Page 76 of Dragon Untamed

"I feel like we will need something to keep us calm with that kind of news," Arlo added.

"Doesn't Adrien have elixirs or something in the house,"

"Yes!" Adrien bellowed from behind the window.

Kaida giggled and waved for everyone to follow her. Enzo was not sure about involving the others in the conversation.However, with each of them having the power they held, it might be good to have them on their side. So, Enzo walked behind the others and accepted that this was probably for the better.

Once inside, Enzo noticed that the four girls were inside the room that was behind the window. He rolled his eyes but wasn't exactly surprised. How the guys talked about these girls gave him enough information to know this is exactly what they would do to keep their friend safe. They could break that window or make it disappear to defend her if something went wrong.

Adrien was in a cabinet that had all sorts of bottles inside. Azulia was next to her, holding up bottles and then shaking her head. The Lycan named Remy seemed to be watching Enzo's every move. Sundrei, the Vampyre, was doing the same, but at least she would look away and make it seem like she was reading when Enzo looked at her.

Enzo was thankful that the guys also gave him the rundown of each of Kaida's friends. They were not wrong about them. They all showed up the moment he stepped onto the porch. They even listened in on the conversation. If they weren’t friends, the kind that would most likely attack him if he wronged her, he didn't know who was.

Kaida led them to a large table and sat at the head of it. Beckett sat to her right, and Arlo sat to her left. Esen sat next to Arlo, and they all looked at Enzo, who noticed that the girls started filtering in but stuck toward the walls. Enzo was on the opposite side of Kaida but chose to stand. Remy and Adrien were more toward Kaida's end while Sundrei made her way to sit next to Beckett. Azulia then sat in the chair that Enzo was standing behind. Adrien started handing out cups of a liquid that smelled of lavender. Enzo picked it up and smelled the bitterness of the tea leaves and the sweetness of honey to accompany the lavender. He took a sip and felt himself relaxing a little.

"Go on, Enzo. I think it's time we knew everything," Beckett urged with Kaida nodding.

"I overheard my father's plans to gather his army together and lead them here to destroy this place. This was after we caught wind of Kaida being a Plasma dragon. There was a rumor that she was bonded to you, Beckett, as well, and that sent my father on a downward spiral, it seems. He thinks that, because Kaida is a Plasma, she would want the throne."

"That's ridiculous. Kaida doesn't want the throne. She was just trying to settle herself here," Adrien interjected.

"Yeah, she could have started planning that after her dragon emerged, but she has been just trying to figure things out here," Azulia added.

"Not to mention finding out that I had multiple mates. I was too busy to plot to take the throne.

Beckett, Arlo, and Esen frowned. Enzo lifted his eyebrows at them, giving them a look that told them to speak their mind.

Beckett was the first to answer, "Well, I’m not gonna lie. We wanted Kaida's dragon to emerge and were helping her so she could give us intel on how to get into the kingdom."

"Yeah, someone could have overheard that, and that's how your father caught wind of it," Arlo finished.

"Wonderful. I hoped this was all just rumors, and I could go back to tell my father that Kaida would only take the throne when I did."

Esen shrugged. "Still could. Throw him off our trail."

Enzo growled. "That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard. You think that you could take on the entire Dragaal army?"

"No. That's why we wanted to get Kaida to give us the ins and outs of the kingdom," Beckett answered.

"Why did you even want to overthrow the throne? What could that possibly do other than put our people more to each other's throats?"

"We were tired of being the outcasts. Whether your father believes so or not, we have our place in the kingdom. We were not meant to be cut off from everything," Arlo argued.

"If it weren't for Azulia and Adrien, this island would not be as good of a place as it is," Esen backed him up."

"That's why I begged him to allow me to bring Kaida home. I stated that I would not allow my fated mate to lose her life while he did this. He thought that, if I regained my bond with her, he would have her on his side of things. I wanted her home so I could save her from downfall. I didn't think she would have built what she has here already."

"Now what?" Kaida asked.

Enzo wasn't sure how to answer that. There was more to consider than he thought now that he also had to worry about the others. If Kaida did not want to return, Enzo could not tell his father that things would work out how he wanted.

Shit.

The image of the island being destroyed by the king and his army flashed through Kaida's mind. A whine escaped her throat, and it caused her four mates to look at her. Beckett reached out and grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He tried to send her some calmness through their bond to help her. She frowned when it didn't work.

"How can your father be this way? How is he okay with destroying this island and everyone who lives here? That is thousands of lives. Why would he do that?"

Beckett squeezed her hand again. "That is what happens when you become hungry with power. It goes to your head, and you are constantly trying to gain more to feed the animal within that is consuming you."

---