Page 60 of Betrayed By Dragons

Rafe stalks past them, and a few of them grunt absently in greeting. Nobody seems to take particular notice of him, though, until a red-headed woman swings around in her seat and squints.

The woman staggers to her feet. She's wearing an elaborate black and pink silk kimono that she nearly gets tangled in as she lifts a slender arm and points a long, red-nailed finger directly at my mate. "You."

"Here we go," Rafe mutters.

"You were not at my party last night. Explain."

Rafe's jaw clenches, annoyance flooding our bond along with this quicksilver flash of hurt. "Keyrie." He speaks very slowly, like he's explaining something to a kindergartener. "I've been out of the kingdom for a month. My flight landed at six a.m."

Ah, so this is the sister they were talking about. Now that I know to look for it, the resemblance is pretty obvious, and I feel silly for not catching it earlier.

Keyrie scrunches up her face. "Really? A month? I think I would have noticed that."

"So would I," Rafe says drily.

"Are you sure?"

"Very," Cael interrupts.

"If you'll excuse us..." Rafe pushes past his sister, who shrugs and drops back into her seat.

Rafe's energy sours as we continue striding down the length of the table. My heart squeezes inside my chest. The casual indifference of his siblings hurts something deep in my soul. My mate... He's incredible. Unique and extraordinary, thoughtful and kind. His very presence lights up my world. If he were missing for a day, my entire being would ache.

I can't tell him any of that right now. Hell, I can't even hold his hand. But I try to project my feelings into our connection, hoping he'll understand.

At the very far end of the room, Rafe's brother Dorran is sitting alone at one head of the huge table. Unlike everybody else, he's dressed, and seemingly just enjoying the breakfast spread.

"Well?" Rafe says.

Dorran kicks out the chair kitty corner from his. Rafe rolls his eyes but sits down. I take the seat next to him, while Cael remains standing at his elbow.

"Don't say I never did anything for you." Dorran plucks a folder out of a messenger bag slung over the back of his chair and passes it across the table.

Rafe opens it up and starts reading. As he does, his eyes widen, and the aura around him blackens. I instinctively tense, tilting my head to try to get a glimpse at the words. I'm at a bad angle, though, and I can only pick out snippets.

"What is it?" I ask.

"The address my father's planning to give tomorrow," Rafe says, not looking up.

Dorran sighs like he's bored and waves a hand dismissively. "I'm still not sure why you think it's such a big deal."

"Because it is." Cael crosses his arms and huffs.

Rafe is silent as he finishes reading. When he's done, he closes the folder and rises. "Yeah." The point of his jaw flexes as he shakes his head. "We're not doing that."

* * *

Two guards step into Rafe's way as he approaches the big double doors that lead to his father's study. I slow down, but Rafe keeps walking, his head held high. He flicks both hands out to the sides, and his fingertips glow with orange heat.

The guards step back, although one of them calls after him, "Your Highness--"

"Save it." Rafe drops his hands, and I scurry after him, trying to pretend that that wasn't as intensely fucking hot as it was--in every sense of the word.

For all that I spent a little time in the Fire Kingdom in my youth, I've rarely seen real Fire Dragon magic at work. It's notoriously volatile and dangerous. Once or twice, when he's been worked up, Rafe's gone warm, but that's about it.

He must be really, really worked up now, to be flashing his power around like this.

He storms through the door, and Cael and I race to keep up with him. The two of us exchange a glance. We're here to support Rafe, but we're also here to protect him. My mate feels wild and out of control. Someone may have to pull him back from the brink.

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