Page 35 of Dragon King’s Duty Bride

He had thought he was the steady center for them. Their foundation. He had always wanted to be there for his girls. Sia had filled the gap.

With a sigh, he headed down to get some work done. That was at least a constant steady. There was always some king stuff, as Sia put it, to be done.

Lucas barely looked up from the stack of reports spread across his desk when the office door opened. He already knew who it was. Aldrek never knocked.

The older male stepped inside with the same silent confidence he carried everywhere. Lucas continued reading for another moment and let the quiet stretch. He finished the page, signed the bottom of the parchment, and finally leaned back in his chair.

“What is it?”

Aldrek’s arms were folded across his chest, his expression dark. “There’s talk in the Northern districts.”

Lucas sighed quietly. Rumors were the currency of bored people. “There’s always talk.”

“This one’s different.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow but gestured lazily with his hand. “Go on.”

Aldrek watched him a moment before speaking. “Someone’s been bragging about taking over Crystafalls.”

Lucas let out a laugh and pushed the papers aside. “Of course they are.”

“They’re claiming the mountains will belong to them soon enough.”

“That’s ambitious.”

Aldrek did not smile. “They’re saying the kingdom has no heir.”

Lucas leaned back farther in his chair, not liking where the conversation was going. “Then whoever said it needs a stay in a dungeon.”

Aldrek’s brow twitched slightly.

“Despite the fact that it borders on treason just for slighting my family,” Lucas shrugged. “No one is stupid enough to try overthrowing me. It’s simply loose tongues caused by too much drink.”

“I hope so.” Aldrek studied him for a long moment, clearly weighing whether to argue. Instead he asked, “Where is Sia?”

Lucas didn’t think anything of the question. He reached for another parchment. “She went with the girls.”

Aldrek’s voice stayed even. “Where?”

“To visit her family.” Lucas picked up his pen. “The girls hadn’t seen their grandparents in a while, so I told her to take a few days.”

The silence that followed made Lucas glance up. Aldrek hadn’t moved, but something in his expression had tightened.

“You let her leave Crystafalls.”

Lucas frowned. “She wasn’t a prisoner.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

Lucas set the pen down slowly. “She went with my daughters,” he said, his patience thinning. “Nothing is going to happen.”

Aldrek stepped farther into the room now and stopped just in front of the desk. “It may only be gossip, but it may also mean that you have enemies.”

“It always has.”

“And someone is already speaking like the throne is empty.”

Lucas waved a dismissive hand. “Let them talk. Anyone who tries something will regret it.”