40. Chapter Fifty-Two

Islid from the sheets the next morning leaving Amara naked in our bed. She looked like my version of an angel lying on her stomach, her flawless body moving up and down as she rested.

After the last couple of days, she deserved to sleep in.

I left her to go make a pot of coffee.

To my surprise, Zerk was in the kitchen waiting for me. The look on his face screamed that he wanted to talk. I wasn't sure I wanted to talk to him or anyone. Yet, in a few hours, I'd face the kingdom with a plan I didn't have yet to save us.

"Good morning," he said. "I hope I didn't wake you."

I passed him, opened the cabinet door, and slipped a pod into the coffee pot. He waited on me to ready the water and shove my mug underneath the drip before he sighed deeply. "This has been a sideshow from Hell hasn't it?"

"That's one way of putting it. So," I said, grabbing my coffee and sipping the scolding liquid. "May I ask why you're visiting me so early?"

Zerk placed his palms on the kitchen island between us. "I'm coming by to check on Amara. Toby mentioned she lost her powers."

"Can you give them back to her?"

Zerk frowned. "No, and it's not a good idea to go looking for them, Dorran. I'm surprised she didn't have another price to pay. She gave her powers for Toby's life, and trying to find them isn't a good idea."

"I didn't figure so," I said softly. "She's handling it well considering."

"Good," Zerk said softly. "Now, about your parents—,"

"If you're here to tell me what I'm doing is wrong, I don't want to hear it. My father hurt Amara. My mother did nothing to stop him. I will not hear about letting them go right now."

"I understand, but you can't keep them down there forever, Son. Your parents have done a lot of wrong, but they are your parents."

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, and washed it down with the remains of my coffee. "Thank you for the advice."

The unwanted advice.

"I'm going to make an announcement today to the kingdom. I plan to have every person that can help pick up the debris. I'll hire whoever I need to rebuild the buildings. It's going to be a long process, but manageable if everyone pitches in."

Zerk watched me make myself another cup of coffee. "You seem on edge. Is everything all right?"

I watched the coffee pour into my cup. "Everything is fine."

Several seconds later, I felt his hand land on my shoulder. "Dorran.

I glanced over my shoulder to see the concern on his face. "You can talk to me about all of this, Son. I'll always have an ear for you."

"I'm scared," I said softly. "What if I'm not ready to be King? I never thought it would come so quickly. I wasn't prepared."

Zerk leaned back against the island across from me and crossed his ankles. "A dragon is always ready. Your human may not be ready, but your dragon will guide you. He'll show you exactly what to do."

Swiping my palm down my face, I took a deep breath.

I had so many things running through my brain.

Amara's mental health, her fitting into the kingdom, my ability to rule a kingdom.

None of it sounded easy.

"It's normal to be nervous, Dorran. There is no reason to be ashamed of not knowing if you can handle something. It takes a true man to admit he's afraid."

"I don't like it," I said bluntly. "I've been trained to be strong. To not seem weak."

Zerk walked toward the dining room to look down the hallway. "You're not weak because you have feelings," he said. "You're weak when you can't show them. Amara is waking," he said. "I will let you both enjoy your morning. I'll be around the kingdom today if you need me."

He shut the front door behind him.

I made my way toward our bedroom, finding Amara tying her hair on her head and staring out of the window. I took a moment to take in her bare backside, and the porcelain skin the sun hit just right from the window.

"Good morning."

She turned to look at me, a soft smile on her face. "Today is the day," she said, grabbing a robe slung over the nearest chair. "Are you ready?"

I walked over, stopped in front of her, and watched as she covered up. "I wouldn't call it ready exactly. I have big shoes to fill and I'm not sure I'm ready to do it."

Amara slid her hair from under the back of her robe. "Are you not ready or are you afraid?"

"Both," I answered honestly. "Do you think that makes me weak?"

She blinked lazily. "No. I think that makes you human. Why don't I make us some pancakes before we head down to the kingdom?"

I didn't budge from my spot.

She quirked an eyebrow while waiting for me to say something.

"Are you ready to be my Queen?"

"A human queen," she whispered. "I'm not sure how the people of the kingdom will take that."

I rubbed the pad of my thumb against her mouth. "A human queen is exactly what this kingdom needs. Someone relatable. That understands everyone's needs, not just the dragons. But most of all, I need you, Amara. You know that saying behind every man is a great woman. I believe that to be true. You're going to keep me together when I'm weak. You're going to get me through all of this. We"re going to help one another through this change."

Amara leaned her head against my palm and smiled. "I hope so."

"October is showing out," Amara said, zipping her jacket and looking out over the mountain. The leaves were orange and yellow below and the air felt more frigid than it had in the previous days. "This is my favorite time of the year," she said. "My father would rake our yard and let me jump into the middle of the leaves every year until he passed away. It was the start of the fireplace and hot chocolate weather."

I swept her into my arms. "We can have all of those things. You just have to ask, Little Mouse."

