Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

THEO

Rivulets of sweat cascaded down my body, drenching my shirt and trousers until they clung to me like a second skin. Even after shrugging out of my coat, the heat in my chambers was suffocating. The fire roared relentlessly, casting an orange glow over the opulent furnishings that adorned the room. In all my years of occupying this room, the fireplace had served as mere decor, until now.

I swore to myself things wouldn’t change when I brought my wife home, and here I was, less than two hours into her arrival, making a liar out of myself.

An undine dragon king, catering to a mere human.

As I gazed upon her sleeping form sprawled on my bed, my initial instinct was to call her a wench under my breath. But instead, I found myself mesmerized by the gentle rise and fall of her chest beneath the furs that Lucius had dropped off at my door as I got her settled.

I never thought such a derogatory term could begin to feel like a term of endearment, but she had a way of turning everything upside down.

Lucky me.

I’d need to find a new word of insult, and soon.

The thought had a scowl gracing my face as I turned to look out the balcony I’d landed on with her in my clawed grip earlier, fearful that I’d been too stubborn in my actions with her thus far, bringing her to the brink of death.

Lifting a glass of scotch to my lips, I took a deep draw from the burning liquid while contemplating the ways this arrangement could turn out.

I wouldn’t weep if she died, but it would be a considerable inconvenience, to say the least. The humans didn’t have another heir to offer me, and despite her father being a shortsighted fool, I didn’t think he’d take fondly to my request for a replacement.

Setting down my empty glass, I shed my shirt and stepped out onto the balcony, letting the frigid winter air embrace me. A fleeting thought crossed my mind to close the doors behind me, for her sake, but I quickly dismissed it, annoyed with myself with how easily I’d fallen into caring for her.

You can’t let her die, Theo.

I reminded myself of this fact repeatedly, ever since watching her fall off of her horse in the distance as she’d broken through the forest. It was absolutely the only reason I’d gone out of my way to ensure her comfort now.

I closed the doors.

As my body began to cool down and my eyes roamed over the icy tundra of my kingdom. The waterfalls were beginning to slow to a trickle as the rivers began to freeze. The town lay covered in a fresh heap of snow from the night, only visible by the torches interspersed throughout to help warm the water dragons who could no longer swim through the land. Normally the rivers remained just warm enough to remain free flowing with the ley lines magic, but in the harsh winter season, there wasn’t enough energy to bolster our affinity powers and keep up with our environment. The worst of it would be behind us in two months time, returning to the perfect balance for both the water and ice dragon’s that occupied Andrathya.

What was I supposed to do with this human if she recovered? She wasn’t suited to our lands, clearly.

She was not what I expected from a human princess, though. No, she was strong-willed and fearless in the face of adversity, despite lacking any elemental powers or ability to shift into a beast like myself. They were foolish traits that would end in her death, as evidenced by our current predicament, and yet, there was something about her that resonated with the dragon within me, causing conflicting emotions to stir.

I had thought to keep her tucked away from the drackya, knowing her presence would cause a stir amongst the unmated ones. Desperate times were upon us, and no longer was my command keeping them under my rule. Over the recent years, more were defying me and heading into the human’s domain, plucking the ones they’d felt a draw to in hopes of finding their mate.

Out of the hundreds of abducted women I knew of, none had managed to form a mate bond. That wasn’t to say their souls weren’t destined, but this blasted curse remained strong in causing them to be repulsed by our appearance and fearful of the beasts we were.

Rolling my head from side to side, the bones in my neck cracked as I tried to release the stiff joints. I ached to plunge into my ice bath, but all of my needs were on hold until I knew if the princess would live or die.

Siyana.

Her name was beautiful, objectively matching her exterior. She would be a feast for the eyes of my people, but they weren’t the only ones to be cautious of. The full-blooded undine dragons nestled into the caves of this very mountain, and if they scented an unmated human amongst their territory in nesting season while their eggs were being safeguarded, she would be dead.

The only option was to keep her confined to my castle, preferably this singular wing of it.

“I see we have a visitor, Your Highness.”

My nostrils flared as I took a deep breath. It was like the chosen representative of the full bloods knew I was thinking of my predicament with them.

“Yes, Alstrid. My human wife that I told you would be joining me.”

As my chosen liaison for them when I was absent, he was privy to more knowledge than any other of his kind, but he was beginning to push my boundaries as of late–like a nagging grandfather.

