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Despite her anger toward me, I need her to be prepared for what is coming. "Are you certain you're ready to speak to the council? We can wait until morning." Which would be my preference, but the meeting isn’t about me.
There's hesitation in her expression, but in the end, she shakes her head no. "I want to get this over with. But, I really don't have the answers they are looking for. I don't know how I did what I did. It just sorta happened."
"Then I suppose it will be a short meeting."
"But—"
"Need I remind you that you are their queen?" I interrupt her. "You hold the power. This meeting isn't dictated by the council's wants, but by your rule. Our rule."
Rose bites her bottom lip, and my mind conjures up pictures of her biting her lip in the throes of passion while I settle between her thighs and devour her. Will she taste like her namesake? Or be sweet like honey? I have half a mind to hike up her dress now, drop to my knees, and find out.
Rose’s scoff brings my attention back to the present where I’m, unfortunately, not inside of her. “I'm not their queen."
“Are you not my wife?"
"I am, but?—"
"Then you are their queen. In every way a person can be a queen, you are. And I fully plan on standing by My Queen's side."
Rose's breath hitches, a flush coloring her cheeks a dainty pink. She's looking at me as if she has never seen me before. Like I’m not the man she once thought I was.
That makes two of us.
"Okay." No snark. No refusal. Just quiet acceptance. I think I might have broken my wife. "Let's go."
A hush falls over the room once we enter. I may as well be invisible with how much attention I garner. Curious eyes roam over Rose. For most, this is the first time they are seeing their new queen. That's not what interests them the most though. It's her humanity.
And how a mere human could awaken a sleeping dragon.
Any lesser woman would fold under the gazes of the council, or find ways to make themself appear small in the hope that they go unnoticed. But my Rose isn’t wavering as she walks by my remaining council members.
Something tells me that Rose is no stranger to judgmental stares. What the fuck kind of life did she lead not to blink in the face of deadly dragons? They all wore their human skin—for Rose’s benefit, I’m sure—but it does little to hide the predator lying underneath. I vow to learn more about her past later, even if I have to steal it from her lips.
My council barely allows my wife to sit before their questions begin.
"So, it's true then?" Otis asks, ever so impatient. "Your wife was able to wake up a sleeping dragon? Aeron claims to have witnessed the feat."
"It's not a claim. It's fact,” the dragon in question growls.
Otis puffs out his chest, trying to appear bigger than he is. Strength is coveted among our kind. Appearing weak can cost a dragon their life. "Be that as it may, we would prefer to hear from the source.”
All attention is back on Rose once again. A new voice speaks up, Aracelia, the only other woman on my council. She's a force to be reckoned with, born into a family of warriors and nobles. She, besides Rose, is the only person younger than me at the table. "Everyone here has family or friends affected by the sleeping curse. What these men are trying—but failing—to say is that we would appreciate any insight you can give us, My Queen.”
Rose sweeps her eyes through the room, taking in the remaining dragons on my council, before landing on me. My dragon preens at the attention. She's looking at me for...what? Comfort? Permission? Our bond does not give me the answers I seek. Rose has so many walls up, I fear I’ll never be able to break them all down.
Taking a gamble, I reach for her. My hand covers hers, providing the only comfort I can give her right now. I half expect her to pull away, but she doesn’t.
And fuck if my dick doesn't harden at her touch.
"Malix believed showing me the sleeping dragons would help me understand the curse plaguing the kingdom. Neither of us thought I was capable of doing what I did. I can’t rationalize it in my mind. One minute I was staring at Cyrus and the next, we were looking into each other's eyes.”
"Maybe it would be helpful if you take us through the process? Starting from when you arrived under the castle," Vivia suggests.
Rose nods. "I was looking around at all the sleeping dragons, and I felt an intense sadness. That only increased when I saw Cyrus and realized he was just a child. I don’t know what possessed me to reach for him; I just did.”
"Was there anything in particular you were thinking about other than the sense of melancholy?” Aracelia asks.
Rose doesn't answer immediately. She ponders the question and after a moment she says, "I guess l was thinking about protecting him and wanting to provide a safe place for him and the other dragons who can't protect themselves." There is a slight pause before she adds, "And I thought of the last person who made me feel safe."
