had the dedication to master your magic and dragon."

"That’s different. That is life or death. Authoring a story for others to enjoy is more than learning how to survive. I didn’t take pleasure in mastering all of that. It felt like a job."

Enzo looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What is writing stories if not a job? We paid for these books to be in our library."

"No one paid me to learn my magic."

Enzo chuckled at him. "I think your payment was learning how to build this house and rule over this island."

Arlo blinked a few times and nodded his head. "I suppose you’re right on that."

"Will you two stop blabbing? I’m getting to a good part!" Kaida demanded.

Enzo rolled slightly to look at her. He smiled, seeing her so focused on her story. Since the town meeting, it has been difficult to walk around town without someone coming over to her to ask questions or demand to know more about their plans. Some had gotten in her face and nearly lost control of themselves because they could not answer their question just yet. They were still planning how to move forward with their plans. Not many of their people were willing to fly to the kingdom to take their land and rights back. There was no good chance of returning alive if they did not have the numbers.

Kaida grew anxious any time they mentioned having to go to town after three days of her being bombarded. Enzo suggested she remain in the house while they cared for everything, but Kaida snarled at the suggestion. She was tired of everyone running the island and her having no part in it. Enzo understood that. How could he not? He did the same thing when his father kept him out of meetings and such. He needed to know how to rule his people. Sitting in his room studying was not going to teach him everything.

Instead of spending time out with the people who were overwhelming her, Enzo suggested a day of spending time together. This would allow him to experience more about the others while Kaida rested. It proved to be a better suggestion than he thought. The others looked as ragged as Kaida, and all seemed to need the break themselves.

"What’s the good part of your story?"

Kaida pulled the book down so she could glare at him. "The characters are finally getting together after spending months denying that they cared about each other. Now shut your cakehole so I can read about these two admitting their feelings!"

Enzo heard the others join in his laughter. Enzo stared at her for a moment longer. The fire inside of him burned brighter every time he looked at her. His heart always skipped a beat or raced against his ribs whenever she smiled at him. Missing her was an understatement during their time apart. He could feel how she felt about him through their bond, matching his flames. It may have been difficult to share, but Enzo knew it would be far better to share than not have her at all.

"Why are you staring at me, Enzo?" Kaida asked without looking up from her book.

Enzo smirked; he had been staring longer than he had intended. "It’s been months since I’ve seen your face or been in your presence. Am I not allowed to stare so that I can see you?"

Kaida lowered her book so that he could see her eyes. There was a fire there as her gaze bore into him. "I did not say you couldn’t. I just asked why."

"Well, that is why. I haven’t seen you in so long that, now that I can, I will cram in as much viewing time as possible."

"Well, it is distracting me."

Enzo growled low and taunted her. "I can distract you in other ways."

He could feel the others looking over at him. The air in the room filled with lust. Enzo’s nostrils flared at the scent. The memory of the first time with Kaida was with Esen. It was more enjoyable than he thought it would be. Now, with the other two in the room, he wondered how that would be, too.

"Oh?"

The scent of Kaida’s arousal quickly mixed with the rest of them. Enzo moved quickly to get on top of her, his legs on either side of hers. Enzo gently pushed down her book using one finger to get a better look at her. Kaida’s eyes had a glimmer of purple on the outside of her irises. Her dragon was on the edge, wanting what would come next just as much as them.

A knock at the door broke Enzo’s stare, and a snarl escaped his lips. Esen and Beckett stood between them and the door from where they sat before. Beckett rolled his eyes and rolled his shoulders before his hand found the doorknob. Given the tension in his shoulders, the Tidal Dragon was also unhappy about the broken moment. Enzo quickly hoped that the person on the other side of the door did not get a faceful of fists after ruining something all five seemed to want.

The door opened, and a blonde-headed kid around the age of fifteen stood with a letter in his hand. His gray eyes were rolling back and forth, stopping for a second on each person inside. There was a shiver in the boy’s body as he felt the wave of power from them all strike him. Enzo grimaced as he realized the boy was terrified of everyone inside. He was smart to be since they all could wipe the floor with him with their power, but the only reason he was being glared at was due to Enzo putting the idea of a shared moment with Kaida in their heads. Another person moved from behind the kid. Enzo growled before recognizing Blaze’s red hair and his aura of rage around him. Enzo sighed heavily in annoyance that Blaze allowed his person into the house, let alone let him come upstairs and knock on their door.

"A letter came for Prince Enzo. It bears the seal of the King and Queen." The boy’s hand shook as he held out the scroll.

There was a collective rumble from each dragon inside the room. The past few days had become so busy that Enzo forgot that his parents would eventually want to know what was happening and when he was coming home. He knew the letter he had sent before would not be enough. Why would it be? The King and Queen were not patient people; they would want their son home to resume his duties so he could eventually take the throne.

Beckett took the scroll and held it out to Enzo to take. Enzo did his best not to snatch it. He didn’t need to cause trouble amongst the group—not now, not when things were starting to level out.

