Page 57 of Brutal Dragon King

After all, the grand mating ritual isn’t something I’d like to remember, even if Althea is adamant that it was an unforgettable experience for her. I’ve internally vowed to make it up to her, and tonight, I plan on doing just that.

“So, you’re next, Brother Jai,” Kaidën says as he slaps Jaidën’s shoulder with a mischievous grin.

“What for?” Jaidën frowns.

“The annual reaping next year, of course,” Kaidën grins.

Jaidën shakes his head. “Unfortunately, with the responsibility I’ve taken of training the Khyronian soldiers, my plate is too full.”

“Are you handing your turn over to me, Jai?” Kaidën asks with a knowing smirk.

“I suppose I am,” Jaidën concedes with a nod.

“Alright, family,” I sigh as I rise to my feet. “If you’ll excuse me, there is something I must do.”

No one questions me since the others are debating how Kaidën, the youngest dragon king, should proceed with his annual reaping next year. Truthfully, I’m grateful that I’m no longer the center of attention, even if Mother just voiced her concerns about a human being, my kingdom’s queen.

None of them will understand, anyway. I don’t wish to prove anything to them, and the only one I need to prove myself to is Althea, who waits outside for me with the biggest smile on her face.

“Is your family still inside?” Althea asks as she rises to her tiptoes and peeks over my shoulder.

“Do not use that word right now,” I groan as I step forward to embrace her with a kiss on her lips.

“They’re being draining again, aren’t they?” Althea giggles. She avoids my family gatherings because she knows how the rest of them feel about humans. Soon, she will become my queen and the mother of my child.

I reach down and scoop her into my arms, executing our customary, fortnightly flight to the waterfall. Since her belly is ripening, we’ve decided to keep our rendezvous down at the bottom of the waterfall instead of plunging for a trust fall.

We trust each other enough, and these past two weeks have been blissful for us.

There’s only a need to revisit the place where we’d confessed our undying love for one another. Before, the top of the waterfall was significant for my childhood. Now that I have a child on the way, the bottom of the waterfall is special for us.

I gently set Althea on her feet on a leveled rock, steadying her with her hand in mine as I crouch in front of her, placing a hand on her growing belly.

“Hello there, little one…” I greet our baby with a smile as Althea cards her fingers through my hair. “Are you growing well? Being as strong and brave as your mother?”

“And father,” Althea adds with a giggle.

I plant a kiss on the top of the mound of her belly, then stand up to kiss Althea on the lips.

“Not as strong and brave right now,” I admit tentatively, grimacing when I lean back.

“I know that look, King Haidën…” she laments with a speculatively lifted brow. “What are you hiding from me this time?”

I chuckle lowly because no one else truly knows me the way Althea does. She’s able to see right through me sometimes, and it’s not even thanks to the mind link.

She’s the only one I’ve ever opened up to, and she’s seen my heart for what it is.

Perhaps that’s why I’d kept denying my feelings for her, and avoiding her, thinking that I’d be too ashamed to be fully exposed. She’s shown me that even the darkest sides of me are worthy of love, and she loves me through it all.

I lift her hand to my lips and press a chaste kiss on her knuckles, then gaze at her through heady eyes. I see my entire future in those hazel eyes, and it isn’t as gloomy and barren as I once thought this immortal life would be.

“Be my Queen, Althea Waters,” I declare without hesitation. “I will marry you in an official ceremony in the kingdom. Do me the honor and say yes.”

“Yes,” Althea whispers without hesitation. When she says the word, I sweep her off her feet and press my lips to hers.

“I love you, my queen,” I say with a proud smirk when I’ve let her onto her feet and have my palm resting on her growing belly.

“I love you too, my king,” she replies with a giggle that sets my heart alight.

She had no idea that she’d saved me from myself, changed this cold king, and given him the gift of feeling. As I kiss her again, all I see is joy and wonder in our future together. We’ll raise this kingdom’s next heir, and remain in love for the rest of eternity.

*****

THE END