10. Drake

TEN

DRAKE

T halia had cocked her eyebrow with uncertainty, and he took a step toward her.

He was elated when she did not move away.

"I am beyond pleased that you noticed. You are right, Thalia. There is an attraction between us, and it exists beyond the reaches of your human comprehension."

She scowled at him, and he shook his head, still grinning like a fool and waving his hands in the air.

"I do not mean to insult you. What I mean is that my interest in you is not merely of the physical variety. It is in some ways cosmic."

Thalia was still frowning with befuddlement. The king cleared his throat and tried to gather himself before telling the gorgeous woman standing before him that it had been divined in the stars above that their very souls were destined to be stitched as one.

It was a lot to articulate, but nothing had felt more right in the king's entire life.

"Thalia, from the moment I first laid eyes on you in your human village, I knew you were my mate. A mate is something that shifters have, a single person on this damn planet that we are intended to be entangled with. For me, that is you ."

Thalia's body language did not express the same unease as it had during their first encounter, and even throughout their journey across the kingdom.

"I am not sure I understand," she said, narrowing her gaze at him. "I have not heard such a phrase. I grew up around only humans."

"Understandable," the king said. "It is something that was decided before either of us was a twinkle in our parents' eyes. Not all shifters find their fated mate, which makes this rare and precious."

The king was delirious with joy, but he didn't want to push Thalia further into the shadows. She was warming to him; he could feel it. He had to treat her like fine silk.

He went on, the dazzling gold of her eyes encouraging him.

"What that also means is that as Dragon King, I am meant to be with you, the Creation Sorceress. We are meant to enhance one another's strengths and bring stability and prosperity to the kingdom."

Her lovely forehead creased again. "Does that mean your mother was a Creation Sorceress as well?"

Drake's heart swelled with grief. He shook his head.

"Sadly, my mother and father were not fated mates. As I stated, not all shifters find their mate over their lifetime. Many wed out of duty."

She bobbed her head, the skepticism on her face fading.

"Also, it has been generations upon generations since a Creation Sorceress has lived within the kingdom. That renders you even more of a rare discovery."

He was grinning madly, but the king watched as something disparaging crystallized in the witch's face. He felt the weight of her fear on his back like a suit of armor.

The king moved toward her faster than before, opening his arms to soothe her angst. But the closer he moved, the deeper her scent seeped into his skin, the faster his heart raced, and the louder his dragon shrieked.

Drake could no longer hold himself back. He laced his arms around her waist, then let them rest on her lower back. She lifted her chin to him. The plum petals of her lips parted for him, and that was all he could take.

The great Dragon King pressed his mouth against the Creation Sorceress. They both expressed a sigh of relief as her hands glided up his chest and enmeshed themselves in his hair. He opened her mouth once more with a low rumble of a moan, welcoming the dance of their intertwining tongues as the kiss bloomed with excruciating passion.

It lasted for a mere flicker of a moment. Thalia pulled away, breathless, her hands still snaked around his head.

"This is…. a lot," she said, eyes like diamonds. "This is a lot to take in. We should stop for now. I must see my father."

Holding Thalia in his arms felt natural. The king mustered his patience and understanding to let her slip away while his dragon continued its relentless whimpering.

We must wait so as to not scare her off. The human has a lot to learn.

Drake led her through the palace with his hands folded behind his back, walking in a daze. He kept flicking his tongue out secretly to taste her scent of wild berries and pine needles. It was a facet of his shifter nature, but he didn't want to freak her out so he did it discreetly when she could not see.

"Your father is just down the hall from our suite," he said as they hovered under the torchlight. "The king and his mate have their private wing of the castle. That includes a kitchen, a drawing room, a dining room, a library, a study, and of course, three guest rooms."

She listened intently, her hands clenched together into nervous balls.

"You trust whoever roams the halls of your wing?" she asked with a stern tone that surprised the king.

"I only allow my most loyal servants and housekeepers into my private wing. That is why you saw Sorcha, and why Nerin is keeping an eye on your father."

They stopped at a tall door. Drake turned the iron knob, opening the door carefully.

Despite it being early morning, the guest room swam in darkness. Nerin was sitting with a book next to a small glow of lamplight. He gave the king a smile and raised a single finger to his lips. Evanth was asleep in the mammoth-sized bed.

Thalia studied him like a hawk. Drake leaned down and whispered into the shell of her ear, thrilled by the way goose bumps bloomed along her neckline.

"We should let your father rest. He is safe under Nerin's supervision, I promise you. You must be hungry."

On cue, Thalia's stomach growled. Her cheeks ran crimson, and she stepped out of the doorway and back into the hall.

"You're right. I'm famished."

The king gave his mate a brief tour of the castle as they ambled their way toward the private royal kitchen. He watched her the entire time with the ferocity of an archer or a predator stalking its prey.

She was fascinated by the affluence and lavishness, but there was still that doubt lodged in the crux of their interplay. Drake was willing to do anything to gain her trust and fondness, even if it meant following her limited human lead.

As much as it made him surly.

When they arrived at the kitchen, his private chef demanded curtly what Thalia's favorite meals were. She was hesitant, answering with a meek tone.

"I have never been waited on before," she confessed to the king. "I have been caring for my father for so long that this feels unnatural."

They sat at their own dining table while the chef served them over-easy eggs and the most robust and moist loaf of sourdough bread Thalia had ever eaten. The king spoke to her pensively as he pulled the loaf apart, steam rising between them.

"You are never going to have to cook or clean again, my sweet," he mused. "Unless you enjoy the act. In which case, I will get rid of my staff so you can cook and clean to your heart's content."

She let out a gentle, melodious laugh. But Drake went on soberly.

"I meant every word I uttered earlier, Thalia. You are my mate which means whatever your heart desires, you will get. I will make all of your dreams come true. I promise you."

Thalia's jovial gaze melted away like ice under a stifling sun. She returned her glance to the eggs, lifted a utensil, and began to eat.

"These are lovely," she said quietly.

The king scolded himself as he dipped a chunk of sourdough into the slather of butter on his plate. He had to pull back the reins, just a bit. He had to resist the impulse to shower her with gifts and posh promises. Though he was capable of giving her, quite literally, anything she wanted, he could overwhelm her as well.

She wanted her father to heal. His abilities could not help her there, but her education with Sorcha could. He had to wait and let her grow comfortable enough to come to him.

His dragon wanted her. He wanted her. But he had to earn her desire first.