Page 54 of Dragon Claimed

Blaze playfully growled at her. "Flame Boy? That's the best you got?"

"I'm tired, hungry, and cranky after fighting for my life again. I think that makes it three times this week. I just want to tell everyone what happened and then go to bed. Excuse me for not functioning at full capacity."

Her words sounded rude, but they were in a playful tone. Blaze followed behind her down the stairs, smacking her ass playfully once he caught up to her.

When he reached the last step, he knew what to say. "I expect more from a Princess like you."

A weird electric shock went through his body, causing Blaze to snarl as he fell to his knees. Kaida glanced over her shoulder with a wicked grin, making his heart skip a beat. "Careful. I own you now." She continued to walk to the kitchen, leaving Blaze on the floor with his mouth agape. The urge to grab her, throw her over his shoulder, and take her somewhere to fuck that attitude out of her came to mind, making the smile on his face return.

She's going to be the death of me.

After leaving Blaze on his knees, the smell of salt and savory bacon lured her into the kitchen. Kaida wore a smug smile as she crossed the threshold of the kitchen, knowing that she could leave Blaze helpless and horny at the same time. After months of him pushing her buttons, denying what he felt, and trying to cause chaos in her life, he deserved to know that she was in charge. Maybe this would be their thing. Tension until they couldn't handle it anymore.

If that is the case, I will have to watch myself in public around him.

There are worse things.

The rest of her men were in the kitchen, all staffing stations, so they could prepare enough food to feed an army. After being in captivity and fighting for her life, Kaida's stomach growled the further she stepped near the food. There was a cinnamon and vanilla scent that she couldn't place until she saw a humongous stack of perfectly browned pancakes on a serving plate. The savory, meaty aroma of sausage filled her nose as she heard sizzling inside a pan. Arlo was manning the stove, and she could see him moving his arm back and forth as he fried the sausage. Beckett was grabbing different condiments from the refrigerator and cabinets. She saw a ketchup, hot sauce, and syrup container in his hand. Esen was in another cabinet, pulling out plates to serve the food. Beckett was putting a cloth onto the table with help from Enzo. The table could seat eight people, so it was perfect for them to be able to eat together.

For as long as Kaida lived here, she noticed none of them had ever eaten at this table. She never asked why that was but felt it was due to not having their parents around, so they never felt like a true family. Now that all of them were bonded to each other and her, maybe they finally felt like a family, and it was time to use the table. It made Kaida's heart swell with happiness at the thought.

I brought them closer together. They may have felt like brothers before, but now they actually feel like family.

Kaida rushed over to Esen and helped him with the plates. He lost his balance after reaching for the top shelf to get his wanted plates. She pressed her hand on his back to keep him steady. It must have worked because he grabbed the plates and easily pulled them down.

"Thanks. I thought I was going to drop these."

"Not a problem."

Kaida looked down at the plates and noticed the pattern of swirls of the elements on the outer rim. Flames for fire, water droplets for water, vines for earth, and yellow swirls to signify air. The craftsmanship of the plates was remarkable. They were perfectly circular and even. The plates in the castle were nice but not nearly as beautiful as the ones in her hands. Kaida smiled at the plates and felt the wave of admiration Esen had for these plates.

"My mom and Arlo's mom made these in a pottery class they took. The shop is still open, and the owner always mentions that our mothers were his best students. No one has made a set of plates and bowls like the ones they did," His voice was soft, and she could hear the pain in his voice from yearning to see his mom one last time.

"They are beautiful. I don't think I've seen a set like this, even in the castle. Maybe close to this, but these look almost perfect."

"Yeah. Arlo's mom constructed the plates the most. Her affinity for earth made it easy for her to work the clay. My mom made the bowls, and they both painted them. But I haven't seen anything like theirs either."

"Why are you bringing them out for us to eat on then? I'd hate for one of us to drop one."

Arlo chuckled. "You can try to break them, but you can't. My mom made them unbreakable with her magic. That's another reason why Enki still talks about it."

"You'll have to take me there someday."

They grinned at her, but neither conveyed their feelings about the subject to her. They would take her, but it might be too painful for them to enjoy it. She kicked herself for bringing up wanting to go to the shop as she opened a drawer to grab silverware while Esen walked over to the table to begin setting it.

Blaze stepped into the room, and Kaida was relieved that the energy shifted to him instead of remaining on the conversation that killed the mood. His eyes caught hers, and the smirk he wore lit a fire inside of her before he winked. Kaida growled at him before going to the table to finish what Esen started by adding the silverware.

"We're glad to see you home, bro," Beckett called out while he set the condiments on the table.

"It's Good to be home. Even better, my mind is cleared of everything. God knows I needed that shower."

The guys gave him a sympathetic look but did not press Blaze to discuss it. Kaida saw his state while in the cell next to him. It was smart not to ask him about it. They all needed to let him choose when or if he wanted to go into detail. She remembered they told her how the people who went berserk reacted when they were questioned about it. There was a lot of shame and anxiety around what they did, and most of them shut down when talking about it.

That isn't what Blaze needs right now.

Blaze pulled back a chair and plopped himself into it. "You don't need to walk on eggshells around me. Yeah, I remember everything that happened. But it wasn't me. I couldn't control it at all. I didn't hurt anyone, so that's all that matters. There are bigger things we need to discuss. Come on. Let's eat so we can get to the details."

Kaida looked at the others, shrugged her shoulders, and did the same. Arlo and Enzo brought the food as Beckett and Esen found their seats. Blaze chose to be at the right of the head of the table, and Kaida chose to be at the head. Beckett was to her left, Enzo was to the right of Blaze, Esen was to his right, and Arlo chose to be to the left of Beckett.

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