I Married A Dragon (Prime Mating Agency)(26)
She lifted her head to look at me with sympathy and gently caressed my cheek. “You found me, in the most unexpected fashion… but you found me. Though I wonder how you went about looking for your Ejaya. If you mostly live isolated and mingling with others makes you ill, it must have been difficult.”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. I would just visit markets and social gatherings. I do not need to be next to my Ejaya to sense her presence. The minute you entered the research lab, I felt you. It was dim at first, but grew stronger as you came closer. It nearly drove me insane with need, but also with fear that the aqrats might harm you. But simply flying over a crowd would suffice for me to know if my Ejaya was there. And believe me, I have flown over every single millimeter of Dramnac, in vain, since you weren’t here.”
“That, I most certainly wasn’t,” she said with a small laugh. “Frankly, this is the last place I ever imagined I’d land on. I didn’t even think your world could still sustain life. That said, since you Shadow Lords can’t hang out with others, do you organize social gatherings among yourselves?”
I nodded. “Yes, but not that often anymore. Most of the others have found their Ejayas, which allows them to mingle a lot more with the public.”
“How many of you are there?” she asked.
“Only twenty-one, which makes each one of us precious,” I explained. “Should we all die, this world would eventually collapse. At any given time, there must be at least five of us watching the gates while the others rest or recover from jokraz. It used to be quite difficult back when few among us had found their Ejayas. So many of my brothers had gone rabid from the toxins that there were only eight of us left to ensure the stability of the gates and rescue the lost. Thankfully, enough recovered by the time I fell to my most brutal case of jokraz.”
“Wow. No wonder your Councilor was so adamant I come here. Then what do you do with your time?”
I scratched the scales at the side of my neck, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I read a lot and watch plays… What you call movies.”
Her eyes sparkled with a teasing glimmer. “Your romantic movies?”
I nodded. “Romantic and family plays.”
“And are the books romance, too?”
This time, I shifted uneasily beneath her. From what I’d read of Kaida’s people, human males didn’t read or even like romance. Would she think me not virile enough if I spoke the truth to her?
A Shadow Lord and his Ejaya are always fully honest with each other.
Bracing for her reaction, I nodded again. “Yes. I love reading romance novels. They warm my hearts. I… enjoy experiencing love and a family life vicariously through the protagonists. You think that’s bad?”
Her face softened in an affectionate smile. “No. I think that’s super sweet. I wish more men learned to appreciate romance.”
My hearts soared at her response, and especially at the fact she appeared to mean it. However, her expression changed, taking on a speculative edge while she studied my features.
“If you could have chosen, would you have become a Shadow Lord?”
That question took me aback. I hesitated, taking a moment to think about it. No Derakeen ever questioned something like this. Being a Shadow Lord was a supreme honor. But not one I had chosen. Knowing the type of life it had given me, would I have chosen this for myself?
“I never considered that. But now that you ask, I must say that, given a choice, I would still choose this life, despite its downsides,” I said in all sincerity. “I love rescuing people. I like beating back the aqrats. It’s not the thrill of killing, but the fact that my efforts make the world safe for others. It is knowing that my work, and that of my handful of brothers, is the only reason Dramnac continues to exist, and that both our people and our way of life can thrive. What other career would allow me to achieve so much for the greater good?”
Kaida smiled with so much affection and approval that I felt myself melting inside, while my hearts filled with the most pleasant warmth.
“I can totally relate. The desire to protect others, to make the world a safer place is the reason I joined the Enforcers. It’s not always easy. It can be scary and lonely at times, but every completed mission is a huge reward in and of itself.”
It was my turn to study her features with both wonder and disbelief. “I’ve seen you fight in the research lab, so I do not doubt your skills. But you look so incredibly fragile and defenseless.”
She snorted and glanced with an amused expression at her soft, pale skin. “While humans do not possess all the natural defensive and offensive traits species like yours do, we’re pretty good at coming up with badass armor and weapons. That said, in my six years as an Enforcer, you are the most dangerous being I have ever faced. In your battle form, you could have squashed me like a bug.”
My arms tightened around her, and I gave her forehead a soft kiss. “And yet, I am the one thing you will never have to fear, my Ejaya. The Gods have blessed me with you. My life is bound to protect yours.”
Kaida opened her mouth to answer, but a stunned gasp escaped her instead when a burst of colorful lights shot through the falling night sky, almost like a shock wave. With the sun now slowly vanishing between the horizon and the rift line where this phase of Oddran ended, the shimmering sky would dance in a symphony of colors until sundown.