Page 63 of Billionaire Dragon King’s Rejected Mate

He stood in the outer courtyard of Sven’s castle with his hands clasped behind his back. The couriers had taken the copies of the letters Randi had written that now represented the first real ripple of resistance to end the reign of terror within Noriveille’s borders. Considering how far that fear had spread, the various provinces needed to take note that they could be next.

Sven stood beside him. His posture was more relaxed but there was nothing casual about the sharpness in his attitude about the whole situation.

“They should be getting those letters delivered right about now,” Sven said after a moment, his voice calm but certain. “Neither mine nor Jakob’s men take assignments like this lightly, especially not when the message carries the weight that yours does.”

Chance nodded once. “It’s a risk,” he admitted. “If even one of those provinces chooses to side with my father instead of with me…”

“They won’t,” Sven interrupted with a quiet confidence that made Chance glance at him. “Not all of them, anyway, and not the ones that matter most. Gunner has spent years ruling through fear instead of loyalty, and fear has a way of collapsing the moment people are given another option.”

Chance exhaled slowly and the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly. “You sound very certain.”

Sven’s mouth curved faintly. “I sound like a man who believes in what’s right.”

“I feel useless,” Chance admitted. “You have men. Jakob and Lucas have men. I have water parks. I don’t have an army or a castle. Other than the evil here happens to be my father, I don’t even have a dog in the fight. Not like you guys.”

Sven chuckled. “You may not have a dog in the fight as you so eloquently put it, but your father brought the fight to you. Between trying to harm Randi and trying to conquer all of the Northlands, he has put you in the position to rely on us.”

“I appreciate you more than you know.”

“Look at it this way, Chance. Your father is so cocky that I don’t even think he realizes the connection between Randi and my throne. He has done no homework because he feels there is no threat. That’s a huge advantage to you with or without your own men.”

“I still wish I had an army of my own.”

There was a brief pause before Sven’s expression shifted. “I believe that those letters of hers will do more work than half an army ever could.”

Chance nodded. “You have a lot of faith in them.”

“I have faith in her,” Sven corrected easily and turned his head just enough to meet Chance’s gaze. “Which, if I’m being honest, is something you should probably get used to, because you’re going to spend the rest of your life relying on that whether you realize it yet or not.”

Chance let out a quiet breath. “You make it sound inevitable.”

Sven’s look sharpened with amusement. “Isn’t it?”

Chance didn’t answer immediately. Randi’s face surfaced in his mind, her quiet determination she carried so naturally when she thought no one was watching.

“She has a life,” he said after a moment. “In Tampa. A career she is trying to build, something that belongs entirely to her. I can’t ask her to walk away from that just because my world is… this.”

Sven considered that and folding his arms loosely across his chest. “And have you asked her?”

“No,” Chance admitted.

“Then you’re arguing against a decision she hasn’t made,” Sven pointed out.

Chance’s jaw tightened slightly. “It’s not that simple.”

“It rarely is,” Sven agreed, “but for what it’s worth, now that Bryn has taken the two of them baby shopping, Randi will get a better firsthand experience with royal life at its most persuasive.”

Chance lifted a brow. “Persuasive?”

Sven chuckled. “There are very few people who walk out of a royal shopping excursion untouched by its advantages.”

Despite himself, Chance chuckled. “That sounds like a unique adventure. I was never around the royal life much to experience it myself.”

“It is,” Sven said easily. “And she also said Randi doesn’t look entirely out of place in this world. You have to remember that she lived here for a while before she moved to Tampa. The difference now is that Bryn has gained a little experience as queen.”

Something in Chance’s chest tightened at that, though he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“People have a way of finding where they belong,” Sven continued. “Sometimes it just takes them longer to see it.”