Chapter Thirty

Levi

A fter carrying Jakub back to his own bed several hours later, I paused at the door to my bedroom to stare at the gorgeous figure tangled up in my sheets.

Our sheets? Was Sarah going to be a permanent fixture there now? In our bedroom? I certainly hoped so, and it seemed she wanted it as well. Especially given the look in her eyes as she'd stared at me over Jakub's head. My comment about having more children had blindsided her, but she'd recovered. The smile had never left her face.

I couldn't wait to go through the process of creating a life with her. From start to finish, the next time, I would be there.

Sarah let out a contented sigh as she rolled over and fell into a deeper slumber. Deciding to let her be, I padded down over to my office and sat down at my desk to think. Relaxing back into the cushioned chair that I'd mounted Sarah upon only a few hours earlier, my eyes landed on the mess strewn about the desk surface.

I'd also fucked her while she sat on the edge of the desk, her legs wrapped around my waist.

Smiling at the memory of her clawing my back as I plunged deep inside her tight pussy, I started to straighten things out, and my fingers brushed against a thick manila envelope. The one that contained the plans from Malakai.

Grimacing, I picked it up and looked through some of the notes. It was all very intricate. Diagrams, timings, he had the whole assault planned out. I had to admit, it appeared he was right. If the manpower was available, we could do it. Storm the palace, grab the sovereign, and effect a transfer of power to someone voted in. As it should be. The future of our race would look very different.

The future.

My head turned to stare through the walls to where my son slept. He was the future. My future.

Fingers tightened on the plans as I considered just how much everything had changed upon learning I was a father. I had to think about him now and put him first. Above myself.

Which meant being there for him. I'd missed all too much of Jakub's life already. He needed me to show him what it meant to be a dragon. He need me to be a dad . I would not be an absentee father for any longer.

The dream of rebellion had to be put aside. I couldn't resist being caught or killed. Nor could I expose Jakub—or Sarah, for that matter—to any of the risks I would be taking. I had to look out for them. That was my job. My duty, as I saw it.

Rising from the desk, I tucked the notes back into the envelope and tossed it on the desk. My decision was made.

Heading for the roof with my conviction strong, I shifted into my dragon form. My ruby-red wings spread wide to catch the first hints of light on the horizon. Powerful muscles twitched, flinging me into the air. My wings snapped down, propelling me even higher as I took to flight, picking up speed as I went.

Malakai was my best friend. He had been since we were kids. If anyone could understand what I was feeling, it was him. He would understand I couldn't go any further.

Lights came on as I landed outside his house, making no effort to conceal my arrival from the occupants.

"Levi?" a sleepy Malakai called from his bedroom window. "Is that you?"

"I need to talk to you," I returned, suddenly antsy about the entire situation. "Sorry for waking you."

"It's fine," Malakai called, casually stepping out of his window and dropping to the ground below, his legs barely bending to absorb the impact. He walked toward me, ignorant of his own nudity. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

He glanced behind me and into the sky as he asked, assessing whether I was alone or not.

"No, nothing like that," I said, dismissing it with a wave. "Not in any trouble."

"Then why are you here at this time of night?"

"I can't."

One perfectly manicured eyebrow arched upward. "Come again?"

"The assault. The palace. I-I can't do it," I said uneasily.

"What?" Malakai came fully alert and upright, something dangerous stirring in his eyes as they fixated on me much more intensely. "Why not?"

The question was a razor-edged sword. If I told Malakai the truth, there was no predicting his reaction to the revelation I had fathered a child with a human. Until that moment, I'd thought it unlikely he would do anything rash, but it wasn't the first time I'd seen that colder, unpleasant nature of his start to show through. I would not risk putting Jakub in danger that way.

"It's a long story," I said, trying to deflect. "I'll write your speech still. Don't worry. I'm still on your side. I just …"

"It's that human woman," he spat angrily. "Isn't it? She put you up to this."

I respected Sarah, and she respected me. That said, neither of us was subordinate to the other, and I resented the implication that not only she was the type to make me submit, but also that I would . My hackles rose, and I swayed a little closer.

"Don't make assumptions about what you don't understand," I said coldly. "I'm still the man you know. There are simply other things that call me that I must attend to at this time."

Malakai sneered, and I frowned. Where was my best friend? The boy I'd experienced life with, daydreaming about when we would someday free our people from the tyranny of unelected rule. What had happened to that dreamer? Where had that anger come from?

"This close to our goal, and you walk away," he said, shaking his head. "What happened to the Levi I used to know?"

He became a father.

The response died before reaching my lips. That secret had to stay with me until I could figure out how to keep Jakub and Sarah safe from whoever it was who was talking to me. Until Malakai could sort his head out.

"I could say the same of you," I said gently. "Is everything okay? You're not acting like yourself, Malakai."

"He's fine."

I looked up as Lydia slipped off the windowsill, dropping to the floor, wearing a silk nightie that left almost nothing to the imagination. She sashayed closer, cozying up to Malakai, pressing her right breast firmly against his arm in a display that could not have been accidental.

"Levi here is getting cold feet," Malakai said.

"It's not cold feet," I growled defensively.

"You'll come around. There's still time, Levi. Time for you to come to your senses about this."

I wondered idly if perhaps that was what I was doing. Just not in the way Malakai wanted.

"My senses are fine, my friend. I simply can't be there. I can't fight. Not at this time. I'm sorry. As I said, I'll write you the speech. I still believe in the cause. I want to see it succeed."

"I will succeed," Malakai said icily. "You will be there with me when it happens."

"Listen to yourself!"

Raising my voice was the wrong move. Lydia leaned in and whispered something into his ear, which only hardened the frown in place on my best friend's face.

I ached on the inside. What was she telling him? What was her purpose? Was she trying to turn us against one another? Why?

"I'm sorry, Malakai," I said, moving to go. "I can't join you. Not now."

There was a long silence behind me as I shifted back into dragon form.

"Levi!"

The voice was sharp, wicked. My long neck curved around, until I stared down my snout at the pair of them. So much smaller now.

"Don't do anything stupid," Malakai spat with threatening precision.

I exhaled slowly, allowing a puff of smoke to curl up from my nostrils. It was my only answer.

Spreading my wings, I rose into the air and left them behind, more uneasy and unsettled than before I'd arrived.