Chapter 10

Ten

Kaida spent the night staring at her ceiling. Lying about her dragon to Enzo ate away at her. Even if it was to protect her right now, it didn’t stop her from feeling it was wrong.

He is my fated mate… I shouldn’t be lying to him.

No matter how often Kaida told herself that she was only lying to him temporarily and would come clean after the mating ceremony, it still twisted her gut. Enzo mentioned that he would understand, but something told her he wouldn’t. Instead, Enzo would be infuriated that she kept this from him.

Maybe I need to talk to my parents about this.

The next morning, Kaida’s eyes were burned from how tired she felt.  It was difficult to want to leave the bed, but she had to talk to her parents. If anyone knew how to progress in this situation, it would be them. They wouldn’t judge her for lying since they were the ones who told her to lie in the first place.

It took her a while to get ready from her sluggish movements. The amount of energy it took to wash herself was more than she thought, and she found herself sitting under the water on the floor. There was a moment when she laid her head on the wall and closed her eyes. Kaida didn’t know she had fallen asleep until her body fell forward a little. She managed to catch herself before she fell over completely.

Okay, I am taking a nap after I see my parents. Maybe a facial. I don’t need dark circles under my eyes for my wedding day.

It was good that Kaida knew most of their itinerary while here. Mostly meetings with the Council or with the wedding planner. Dragons tended to plan the ceremony and reception by themselves for their children. Kaida found it annoying that she had no say in what everything would be like. It was good that Kaida had a good relationship with her parents, and they were high on the Council because that boded well that things Kaida liked would be implemented into everything. She also knew they normally broke for lunch around noon, and that was the only window until dinner to be able to wiggle herself into their schedule.

Kaida waited outside the conference room for the last meeting before lunch was finished. On the outside, it looked like she was as cool as a cucumber, but her heart was hammering on the inside. She wasn’t sure if the guards would find it okay for her just to be hanging around like this. Over the last several days inside the castle, Kaida noticed that not many people just lingered around in the halls. Enzo hadn’t mentioned any rules or anyone else for that matter, but since she didn’t know for sure, she was going to worry.

I am the future queen, damn it. I should not be afraid to be caught anywhere in this castle. It’s going to be mine soon! Though, maybe I need to calm down because I am the future queen… my gawd, I need to calm myself before I get an ulcer.

Just as Kaida managed to calm her heart rate, the Gods knew she was relaxing and decided that wasn’t a state she was allowed to be in. Malinda’s voice bounced off the walls like a hyperactive child on sugar as she sauntered down the hall with the other three sidekicks from hell following her.

“Prince Enzo is such a sweetie. He personally took the time out of his day to stop by my room to apologize for what happened in that chocolate shop. He said that Kaida was more out of line than I was, but he couldn’t speak out against her then.”

“I can totally see that. He is always so nice when I am around him,” Ada practically chirped with giddiness to be able to add to the conversation.

“He also told me a little bit of a secret.”

A chorus of “ohs” rang through the corridor. Kaida was positive that it was coming from her right and leaned against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. Anger boiled in her chest at the thought of Enzo telling anyone a secret other than her. Kaida wanted to stomp down the hall and have Malinda crash right into her just to watch her sweat.

No, no, no… just wait. She will put her foot in her mouth like she always does.

“Apparently, the mate bond isn’t as strong as it should be. Enzo doesn’t feel as attracted to Kaida as much as she is to him. He is thinking of rejecting her before the ceremony. It’s so sad.”

Chusi chortled, “She probably had a Witch cast a spell on him. She is already rumored not to have a dragon. Can’t say I would put it past her and her family to go to that length.”

“Seriously though?! Hiring a Witch to brew up a love potion so their daughter can be in good standing even though she may not have a dragon?” Kaliyah added.

The girls were so engrossed in their story as they turned the corner they did not notice Kaida leaning against the wall. Even more perfect was her parents were standing in the doorway with Enzo behind them as Malinda revealed her little secret. Kaida’s frown from anger quickly turned into a wicked grin as she watched her mate step out into the hallway in front of Malinda. With a Dragon’s heightened senses, Enzo heard Malinda’s little lie, and Kaida could feel in their bond that Enzo was not happy that a lie was being spread about him. The girl looked as though she was going to shit her pants when she noticed Enzo’s disapproving frown glaring down at her.

“Pri- Prince Enzo… it is a pleasure to see you on this fine day,” Malinda said as she curtsied with her eyes looking down at the floor.

“Why did you just lie about me to the other daughters of the Council, Miss. Silverstone?”

Malinda gulped at the realization that she had been caught. Any time she opened her mouth to say something, it was only a stammering use of syllables that didn’t sound like any kind of word. Enzo patiently waited as he stared down for her to say a cohesive sentence. There was no way out of this. Enzo overheard what Malinda had said, and he wasn’t letting her off the hook.

“You will report to the King and Queen tomorrow to hear how they wish to handle this situation. To have you abuse our hospitality by spreading lies about my mate and me is sickening. Your mother and father will accompany you so they hear what you have done here.” Enzo paused and looked at each of the others huddled behind Malinda. “As for the three of you, I see that your hands in this are not as dirty, though you were willing to believe this of your future king and queen. This is a warning. If you continue to just be ‘yes men’ to someone you consider to be higher on the food chain than you, I have lost hope for our generation to rule this realm. You are all supposed to assist Kaida and me with governing our realm. That is what your parents do for mine. If this is how this will be, behind one person’s thoughts and actions instead of thinking for yourself, I may need to look for new council members.”

“NO! We can do this!”

“We didn’t think of it that way!”

“We are not yes men!”

