I grin. “He’s a male dragon. I’m sure he understands more than you think.”
She shakes her head of beautiful blonde hair, her hazel eyes uncertain even as she says, “We should stay focused.”
“I am focused,” I growl low, and I love the look of arousal that flashes across her face.
“King Sevrin–”
“Sevrin. Always Sevrin to you.”
She bites her lip. “Sevrin. When we get to Stormwrath Academy, we should probably not make it obvious that we slept together already.”
I feel my brows rise. “Why? You’re my wife. My bride. They should have expected that I’d have you already.”
“It’s… complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
Is she embarrassed to be with me?I hold my breath, waiting for her answer, stomach turning. I’m the King of the Hollowborn. Any of my kind would be proud to be with me, but I’m aware her people are my enemies, and that I might not be much of a prize to them.
She releases a deep breath and leans back against me, making me instinctually hold her closer. If that’s even possible. “The king’s sons, Prince Alaric, Prince Gareth, and Prince Lucien, have been other dragon riders at the academy since I became a dragon rider just a few weeks ago. We’ve had… a strained relationship. They weren’t exactly happy about a female dragon rider. Especially not one who wasn’t nobility and who was riding the only male dragon at the academy. And they made sure I knew that–”
“They weren’t kind to you?” My chest starts to feel heavy. Tight.
“Not exactly.”
Anger courses through my blood. “I’ll handle them.”
She turns to look at me, eyes wide. “No. No, that’s not what I meant at all. Yes, it’s true that they weren’t always kind to me, but it’s more that our relationship is complicated. I, well, I care about them. And they care about me too, I think.”
“You think?” My emotions bounce from anger to confusion. “They knew about this arrangement before I did. Didn’t they make their feelings toward you clear?”
“Not exactly. We are, apparently, destined to be together because Ebron chose their dragons as his mates, but that truly doesn’t seem to mean much. We don’tfeellike we’re supposed to be together in most ways. I don’t have a clue how they actually feel about me, but I know they feel possessive of me.”
I shake my head. “It takes a certain type of man to think he possesses a woman while offering her nothing in return.”
She cocks her head at me, studying me. “You think so?”
Leaning forward, I kiss her until she pulls back, dragging in a ragged breath. “I know so. You deserve better than them, and I’ll make certain to give you, not just my heart, but the whole world. They’ll hardly be able to compete with me when their offering is nothing but boyish jealousy.”
She surprises me by smiling. “You’re completely unexpected. You know that?”
I gather her in my arms, pressing her against me. “If you like that, I’ll continue to be unexpected. All our days.”
She laughs, but then worry creeps across her face again. “I really want this to go well. Marriage is forever. You, me, and them, we’ll be linked forever. Not only do I need to get along with all of you, you have to learn to get along with each other too.”
Perhaps. Or perhaps these boys will act like fools, and I’ll have the beautiful Harper all to myself.
“I think it’d go better if we dialed down our affection and didn’t make it so clear that we’d been intimate.”
I sigh. “But I want to shout from the rooftops that you’re mine.”
She touches my cheek. “Sevrin. I know, but that will only make them angry. The last thing I want is to make things worse.Two enemies are coming together in peace. That’s something that will help both our people. That needs to be the focus.”
She’s right, my wise mate. “Alright, I will do what I can to stay true to myself and ease the little boys’ jealousy, but I will not lie about the nature of our relationship.”
“Okay,” she says, rewarding me with a light kiss.
This woman. She is my everything. She is the sky, the stars, the sun, and the moon. When I look at her, I see forever. Her in my bed. Her swollen with my child. Her holding my hand when we’re old. I would fight for her. I woulddiefor her.
