AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Enzo made a face. "You're kind of right on that. Last I heard, we have a couple hundred. We haven't really faced war since..."
Kaida knew why Enzo trailed off. The last war Dragaal had was between the Storm Dragons and the Elementals. Hundreds of years ago, there was no real reason to have a big army. The other kingdoms rarely caused an issue with each other. They mostly stayed in their lane, and that hadn’t exactly changed since then.
The three men glared at Enzo, and Kaida hid a laugh behind her hand. "Stop, guys. Enzo had nothing to do with that war." She paused briefly and scrunched her face. "Neither did you guys. Seriously, stop."
Beckett looked at the others and relaxed his arms, allowing them to fall by his sides. "Let's call a town meeting tomorrow. We can see how many people are willing to join us. We have all mentioned it to guys around the island before. It's nothing new, really. Now we are just more serious about it."
Esen scoffed. "Yeah. Let's tell the entire island that we plan to face off with Dragaal while we also fight this invisible force that makes everyone whack jobs."
"Already planning to chicken out?" Beckett asked with a toothy grin.
"Shut up, dude! No. I can just see this shit going downhill, especially if unmated males are around. They will want to join us more than the mated ones."
Kaida thought about it for a moment and, unfortunately, came to the same conclusion. The mated males are safer, but the unmated males have nothing to lose.
We can keep them in check more now than ever.
Kaida tried to hide her face in her dragon's words. What do you mean?
We are Queen for a reason. They will want to listen to us. They can feel our power more than you think.
So... We just need to be present.
We need to be at the meeting, too. You'll see what our power can do for us all.
Kaida looked up at the guys and grinned. They all exchanged looks as her smile grew.
"Well, boys. Looks like I'll be handier than you think."
The auditorium felt stuffy, with roughly a few hundred people crammed into the small space. The off-white walls had no decorations, and Kaida noticed a few cobwebs in the corners of the high ceilings. With the number of people inside, the murmuring became static and echoed throughout the room. The air felt thick and stale. Kaida could smell the sweat of those inside clogging up her nose. With the sun beating over the glass ceiling at the center, the room was bright but created a magnifying heat inside. The doors were open, but there was no breeze to help them beat the heat.
The boys sat behind a long table against the back wall, quietly waiting until noon. Other chairs were in neat rows for everyone to sit in while they waited. No one had come through the door in at least ten minutes. They could have started already, but Arlo was a stickler for punctuality. He refused to start until noon.
Kaida fidgeted with fingernails while her legs jumped up and down underneath the table. She was thankful that a white tablecloth flowed before the table so no one could see her nervous bouncing. Beckett slid his hand underneath the table to grab ahold of her knee. Their bond opened, and a wave of calm flooded through her. Kaida felt herself relax against the chair and let out a sigh. Within a few seconds, Kaida felt Esen's bond open, and a breeze whipped through the room. The cool air dried the beading sweat from her forehead, and Kaida leaned her head back to feel the breeze on her neck. She was incredibly thankful that her hair was braided and away from her neck at that moment as the coolness spread down her back.
"Why in heavens are you anxious right now?" Beckett whispered to her.
"I am inside a room filled with Elemental Dragons, and I am about to tell them that we plan to lead them into a war against the kingdom of Dragaal. I am expected to be calm and collected?"
Beckett chuckled. "You won't be the one to explain that to them. I planned to do so since I have a better relationship with most of these people. Be glad we kept Enzo in the back room instead of having him sit next to us."
Kaida's head snapped over to him with widened eyes. "Why?"
Beckett smirked at her. "These people would not take it kindly that he is here. His being our prince does not matter to them. He is the son of the man who continues to interdict us from leaving this island."
Kaida growled slightly. "And I am the one who plans to take them back."
"That is why you are here. To show them that we have a way into the kingdom. We will bring Enzo out to show them good faith that we have things under control. I promise they will listen. There may be some heated words, but the simple fact that you are a Plasma and mated to the Storm Prince is a good thing to end that heat."
Kaida crossed her arms over her chest and scooted around in her seat to get comfortable. She disagreed with the plan to keep Enzo in the back room. She did not trust that someone wouldn’t just walk into that room and attack Enzo while they sat there explaining their plan. She only agreed to it because she was told that Enzo agreed to hold a shield around the door until he was prompted to come out.
Arlo was talking to Blaze, who sat at the end of the table. He refused to sit anywhere near Kaida, which she did not mind. Kaida reached out to him through their bond, but he was still closed off to her entirely. The bond was black and wrinkled, feeling dead inside of her. The more she tried to ignore it, the more it called her. After she broke the barrier, Blaze kept his distance because he knew he would not be a match for her other four mates. Those were his final words to Arlo before locking himself in his room.
As long as he doesn't speak out against me during this meeting, things should go better than what I fear, right? she asked her dragon.
I wouldn't force him to say something during this meeting to make people dislike you.
What do we do if he does?