The three of them cried out and then started to sob. Enzo looked indifferent as he watched them plead their cases to him. After a few more seconds of them begging him to reconsider, Enzo held up his hand.

“From this moment until the foreseeable future, I better see individual minds instead of a hive. The King does have the power to remove those from the Council who do not add their ideas when discussing how to govern this realm. Now leave. I am tired of this conversation and dealing with you four against your future queen. Another thing to consider is the law against creating such rumors to make people question their loyalty to the throne. Continue to spread lies about my mate and me, and that is what I can, and will, charge you with.”

Like children running from their mothers after being scolded, the four took off in the opposite direction after Enzo finished his last sentence. Others inside the meeting filtered out of the room and left along with them. Kaida wondered if they all thought they needed to leave before Enzo told them that they shouldn’t be listening or something with the way they all hurried down the corridors. After everyone scurried off, Enzo turned around and noticed Kaida standing there. His face lit up like a lightning bolt across the sky.

“I didn’t see you there! I hope those four didn’t upset you in any way,” Enzo said as he hugged her.

Kaida sighed when his arms wrapped around her. The sense of comfort his touch brought her and the love she felt pouring through their bond was why she continued to lie about her dragon. Now that she experienced what life could be like with her Fated Mate, there was no possible way for Kaida to want to let go of it.

“Doesn’t matter. It was a lie anyway.”

Enzo gently pushed her outward so he could look at her face, “did you really think I would go to another woman’s room and say those kinds of things?”

Kaida scrunched her face, “this is all new to me, Enzo. As much as I knew it wasn’t true, a part of me believed her words for a moment.”

Enzo nodded, “I guess I can see why you would say that. I am not sure how I would have reacted if I heard the same things coming out of a male’s mouth about you.”

“I don’t think you would have been near as patient and may have done much worse than you did.”

Enzo let out a small laugh, “unfortunately, that might be accurate if I were in your shoes.”

He looked around, and his eyes landed on something behind her. Kaida turned herself enough to see and found her parents watching their exchange smiling. Kaida shook her head and looked back up at Enzo.

“Ignore them. They are having a moment.”

“Oh, shut your face. Our little girl is growing up, and we are proud to witness it,” her mother said in a cracked voice as she tried not to cry.

“Why were you standing here, if I may ask,” Enzo questioned.

It took him long enough to catch that… was hoping he wouldn’t.

“I was waiting for my parents. I was hoping to have lunch with them since I haven’t seen them much since we got here.”

It wasn’t a lie. Kaida couldn’t spend much time with them since most of her time had been with Enzo.

“Oh, I have been hogging too much of your attention now?” Enzo joked.

“No! It’s just once the ceremony is over, I will be staying here, and they will be returning to our territory. I’d like to get some time with them before then.”

“Fair enough. I am glad that I bumped into you. My parents would like to have dinner with all three of you. Kind of a get-to-know-you kind of thing. Is that alright with you?”

Like saying no is an option, “Yes! Sounds terrific.”

Enzo gave her a quick kiss before he left. Kaida wanted to run after him just to be in his arms for a moment longer. She let out an exasperated sigh before turning back toward her parents.

“I need to talk to you in private. Can you have food delivered to your room so we can have privacy?”

They nodded and hooked their arms in hers. Just like with Enzo, Kaida felt comfort in her parents walking with her this way. They always did it when she was little to give her a sense of confidence. They told her they would scare off anything and anyone who would ever frighten her when they walked this way. Even after all these years, it gave her that sense of security.

When they reached their room, her mother’s maiden was there. Audra asked the maiden to go tell the kitchen to bring their lunch here and to add a plate for Kaida. The maiden quickly left the room. Dracul shut the door behind her and then locked it.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know if I want to continue lying to Enzo about my dragon.”

Both of their faces showed surprise and concern. Kaida anticipated that. How could she not? There was a reason for the lie.

“You two are Fated Mates. You have experienced this bond for yourselves. It is so hard to keep that wall between you and your mate when the wall is a lie. How he hasn’t felt me lying yet is a damn mystery!”

“Well, you two wouldn’t feel the extent of each other’s emotions until after the ceremony. Plus, you two would need to be very close in the relationship to begin to explore that bond and read each other like that,” Audra explained to her.

“Close how?”

“Well, almost like a friendship. You grow closer as you experience telling each other secrets that you may have or how you spend time with another.”

Kaida smiled at the explanation. Those words only reminded her of the two dates with Enzo. They told each other secrets and glimpses of who they were while they were together.

“And judging by that smile on your face, we may be misjudging just how close these two are, Audra.”

“I have to agree. Kaida… are you going to give us the details of these dates of yours?”

Kaida launched into describing what had happened with Enzo. She tried to remember every detail so she could tell them about it, and it went on longer than she thought it would. The maiden even returned with their food before she was done. Her parents asked the maiden to leave again for privacy, and she quickly did so.

“It sounds like you two are a perfect match for one another,” Dracul said with a smile.

“That’s why I want to tell him the truth. I don’t want to keep this from him any longer. I feel awful every time he brings it up. He even said he would understand!”

Her parents looked at one another for a moment, a silent discussion between them that Kaida couldn’t interpret. That is another reason why I want this damn bond. I know we can have something like this.

“Go with your gut, honey. If you think he will truly understand and everything will be okay, then you are probably right. It might be the bond telling you to do this so it can grow stronger.”

Is my mother right? Can it be that our bond is trying to bring us closer together? I can see that so clearly when I think about it. I should tell him tonight after dinner. That way we have all night to talk about it before the ceremony in two days.

“I think I will.”

“Then we are behind the decision. We wish you luck with it,” Audra said as she hugged Kaida.

Yeah, it feels right to want to tell him the truth. I will tell him tonight.