The Last Dragon King (Kings of Avalier #1)(57)

It killed me to hear him sound so weak and vulnerable. “Does Raife know? That without an heir your magic is dead?”

He shook his head.

I sighed. I might be the backup but I was all he had, and I wasn’t going to leave him when he needed me.

“Fine, you can have my royal womb,” I quipped.

He stilled, going completely stiff. “Don’t joke like that. I want you with or without an heir.”

Now it was my turn to go completely still. “Drae, I know that you told the entire Royal Guard to stay away from me because I was your backup.”

He growled. “Who told you that?”

“Cal… when I kissed him,” I admitted.

His eyes flew wide. “You kissed Calston!”

“I was trying to get over you!” I punched him lightly in the chest. “But he wouldn’t have me. Said he couldn’t.”

He leaned closer to me and looked me right in the eyes. “I ordered the other men to stay away from you because the thought of you being with another man drove me insane.”

“Oh.” I sucked in a breath and he reached out, tracing his finger over my bottom lip. Shivers ran down my entire body and my eyes fluttered. “Ever since Amelia died, I’ve felt like I was drowning. Then you walked into my life… and now for the first time I feel like I can breathe.”

I gasped at the declaration. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me.

“You’ve never been my backup, Arwen. You were always my first choice, ever since I saw you walking into town with that giant cougarin draped over your shoulders. I was fascinated with the beautiful and strong female hunter.”

Shock ran through me. He watched me bring my kill in?

He stepped closer. “I peeked into the kissing tent and saw you walking towards some other guy, your lips pursed and ready. Without thinking, I jumped in front of him and took what I wanted.”

I knew it was him! And the realization that he’d knowingly kissed me because he’d liked me even then, it made every brick I’d stacked around my heart crumble.

“Marry me, Arwen. Not because I need an heir but because somehow I’ve fallen in love with you and now I’m not sure that I can live without you.”

I sucked in a breath, and in response I reached out and grasped the back of his neck, pulling his lips to mine. The second his tongue entered my mouth, there was almost a painful release within my chest. Sometimes it ached to love someone, and that was true with Drae.

He pulled back, looking down at me with uncertainty. “Is that a yes?”

I grinned. “Yes. Does this mean you’re not going to kill me like my mother feared?”

He frowned. “Don’t even say such a thing.” He pulled up my hand and kissed each knuckle.

“Dr. Elsie said it wasn’t advisable for us to have children as there was no telling what our mixed magic would create,” I told him, trying to find something wrong with our union because it seemed too good to be true.

He peered down at me skeptically, no doubt wondering how I knew she’d said that, but I said nothing.

“Whatever we create will be a blessing upon the entirety of Embergate. That, I am sure of. Now, let’s get home and bury our dead. Then we will tell everyone that I have chosen you as my queen.”

I slipped my hand into his, and although the guilt of promising myself to the king so soon after Joslyn died weighed on me, I took comfort in the fact that it was him in the kissing tent all this time. I had him first.

After we gave Joslyn and Regina a respectful burial, I wanted to have him forever.





SEVENTEEN





I flew us back to the castle together a few hours later in the dark of the early morning to cover us. We weren’t sure how many more shifts Drae had in him, so I didn’t want him to try unless he had to. Word that Drae had killed the Nightfall queen’s son would no doubt have spread and we had to be on high alert. When we reached the gates of Jade City just as the sun was rising, the guards blew the horn announcing the king was back. The people flooded into the street to get a sight of their winged king, but instead of just seeing him they saw me with him riding on my back. Gasps and looks of surprise fell upon the faces of the people as they pointed and clapped and small children ran after us.

‘They are going to love you as their queen,’ Drae said into my mind.

I didn’t respond. I was suddenly worried that I might have trouble conceiving with him. Then all of these people, including Adaline, would die.

‘How do you do it?’ I asked him as I lowered us over the stables and armory.

‘Do what?’

‘Carry the weight of your entire people’s fate upon your shoulders.’

‘One day at a time.’

I nearly cried in relief when I saw Cal, Nox and Falcon waiting for us down below. They were covered in mud and looked to be soaking wet but they were alive. They’d gotten here fast… they must have stolen horses and rode all night. Dr. Elsie stood next to them with the king’s advisor, the old man with the book from my testing ceremony.

When I landed, the king got off and I ran off to the stable to dress. By the time I came out, the king was frowning. Nox, Falcon, and Cal were gone, and Drae was peering down at a small leather-bound tome.

I ran up behind him and brushed an affectionate hand over his arm and he stiffened, causing me to recoil.