Lucius tilted his head at me and huffed, “So, you wouldn’t mind if I took a pass at her after it’s over, then? She’s quite delectable and my?—”
I didn’t hesitate as I closed the distance between us and wrapped my hand around his throat. I tightened my grip as I walked him back to the wall, enjoying the way he gasped as his eyes bulged.
He would never touch her.
The desire to be rid of him overcame me as I pictured him trying to courtmywife. My nostrils flared as my bones cracked, and I struggled to contain the shift that was threatening to overcome me.
Lucius wheezed as his hands tried to desperately pry mine from his throat, with no luck. I reveled in his desperation. He wasn’t strong enough for her. She deserved the best. Someone who could protect her from all threats, and he would never be able to protect her fromme.
My eyes zeroed in on his lips forming the silent words I was preventing him from uttering.
“Yield. I yield.”
His submission knocked me from the haze of my quest to make him see his place in the food chain. Releasing my grip on him, his hand instantly went to the red skin around his throat, rubbing at it as he took in deep, gasping breaths.
I shook my head, wondering what his intentions were to purposefully incite violence from me.
Glancing down at him as he bent over slightly, I murmured, “That was stupid, Lucius. Don’t do that again.”
He laughed before going into a coughing fit as he straightened up to look at me. After clearing his throat for a few seconds, he answered, “Sure was, but I got the confirmation I was looking for, and you should have too. Your dragon isn’t going to give her up, no matter what logic you try to convince yourself of. There are only two options here: bond with her or kill any unmated drackya that looks her way. Either way, she won’t ever be leaving to return home.”
My lips thinned as I blocked out his words. She’d go home as soon as the curse was lifted. It was clear she didn’t want to be here, and I’d never accept a mate who despised our kind the way she did.
“Enough,” I commanded, turning on my heel to walk down the hall. “Make yourself scarce for the next few weeks. I can’t promise to reign my beast back in again.”
He called out at my retreating back, “Theo! You can’t run this castle with no staff while she’s here. There is too much to be done, and you cannot do it all while also trying to find a way to break the curse with her. Allow me to find mated drackya to take over a few positions in the meantime, at the very least.”
My feet came to a stop and I glanced over my shoulder. “Fine. Mated staff only. For the ones I severed from their positions, see that we find them a new job outside of the castle. I don’t need to give them further reason to incite a coup or make an assassination attempt. When she’s gone, they can return.”
When she’s gone.
Immediately, my dragon surged to the surface and scales ran along my forearms, shocking me. I’d never had such little control over myself or my dragon. I prided myself on not being like the others beneath my rule that couldn’t rein the beast in. I couldn’t allow her to be the reason I unraveled and showed such little restraint now.
I clenched my fists before forcing them to relax, repeating the movement over a few times as I took deep breaths.
You cannot afford to show that she is your weakness.
Even if the desire to protect her was from my beast, the others wouldn’t see it that way. They’d think of her as the perfect way to get me to bend the knee to their demands, if only they could get their hands on her.
The thought struck me. Perhaps keeping her confined to our wing of the castle wouldn’t be enough. I couldn’t be with her at all times, that much was clear. Yet I had duties as the king that must be attended to. That exact reason was why I’d not been able to find the time to dig into the curse enough as is, though.Something had to change if I was hoping for a different result now, with Siyana here. Time was of the essence.
Here I was, thinking things could continue as they were, yet I was giving commands to empty the castle and completely change the staff, thinking that wouldn’t raise suspicion.
“Disregard what I said, Lucius,” I breathed out and locked eyes with him. “Bring the regular staff back in two days and don’t let them know that I requested their leave in the meantime. I name you Counsellor in my absence. I need to focus all of my attention on breaking this curse so I can have her gone, for her sake and mine, as quickly as possible.”
His brow pinched as he stared at me in shock before quickly recovering. “Of course, Your Highness. I’m honored. Can I ask where you both will go in the meantime? Also, I will do my best to cover the scent she’s left behind to avoid questions, but you know that if they get a single whiff, rumors will swirl.”
My hand lifted to pinch the bridge of my nose as the semantics of leaving my post, even for a brief time, overwhelmed me. Was this even the correct choice? This was becoming far more complicated than I’d anticipated. I shook my head and held up a hand to wait as I opened my connection to the elder dragon I needed answers from before I made the final decision.
“Alstrid?”
His answer was swift.“Yes, My King?”
“If I were to need to reside in one of the dragon caverns for the time being, with my wife, is there an alcove that would be a far enough distance from the nesting dragons?”
His scoff of incredulity sounded loud and clear before his response.“Such a space doesn’t exist.”
I felt a ‘but’ lingering, and waited for him to add onto his response.
