Chapter 11

Eleven

The day went by at a slow pace after Kaida left her parents’ room. Having to have dinner with the King and Queen was not something she planned on doing today. They were both intimidating presences, even if she didn’t know they were the two most powerful dragons in the kingdom. To be subject to their rule was bad enough. In just a few days, they were going to be her in-laws.

Kaida returned to the conference room to ask her mom what she should wear. Audra decided Kaida should choose a simple dress so it didn’t look like she was trying too hard. Kaida had to agree with her mother because she did not want to come off that way. While looking through her closet, she managed to find a white dress that was fairly simple. The bottom hem reached her shin and thick straps. On the straps, there were purple dragon scales for an added feature. With purple heels and her hair pulled back in a braid, Kaida felt more confident to take this dinner on.

I can do this. Soon it will be Enzo and me ruling this kingdom. I need to show them I am worthy.

It took around two hours before Kaida called it quits, and she felt like she looked as good as possible. She found herself distracted the entire time, wishing she had someone to help her through all this. With her parents in Council meetings all day and Enzo learning how to run the kingdom, Kaida didn’t have anyone else. Even if they weren’t anyone special, she would like all her friends back at home to be here for her right now.

A deeper part of her wished she never made enemies with Malinda and the other Council Heirs. Enzo’s words echoed in her mind of how they were all supposed to work together for the good of the realm. If she hadn’t fed into their dramatic bullshit over the years, they might have already made progress on that. This entire trip here wouldn’t have been Kaida avoiding them. Instead, they would have been helping her get ready for the dates with Enzo or even come with her when she went to get her dress made with her mom. Instead, they were conspiring against her.

Once the ceremony is over, I can fix this. Call a truce so we can move forward. The realm needs us to do this. I need to swallow my pride and do things for the betterment of the realm.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. She opened the door to find Enzo’s gorgeous smile, and all her troubling thoughts disappeared. His gray eyes scanned her body, and his charming smile became a little devilish.

“Well, I was going to escort you down to dinner… but now I may have other plans,” his dragon rumbled inside his chest as he brought her against his body.

Between his husky voice and hearing his dragon approve of what he wanted to do, Kaida felt her panties become wet, and she had to fight the urge to wiggle her hips against his. The kiss he gave her had her gripping his tailored shirt in her fists and her stomach doing flips. His hands were on her hips, and she felt his fingers digging into her skin as the kiss became more passionate. She felt herself needing him and wanting to take him up on the offer of the other plans.

Enzo grabbed her ass and lifted her up. Kaida was thankful that her dress was loose enough to wrap her legs around his waist. She wasn’t sure how, but her back was against the wall. His hard bulge pressed into her, perfectly against her sensitive bud. Kaida wiggled herself against to bring herself closer to the edge as she felt her panties become drenched from need. When he broke the kiss, Kaida whimpered, and Enzo gave her a throaty chuckle. She tried to wiggle herself again to make him want to continue, but instead, he had her untangle her legs from him. When she did, Enzo sighed and leaned his forehead on hers.

“I need to stop before I can’t. Let’s get to this dinner before my mother sends the guards for us.”

“Would she really send guards to bring us down to dinner?” Kaida practically growled.

“Unfortunately, yes, because it would be an improper thing not to go to this dinner.”

“Why?”

“Good question. I am not really sure. I guess mostly because they want to get to know you.”

“I spent eighteen years being an heir to the Council, and they could have gotten to know me then. We weren’t even allowed around you while growing up.”

“Not even sure why we were all separated.”

Oh, I have ideas on why, but I won’t say them out loud.

“Ugh, let’s get this over with. Maybe I can sneak back into your room tonight and finish what we started.” Enzo winked at her.

Kaida gave him a devilish smile, “maybe I won’t open the window this time.”

She did her best to give a teasing walk as she made her way out the door. It must have worked because Kaida heard a rumble behind her from Enzo’s chest.

* * *

Sitting at the table with the King and Queen was awkward, and barely any conversation happened. Each time a topic would be brought up, it would end within a few sentences. Kaida wasn’t sure if it was due to Gemar and Nande’s presence making everyone not want to be forthcoming or if just the wrong topics were brought up. Either way, it made the dinner go by at a snail’s pace.

Dracul did his best to keep the conversations from going toward things that were discussed in Council meetings, but that seemed to be the favorite topic of the evening. Kaida found herself wondering if the King and Queen ever had any fun, considering they only knew how to talk about governing the kingdom.

That will not be my life. I cannot let this become my life.

Then, suddenly, King Gemar brought up a policy they thought would be a good idea to move forward with. The policy would make it where any child who did not show promise of their dragon emerging within their early teen years would be sent to Outcast Island. This meant that any kid that didn’t start producing an inkling of the magic their dragon could give them by their early teens would be removed from the kingdom and put where the Dragon government didn’t care about them.

