Page 43 of Billionaire Dragon King’s Rejected Mate

“She was already thinner and quieter. Grief had hollowed her out, but it wasn’t the only thing. My father’s temper had grown worse after the execution, like he needed something to prove he was still strong.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Chance.”

“I saw the bruises she tried to hide. I heard the shouting through the walls. The next morning the servants found her cold in bed.”

Randi’s heart cried out for the young man that Chance had been at the time. She wanted to comfort him, but she stayed quiet.

“The court physician said she died of illness, but I knew better. Broken hearts could kill, but so could kings.”

And then he told her the part that changed everything. “So now, that throne that the bastard sits on?” he said with his gaze steady on hers. “It’s mine, in a way. Basically it’s always been mine to take.”

The words settled heavily between them. For a moment, Randi could only stare at him while her mind struggled to reconcile the man she knew who joked easily and moved through life like he owed nothing to anyone, with the reality he had just laid out.

“A king,” she said finally. The word felt almost unreal on her tongue. “You’re a king.”

“I could be,” he corrected quietly. “If I go back to take it from my father.”

Her thoughts spun and connections formed rapidly. “Sven.” She sat up straighter despite the lingering dizziness. “That’s why he was here with Jakob, why they wanted to talk to you. That was your business. He wasn’t just some friend checking in, he was trying to bring you back.”

Chance didn’t deny it and that was answer enough.

Randi let out a slow breath and ran a hand through her hair as everything rearranged itself in her mind. The confusion shifted into something more focused, although no less overwhelming.

“My tattoo,” she said after a moment. “That’s why you noticed it and asked me, isn’t it? You recognized it from Stagholt.”

Chance shrugged slightly, almost as if embarrassed that she had figured it out. “I knew what it was.”

“And you were afraid that I was here to spy on you.” Her temper rose a bit but at least that counteracted the haze in her head. “Or worse, you thought maybe I worked for your father. Is that why you hired me?”

“If you remember correctly,” he reminded her softly, “I hadn’t even met you. I never saw you until we opened the water park when you didn’t recognize me.”

“Did you keep me around to find out?”

“Randi, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It was a concern when I saw your tattoo. The Northlands aren’t exactly the most popular tourist destination.”

“My coming to Tampa had nothing to do with you,” she told him. Her hand unconsciously rubbed the tattoo on her wrist. “I got it to represent my sister. She had a hard life and went through hell, and I got it to remind her she wasn’t alone, that she made it through.”

The tension in his expression eased, though the weight of everything else still lingered. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

“You almost got taken because of me,” Chance said again, more quietly this time, though the guilt in his voice hadn’t lessened. “And it’s not over.”

Randi held his gaze and her heartbeat steadied even as everything else remained uncertain, because fear wasn’t the only thing she felt.

“You came after me,” she said simply. “You didn’t run, you just—”

“I wasn’t going to let them take you,” he cut in with words that were unwavering.

Something in her chest shifted at that, something she didn’t try to overanalyze because it was already there regardless of timing or complication.

“This…king thing… is why you’ve kept pushing me away, isn’t it?” It suddenly all made sense. He’d get hot and then remember he was supposed to be cold.

He moved closer to her and cupped her cheek. “I didn’t want to drag you into that world.”

She grabbed his hand and placed it over her tattoo. “In a way, I already am. I know the rules.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe not all of them, but I get the gist of it.”

“I was trying to protect you.”

“You could’ve been killed,” she said.