Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

SIYANA

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Theo, there is no other option,” I reasoned, dropping his saddle to the ground, knowing he wouldn’t shift until this was settled.

His eyes locked onto Kaida, who was looking around in awe, seeing as this was his first time out of the mountain. It brought me immense joy to see his eyes widen and his tail flick around as his head craned in every direction, taking in the expansive blue sky that provided an idyllic backdrop to the snowy mountain range. I imagined this is how parents felt when their child first experienced the world with them.

It was a beautiful day for us to head toward Sanctum. Despite truly being in the thick of winter now, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky for the time being, and we really needed to take advantage of that before any came. Rain or snow wasn’t high on the list of things I wanted to experience on this journey. Though, I knew it would be a relatively quick one if Theo would just accept my plan.

Despite knowing I was right, he wasn’t budging because of his ridiculous dragon-sized ego.

“We can take breaks,” he reasoned, arching an eyebrow at me. “This is unheard of, wench.”

Kaida walked toward the edge of the alcove and my heart all but leapt into my throat, scared he’d launch into the sky, not understanding we weren’t in a cave system anymore.

Theo was quick to stand in front of him. “No! You are not allowed to fly out there yet.”

My hands flew into the air. “See! There is no other choice but to let him ride on you with me. He’s going to get lost,” I reasoned, my voice growing panicked, “or he’s going to hurt himself pushing that hard to keep pace with you!”

Nerves clawed at my stomach at the thought of either option. He was just a baby. We couldn’t ask that of him. While he’d made immense progress in his training, I wouldn’t risk pushing him too soon. I’d never forgive myself if he was lost in this big world he knew nothing about, or if he injured his wings during these formative growth phases.

Thankfully, even though his endurance wasn’t quite up to par, he excelled at tapping into his ice magic when training with Theo, earning some hard-to-come-by praise. I’d been assured that the only real threat to him at this point would be an older dragon. However, the unspoken truth still lingered–Theo was only including the threats we knew of in our world. Heading into Sanctum opened us up to a plethora of unknowns, the unfamiliar place full of possible risks to all three of us.

Leaving Kaida behind wasn’t an option either–he threw a fit when I brought it up last night. It would be even more dangerous to try to leave him behind just for him to possibly try to escape and follow on his own.

Kaida hunched down, a low growl coming from his belly as he narrowed his white eyes on Theo. My hand lifted to hide the smile I couldn’t contain. My dragon knew something had shifted between us, and he wasn’t a fan.

Last night, when we’d returned, Kaida had run his nose all over me, huffing and hissing. When we sat to share dinner, Theo had entwined our fingers together, lifting my hand to kiss the back of it, but Kaida was having none of it. He’d woken up from a deep sleep, as if sensing the contact, and made it his business to come sit between us, making it impossible for us to hold hands any longer.

I wasn’t sure if he felt jealous of my relationship with Theo, in the sense that they were both dragons at heart. By nature, they were territorial creatures when they claimed an item or person. It seemed I’d quickly become a prized possession to them both. It could have also been spurred on by my offer for him to stay behind while Theo and I went to Sanctum.

“Don’t take that tone with me, Kaida,” Theo argued, holding his finger up in a scolding manner that made me giggle.

I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d giggled before meeting Theo. It was absurd to think about. I felt like a child with a crush, yet we were already married. Perhaps that was for the best, though, because for some reason, I suspected Theo wouldn’t know what to do with a courting period if it smacked him in the face.

Kaida nipped at the air in front of Theo’s hand, testing his boundaries. To the latter’s credit, he didn’t flinch, standing his ground with clenched fists.

I couldn’t wait for Kaida and me to be able to mindspeak, so we could secretly push Theo’s buttons together. Glee filled me at the thought of the antics we’d get into. While I felt we had a good read on each other’s emotions and needs after a month together, I was eager for him to reach the age where he could reach out and speak to me. I’d quickly learned that as a hatchling, the only person a dragon could communicate with was their mother, but even then, it was with images and not words. Soon, though, he would be able to have short conversations with me. As he grew, so would his energy and strength to focus on the bond for longer ones.

“If you want me to carry you on this journey, you will listen to your queen and behave. Am I understood? I will not be turning back if you fall off and get lost.”

My mouth opened to argue, but Theo eased into my mind. “Wench, I don’t actually mean that. Of course we would find him, but he needs to understand the rules are in place for a reason, to keep him safe.”

Kaida’s head craned around as he widened those big eyes at me. He knew exactly what to do to get me to fold. I pursed my lips, wanting to cave to whatever my little guy wanted, but I knew Theo was right. Much to my chagrin.

I crossed my arms against my chest. “He is right, Kaida. You need to be a good boy and stay right next to me once we find a spot for you to be strapped in.”

His head bobbed up and down before he let out a trill and sat back on his hind legs, waiting patiently now. I crossed over to him and rubbed his chin as the wind rushed into the alcove, whipping my hair around. A rumble of contentment sounded as he dropped his chin further into my hand, as if I could hold the weight of it up. I let out a grunt at the sudden shift.

“We need to get going while the current is still on our side,” Theo warned as I chuckled and pressed a kiss to Kaida’s cheek. “The flight will be relatively quick, as long as Kaida cooperates.”

He was right. Enough time had passed this morning already, with his quick trip back to his castle to deliver my letter to Lucius for my friends that assured them I was fine and to please return home. While I’d wanted nothing more than to see them myself, I feared I wouldn’t leave them if I did. Despite falling into a sense of routine with Theo and Kaida, and being accepted as dragon kin, my heart still yearned for my loved ones from my life before.

Was there a world in which I could have both?

