7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Cyrus

W hat happens at the temple is never tame. Even when we're gathered for the equivalent of a dragon baby shower, the blessing of a new life. The Temple of Gold is where we let ourselves be what we are—wild and dangerous. Creatures of lust and greed. Beasts who horde wealth and beauty, who take what we please and protect our own.

But for the past six years, I've felt completely out of sync with my dragon side. I've shoved that part of me down so deep that I feel more human than dragon these days. My dragon instincts know nothing of laws and decrees, of gaining trust between brothers. They tell me to seize, claim, and defend.

"This is a great day for the Court of Gold!" Midas's voice booms and the horde cheers. "I ruled without a mate for too long, but the goddess finally blessed me with Jeslyn, a woman beyond any I could have dreamed. "

My chest caves in with longing for what they have, for the ease of it, as well as the heat.

He smiles fondly at his wife. "And soon, we shall have a new heir to the throne!"

Another loud cheer, and I can't help but smile. There was a day when I hoped Midas would never have an heir and the throne would pass to me, but I don't want that now. I only want Finley.

As the noise dies down, Midas motions for the priest to join him on the dais. The man makes his way forward, carrying a bowl of liquid gold taken from the ceremonial pool during the last Week of the Goddess Celebration, the one where Jeslyn became a dragon.

He stands in front of her, parting the sheer fabric around her to reveal her belly. She's the only one clothed, though really it's just a swath of fabric draped over her shoulders and strategically tied with a sash. Midas is more jealous and possessive than any dragon I've ever known and after the initial ceremony where she transformed, he's refused to let anyone see his wife nude, despite how it bucks with tradition and is difficult to accommodate after transformations.

Personally, I'd rather have everyone see my mate and know exactly what they're missing, what they'll never have, what's mine and mine alone .

"Tonight, we ask the goddess to bless this mother." The priest dips his thumb in the gold and smudges it in a line across Jeslyn's forehead. "This child." He draws a golden circle around her belly button. Then makes a line straight down from the top of her belly to the underside. "This birth."

Midas's jaw is tight, and it's clear he's trying not to rip the man to shreds for touching his mate.

The priest turns and looks for me in the crowd. "Step forward."

I walk to the dais and kneel in front of him.

"As the current heir, do you pass on your right to the throne or would you like to challenge the child's lineage?"

"I make no challenge." The expression I find on my brother's face is one I can't read, but I hope he sees how much I regret the challenge I made before. "I gladly accept this child as the future of our horde."

The priest dips his pinky into the gold and draws a triangle on my forehead and each cheek. "You will reign in your brother's stead while he accompanies his mate to the hatching grounds, and then no more."

"By the goddess and the gold."

The crowd cheers and the drums begin. The horde celebrates the way we always do. Music. Dancing. Sex. Lots of sex. But I have no stomach for it now and quietly sneak away.

There's only one person I want, and she's not at the temple.