Kaida swallowed a bite of goat meat hard and nearly choked on it. She didn’t expect that kind of topic to be brought up. She looked over at her mother beside her to gauge what she knew about it. With her mother’s eyes wider than her own, Kaida realized this was news to her as well.

“How about we change the subject to the ceremony? I think that would be a much better topic than this for the kids,” Dracul offered.

“These two are to become the next King and Queen. They will be dealing with the same things we are discussing right now in a few weeks. Why not get them used to it before they have to deal with it on a daily basis?” Gemar growled.

The entire time Kaida had spent in the castle and around this man, she thought he was an intimidating presence and somewhat of an asshole. She knew they would have to do these things eventually; that was kind of a given, but there was no need to make it something that was a mandatory topic to discuss during a dinner that was supposed to help them learn more about her.

No one spoke a word for a few minutes. She could almost hear the seconds ticking by as silence nearly choked them from how thick it was inside the room. Kaida found herself staring at Enzo, who was seated across from her, silently begging him to get the conversation to move past this one.

“Well, what are your thoughts on this matter, Dracul?”

Dracul cleared his throat, “I don’t think it would be beneficial to the realm if we send our children to Outcast Island at such a young age.”

“If they are not going to be a functional member of our society, why bother keeping them here?” Gemar proposed.

“Just because they do not show signs of their dragon before fifteen doesn’t mean they won’t emerge. We have records of late bloomers throughout our history, and some have become strong dragons that are members of our military,” Dracul fired back.

Seeing her father getting emotionally charged with defending her made Kaida feel more loved than ever before. Dracul was Gemar’s right-hand man. If anyone could make the King see the error of his judgment, it would be her father.

“You make a fair point,” the King grumbled.

Kaida let out a small sigh before taking another forkful of her goat dish into her mouth. She thought things would turn over to the ceremony like her father originally tried to bring up, but she was wrong.

“Kaida, how are you adjusting to your dragon’s emergence now? I hear that she can be quite fiery,” Nande asked with a smug smile.

Kaida felt like the food in her stomach was heavier, and she wanted to throw it all up at the sound of her dragon being brought up. The smile on the Queen’s face didn’t help either. It was almost as if she knew that Kaida didn’t have her dragon and was challenging that.

“It’s been difficult. She is quite fiery and stubborn. She doesn’t get along with anyone, so it’s hard to allow her out.”

“Yes, I heard that’s what you have been saying. Dracul, Audra… what have you been doing to assist her with this? I’m sure your dragons are plenty dominant enough to reign it in.” Gemar seemed to know exactly where to strike.

“Actually, no. Kaida’s dragon is proving to be more dominant than ours, combined even. We have tried separately and together, but nothing seems to work. Instead, Kaida’s dragon lashes out and tries to engage in battle instead of simmering down,” Audra explained while nonchalantly eating her meal.

“That is rare. I expect that from more of our line than yours,” Gemar challenged.

Kaida could feel her father’s anger radiating off him. Kaida wasn’t sure why her father wouldn’t expect the king to say something like this. She heard that he had trouble with people possibly being able to challenge him and win. With her parents saying they couldn’t control her dragon, it put Kaida above them in dominance and the hierarchy, which wasn’t something to be expected or be taken lightly.

“It just seems like Kaida was truly meant for Prince Enzo then. Her dragon will be a fierce addition to the royal line if she is more powerful than ours.” Her mother’s words felt like they were laced with venom.

Kaida couldn’t help but smile at that. She looked up at Enzo, and she wished she didn’t. His face conveyed that he was thinking about something… and it wasn’t adding up. Like he was taking in the words of her being so strong and wondered if they were actually true.

“Kaida, why don’t you shift for us, and we can see if we can reign your dragon in. It would help with the shifts and for you to be able to control her while she is out.”

Kaida panicked. There was no way that was happening. Not once did she even feel a second of magic bubbling under her skin that would mean that a shift was coming. That meant, even if the King and Queen used their power to pull the shift out of her, it still wouldn’t work. Without the magic of the shift being possible, it wasn’t going to happen.

“Thank you, Your Highnesses, but she does not feel like shifting at the moment. It would be bad if I tried to pull her out right now. She would just break everything and possibly light someone on fire. It’d be best to let her be.”

“Well, it would be nice to be able to see this dragon of yours since it seems to be nothing but trouble,” Nande pushed.

“Honestly, she isn’t in the mood. She would just be pissed that I pushed for a shift. I’m sure you can understand that. I hear everyone has times that their dragon doesn’t want to and gets moody when it’s forced.”

Nande and Gemar looked at one another. Nande gave a small shrug and continued to eat her meal. Gemar rolled his eyes and continued to eat as well.

“Yet again, that is a fair statement. However, I think it would be good for us to assist with the next shift. May help her calm down when in our presence.”

Kaida just nodded as she chewed on her food.

Crisis averted… for now.