Page 55 of Betrayed By Dragons

I glower, but I refuse to rise to his bait.

"You remember Prince Jianyu." I gesture in the third wheel's general direction.

"How could I forget," Dorran says drily.

Failing to get a rise out of me, he releases Ember's hand and regards the rest of our motley crew. I introduce the others simply as "Jianyu's friends" and "Ember's friends". There'll be time for more getting to know you talk later.

As promised, Atina's motorcade arrives within a few moments, but a fun ride back to the castle in an armored vehicle, surrounded by my father's people, isn't quite what I had in mind.

I catch Cael's eye, then glance at the Porsche. "I call shotgun."

Cael's as used to my bullshit as I am to Dorran's. He bows deeply, and in a mock-deferential tone, replies, "Of course, Your Excellency."

Atina starts rallying the troops. "If everyone else would please follow me, we can start heading to the castle."

I touch Atina's arm, stopping her. "These people are all under my protection--understood?"

"Naturally, Your Excellency." Something like humor sparks in her eyes, and great, that's just what I need--my staff is starting to think they can start ribbing me the way my friends do. "Prince Jianyu, Ember--"

I shake my head, letting Atina go and moving back toward my mate. "Ember's riding with me."

"Then so am I," Jianyu asserts.

Dorran glances between Ember, Jianyu, Cael and me. "Porsche seats five." He frowns. "But it's gonna be a tight squeeze."

* * *

"Who would have guessed?" Cael crows from the front seat. "All it would take for you to give up shotgun was getting mated."

"Shut up," I grumble. I'm folded up like a pretzel in the tiny back seat, but it's worth it to have Ember beside me. I put my hand on her knee. She's squished in between me and Jianyu, but that's pretty much par for the course these days; she seems to be used to it.

I fucking hate that she has two mates, but I guess it's better than her having seven or something. That would make car-pooling one hell of a bitch.

We're whipping down the road toward the castle, Dorran driving like a lunatic, the windows all open to let in the pre-dawn breeze. I breathe in big gulps of air, reveling in the scent of home and clay and hot, red earth. The bright ball of the sun has just crested the horizon, and my dragon stretches out its wings inside my chest, soaking in the golden rays.

A part of me wants to lean back and luxuriate. Let my eyes drift closed and watch the bright red sparks play out across the insides of my lids. Ember, Jianyu and I were up all night, and it's a half hour drive to the castle. A nap would probably do us some good.

But I'm here for a reason, and it's not going to wait for me to get some beauty sleep.

"So." I rub my eyes and sit up straighter. "You wanna fill me in on what the hell is going on?"

Dorran takes his eyes off the road just long enough to dart a pointed glance at Cael. "It's just dad being dad."

Cael huffs out a laugh that's the opposite of funny. "I'd say it's a little bit more than that." Turning around in his seat, he meets my gaze. "He's conscripting soldiers, Rafe."

Okay, that gets my attention.

"What."

"Why?" Jianyu counters.

"Stay out of this," Dorran warns him, glaring at him in the rearview mirror. "We're already fending off calls from Shítou to return you, I'll have you know."

Jianyu prickles further, and I swear to the gods, I can feel his asshole dragon hurtling toward the surface.

I swat a hand in his direction, trying to tell him to stand down. "It'll never happen."

"I wouldn't say never..." Dorran muses, and seriously, this guy isn't helping.

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