Page 48 of Silent Jay

“This is the beach.” Rehan threw his hands up in the air. “In the middle of summer, in the African heat. What do you think this is? Some sort of custody agreement? Fuck off, Tyson.”

I grinned. I was a prince of freaking fire. Even if I wasn’t an heir like him, I was higher on the totem pole. He could try and block my commands, but fire ruled this island.

My phone beeped, and I pulled it out.

Wiggles:It’s not a fertility potion. I’m barren. No kids. Unfixable. Forever defective.

My heart broke to read the words, not just for myself but for her. I lived the first fifteen years of my life watching my peers flyand breathe fire, disappointing my dad - feck all fire dragons - just by existing.

“You’re not defective.” I grew my tail and whipped it against the sand. “I shouldn’t have said that. And I should have defended you when my sire did.”

I met Wiggle’s gaze, and she nodded, her lips in a tight line, before going back to her phone.

Wiggles:I can’t be what you want. Leave me with Rehan.

I shook my head. “Never, Wiggles. Everyone has a dragon inside of them. They just need to find it.”

Wiggles blinked at me, and I pulled back, realizing what I’d said. How close I’d come to talking about a past I didn’t want to remember.

“You’re only with him because he’s helping you,” I said calmly. “So, I’ll help you too.”

Rehan’s blue horns caught the light, and scales rippled across his face. The humidity in the air thickened with the water dragon’s frustration, making the hairs around Wiggle's face curl. It was fecking adorable.

I turned my full attention to my mate, my Wiggles. “Do you want my blood and a scale or not?”

She nodded, pulling at a pack on Rehan’s back. He grunted unhappily but dropped it into the sand. She rummaged around before withdrawing a thick needle.

I rubbed my cheek and studied her equipment. We used raw fire for everything. We could even control water with it, though I personally didn’t know that trick. It was something only my sire and his inner circle knew. I’d asked only once. Three broken ribs later, I never made that mistake again. Asking questions was a weakness - one fire princes didn’t need to indulge in.

Whatever Rehan planned to do would never be as powerful as fire dragons raw strength. I leaned into my truth and clamped down on my curiosity. A growl rumbled out of my chest, and Iglared at Rehan. The Water heir reached for the needle, and I slashed my hand through the air. “She draws the blood.”

Rehan’s horns elongated. “I’m not letting you touch my mate.”

I took a step forward and held my arm over the border, scanning the forest on my left and the dragons circling the sky. “There are at least six water dragons ready to strike. I can’t do anything.” I licked my lips, my gaze heating as I looked overmy mate. Not his. “I bathed her. She slept curled inmyarms. There isn’t an inch of her I’ve not touched already.”

I flicked my gaze to Rehan and smirked as he shifted uncomfortably. Mister too good to be true, hadn’t done half of that. I’d bet my scotch collection on it.

Wiggles let out a frustrated squeak and stepped forward. She positioned my arm and wrapped a rubber strap around it before disinfecting my skin with too much experience. I watched her, still trying to understand how I’d thought the Betty on her sheet could be the woman in front of me.

I ignored too many signs. Wiggles lied to me; that was our truth, but I needed to explore why. Maybe she wasn’t here by choice. But if that was true, then someone put her here. Someone outside who knew about us and thought we’d do what? My thought process halted, not understanding the motivation.

Rehan pranced unhappily behind her. Once she’d finished, I selected a small scale from the bunch hiding my dick, and pulled. A slight discomfort, like tearing off a scab, burned the spot before the scale came free. I held it out to her, ensuring our fingers brushed as she took it. Warm tingles ran up my arm.

Her gaze heated, and I grinned, knowing her arm tingled as well. She might want to be done with me, but we both knew she wasn’t.

I kissed the fingers she had just touched. “I’ll pick you up here for your fire ceremony lessons.”

Before she could respond, I shifted and beat my wings, hopefully filling Rehan’s eyes, mouth, and every other opening with sand. I roared. Four dragons in shades of blue flanked me, making sure I left water territory.

My heart raced, not with the unease from earlier but with excitement and purpose. I’d repair what I’d broken, and Wiggles would never look at another dragon again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

JAIYANA

The sandstorm of Tyson’s wings barely cleared before beads of water shimmered in the air and flew past me into Rehan’s sparkly blue transformation. He barreled out of it, gently picking me up with a clawed foot. I clutched my samples to my chest and hooked the backpack with my ankle as he lifted us into the air and soared toward his hut.

Despite myself, a smile pulled at my cheeks; the wind tugged at the tight braid in my hair and cooled my skin. I’d forgotten how hot and humid the tropics were. No wonder Rehan lived shirtless in swim trunks and flip-flops.

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