Feel the Burn (Dragon Kin #8)(89)

Then Kachka dragged him off, Aidan’s laughter ringing out over the hall until it turned to, “Owwwww! You bitch!”

Which then led to Brannie’s voice begging, “No, no, no, no, no! Everyone just calm down!”

Once they were in Gaius’s room, he closed the door, and turned to Kachka, slipping his arms around her waist.

“No,” she said, moving away from him. “You must sleep, but I must stay awake and protect you from dangers here.”

“You do know I can take care of myself, don’t you?”

“You are a very sweet royal,” she said while dismissively patting him on the cheek. If she could have reached his head, Gaius was sure she would have patted him there instead.

Gaius watched Kachka pull her sword and stand facing the door.

“You’re going to stand there all night?”

“Yes.”

“And that seems logical to you?”

“Yes.”

Fully dressed, Gaius stretched out on the bed, arms behind his head.

“You could stand there all night, guarding my precious royal body . . . or you can just lie here. I’m sure both of us will be ready for whatever attempts to come through that door.”

She glanced over, and Gaius raised a brow and nodded his head toward the empty side of the bed.

“Come on,” he urged. “You know you want to.”

“Only because I am tired. Not because I want you.”

“You do want me, yet I will allow you to keep lying to yourself because that is the kind of benevolent king I am.”

Kachka slammed her sword back into the sheath and removed it from her waist. She settled on the bed beside him, the sheathed sword between them.

Gaius rolled toward her and smiled. “Thank you for rescuing me from Aidan’s awful sisters.”

Turning on her side to face him, Kachka said, “They were awful. If Elina was like either of those two, I would not have saved her from our mother.”

“And I would not have blamed you.”

Kachka suddenly looked down until she finally admitted, “My comrades make fun of me. Because of you.”

“Because you like me?”

“Yes.”

She sounded so dejected, it broke his heart a little. “I’m glad you like me, Kachka Shestakova.”

“Of course you are. Because I am a Daughter of the Steppes and this is great honor for imperialist dog.”

“That’s very true.” He leaned in a bit and kissed her forehead. “And I like you despite your saying things like that to me.”

She laughed. “You are right. That was bitchy. Even for me.”

Gaius reached out to put his hand on her waist, but she gripped his index finger and tossed it back to him. “No,” she said firmly. “We do not f*ck until we are some place safer than this.”

Gaius growled but had to grudgingly agree. “All right. But if Aidan doesn’t work something out with his father by tomorrow, no one will enjoy my attitude.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Aidan couldn’t sleep, so he decided to go and search out his father.

He and Aidan’s mother had not shared the same room or cavern in decades, so he knew he’d at least find him alone.

As Aidan eased out of his room and made his way down the hall, he quickly noticed that his eldest brother, Ainmire, sat on the top step of the stairs.

Ainmire had been acting strange all night. He’d always been strange, but now he was managing to be stranger. He’d said nothing at the feast, not even bothering to insult Aidan, which had been the dragon’s one true passion for several decades. It was like Aidan wasn’t even in the room.

Of course, when Aidan thought about it, it was like none of them had been in the room. Like Ainmire was just floating along . . .

And where had he been for the last three years? None of the rest of his kin seemed to know or care. He was Jarlath’s eldest son and heir to the Stone Castle and surrounding territories. Yet his absence didn’t seem to mean any more than Aidan’s.

That realization made Aidan slow down, his eyes searching for signs of a trap. Perhaps his petty brother wanted revenge for being so ignored. For being treated no better than Aidan.

When Aidan didn’t see anything, he carefully eased his way over to his brother.

“What are you doing?” he asked the back of his brother’s head.

“Thinking.”

“That’s new for you, isn’t it?”

“Ahhh, yes, Aidan the Gold’s sense of humor. How could I forget?”

“It’s Aidan the Divine now.”

Ainmire snorted. “Given to you by the queen, no doubt. What did you have to do for such an honor, little brother?”

“Watch what you say, Ainmire. Such words are considered treacherous by those of us who protect the queen, which includes Bercelak the Great. Her very protective mate.”

“Do you think the Cadwaladrs scare me? That anything scares me anymore?”

“They should. The Cadwaladrs should scare you greatly.”

“You were always a fool, brother. Always so eager to please. So eager to be loved by all.”

Aidan frowned. “Who are you talking about?” Because it couldn’t be him. He might be known as divine, but Aidan had never been known as “eager to please.”