The throne room was overheated, and a fire was building inside me.
I needed a release—and immediately at that. I thought of finding a willing servant to fuck, or even to see which princess would eagerly offer herself to me, but I decided against it.
I needed to let my stress out, and the best way to let my stress out was in the training ring. There were always a few willing opponents eager and ready to take a beating from me. After all, I was their king.
I changed my clothing into something sensible and form-fitting. As the training attire slid on my body and conformed to my chiseled muscles, I felt a small sensation of relief.
This was a good idea.
Relief washed over me as I descended toward the training room. I already felt better as I thought of the sounds that would soon echo through the room as I slammed bodies into the ground and pounded flesh with my fists.
Celen was eager to disperse some rage too.
The training room looked exactly the way I wanted it to. The stone walls were such a dark gray they were almost black. The lighting was low—for a relaxing effect. Giant iron dragon statues stood on both sides of the door.
I made my way toward the archway, full of anticipation.
My mood changed from overjoyed to irritated within a matter of seconds as I met three pairs of watchful, persistent eyes.
And guess who they belonged to?
Theodora, Anya, and Helen. They must have had their servants keeping watch for me.
I searched for a fourth pair as Celen stirred inside me impatiently. It seemed he, too, was saddened to find that Kira was missing.
I fought back the urge to sigh in irritation, just from the mere absence of Kira’s presence.
I couldn’t understand why.
And I knew I wouldn’t, at least anytime soon.
I ignored the princesses’ watchful gazes and stopped in the center of the room, signaling for my first opponent to come forward.
This one was new to me, but I often had new servants and new warriors due to the vastness of the kingdom. My empire was constantly growing, thanks to my various conquests.
I scanned his eyes. There was fear behind them and strain beneath his skin. He was nervous.
Hell, I guess I’d be fucking nervous too if I were sparring against the Dragon of Ruin.
His legs looked wobbly as he tried to plant his feet firmly on the mat.
I knew this man wouldn’t be much of an opponent just by looking at him. He was racked with nerves, and the eyes always showed a man’s fear. Fear basically became him as he attempted to hold my gaze.
I became annoyed all over again, and I could even feel Celen stir with silent irritation.
Still, I lunged forward. I knew I had to see this fight through.
The first strike was like slicing through a piece of butter—easy and quick. I felt my hand against his cold, untouched flesh. I knew it wouldn’t be like that for long. Soon, it would be bruised and marked from our fight.
Several high-pitched squeals came from the princesses. They were excited, impressed, horny—whatever else.
All it took was one more strike, and the man fell to the ground.
I was bored already.
I needed to do something else to take my mind off of her…
A flight should do the trick for both Celen and me.
“Go get ready for dinner, ladies,” I instructed them.
I watched all three overly eager princesses almost run out of the training room.
I liked being obeyed. In fact, I reveled in it. There was nothing like getting your way. But Kira was far from obedient, and I knew that. Her blatant disobedience had caused a current to surge through my body. I liked her disobedience too.
I was standing before the Dragon’s Entrance—the place where I always shifted and flew from. It was the oldest part of the castle and was sacred to our family and our dragons.
My bones cracked, and I felt Celen break through. My hands became his long claws. My arms became his wings. My skin became his scales. My hair became his horns. My body became his. We were a part of each other. I leapt into the air and beat my wings.
I soared through the sky, desperate to break free of my irritation and fly high and far, over mountain ranges, grasslands, hillsides, even higher than the birds themselves. It was springtime now, and the air still had a crispness to it.
The sky belonged to me, as did all the lands below. The Dani Dynasty went on for hundreds of miles through the lands of Drakoria. My great-great-grandfather had named it that long ago—after he’d conquered his first village. It was a tradition of our families to conquer.
After other dynasties had lost the ability to produce dragon shifters, my great-great-grandfather had known the advantage was ours. He’d seen their weakness and exploited it—making their lands his own. Thus, many of the small nearby kingdoms were now ours.
Our land grew and so did our power. There were people who were opposed to our rule, but there was little that they could do, especially when their dragon lineage had died out. They lived under our rule because it wasn’t an option not to.
We were conquerors for other reasons too, out of necessity to keep our kingdom protected. Barbarians and raiders always seemed to frequent our lands. Luckily, I had the advantage of my dragon along with my earth magic, which aided me in stopping the barbarians before they could pillage, destroy, and ruin my lands.
I flew higher in the sky this time, reaching a new personal height as my wings flapped. Large ancient oaks lined the lush, undulating hills below me as wildflowers swayed with the wind. Dragon sight was incredible—it was as if I was feet away from the ground instead of hundreds of feet in the sky.
I flew for hours, until the sun was low in the sky, as it was nearing evening. Vibrant hues of red, yellow, and orange swirled in the sky on the horizon as I soared, basking in the breeze that flowed against my scales and the freeness that floated through my spirit.
I was miles away from the castle now, as I passed my recently opened mine.
As I flew over the entrance of the new mine, I noticed small figures scurrying in and out of the mine along with at least a dozen larger figures carrying boxes. At least the council had decided to hire sufficient workers.
The sun continued to sink from the sky, and day began to change into nighttime as I landed and shifted back to human form.
I knew I was putting off the inevitable—the dinner with Kira.
I had purposefully tailored the seating arrangement for tonight. I needed her intoxicating presence at my side, alluring to me with her innocence, disinterest, and beauty. She drove me mad and awakened every foreign emotion inside me.
Anya was a stark contrast to Kira, but I had decided to seat her at my other side. It would empower Anya, but I was able to tolerate her more than Theodora or Helen.
I dressed myself in another tailored black suit, embroidered with our sigil in bright red along the cuffs of my jacket. The suit fit like perfection.
As I entered the room, I found myself searching for her again as Celen battered inside me eagerly.
She was beautiful beyond ordinary comparison. She was soft but had a toughness to her. She was stubborn and disobedient, but there was something that intrigued me about her. Something about her caused me to desire her deeply in a way that the other three women did not come close to possessing.
I found myself enchanted and frozen in place as the doors parted.
My eyes were glued to the entryway.
The doors parted, and it was as if my heartbeat stopped as she crossed the threshold.
Celen thrashed inside me violently.
My breath hitched as I stared at her in complete and utter amazement.
She looked incredible, prouder and more confident than before. Her father clutched her wrist tightly, directing her toward me.
I wanted to rip that bastard’s hand off for tainting and discoloring her skin.
But still, Kira had an air about her, one that signaled strength, showing that she wouldn’t allow him to faze her.
Her dress was without frills, but she didn’t need an elaborate dress with the way she looked in it. She could wear anything and make it look fantastic. The vibrant red of the dress contrasted starkly with her pale white skin. The tight material of the dress clung to every single curve of her body, amplifying her ample cleavage, tiny waist, and round ass.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, and neither could Celen.
Gasps echoed around me as the room shook. I ignored the unnerved guests and fixated on her, as if she were the only person in the room. My earth magic quaked within me, heightening my senses.
Princess Kira entered the room without stopping. Her face was still, and she held her head high. With my dragon senses, I could hear her heart beating as she came near me. Her heart rate was even, unsettled. She wasn’t shocked like the others.
As she passed me, our gazes meshed together, and for a moment Celen relaxed inside me. But within seconds I was disturbed again—dismayed by the fact that she elicited this amount of emotion from me. I turned on my heels and went off to speak to Anya, in an attempt to quell the emotion that was building inside me.
Kira wasn’t like the others—in fact, they would never compare to her. Even Celen knew it.
But the question still remained: How could Princess Kira of Valon, a nineteen-year-old girl who had no desire to be queen, both calm and fluster the Dragon of Ruin?
