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Enzo shook his head at his father. The fact that he was already starting to raise his voice was evidence enough that this conversation was not going to go well.
“The Great Dragon chose Kaida for me. She was createdfor me.No one else in this kingdom was chosen for me. She was. I am not someone who thought challenging a God was exactly a smart thing to do, but if you think you know better than me. By all means, explain to me why you think how the woman chosen for me is not the perfect mate for myself. Not to mention, her father is the second most powerful dragon in the kingdom aside from us.”
“It is quite simple. If she does not have a dragon, she cannot be queen. And before you start mouthing off some more, I have an offer to put an end to this.”
“Please, do tell.”
“Have her shift in front of us. That will end the question if she has a dragon or not.”
This time, it was Enzo who snarled. He rose to his feet as he stared down at his father. “I will not force my mate to shift in front of you for your entertainment. There is no questioning this matter. It is a known fact that some people do not experience their first shift right away when they come of age! Even if she doesn’t have her dragon, it doesn’t matter! Kaida is the mate that the Great Dragon themselves created to be my perfect mate. Who the hell am I to question that? If your Fated Mate showed up right now, would you destroy the bond with Mom for this person? I guarantee that you would! Because you know for a fact that your Fated Mate is not something that you question.”
Gemar rose to his feet, “You insolent child! You know nothing of the choices that I would make! How dare you insinuate that you do! I will tell you this right now, Enzo. If you do not have that child shift to show you her dragon, I will kill her before you can bond yourself to her. I will not have someone who does not have a dragon to sit on that throne. As King of Dragaal, it is my duty to ensure that the best person fit to rule the realm sits on the throne and governs our nation.”
“I will not force her to do shit, and you can’t make me.”
Gemar’s eyes flashed green. Enzo only remembered seeing his father’s eyes do that a few times in his life. It was never a good thing when this happened. Enzo was pushing it, but he didn’t care. Kaida was his mate, and he would die for her if it came down to it. That was what any dragon would do for their Fated Mate, and Enzo was not going to be any different.
Neither of his parents said anything else. They both stood up and walked out of Enzo’s suite. The tugging inside of his chest returned, this time stronger than ever. Enzo knew that he needed to go to Kaida now. He needed to get her out of her room. There was no way in hell that he was going to allow his father anywhere near her alone until after they were bonded. He was going to protect her at all costs from Gemar’s wrath. Enzo already knew that his father’s threat was binding. Gemar would kill her if Enzo didn’t take every measure he could to make sure that it didn’t happen.
I need to get her out of this castle right now for a bit. Let my father cool down before he does something drastic, and Cirrus chooses that this was the day that he snapped.
Four
Kaida’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Enzo’s deep voice say mate as he looked deeply into her eyes. The intensity of the stare that their eyes were locked in sent a shiver down her spine. She could see a fire burning inside them, a need for her so powerful that it made her breath catch inside her throat.
“What is your name?” he asked her, his deep voice resonating as a growl.
Kaida swallowed hard before answering. It was difficult to answer as her mouth went dry as he towered over her. “Kaida Hilmir.”
“Kaida.” It sent warmth to her chest to hear him say her name in a purr. “The Gods have decided to bless me with my Fated Mate just when I start looking for my Queen. They must know what they are doing to save me from finding someone who would end up being unfit.”
There were quite a few snarls around them, but Enzo unleashed a wave of power that rolled off him into the room. Kaida heard everyone become silent when he did. Enzo looked over to her father and gave him a smile.
“Dracul, a pleasure to see you again.” There was a subtle hint of an intimidating tone in Enzo’s voice. Kaida was unsure of why it was even there. Her family had been a loyal family to the throne for hundreds of years. There was no sense in even wanting to intimidate her family when they would freely give what the Styrmir family asked of them.
Her father gave Enzo a nod, “a pleasure to see you, too, Prince Enzo.”
Enzo turned to the others within the room with a bright smile. It was the first time since Enzo said “mate” that she remembered anyone else in the room with them. Every single one of them had their eyes fixed on Kaida. Each girl glared at her, and she could feel their hatred from across the room. Kaida smirked at them and then looked back in Enzo’s direction.
“Greetings to you all! I am humbled by the fact that you all promptly arrived at my request. This is proof as to why the Kingdom of Dragaal is not in shambles compared to the other four kingdoms within our world. You all understand the importance of coming together and choosing the best mate that the kingdom has to offer when it is time for a new generation to take over the throne. The Dragon Gods are proudly smiling down on us as they guided us all to come together to bring me, my mate!”
Everyone gave him a joyful cry and a smile with his exclamation. There was no way they would allow their disgust to show for too long.
“Everyone must rest for the festivities that will be held in mine and my new Queen’s honor!” Enzo looked at Kaida, the fire in his eyes still blazed. “We will gather all the families in Dragaal and bring them together to announce our engagement!”
Kaida stepped closer to Enzo, threw her hands out, and decided to add her comments to salt the wounds on her foes within the room. “I cannot wait to share this excitement with you all! A Fated Mate pairing as King and Queen will only enhance the realm within this next generation!”
Enzo beamed with pride as Kaida made her comments. The faces within the room all showed excitement and happiness for the prince. However, the tension in the room intensified as the other four girls momentarily glared in her direction when Enzo’s eyes were no longer on them.
Things are gonna get heated up.
* * *
Two days had passed since Enzo had identified Kaida as his Fated Mate. During that time, she was told that she should be sure to find a suitable dress for the engagement party. Kaida found it to be incredibly weird that Enzo did not want to spend any time getting to know one another in that time, but she would not dare question it. He was the prince! Her ticket to an incredible life despite not having her dragon emerge had shown up with a huge thanks to Fate. There wasn’t a chance in hell she would ruin it.
Kaida made sure to bring her mother along when finding a dress. Not once in her life did she ever attend an engagement party, so she was clueless about what kind of expectations there were on the type of dress she would need. Obviously, she knew it would have to be formal, but there was a general code when it came to dragons. There was always something hidden in their choice of garment. Most simply would dress themselves in their dragon’s colors to show how grateful they were to their dragon. Others sometimes had hidden broches, a small color within the threads that only someone who was trained to focus on minor details could find, and even symbols sewn onto it for all to see.
I doubt I need to make that kind of impression during an engagement party. Though, dragons do have a nasty habit of being territorial and hot-tempered. One false step, and I will be seen as an outcast.