She squealed when I jumped into the air and nosedived toward the kingdom. The closer I grew toward the town the more nerves surged me.

My dragon didn't seem to be bothered. He was ready for anything that awaited him as King of The North Kingdom. It felt odd to have someone inside of me that was so ready for something I dreaded.

We landed on the vacant bridge. Part of me wanted to keep it that way. Maybe another human would find her mate.

I let Amara down. She looked over the edge of the bridge, giving me a look over her shoulder, I reached out and grabbed her. "Don't you dare jump," I hissed, pulling her back. "That isn't a long fall, and what if I can't make it."

She smirked. "I was joking. I wouldn't have looked if I was going to do it."

"Come on before you get too ballsy. Let's see how the castle is managing without a King."

The thunder of nerves on my chest began a drum solo in my lungs.

Smells were coming from the kitchen, the sound of workers rushing around cleaning the castle from top to bottom. Guards stood outside the front doors, and there was laughter in the room.

Amara stopped beside me, wrapped her palm around my forearm, and glanced out at everyone. "Looks like everyone is finding their place," she whispered.

One of the dragons heard her and stopped in the middle of the front room. "Dorran," he said. "We're so glad to have you."

All the workers glared up at me. What were they expecting? For me to say some great speech? Reassure them everything would be okay. Because I wouldn't lie. "It's great to be here," I said, offering Amara my hand. "If you haven't met Amara, she's our new Queen."

Most of the crowd bowed their heads out of respect.

"I'm ready to make an announcement to the kingdom. If one of you would sound the bell."

I turned toward Amara and stepped down three steps to be at eye level with her. The bells rang outside, vibrating the stained glass windows and shattering the nerves inside of me. "Are you ready, Love?"

"Yes," she whispered.

Squeezing her hand, I led her down the steps and out of the front doors. The entire kingdom was gathered in the courtyard. It felt surreal to have them all standing there watching me. I prayed it went differently than the last time.

The guards behind us shut the doors and took their position.

"Good morning," I said as loudly as I could. "As promised, I'm here with a plan for you all. But before we get into the details, I want you all to know something. My parents ruled this kingdom for a very long time. They have done good things, and terrible things throughout their reign. I'm not sure what I will do with them yet because I can't trust them. They tried to kill my mate, and my mother refuses to apologize. When a decision has been made on what will happen to them, I will let you all know. Do not question my authority just because you know me as a Prince."

The only sound in the entire courtyard was the hammering of my heart.

Everyone stared and waited for me to continue.

"As for the kingdom. Anyone who is willing to volunteer for pickup, construction, or plumbing needs to meet me at the corner of Lila and Pecan at noon. We will start there."

Amara stirred beside me. She knew that was her father"s restaurant. I planned to restore it from the ground up and give the people their favorite place to eat back.

"We're running out of room at the Inn for people that lost their homes. There are several families with children that have nowhere to go," a female dragon said.

"Send them here. Amara will make sure that they are set with a room in the castle."

I felt Amara's heart leap into her chest at the mention of interacting with people.

"We need a plumber at the police station. All of our pipes were ripped from the ground in the attack."

"I will see to it that someone comes over today." I waited patiently for anyone else to jump in, and when they didn't, I nodded graciously.

As I'd seen my father do in his younger years.

Back when he had respect for the kingdom and his position.

"Contact any of the castle employees with requests in the meantime. We will build our home back to its glory. Do not be afraid to come to the castle with ideas. I am your King to also listen, not just to rule."

The heavy whoosh of the guards opening the wooden doors blew my hair onto my forehead and invited me inside. I walked with Amara back into the castle, feeling twenty pounds lighter than before.

Amara sighed heavily beside me, which made my dragon laugh.

She'd been holding her breath for most of my announcement.

"Are you okay with helping the families get into the rooms here?" I asked. "Glendora can help point out the empty rooms, and then take over with necessities."

Amara nodded. "Can we be alone for a moment?"

My gaze shifted toward the hallway that led to my father's office.

Which was technically my office.

"Of course."

She followed me down the hallway and into my father's sanctuary. There were all types of things scattered around his desk.

Amara stepped toward me, put her palms on my chest, and shoved me back against the desk. I leaned backward, my legs spread wide and my palms on her hips. "You're going to do great," she whispered before kissing me. "This is going to work. It's going to take time for both of us to fall into a routine. It will take time for me to come into myself as a human again, but this feels right," she said.

I rubbed circles against her hips. "It does, doesn't it?"

"Can we continue to stay in the cabin?" she asked. "I like the privacy. Maybe your brother could watch the castle at night—,"

"Ha," I said sarcastically. "The only thing my brother is going to watch is yet another female come into his room. We'll figure something out."

"What about Toby?" she asked. "Why not put him in charge of something? He loves you as a brother, and he would do anything for our kingdom."

I lifted a brow at her, watching the wheels work in her head. "What?" she asked, a blush flaming her skin.

"You said our kingdom. I like that."

Amara smiled. "Me too."