Page 105 of Dragon Me Through Space

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“What do you mean the Games have been moved up?” I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

Zeke had barged into Preston’s bedroom, rudely waking me from a peaceful sleep sandwiched between Preston and Wayne to give us the update.

“The High King and Queen announced before we arrived that they moved the Games up to start today, but no one bothered to tell us yesterday,” he snapped.

He finally came into focus and I blinked at the anger in his voice. I knew he wasn’t mad at me, clearly since I hadn’t done anything, but I wasn’t certain why he was angry.

Crawling out from under Wayne’s arm, I made my way to the end of the bed so I could look up at Zeke. “Why are you so upset?” I asked as softly as I could while allowing him to still hear me.

He dropped down to one knee, his face still higher than mine, causing me to lean back to meet his eyes, and set one of his large hands on my leg. “Because you’ll have to participate today. We just arrived yesterday and we haven’t done enough additional training with you, so you won’t be ready for the three phases and⁠—”

I set my hand atop his and smiled. “Giant, I’m going to be okay.”

“Two people tried to kill you yesterday,” he growled and his hand flexed on my leg. “More could try during the Games and we aren’t allowed to intervene. They could permanently maim you and there’s nothing we can do except watch and wait.”

“We already knew that was going to be a possibility,” Preston said around a yawn as he sat up. “There’s no use worrying since we have no way out of it. She has to participate. Plus, we killed the archer who shot at her before, confirmed it was Garron, and Zeke had a nice, long chat with him to ensure he doesn’t try anything against her in the future.” He met my eyes and a soft smile tilted up his lips. “We just have to believe in Xoe’s abilities.”

“If I lose an arm, will you want me less?” I asked Zeke, already knowing the answer.

“Of course not,” he snapped and reached up to grip my arms. “But you aren’t losing any arms.”

Sliding off the end of the bed, I stood before him and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I’m going to be okay. I won’t let them maim me, but it is reassuring to know that it wouldn’t make you less interested in me.”

“You’re my mate,” he whispered and pressed his huge palm against my cheek. “No matter what happens, you’re mine.”

“Ours,” Wayne growled half-consciously.

“Ours,” Zeke amended with an eye roll.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he hugged me tight against his chest. “Mine,” I whispered as I nuzzled his cheek. “Don’t forget it.”

He purred as he held me, and slowly, his shoulders relaxed and he finally stopped being so rigid.

“How long do we have until I have to participate?” I asked, still hugging him tightly and inhaling his scent.

“Three hours,” he whispered.

“Can you get me food? I’m going to shower and get dressed.”

“Two more minutes,” he whispered back, tightening his hold on me.

“I’ll get your food,” Wayne offered and climbed out of the bed.

Zeke immediately stood, carried me to the bed, then lay down while spooning his huge body around mine.

Clearly, he was in need of physical contact to calm himself and I wasn’t going to lose out on the rare Zeke cuddles.

Preston stood from the bed, too. “I’m going to find my father and see if he’ll spill any information. There must be a reason behind this and I’m going to suss them and their reasoning out.” He frowned and said, “Though, knowing my parents, they likely just wanted to move it up so they could see you in action after hearing all of the rumors about you. Now that I say it, that’s more than likely the reason, but I’m still going to investigate.”

As Preston walked out, Gage walked in. He lay in front of me on the bed, took one of my hands, and rested it on his chest.

“I’m going to be fine,” I promised them. “I’ve been fighting off mercenaries, bounty hunters, and other trained killers for a decade. I’ll be fine against the Dragonkin here.”

“Just let us enjoy some quiet with you, please,” Gage whispered with his eyes still closed.

Normally, I might have taken offense to his comment, but I could feel how wound up he was beneath my palm. So, I lay silently between them and enjoyed their warmth and presence.