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I steel my resolve and nod. “Yes, I can do this.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.” The soft smile he gives me nearly makes me call this whole thing off and drag him up to bed and have my wicked way with him.
Calm down, Rose, I know you’re cock deprived, but geez.
It was so much easier when I thought my husband was a dick and not about his dick.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I’m once again hit with a sense of melancholy at the state of these beautiful beasts. My beasts. In the short amount of time I have been here, I’ve started seeing Malix’s people as my own. I’m not sure when that shift happened or how.
“My Queen, do you want to try awakening another hatchling?” Vivia asks, coming to stand next to me. I wonder if she has any loved ones slumbering down here and how hard it would be to know you can’t do anything for them.
Of course I want to wake a hatchling; I want to wake all the hatchlings, but I want to test out my ability on a full-grown dragon. Maybe I should work up to it, but I’ve never been the patient sort and I’m not going to start now.
My eyes roam the room. In my shock from seeing the sleeping dragons for the first time, I missed the dragons who lay asleep in their human form. My gaze stops on an older, brown woman wearing a thin, white dress. Her curls frame her face, graying at the roots and fading to black toward the ends.
“Who is she?” I point. Vivia and Malix turn to see who I’m referencing.
“That’s Elain. She’s an elder, the matriarch of her family,” Vivia answers.
“Is her family cursed?”
Vivia shakes her head. “No, she’s the only one.”
Before Vivia finishes her sentence, I head toward the elder, kneeling at her side. I’m drawn to her, probably because she reminds me of my own grandmother and the endless summer days we would spend at her pool, pretending we were mermaids.
I reach out and gingerly touch my hand to her cheek. She’s as cold as ice and if I didn’t see the slight rise and fall of her chest, I would think the worst.
What did I think about the last time when I woke Cyrus up? I felt a fierce need to protect him and make sure he was looked after. I made a silent vow to keep him safe.
Safety. Protection. Pure intent. These are the things I need to think about. My eyes close as I try to block out the stares of the council behind me and the expectations falling upon my shoulders.
A warm body presses against mine, but instead of tensing up, I fall into his embrace. Malix’s strong arms wrap around me in what I can only describe as possessiveness. His hot breath singes my neck and I shiver.
Focus.
A small part of me though, a part that I just can’t ignore, wonders what would happen if I fail. What if I can’t wake the dragons and what I did to Cyrus was just a one time thing?
Ender brought me here because he believes I’m the answer the dragons have been searching for. That I’m fit to be the human mate of the dragon king, a title that should scare me shitless, but instead intrigues me in ways I’m not prepared for. But what if I’m not enough?
My heart pounds faster in my chest and my hands begin to shake. From behind me, I hear Aeron growl in annoyance at my lack of progress. This is too much and I’m not prepared for the task.
I go to pull my hands away, but before I can, Malix stops me. His large hands cover mine, keeping them firmly in place. “No, wife. You’ll finish what you started.”
“I can’t…I don’t?—“
“You can.” The faith he has in me almost makes me believe I can. “You did it once and you can do it again. Show them the type of queen you are.”
The type of queen I am?
I want to be the same thing I always want to be. Useful. Like what I do matters. From a young age, I dedicated my life to helping others. If there was ever a time I needed those traits, it’s now.
Okay, I can do this. I can do this.
I must have said those words aloud because Malix squeezes my hand and says, “Yes, you can.”
The words center me and I close my eyes once again. I remind myself why I’m drawn to this dragon and memories of my grandmother resurface, playing out like an old picture show in my mind.
The warm nights we had jars to catch fireflies. How we would name them and then release them back to their families. The chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter chips she made after I had a bad day. The way her bed squeaked each time we got in to cuddle and read a story before bed.
