“Thank you,” I whispered, voice still hoarse.
Penelope smiled down at me. “It was no bother. And I’m very pleased to meet you, your highness.”
My eyes likely looked comically wide as I stared back at her in shock. Was I royalty now? In my kingdom only the king or queens’ mates or partners, got to be considered royalty. I wouldn’t even be considered such if the crown prince had wanted to marry me and not just breed me.
“You’re the Taov now,” my alpha declared with a grin.
“I'm what now?” I asked, not sure if I truly was awake or not.
The one named Ciris –I was totally ignoring the fact he was the freaking king— stepped forward with a soft smile. “Taov is what the royals call their mates. You’re the kingdom’s Taov now, like River is their prince. Only a mate to royalty holds the title of Taov, and you’re currently the only one with the title.”
“I am?!” I gasped, suddenly wishing I was still asleep.
River just grinned proudly, but his eyes still looked a little dim. My alpha clearly needed some rest after I was done being healed. “You’re the perfect Taov for our kingdom, my omega. Trust me, they’ll love you.”
“Well, Vrenus certainly didn’t,” I mumbled, feeling oddly put on the spot.
My alpha growled low at that, making Ciris sigh heavily. “I’ll go down to the dungeon now and interrogate him,” he declared, rousing a sleeping alpha, who was dozing in one of the chairs against the wall. “Reinos,” he said, still shaking his shoulder. “I don’t even know why I bother.” With another sigh, Ciris left us.
“This wasn’t how I wanted you to meet my family,” River whispered, sounding guilty again. “But the sleeping one is Reinos. You already know Ciris is the king, and this right here.” He grabbed the black-haired man next to him, making him scowl at River. “This is Midos.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, still sounding like I’d spent hours screaming.
Midos’ blue eyes softened as they met mine, and he offered me a kind smile. “It’s nice to meet you too, Ember. We onlyheard a little before your heat started, but we can’t wait to learn more about you.”
“Really?” I asked, forgetting myself. One should never question a prince. To my surprise, Midos just laughed, his eyes brightening.
“Enough chit-chat,” Penelope chided. “He needs to rest for the last part of the healing.”
“Sorry,” River and Midos’ mumbled, like scolded children.
“Your highness,” Penelope said, looking at me now. “We need to heal your back. River will need to help move you around, is that okay?”
I just nodded, fearing what they would see. It hurt, but I’d been distracted by everything to truly focus on it. When River gently grabbed me, turning me around, I whimpered from the sudden explosion of pain.
The male healer gasped, and soon the others followed. I was too busy loving the comfort of the bed, resting on my stomach and feeling the pain lessen now that I wasn’t moving anymore.
“His skin is torn off!” River growled and I felt his anger like a brewing storm within myself. Our bond was showing me just how furious he was.
“This explains why the robe was so torn,” Penelope whispered.
“Blanket,” River demanded, and soon I felt something soft over the backs of my legs. I sighed, closing my eyes as they continued to heal me. I had no energy to truly think about the state of my body. I would check in a mirror once they were done.
My alpha’s scent reached me, and then I heard his soft whisper like a caress over my skin. “As soon as they’re done, I’m taking you back to our rooms and holding you tight. I won’t ever leave your side ever again, Ember. I promise you.”
I smiled. My alpha was a protective dragon and even with the horrible experience, I couldn’t help but feel loved and cherished. I would need to know why I was attacked, though, but Ciris was taking care of that, so I simply rested, trusting things would turn out okay.
Chapter Thirteen
River
They made Ember fall asleep again, a thing healers often did to make sure the patient stayed still. The way his back was rubbed raw, the skin torn off in places… My dragon and I fought for control. All it wanted was to kill Vrenus for this and all I wanted was to stay by Ember’s side, and make sure no more harm came to him.
My brothers were just as worried. They cared for Ember already and likely feared for their future omegas as well. We all believed our palace was safe, but Vrenus had proven us wrong. I was glad Ciris was the king and not me. He would deal with Vrenus, using his alpha bark on him to make him talk. Ciris was the only one in our kingdom who could use it on other alphas, and I was glad I didn’t have to hear whatever excuse he made. Nothing would make this okay.
My body was aching after my rut and Ember’s heat, and I’d yet to really sleep after the attack. It had drained me to use that amount of magic, too. I was dead on my feet as I now carried Ember back to our rooms. He was fully healed and putinto a heavy sleep to help with the internal bruising, something I hated knowing he even needed. Penelope and Herrold were both exhausted as well and were promptly sent off to bed.
Once we were back in the safety of our rooms, I placed Ember down on the bed, carefully moving the nest around a little. The scent from it was full of our shared cum and sweat, and his sweet heat slick. It was oddly comforting to get back to after this horrible day.
