I saw the truth in his eyes. Felt it surging from him in demanding waves. Of course, his love would be aggressive. It couldn't be anything less.
“Well, since you used my nickname, I guess I can forgive you.”
“Forgive me? For what?”
“For being a dick!” I pointed at him. “You ruined the best moment of my life.”
“It will not be the best moment of our lives for long.” Kaspian smirked and took my hand. “We have much to look forward to.”
“Yeah, uh.” I looked him over, then glanced over my shoulder at all the castle guards who were getting an eyeful of my man. “Let's get you dressed first. No need to share your goodies with the public.”
Kas looked at me, then at our audience, and grinned. One of his knights landed, blocking the view, and then shifted, giving the soldiers something else to stare at. Me as well. Kaspian instantly noticed my focus and lost his smirk. Seeing Sir Vadron in all his masculinity, Kas growled and lifted me off my feet to toss over his shoulder.
I laughed the entire way to his bed. He loved me. I won. Game over.
Chapter Thirty-Six
My days of fighting fire were over. Now, I embraced the flames. Fire, in all its manifestations, would sustain me. I'd never fear it again. Never face death in its embrace.
Interesting fact: most firefighters don't die in a fire. It's usually a heart attack that gets us. Our hearts pay the price of heroism. That much hadn't changed.
I had dared to love an impossible man. A man who wasn't only a man. Dragon. King. Asshole. Literal force of nature. And I lost my heart because of my bravery.
Good riddance.
I tried not to grin as I strode down an aisle with Kaspian. The room we crossed was vast and yet full nearly to capacity. The throne room. Because, duh, there's a throne in it. That's where we were headed—to the dais at the end of the room where the throne perched. A woman waited there too. Kaspian called her the Vas, but that wasn't her name. Some kind of mistress of ceremonies. He said the role used to include keeping a gathering of Dragons in line. Because when you got that many Dragons together, things didn't go well. But that was before they regained their Water Magic and found balance. Now, they weren't so volatile.
Frankly, if this was Kaspian in balance—not volatile—I was grateful I hadn't met him sooner.
But back to our walk. I should have been worried. Somber. It was a momentous occasion, and I was about to be judged by thousands of Dragons. In person. Yup, they were all there, on either side of me. Even worse—if a single one of them found me lacking, Kas would lose his crown. Or me.
But I wasn't worried. I was happy. So fucking happy. That stupid happiness people feel in the flush of love. Kas and I had spent the last few days doing a deep dive into each other. Don't be nasty. I don't mean sex. Well, we had a lot of that too. But it wasn't fucking anymore. We made love. That term used to give me the squiggles—you know, all scrunched up inside and out. Not now. Now, I was one of those annoying fuckers who reveled in the fact that I made love to my man.
That deep dive I mentioned? We spent hours talking. Kas made time for me every day. We always ate our meals together at the very least, but more often, he would take us out into the city for lunch and a stroll. That's when we'd talk. Childhoods, dreams, favorite ice cream flavors. All of it. We bonded in the way I wanted to bond. No magic except for the magic of conversation. And it was more powerful than I knew.
The love that had burst into being between us that day I escaped/he saved me—had grown into something so brilliant and big that it blew my damn mind. I never knew I could feel like this for another person. Lay down my life kind of feelings. Even better—live for him kind of feelings. Yup, I was living for another man. That's what happens when you give your heart away. And I had never been happier.
So, it didn't matter what happened next. Yeah, I'd be upset if Kas had to give up his crown, but I knew he cared more about me than about ruling. He would gladly walk away from all he'd built just to build another life with me. And he'd see it as an adventure. I knew this because we had talked about it. We were both content with whatever life brought us because we'd be living that life together. That kind of security is priceless.
To either side of us stood the Aravult Dread, their expressions solemn. Not grave, but serious. They bowed as we passed by—a wave of big, beautiful people acknowledging the biggest, most beautiful badass in the room. I may have been biased. But hey, Kas won their tournament. I was going by their standards.
At the end of the hall, just before the steps of the dais, stood the most important Dragons—the nobles. Kaspian's parents were among them. They both had Kaspian's deeply tanned skin, and both were blond—his mother had the platinum hair, but neither had his brilliant green eyes. That was all Kas. They nodded at us and smiled, both certain that the presentation would go well.
I grinned back, relieved that I could let it out at last. But Kaspian squeezed my hand and shot me a quelling look. So I pushed my grin down as we climbed the steps. By the time we faced the room, I was looking solemn again. That was the appropriate manner for a non-Dragon mate about to be presented to a dread.
Don't ask me what was said next. I barely remember it. The Vas spoke, and then Kaspian said some nice things about me. I didn't speak. I just looked grim. Until they started coming up to me and welcoming me into their dread. Then I smiled and thanked them, Kas nodding over their shoulders to let me know it was all right. It felt like the reception line at a wedding. “Thank you for coming. Enjoy the food.”
Actually, that comparison is accurate. Every Dragon there came up to me, shook my hand, and welcomed me to the dread. I had dated an Italian guy once, and if we had gotten married, the reception would have been a lot like this. Just switch out hot Dragon ladies for gray-haired nonnas. When the line dwindled down to the last few of them, even Kaspian's lips were twitching. And when the last Dragon welcomed me, the whole room applauded.
I officially became Duke Demetrius of the Aravult Dread. No longer human. Or at least, not in the eyes of my new people. Which was kind of awesome for many reasons. Kaspian would keep his crown, I would keep Kas, and I would get a new tribe. I belonged. As I said, my days of fighting fire were over.
On the walk to the dining hall, I said goodbye to Earth and all my friends there. This was the start of a new life. Eternal life. It was almost like dying and going to heaven. A heaven full of Dragons. A heaven for firefighters.
And then we were feasting. Kaspian and I sat at the royal dining table at the end of the hall, set on a dais in the exact manner of the throne. Speaking of which, there was a throne there too, just behind a table. My chair was nearly a throne, but all that mattered was that it was beside Kaspian's.
“Why do you have a throne room and a dining room?” I asked Kaspian as he filled my plate with food he wanted me to try.
Kaspian glanced at his father, who had chuckled.
