Page 26 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

A tightness forms in my chest, and my steps falter.

He's not the first prince I've known who believed he was protecting everyone.

"What is it?" Malik asks, slowing his pace as well.

Now it's my turn to choose my words carefully. I truth-vomited all over him last night, but there are still some secrets I've kept from all of my mates.

Specifically, my relationship with Prince Storm.

And yeah--I know. The fact that I'm now soul-bonded to princes from three of the four dragon kingdoms is bad. The fact that I used to be fuck-buddies with the prince of the fourth one is even worse. There'll be time to unpack all of that, eventually. But not now.

"Just." I worry the fabric of my dress between my fingers. "A long time ago, I used to live in the Air Kingdom. They were pretty cut off from the world, too."

Malik snorts derisively. "I'm not surprised. Air Dragons hate everyone."

He's not wrong. Storm's father, King Zephyr, is a tyrant. He rules with an iron fist, constantly stoking fears about outsiders. Customs and symbols from the other dragon kingdoms are forbidden. As a teen, I was mocked and punished for daring to even speak of them.

Storm wasn't like that, though. He couldn't risk his position in the court, so he had to play along most of the time. But he swore that he stayed in the king's good graces so he could try to exert his influence when it mattered. He was trying to protect his people.

Hell, sometimes, he even said that he was trying to protect me.

My heart squeezes painfully.

Is that what he was doing last night? When he attacked me and my mates, fighting side by side with a literal horde of rampaging Shadow Dragons? Was he protecting his people then?

Storm rejected me. Humiliated me. Allowed me to be cast out and banished from the kingdom entirely. Clearly, all of his bullshit about protecting me was just that--bullshit.

I still never thought he'd actually try to kill me.

Sensing my inner turmoil, Malik pulls me in against his side, and I lean into him, allowing him to hold me.

"You were hurt," he observes.

"Really bad ex," I tell him, blinking against the stinging in my eyes. It's such a flippant way to describe what happened, but I don't know how to begin to explain it all more accurately.

"I'd tear him apart with my claws."

I laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. "If you ever run into him, feel free."

I only half mean it, of course. After everything, I still have feelings for Storm. It's so fucking stupid, but it's true.

Pulling back, I lift my gaze to look Malik in the eyes. "Just so we're clear--things between me and that guy are completely over."

"I should hope so." His tone softens, a hint of a smile flirting with his full lips. "Unless you have a fourth mate you're not telling me about?"

"Definitely not." My stomach twists with anxiety at even the thought.

I slow to a stop, and Malik does, too.

Chewing the inside of my lip, I focus my gaze on the notched collar at the top of his tunic. "I just wonder sometimes." And I'm making this up as I go, unsure what I'm even trying to say, but it feels important. "What would have happened if we'd been someplace less...hateful."

There's no other word for the Air Kingdom.

Malik pauses. "Are you worried that the Water Dragon Kingdom is the same?"

"No--not at all. Not really." My brows draw together.

But that's really the crux of the issue, isn't it? Storm said he was trying to protect everybody, but the Air Kingdom kept other dragons and their customs out because of fear and hate.

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