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When they arrived at the house, Beckett pointed at a bench that was outside the door under the porch. Kaida let out a huff as she plopped down on the wood of the bench. Beckett hid the smile he had on his face so she didn’t see how amused he made her. Until she was fully ready to accept the bond between them, he didn’t want her to know that she already had him in the palm of her hand. It didn’t matter to him that they had spent very little time together. He could feel it. She was everything he needed.
As he walked into the house, he heard a commotion from the kitchen. Arlo and himself were usually the cooks, given that they were more patient than Esen and Blaze. However, judging from the number of things dropping and metal clanging, Beckett assumed Blaze was in there and failing every step of the way. Beckett rolled his eyes knowing that he would have to clean everything up because Blaze would be too pissed off that nothing went his way because he didn’t know how to actually cook. No matter how many times he tried and how many times Arlo and he taught him how, Blaze managed to burn, under season, make things too dry, or overcook everything he touched. Beckett made his way in there, and his assumptions were correct.
The kitchen was a disaster.
Splashes of red sauce covered the walls, the sink was piled high with every dish in the room, noodles and boiled-over water covered the stove and counters. There were even remnants of whatever he was cooking all over the floor and Blaze as he stood over a plate on the counter. Beckett stared at his friend for a good solid minute as he noticed pieces of noodles in his hair. He didn’t understand how this level of a mess was created.
“The fuck did you do, man?” Beckett asked as he scanned the kitchen once more to try to comprehend what had happened in there.
“What’s it look like I did? I cooked for myself.”
As he opened his mouth to respond, Beckett felt something drop on his shoulder. He slowly leaned his head back and examined the ceiling. It was painted red from the sauce with very few spots of white visible. Another drop dripped onto his forehead, nearly into his eye. Beckett slowly lowered his head back down and narrowed his eyes at Blaze. When Blaze returned Beckett’s glare with a smirk, Beckett damn near blasted him with water.
“H-how? How did you make this big of a damn mess?”
Blaze took a look around and shoved another fork full into his mouth. “I’m not even sure. I just know that the blender needs that cover thing on it before you hit the power button.”
Beckett shook his head as he waved hands over in the direction of the floors, walls, and ceiling. With his Tidal magick, Beckett was able to clean everything off. He made sure to leave the stove, counters, and sink untouched. Blaze took another look around before he growled.
“What the fuck, bro? Couldn’t clean everything?”
“Nope. You can clean that shit up. You made the mess, you clean it. Where are Esen and Arlo?”
Blaze snarled before answering, “Upstairs.”
After a few shouts, Esen and Arlo begrudgingly stomped down the stairs. Arlo took a look at the mess that remained, chuckled, and then sat down on a stool on the other side of the counter from Blaze. Esen sat down next to Arlo, not saying a word.
“Seriously? Did you have to dirty every damn pot and pan in the house for this?”
“I kept messing it up.”
“Next time, just wake my ass up, and I’ll cook for you.”
“Guys. I found an answer to the question we’ve been asking ourselves for years.” Beckett said to them.
All three of them looked at him. He knew it would get their attention. Hell, he knew what he had to offer was not something they would ever just pass up. Kaida was the hidden key that they never expected. And Beckett would be damned to let it slip through all of their fingers.
Twenty
Kaida sat outside of the home of the Fearsome Four, and her thoughts trailed off to trying to understand how she ended up there. If someone had told her a month ago this is what she would be doing as opposed to being bonded to her Fated Mate, she would have thought they were insane. A week ago, she was a Princess of Dragaal, betrothed to the future king, and her destiny was in her own hands. Now she was sitting outside the house of four pissed off dragons who held her future in their hateful hands instead.
The Great Dragon better know what the hell they are doing.
Afleeting thought of Enzo caused her chest to throb with pain. Kaida leaned her head back on the golden yellow siding as she rubbed her chest. Without Beckett’s presence, it wasn’t going to subside. She groaned as the pain seared its way through her chest, making it hard to breathe.
When will this pain go away?
An image of Enzo’s gorgeous smile came to mind. She tried to banish it to the depths of her mind, but she clung to it. It was a much better image of him than the one she remembered just before he shifted into his dragon and brought her here. She gasped as another throb of pain coursed through her. Kaida slowly curled into a ball on the bench. A tear slid down her cheek as she tried to take several deep breaths. She could feel herself losing consciousness as the pain became too unbearable. Then the pain was replaced with a warmth that Kaida was unsure of where it was coming from. It was the weirdest sensation she had ever felt. It was like there was static underneath her skin. Heat burned inside of her as if her blood was lava. It bubbled up her chest and into her throat. She managed to turn her body just in time before dry heaving. Stacks of black smoke billowed out of her mouth as she coughed.
Then, suddenly, whatever it was just stopped.
Kaida panted as her eyes widened at the sight of the black smoke that had just come from her mouth dissipating into thin air. She couldn’t understand what had just happened to her. Not once in her life did anyone tell her this happened to them. Was this part of the rejection? Or was this something else entirely? She didn’t know.
There was a commotion inside the house that caught her attention. It was slightly muffled, but she could hear two sets of feet coming down the stairs from inside the home. It was odd to Kaida that she could hear it because usually, her ears wouldn’t pick up on such things.
What is happening to me?
It was quiet once again. The only thing she could hear was the birds chirping as they basked in the sun. Everything subsided like it had all been a dream. There wasn’t an inkling of the power she felt; there was no pain from the mate bond to Enzo either. Kaida sighed as she contemplated going to see Aiden to ask if she was capable of giving a medical exam with her magic. Most doctors in Dragaal were Witches, so Kaida figured Aiden would know how to perform it.
