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“We’ll find out who learned about Daisy’s return and how,” Rai said. “Since we’re going to stay here for a while, we’ll have a lot of work to do.”
He’d backed me up on the issue of staying in my realm. So, it was two against two, which meant I could outvote them, because this concerned my dynasty.
I sent Rai a grateful glance, and he smiled, his sapphire eyes warm.
“How many pure-blooded dragon knights do we have, Jarrod?” I asked.
“Twelve, including Adrian and me.”
My chest heaved up and down at the news. We’d had over two hundred pure-blooded dragons in my time.
My mates had informed me of the decline of the dragon race in their realm. The Oslan Dominion was less populated than the Danaenyth dynasty, but they had over fifty dragons.
“Our glorious days have long passed us,” Jarrod said, seeing the grief in my eyes. “Most of us Faded in time, from lack of purpose or being fed up with living.”
“Then the dragons need to find a purpose again,” I said. One of my new missions would be to increase the dragon population. We needed to reproduce more, and faster.
My mates seemed to read what was in my mind and grinned at me, heat in their eyes.
I blinked, and my face flamed. They expected me to set an example.
“Where are the other ten dragons?” I asked. “Have they all left with my grandfather?”
Jarrod nodded. “If they hadn’t, they might have ended up like Segomo.”
“You didn’t leave with the rest of the dragons,” Iokul said, his icy silver eyes narrowing on Jarrod, “and the smoke-entity didn’t possess you, either.”
“Jarrod isn’t our person of interest, Iokul,” I said. “He proved his loyalty to me centuries ago. He doesn’t need to prove it again.”
Jarrod stared into the distance. “The day after you ran into the Forbidden Forest and we failed to get you back, Your Highness, we should have been punished to death, but the king exiled us instead. Adrian took off to look for you, but he made me vow to stay in the realm to wait for you. I’ve been alone for a long time. I didn’t Fade because I promised the general. I stay out of sight of the others, but I’ve been keeping watch.”
And he’d found me.
“You did well, Jarrod,” I said.
His throat bobbed up and down with emotion.
My gaze swept over the sprawling town down the hills.
Could I make the realm my home again? Or should I make my mates happy by taking the easy way out, going to their kingdom, and living happily ever after in a new home with them?
Rai wrapped an arm around my shoulder, feeling my need for comfort through our mating bond. Iokul kissed the top of my hair. Blaze didn’t come to me, though I felt a spark of regret from him for losing his temper at me.
I did not want distance from any of them. I did not want to alienate any of my mates.
We hadn’t gotten enough time to know each other since our insatiable sexual need for each other topped everything, and emotionally, we became more vulnerable. The slightest friction between us could bruise us easily.
CHAPTER 4
“It isn’t just fate pushing us together,” I told my mates. “I chose you because you are warriors in your hearts and in every aspect of your lives.” Of course, the fact they were smoking-hot had helped a lot. “I appreciate that you’re protective of me, but you also promised to respect me as your equal partner. You said you’d try not to be overprotective. I’m asking you to try now.”
“But you also need to respect our opinions,” Blaze said. “They should count, too. If you want to play the equality card, then you should be fair.”
“Of course,” I said. “We have even votes. Rai is on my side, because he knows we don’t run from a fight.”
“We run when we see no chance of winning,” Blaze said. “Or when the odds are stacked against us. Being a great warrior means one accepts a strategic retreat.”
“I agree,” I said. “But can we at least find out our chances before we withdraw?”