“She is still unmated. When will you rectify that? The mated pairs will be restless if she comes near, as we spoke about yesterday.”

“Alstrid,” I sighed mentally , “we are so far from wanting to touch each other willingly, unless our lives are on the line .”

That was perhaps a white lie on my part. Interest stirred within my human form upon seeing her in the council room when she stood and defied me in front of all the men. Again, it happened every time her feet plunked onto the ground as she slid off her horse, thinking she was accomplishing an act of defiance.

“You must win her over, then,” he muttered with incredulity.

If I was being honest with myself, there was something that tugged at my being on a deeper level when I regarded her. When the tears had streamed down her face as she called me a horrible person, the need to defend myself and make her understand why I was this way had surged to the surface. Never before had I felt the need to do that, not since I’d killed off the side of me that had sought approval from others.

“Oh, must I?” I rebutted, “You forget your place, Alstrid. I allow our open communication as a means to serve me, not the other way around.”

My lips pinched as Sia’s words from earlier replayed in my head. “What a generous king you are. Your people are so lucky to have you.”

Rage boiled within my chest, blazing as strongly as the fire within my chambers. Little did she know, they were lucky to have me, considering the alternative was the king before me.

“Forgive me, your highness. I merely speak as a concerned subject. I will do my best to spread word of her arrival to the full-blood undines.”

Despite his polite words, I sensed his deep aggravation before the line between us severed.

A huff fell from my lips. I was used to it. Actually, I was used to outright hatred from damn near birth, considering I’d inherited a cursed crown, and therefore all the blame from the undine for what my father had brought upon us.

I could have managed the hatred of my genetic association to my father, but to assume the weight of their blame when he’d taken his own life, in an attempt to escape the consequences of being the reason we’d all been cursed…My lip peeled back as a snarl rumbled through my chest, coming from the core of my dragon.

He was weak and pathetic. We were better off with his body burned to a crisp. He was as useless with a crown on his head as he was as ash floating through the world.

What a fucking inheritance.

I shook my head as I turned back to the doors and crossed into the room that had to be the same temperature as Salarya’s kingdom. How the ember dragons flourished within the volcanic climate was beyond my comprehension, but I supposed they’d say the same of our frost-bitten world.

Instantly, my eyes were drawn to her as I neared the edge of the bed. Her dark tresses were strewn about the soft sheets haphazardly now, as if she’d been tossing and turning since I’d left.

A rumble of appreciation for the thought ran through me. Purely because it meant she was regaining strength if she was able to do so, not because I liked the thought of her wanting me close.

A heavy knock echoed through the room before Lucius cracked the large door open. “I’m turning in for the night, but I wanted to check in on our new queen. How is she?”

My dragon warred within my chest to take control as an overwhelming desire to protect her surged forth. His inquiry into her well-being felt like a slight to my ability to nurture her back to health.

I summed his large frame up, feeling like my chest puffed in response to his words. Would she find his dark hair more appealing, as it was similar to her own? Perhaps the shadow of his beard would draw her in, compared to my clean shaven jaw.

My chest began to rise rapidly as my breathing turned shallow.

I needed to calm down.

Logically, I knew I hadn’t displayed the best ability to keep her safe today, so his inquiry made sense, but the animalistic need to fight off other candidates that could be vying to care for her needs…It was shocking.

It’s because of your dragon’s desires, not your own.

“Get out,” I managed to say between clenched teeth. “Don’t come back.”

I needed to eat and sleep to restore my control over the beast. Never before had I been so at war with him, feeling like we were separate entities for the very first time.

Lucius’ silver eyes widened in understanding before he lowered them to the ground in subservience. The pale blue scales on his forehead shimmered from the fire in the room as he retreated and closed the door behind him.

She’s mine to take care of.

Apparently, I would need to keep all unmated drackya from being remotely near her, until I managed to regain my control. It was just a muscle I needed to train, considering the only women in our kingdom were older, mated pairs from before the curse set in. They only had eyes for their drackya, still.

I’d never known the touch of a woman, or felt the curve of their body beneath my own. It would be an adjustment to have Siyana in my personal chambers, as if she was already my mate. The beast within thought that was the case, having her scent in our domain.

I took a deep breath, noting the citrus, woody, yet floral aroma that had consumed the room despite the crackling embers of the fire also being present. My eyes closed as my dragon rumbled in contentment, knowing we were alone with her once more.