My hand fell to the hilt of the new sword strapped to my side, one that Theo had brought back for me. A comforting sense of peace filled me at the familiar sensation. It had been too long since I’d held a blade, and it meant more to me than I could put into words that he’d truly listened when I spoke of my love of it during our training sessions. I might not have the best hand-to-hand combat skills, but with this, I knew I could offer some form of protection for us.

Kaida began to hop around, his few minutes of behaving quickly over with. I couldn’t blame him. This had to be incredibly exciting, to finally see life outside of the caves, and I was eager to watch him take in the world, but my lips pursed over the current dilemma ruminating in my head.

I hadn’t quite figured out exactly how we were going to anchor him onto Theo, but we’d have to figure it out once he shifted. If Kaida felt the air catch his wings, he would likely take off.

My eyes fell to the supply sack at Theo’s feet, and I arched a brow. “Do you still have a ridiculous amount of rope on you, by chance?”

We’d each had our own and I’d never needed to look at his, but a sneaking suspicion told me he might.

He grinned as he bent over to lift it open. “Why? Are you wanting me to tie you up and do nasty?—”

“Theo!” I snapped, cutting him off with wide eyes glancing between him and Kaida. “Not in front of the baby!”

He stretched back up as my cheeks flushed with heat, thinking of his words. The rope dangled from his hand and my mind drifted to the ways we could utilize it in a manner I would actually like. At least in comparison to our previous experience.

“Kids really ruin everything,” he sighed, walking over to us and extending the rope for me to take. As my hand wrapped around it, he tugged me in toward his chest, wrapping his arm around my lower back. “I haven’t even gotten a kiss today, wench. Don’t tell me you regret what happened yesterday.”

There was an open vulnerability in his tone that shocked me, despite his overall joking demeanor.

My head shook in response. “No, I don’t regret it at all, I just…” I stumbled, drawing my bottom lip between my teeth as I sought the words to explain the roiling mess of emotions I was still sifting through myself.

How did I feel? If I was being honest with myself, all day a nervous energy had buzzed through me anytime the thought of initiating physical contact with him came to mind. At the end of our conversation last night, we agreed to merely take things as they come, but after spending a month fighting our feelings, it felt strange to just…let that go?

His forehead dropped to rest against mine as he murmured, “I was only joking. There’s no pressure to give me physical intimacy, Sia.”

My hands rose to rub against his arms as I took a deep breath. I was so in my head about all of this and here he was, being sweet and merely wanting affection. It was exactly what I should have wanted from him, considering I’d been so scared to wake up today and see if he would be back to the familiar hot and cold dynamic I’d grown accustomed to over the weeks spent with him in our alcove.

I’d laid awake for a majority of the night, my mind running through scenarios of all the reasons that I shouldn’t continue forward with Theo. The main one that haunted my mind was the thought of him having a mate somewhere out there that wasn’t me. I didn’t want to truly open up to him, body and heart, just to have him ripped from me if he found that person.

Warmth covered my cheek as his hand rose to cup it, and my eyes fluttered shut. I’d never been in love in my life, and the draw I had to this stubborn dragon made me think that we could get there one day.

“I’m scared,” I admitted on a heavy exhale, deciding to keep my eyes shut, finding it easier to get the words out this way. “I’m scared to truly give this a chance and find out in the end that you’ll be ripped away from me by your mate, or that you’ll realize you don’t actually want this.”

“Open your eyes.”

The soft demand had me caving, and I found myself wanting to hide away as he pulled back to stare deeply into my eyes. It was odd, being so open with my vulnerabilities, when just yesterday morning we couldn’t even have a normal conversation. While we were taking things slow physically, it somehow felt like the emotional journey was on an expedited course in my heart.

My heart flipped in my chest as he brushed his thumb across my cheek. “I can’t pretend to know what we’re supposed to do now. You’re my first everything, Sia. I’m learning as we go.” He leaned in to press his lips to my forehead, making my toes curl in my boots. “I’ll probably fuck up more than once, knowing me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, enjoying the quick way he lifted the feelings that weighed on my shoulders as heavily as gravity. I took another shaky breath and brought my hand up to rest on top of his, leaning into it as he glanced back down at me.

His lips curved into a soft smile at my touch and I melted. He was invested in this and finally opening up to the possibility of us after rejecting it multiple times. I couldn’t run from him because of the fear that set my nervous system on fire.

I owed him the same chance.

I owed us the chance.

“Yeah, you definitely will,” I agreed, smiling back at him. “I, on the other hand, will be extraordinarily perfect.”

His lips thinned as he glowered at me. A vibration spread from his chest into mine and I smirked.

“What, dragon boy?”

“You make me want to do dirty, unspeakable things to your mouth nearly every time you open it. It’s incredibly trying to hold myself back.”

I pressed up onto my tip toes, throwing my arms around his neck, and his hand settled back around my waist. Teasing his lips with my own, I whispered against them, “Then we better break this curse so we can get back home and put that to the test.”

Home?

His question was full of tentative hope, and my chest exploded with warmth. I hadn’t realized I’d even made the connection that I’d accepted the dragon’s territory as my new home until the words had come from my mouth.

Home.

You are so fucking mine.

His lips crashed against mine and I greedily opened up for him, sweeping my tongue against his as my eyes closed again. The ball of warmth in my chest expanded until my entire body felt positively on fire. It was criminal, the way he lit me up with such ease.

Just as his hand dropped onto my ass, a blast of warm air sent my hair flying forward. I jumped back, whirling to see Kaida staring at me, and despite him lacking an iris, I swear there was an accusation in his eyes.

My dragon was jealous of my other dragon.

How had this become my life?

I leaned back as Theo’s hand gripped my waist, drawing me back into him. His lips came down to rest against the shell of my ear and I shivered as his breath tickled me.

“We need to set some boundaries with our child. He’s really becoming a cock-block.”