Page 62 of Dragon King’s Bullied Mate

No one argued further after that, not because they agreed but because they were afraid. Without another word, they turned and left him alone.

Mikael stood motionless staring at the destroyed table while the dragon still paced violently beneath his skin, furious and possessive. Fear was not something he had ever wanted to rule by, and now it drifted endlessly throughout his own castle.

His own fear ran strong for Lyra and Beckett. If men were now bold enough to attempt taking the boy directly off the road in broad daylight, then the situation had already escalated beyond simple stalking or intimidation.

This was becoming war.

The moment the doors shut behind them, Mikael grabbed his phone again and called his guard back.

“Recall the others,” he ordered. “I want Princess Malaya, Lyra, and Beckett escorted here under full protection.”

The captain hesitated noticeably this time. “Your Majesty… respectfully, are you certain the castle is safer?”

Mikael stared out the darkened windows toward the snowy mountains beyond. “I don’t know, but the village has already been breached. Bring them here as quickly as possible.”

He wandered the castle just for something to do, and started to hear the whispers.

“The poison damaged him.”

“He’s becoming unstable.”

“He’s not the same.”

Servants fell silent the moment they noticed him approaching.

Guards avoided eye contact.

Fear spread quickly through castles.

By evening several senior advisors formally requested a private audience, this time in the council chamber. The moment he entered, none of them looked entirely comfortable confronting him as he took a seat.

One older advisor cleared his throat carefully. “Your Majesty… we called you here out of concern.”

Mikael leaned back in his chair slowly. “How reassuring.”

The man winced slightly. “There are rumors spreading through the court regarding your health.”

“My health,” Mikael repeated flatly.

“The poison,” another advisor added quickly. “Combined with recent events and your… emotional responses…”

“So you’re more concerned about my emotions than you are in finding out who poisoned me in the first place.”

“We have opened an investigation.”

“How touching. And how is that going? Or have you spent too much time listening to gossip?”

All of the advisors denied that at the same time. “We are capable of doing both.”

Mikael folded his hands together and leaned forward. “Who specifically has been encouraging these rumors?”

Silence answered him.

“And before you answer, you should know that there is only one person in this castle who I have had a disagreement with.”

The way they averted their eyes said everything he needed to know. Of course it was Dag.

He wouldn’t go around making direct accusations because Dag was far too intelligent for something that crude, but careful suggestions planted through conversations in hallways and training yards until doubt spread naturally on its own.