Page 149 of Rescued By The Dragon

My dragon didn’t seem to be bothered. He was ready for anything that awaited him as King of The North Kingdom. It felt odd to have someone inside of me that was so ready for something I dreaded.

We landed on the vacant bridge. Part of me wanted to keep it that way. Maybe another human would find her mate.

I let Amara down. She looked over the edge of the bridge, giving me a look over her shoulder, I reached out and grabbed her. “Don’t you dare jump,” I hissed, pulling her back. “That isn’t a long fall, and what if I can’t make it.”

She smirked. “I was joking. I wouldn’t have looked if I was going to do it.”

“Come on before you get too ballsy. Let’s see how the castle is managing without a King.”

The thunder of nerves on my chest began a drum solo in my lungs.

Smells were coming from the kitchen, the sound of workers rushing around cleaning the castle from top to bottom. Guards stood outside the front doors, and there was laughter in the room.

Amara stopped beside me, wrapped her palm around my forearm, and glanced out at everyone. “Looks like everyone is finding their place,” she whispered.

One of the dragons heard her and stopped in the middle of the front room. “Dorran,” he said. “We’re so glad to have you.”

All the workers glared up at me. What were they expecting? For me to say some great speech? Reassure them everything would be okay. Because I wouldn’t lie. “It’s great to be here,” I said, offering Amara my hand. “If you haven’t met Amara, she’s our new Queen.”

Most of the crowd bowed their heads out of respect.

“I’m ready to make an announcement to the kingdom. If one of you would sound the bell.”

I turned toward Amara and stepped down three steps to be at eye level with her. The bells rang outside, vibrating the stained glass windows and shattering the nerves inside of me. “Are you ready, Love?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Squeezing her hand, I led her down the steps and out of the front doors. The entire kingdom was gathered in the courtyard. It felt surreal to have them all standing there watching me. I prayed it went differently than the last time.

The guards behind us shut the doors and took their position.

“Good morning,” I said as loudly as I could. “As promised, I’m here with a plan for you all. But before we get into the details, I want you all to know something. My parents ruled this kingdom for a very long time. They have done good things, and terrible things throughout their reign. I’m not sure what I will do with them yet because I can’t trust them. They tried to kill my mate, and my mother refuses to apologize. When a decision has been made on what will happen to them, I will let you all know. Do not question my authority just because you know me as a Prince."

The only sound in the entire courtyard was the hammering of my heart.

Everyone stared and waited for me to continue.

“As for the kingdom. Anyone who is willing to volunteer for pickup, construction, or plumbing needs to meet me at the corner of Lila and Pecan at noon. We will start there.”

Amara stirred beside me. She knew that was her father's restaurant. I planned to restore it from the ground up and give the people their favorite place to eat back.

“We’re running out of room at the Inn for people that lost their homes. There are several families with children that have nowhere to go," a female dragon said.

“Send them here. Amara will make sure that they are set with a room in the castle.”

I felt Amara’s heart leap into her chest at the mention of interacting with people.

“We need a plumber at the police station. All of our pipes were ripped from the ground in the attack."

“I will see to it that someone comes over today.” I waited patiently for anyone else to jump in, and when they didn’t, I nodded graciously.

As I’d seen my father do in his younger years.

Back when he had respect for the kingdom and his position.

"Contact any of the castle employees with requests in the meantime. We will build our home back to its glory. Do not be afraid to come to the castle with ideas. I am your King to also listen, not just to rule."

The heavy whoosh of the guards opening the wooden doors blew my hair onto my forehead and invited me inside. I walked with Amara back into the castle, feeling twenty pounds lighter than before.

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