Aspen (The Dragon Kings #2)(13)

Sid looked at Skye, who seemed to be deliberately staring at her bowl. So much for help from her.

“Did you know thirty years ago Skye sealed herself to me?”

Aspen jerked her head around. “What?” She went around the counter. “Show me your ankle.”

Skye smiled. “I could, but there’s nothing there anymore.”

“I thought the marking was forever.”

“It is, if both dragons love each other. But if it is only one, then the marking can fade away,” Skye said.

“How long does it take?”

“Ten to fifteen years,” said Sid. “Skye did something to make hers go away instantly, but she won’t tell me how.”

She dipped her finger in the cheesecake mix and tasted it.

“What happened is none of your business. If I thought it could help you, I’d tell you, but it won’t, so it doesn’t matter. Maybe you should actually try telling Aspen the whole truth instead of just part of it.”

“What’s she talking about?” Aspen asked, her eyes flashing.

“Yeah, Sid, explain to her exactly why you never sealed yourself to me.”

Sid glared at Skye. She was making this so much harder than it had to be. He wasn’t ready for Aspen to know everything about what being the dragon king meant. If she knew everything, she might do something stupid. He’d have to leave out certain details. Like the one way she could make it work so that no one had to die. Except maybe her.

“This is an extremely long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”

Aspen laughed. “I’m not going anywhere. The best thing about Rowan going out with me is that I no longer have to worry about being out late. I’ll just send a text and tell my parents that we’re pulling an all-nighter here. They’re so tickled Rowan’s out with friends that they won’t care.”

Sid blinked for a second at the implications. They’d only spent one night together, and that was in the freezing cold mountains. He swallowed and tried not to think about what was coming after he finished his story. He scooted his chair closer to her and thought for a minute of where to start this story.

“The year I was born, there were only five royal sons born. We all have different parents, but from the beginning, we were special.”

“Why?” Aspen leaned forward in her chair, and Sid tried not to think about how her lips felt on his. He scooted away in order to keep his thoughts straight, because he had to be very careful not to give too much away.

“Because that was the year the king chose his death. It would be five hundred years from then. All kings do it. It is so that whoever the future king is will be prepared. There was myself, Theo, Marcellus, Raja, and Kingston. From our infancy we were trained for the possibility.”

“Wait. Your parents named you Obsidian. Why would they do that if you were gold?”

“Because I was born after the king declared his death. All of us were. The king made the announcement at the beginning of the year. My parents had high hopes.”

Aspen rocked back in her chair. “I want to meet your parents.”

Skye coughed. “Probably not a good idea.”

Aspen swiveled around to face her. “Why not?”

“Sid’s parents hated me because they felt I threatened his kingship. If they thought for a second that Sid was going to die because of you, they’d kill you themselves. Trust me, you do not want to meet his parents. His dad is okay, but his mom has a temper.”

“I’m confused.” Her eyebrows creased. Sid wanted to kiss that spot on her forehead where they came together. But he had to get this story out, or she’d bug him until he did.

“Can I finish?”

“Oh, yeah, continue.” Aspen settled back in her chair and set her hand on his knee. He swallowed and refocused his thoughts.

“Anyway, we trained and went on with our lives. The other four made sure they got their human experience over with. I was with Skye and didn’t want to leave her, but everyone knew the king was about to die. It’s not an exact timing. There is usually a fifteen to twenty year range in which he could die. Skye and I just decided that I should get the human experience over with when the king died. We expected him to live another several years. But he died early.

“Theo should’ve been king. Not me. Hell, even Raja would’ve made a better king than me. But I was the one chosen.”

“By who?”

“No one knows. All we know is that when the king dies, one of the potential heirs becomes king. We figured the gods would pick whomever was the best suited for the job. But I was the lucky one who turned black. Prometheus was furious.”

“Who’s Prometheus?”

Sid laughed. “Theo.” He leaned back in the chair, still frustrated by the turn of events. He wished he knew what the hell he’d done to get picked.

Aspen twirled a piece of her hair and pursed her lips. “No wonder he’s goes by Theo. What an awful name. If you didn’t plan on becoming king, why didn’t you just seal yourself to Skye?”

“Because I knew becoming king was a possibility. I didn’t want to die or risk the dragon wars again.”

“I’ve never heard of the dragon wars.”

“They were thousands of years of ago.”

“Why would you sealing yourself to the wrong dragon cause them?”