Enzo noticed the seal of the Great Dragon with the crown on its head. It was unbroken, meaning Blaze didn’t try to open it. This surprised Enzo, given Blaze seemed to be the one who liked to cause trouble. Enzo picked at the wax to break it and slowly rolled out the paper to reveal his father’s perfect handwriting. Enzo prayed that the words were nothing more than asking for an update. However, he noticed that the paper was longer than needed for such a short message. Enzo dismissed the boy and thanked him for bringing him the message. He waited until he heard the front door open and shut before he did anything. Blaze stood in the hallway and leaned on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t going to move, and Enzo didn’t feel like telling him to leave since this most likely had to do with him and Kaida. It wasn’t worth the fight.

Enzo cleared his throat and began to speak the message out loud.

Dearest Son,

You must return to the realm where your presence has been greatly missed. The kingdom stands as a testament to the legacy of its people, and your contributions have long been a pillar of our prosperity.

We hope this message finds you in good health and spirits. May it serve as a beacon, guiding you back to the embrace of a kingdom that eagerly waits for your return. Bring Lady Hilmir home so we may bask in her power and let our houses merge. Our kingdom will thrive under your rule with her by your side, and we will rejoice as one again.

With profound regards and anticipation,

King Gemar and Queen Nande

Enzo looked up from the paper and found the three princes at Kaida’s side. They all shared the same expression of concern. This message did not feel as welcoming as it sounded. Enzo knew better than to believe that his father wanted Kaida home, considering he never wanted Enzo to go back to the island to retrieve her in the first place.

Unless he realizes I will not return without her, he has no choice but to accept her.

"I don’t like this. This feels like a setup," Beckett said, breaking the silence.

Kaida opened her mouth, but Arlo’s voice stopped her from speaking.

"Of course, it is a setup. What else could it be? The barrier is down, and Kaida is the only one powerful enough to break it. There is no way in hell he doesn’t know that, and that’s why he wants her to go back," Arlo snarled.

Kaida opened her mouth again but closed it before Enzo shook his head at Arlo’s idea.

Enzo sighed. "But it could also be a way for us to discover his plans. He could want me home to lead the attack without me here."

"More reason to keep you both here. If he leads an attack here, we have two powerful dragons to help fight," Esen added.

"I don’t know. I can’t see him attacking without knowing everything that he can. I’ve never heard him having spies here to learn about the comings and goings of you four. That would be something he would do if he actually felt threatened."

Beckett scoffed. "I doubt that he doesn’t have people here feeding him information. We just never gave him a reason to feel threatened. We four have always only trusted each other with those sorts of things, so one of us would have had to tell him for him to know anything. I know for a damn fact none of us have."

Enzo glanced at Blaze. "You sure about that?"

Blaze lifted his lip in disgust at Enzo. It was the other’s growls that pulled him back.

"Blaze is not like that. He would not risk us, his brothers, just because he does not care for Kaida."

Enzo wasn’t so easily convinced.

"Why am I being talked about like I am not here?"

Kaida’s voice was filled with anger. Enzo couldn’t blame her. They ignored her just now. But she didn’t know as much as they did about these things.

"We know you are here. We are just speaking about what we know and assume."

"And you assume you can tell me that I can or cannot go back to Dragaal?"

Kaida pushed herself off the bed, not allowing anyone to touch her or help her off. "I am going with Enzo on this. What if we go and learn something about his plans? I can make it seem like I am happy to be home and hated my time on the island. It’s not like I couldn’t mention that the four princes attempted to kill me several times but managed to get away long enough to allow my dragon to emerge."

Enzo joined in with the others to protest, but Kaida held up her hand to stop them.

"I want to see how he responds to me being a Plasma. I want to know how he reacts knowing that his son and heir is bonded to me. Enzo is to take the throne someday. With me being bonded to him, I will have to take it with him. There is nothing that the King can do to change that, even if he wants to. To know the enemy, you must understand them. I know nothing about the King, even though I should. I took advantage of being a princess, and not in the way I should have. Now that I am the future queen, I will not repeat that mistake. I will join Enzo to Dragaal. It’s not as if I am defenseless. I can handle myself, and Enzo will be with me."

"What if we ask Adrien to make us invisible to others? So, we can go to protect you while you’re there," Beckett suggested.

Kaida shook her head, "No. I don’t see that going well at all. Besides, we can’t leave the island completely unprotected. Blaze may be powerful, but having all four princes here is the best thing for everyone."

"She’s right. My father has protections to reveal things like that."

"So..." Arlo sounded worried.

"So, Enzo and I leave tomorrow morning for Dragaal. I promise we will diligently observe our surroundings and leave the moment things look like they’re going the wrong way."

Enzo watched the others open their mouths to protest, and Enzo could feel her power gathering around her. They all stopped in their tracks. Enzo noticed Blaze looking at Kaida intently, a smirk on his lips as she commanded them to stop fighting her.

"We know nothing right now. If we go, we can learn things to lead our people correctly. Let’s enjoy the rest of our day. Enzo and I leave in the morning."

Kaida curled back up on the bed, opening her book to the page she was on. Enzo smiled at her, the fire inside of him burning brighter than it did before.

She is going to be an amazing queen. I can’t wait for Dragaal to see it.