“This is going to be a fucking problem,” I breathed out, still feeling the slight strain from the urge to go to her and mark her.

As my nervous system settled, I reopened my eyes once more and found her eyes–the very ones that reminded me of the glaciers my magic could create–trained on me.

Quickly, I took note of her tanned skin on display when the furs slipped from her shoulders as she pushed to sit and the swells of her breast peaked out. Her head tilted to the side as she took me in.

“Theo, is it?”

She was strong enough to talk—that was an excellent sign.

“You heard my name before passing out, I presume.”

Her hair flew around her as she glanced around, taking in her surroundings. I found I much preferred it down around her like this, after I’d pulled the pins from it. As her gaze turned back to me and roamed my bare chest, a slender eyebrow raised. “Where are my clothes?”

There was a warning in her tone, and I understood the implication.

Folding my arms across my chest, I huffed. “I would never touch you.”

Unbridled fury sparked within her eyes as she glowered and spat, “I’m glad to know you find me as equally disgusting as I do you. Now that that’s settled, where are my clothes?”

The last part was a question, yet the strength in them made the demand clear.

I was too busy fixating on her calling me disgusting, with her misunderstanding of my words. I guess I should have added, without your consent, to my words, yet here we were.

Shoving down the rejection, I found my composure once more. It was of no matter, the marriage was for political gain and the betterment of my kingdom, not for me to lose myself in her flesh.

“They made great kindling,” I offered with a nod to the fireplace they had been tossed into, smiling as her cheeks reddened.

Stripping her of the wet clothes was the only way to ensure I did everything I could to make her warm and give her the best odds of recovery. I had been clinical while removing them from her, only glancing and touching where needed.

Despite being a beast, I still had been taught manners from my mother before she died, and I wouldn’t dishonor her memory by taking advantage of the situation.

It was cute, though, the way she woke up and instantly chose violence.

The thought hit me hard and I scowled. She was not cute, and she was clearly feeling better and needed to leave my bed.

“Did you remove them?”

Her ire was clear in the way she carefully articulated each word.

Heading toward my closet and plucking a long, white tunic from my wardrobe, I grunted in response. I tossed the material at her when I returned, before leaning against the stone wall near the door.

She quickly snatched the tunic before tugging it under the furs and going beneath them. Odd bits of her limbs stuck out as she struggled to put the tunic on under the weight of the furs.

Her attempting modesty was entertaining, considering drackya were open with such things in the shared bathing chambers. I allowed myself the faintest of laughs at her ridiculousness before she reappeared.

She quickly smoothed down the tangled hair that obscured her vision.

She let out a huff, likely to scold me for stripping her, but my hand went to the handle of the door and tugged it open. “As you said, we find each other equally disgusting. I didn’t enjoy it. Now, get out. Your room is at the other end of the hall.”

Her full lips separated as she stared at me in shock. It was only momentary, though, as she found her claws once more and attempted to surge to her feet as she threw the furs from her body.

She didn’t make it far, stumbling like a newborn deer as soon as she tried to put weight on them. Still, despite her strength being far from recovered, she tried to keep going, throwing her hands out in an attempt to regain her balance.

It was honestly pathetic, and as I saw her knees start to give out, I crossed the short distance between us, catching her as she began to fall. The last thing I needed was her to further injure herself. It seemed she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

She settled against my chest as her limp body dangled in my hold, and once more, a rumble came from my core as my dragon stirred.

Our eyes met, both wide but for different reasons.

Mine from embarrassment at her hearing that reaction, and hers from fear, as I’d seen the same reaction when I’d encased her arm in ice with my magic.

It was better this way. Her fear was something I could use to make her compliant to my rules.

“Let me down,” she roared, her body wiggling in a weak attempt to break free.

I sighed in annoyance as I walked back to the side of the bed and held her out over it. “As you wish.”

Dropping her unceremoniously from my shoulder height, I smiled in amusement as she let out a shriek.

“You bastard!”

Padding over to the other side of the large bed, I settled in, giving her my back. I felt the heat of her gaze as I closed my eyes and muttered, “Go to bed, wench.”

We’d see if she survived the night, and tomorrow we’d figure out how to keep her alive with the new dangers awaiting outside these walls.

For the first time that I could remember, I drifted off to sleep with ease as my dragon curled up in peace, feeling her near.