Page 46 of Betrayed By Dragons

Jianyu relaxes, but only by a fraction. "Commander Shu. I'd say it's a pleasure, but..."

He glances around, and yeah. Being confronted by an enormous soldier in a back alleyway in the middle of the night is the farthest thing from pleasurable I can think of.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come with us, Sir."

"On whose orders?" Li asks from just behind me. His voice cracks. The man is a bureaucrat, not a warrior, and despite his effort at bravado, it shows.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jianyu shifts ever so slightly, angling his body so he's standing squarely between me and the threat. "My father's."

"And he doesn't like to be kept waiting," Commander Shu confirms.

"A fact I know all too well." Jianyu flashes a thin, humorless smile. How is he staying so calm? "We're on our way back to the palace now, as it should happen. I'll be sure to check in with him at my earliest convenience."

Commander Shu's eye twitches. "I'm afraid I must insist on escorting you myself."

The formal politeness with which they're both basically telling each other to fuck off takes my breath away. That said, the semblance of civility is stripped away as Commander Shu lifts one hand.

Behind him, what had appeared to be a sheer stone wall disappears, revealing three big military vehicles and a dozen Stone Kingdom soldiers.

My eyes fly wide, and my instincts scream at me to run. Better--to fly. My dragon throws herself against my ribs, desperate to take wing and breathe fire and ash on the men and women threatening me and my mate.

But my dragon is as caged as ever in my chest. Jianyu's skin ripples, his dragon close to the surface, too, but he casts one look over his shoulder at me, and I know. He won't bring it forth unless he has no other choice.

I want to wither. My dragon should be fighting right alongside my mate's--not hindering him. Putting us both at risk.

Still keeping his composure somehow, Jianyu lets out a sigh that's pure disappointment. "The royal guard, Shu? Seriously?"

"Name a better fighting force."

"I can't--because I trained them."

"Be that as it may." Commander Shu drops his hand. "Our loyalty is to our king."

"Shit," Jianyu curses beneath his breath.

A half dozen soldiers stride forward, but Jianyu's not going quietly. He adopts a defensive stance. Behind us, Li does the same.

My head is spinning. Jianyu is the crown prince; yes, the king still outranks him, but having the royal guard turn against his only son is madness.

Lady Tsing's warnings echo in my ears. She told Jianyu that there were threats coming from within his own house. Suddenly, his hypervigilance trying to get us out of the club makes sense.

"Stay behind me," Jianyu commands.

Three of the guards come at him directly, while the other three arrange themselves to prevent our escape. As the first few lunge at Jianyu, he evades their attacks, while at the same time, he masterfully keeps them all away from me.

"You really want to do this?" Shu asks.

Jianyu lifts his fists in front of his face. "Do you?"

Shu shakes his head and steps back. "Remember," he says, addressing the guard. "The prince is not to be harmed."

His gaze cuts to me. Clearly, I'm fair game for harming.

Jianyu doesn't miss the commander's meaning, either, and protective rage ripples through our connection.

As the soldiers regroup to attack again, my mate strikes out first. He grabs the first man to get within reach and slams him into the soldiers behind him. In practically the same motion, he kicks out to the side, getting another guard member firmly in the knee. There's a sickening crunch, and I swallow a shriek.

I glance over at the other soldiers still hanging back. They're heavily armed, but not one of them has drawn a weapon. Either they think it's too risky to start shooting anywhere near the crown prince or they're trying to do this quietly.

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