I Married A Dragon (Prime Mating Agency)(25)

“Jeez! How did your parents handle it? They must have been sick with worry.”

“Not really. I mean, any good parent would worry about their child, but I had to interact with the beacons at least once a month. So my mother knew I was alive.”

“Your mother? What about your father?”

“He died when I was three,” I said, matter-of-factly.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed.

“It’s okay, don’t be. It is common for Shadow Lords without an Ejaya to die young from a particularly virulent case of jokraz. When a Shadow Lord grows close to fifty years of age and still hasn’t found her or isn’t mated, our people expect him to reproduce with at least one female who has the highest control of her phasing so their coupling can be more tolerable for him. That’s how I was conceived. Therefore, I didn’t really get to know my father, although I’ve met him a few times.”

“I see,” Kaida said pensively. “Honestly, I don’t think I could handle my young child disappearing for three years like that. I’d probably freak out after a single day and run through the void looking for him.”

I chuckled and caressed her hair affectionately. “If you and I were to have offspring, there is a good chance that one of them would be a High Shadow Lord. But since I have you, my Ejaya, I would be able to go check up on our son or daughter and report back on how he or she fares.”

She shuddered, her head involuntarily shaking as she reflected on my words. “I don’t know. I really don’t think I could deal with it. Still, when you returned, it must have been quite the celebration.”

I shook my head. “Not exactly. My family rejoiced not only to see me safe and well, but also that there was an official Shadow Lord in our bloodline. It elevated their status. But I couldn’t really celebrate with them. By then, the company of others had already become unpleasant to me.”

“Because you’d lost the habit of socializing?”

“In part, although we can overcome that. But it was mostly the fact that they couldn’t control their phasing.”

“Right. I didn’t think you would already be sensitive to it back then,” Kaida said sheepishly. “I thought the more powerful you grew, the more intolerable it became.”

“That is also true. However, I had spent three years getting every cell in my body infused with shadow and learning to control phasing. So being surrounded by people who didn’t was beyond jarring. It’s like your reality is always about to tilt. Like walking or standing with a lean, always feeling on the verge of toppling over. It’s quite nauseating.”

“Ugh, sounds like having a hangover. What did you do then? Could you still share the same roof?”

“No. The Council awarded my family a larger piece of land with enough space to build a separate lair for me so their proximity wouldn’t inconvenience me. I lived there, my mother providing for my basic needs, and I studied with a virtual tutor both in academics and combat.”

A stricken expression descended over her alien features, and she rubbed my chest in a soothing gesture. “Oh, my poor Cedros. It must have been so hard.”

I smiled. “Do not be so saddened, my Kaida. It wasn’t that bad. Sure, I struggled with envy at seeing my siblings playing together. But mostly, I enjoyed being alone. It was more comfortable for me. Anyway, the older I got, the more scared people became of me—as with all Shadow Lords. They constantly worry we might involuntarily harm them if our rage triggers. And that’s why you will rarely see one of us in public, unless accompanied by an Ejaya to calm us.”

“Despite the phasing of people around you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “You seemed all right earlier, just annoyed by the freeloaders.”

“I was more than all right earlier, because you silence the discomfort. My world is perfect with my Ejaya next to me.”

Overcome by a wave of affection for my little human, I gave her an affectionate squeeze while rubbing my face on her neck, only to be annoyed once more by all the wretched coverings she had on. I straightened and glared at her clothes.

“What?” she asked, looking confused by my sudden displeasure.

Without answering, I got rid of her clothes. To my delight, she didn’t balk and only snorted, giving me a look that said I was hopeless. It pleased me beyond words how quickly we’d grown comfortable with each other on that front. I’d feared an uphill battle.

Dismissing my annoyance at her undies, I didn’t make a fuss over them. I’d eventually convince her to get rid of them. For now, I carried her outside to the terrace and settled on the lounging chair. The sun was setting over Oddran, and I wanted my Kaida to be mesmerized by the beautiful colors that would dance over our shimmering sky. She would fall in love with this world, despite today’s rocky start.

My arm tightened possessively around her, and I purred with happiness when she willingly snuggled with me. Thanks to my contact with Kaida, the steady flow of nezarone in my blood kept me on a nice high. Fortunately, it was nothing like the brutal grogginess that had taken me over when she first arrived. Our first cuddle had handled the worst of the toxins poisoning me.

“I thought I’d never find you,” I whispered, almost more to myself. “I thought I’d die early like my father, going insane from jokraz without ever experiencing this divine peace.”