Page 16 of Dragon Untamed

“Kaida?”

Kaida whipped herself around and found Esen standing behind her. Her stomach somersaulted at the sight of him but twisted instantly when she realized she was alone with him. Kaida would not be naive enough to think that they were on good terms just because Esen defended her. Far too much had happened for her to make that mistake.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked her as he put his hands into his pockets.

Kaida wasn't sure if that meant he was trying to show her that he had come in peace or if he was nervous to be around her now. Her dragon's magic alone was more powerful than his Breeze magic. Considering his dragon bowed to Kaida's as well, Esen must know that.

"Sure." Her voice sounded more confident than she felt.

Esen threaded his fingers through his hair as he looked off toward the outlook over the water. Kaida shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as Esen found the words he wanted to say. He wouldn't look at her, opened his mouth a few times, quickly closed it, and scratched the back of his head.

"Are you okay?" she asked him and frowned.

Esen straightened his back, looked right into her eyes, and nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. I was hoping you could forgive me for my past behavior towards you."

His words almost gave her whiplash. It was the last thing she had expected to come out of his mouth. There was emotion in his voice that had never been present before during any of their previous interactions. She couldn't even pinpoint what the emotion could be. As he waited for her answer, Kaida could see beads of sweat on his forehead.

Nervous. EsenISnervous! I didn't know I could make any of the princes nervous.

Why wouldn't he be nervous? He is in the presence of a powerful dragon who could annihilate him at any moment.

I don't think that is why he is nervous.

I would be.

"I know I have been a royal asshole to you since you came here. I wish I could come up with a reason why I could behave that way so easily, but... nothing is coming to mind."

Kaida scoffed, "Really? Nothing comes to mind. I can think of a red-headed dick that could have influenced that."

Esen frowned. "He is a good guy. He just doesn't have a handle on his temper."

Kaida scrunched up her face and raised her hand, flat and palm-out, toward him, "Don't. I don't think there is anything you can say that will make everything he did better."

"What about me?"

Kaida cocked an eyebrow at him. "What about you?"

Esen stepped closer to her, but Kaida took a step back. She didn't want him any closer than he already was to her. Even though he apologized, she didn't trust him yet. Esen's shoulders sagged when he noticed her step back and licked his lips.

"Is there anything I can say or do to make everything I did better?"

That was a tough question to answer. She thought about it for a minute, but nothing came to mind. Even though Esen was following commands from Blaze, he still participated in trying to kill her. On the other hand, he wanted to try at least to make up for what he did.

I don't know. What should I do?Kaida asked her dragon.

Kaida had to smile at herself for being able to ask her dragon anything now. It was becoming a reflex to just talk to her dragon when, before, there was nothing but an empty space in her mind and soul.

There is something about this one. I can feel it. He is remorseful.Her dragon responded and made a rumbling sound inside her mind.Keep him at arm's length for now. But we can see if he is telling the truth in the meantime.

Okay. I can do that.

"I don't know what you can say or do to make up for your past behavior, Esen. That is a hard question to answer."

Esen frowned, but he bowed his head, and nodded. Kaida had to smile as he accepted the answer and began to walk away. It was cute because she wasn't finished, but it was like he hadn’t expected her to say anything different, so there was no point in waiting for further disappointment..

"I can, however, say that I can at least give you a chance to try."

He turned back around, and it was as if she had turned on a light inside of him with how bright his eyes got at her response. Kaida gave him a smile and waited for him to say something. This time, when he sighed, it just seemed to be in relief.

---