Page 19 of The Soul of the Dragon

“You are the King, Ian. You’ve stepped up and taken over leadership. That makes you the Alpha now. Your father is gone, and I am without a doubt that this is what he would want for you.”

I soaked in her words as my gaze traveled from her face down to the swell of her stomach that she rubbed while she talked. Seeing her pregnant with another child made me smile. My beautiful omega had off-handedly expressed the desire to have a houseful of dragonlings, and I’d leapt onboard with that idea. She didn’t know it yet, but I’d made it my personal mission to ensure she got pregnant as often as she desired.

“And you don’t have to remind me about the part Isaac played in his death. But your mother paints a different picture.”

Her hard words pulled me from my sex-fueled thoughts and back into the cold light of this day. While it was for the best that I remained focused on today’s tasks, I made a mental note to show her just what I thought of when she looked at me while her hand soothed our restless unborn child.

“My mother is soft when it comes to her children. She can’t see the truth.” When Cordelia glared at me I chose to soften my statement. “As it should be. A mother’s unconditional love is the most important thing.”

A tight smile crossed her face. “Nice save.” She smirked. “But I don’t think that’s all it is. Your mother has good instincts. She and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but her gift of sight cannot be discounted. And if she says there is more to the story to what happened, I can’t help but wonder what that might be.”

Since I didn’t see how we’d ever know, short of Isaac returning from the dead, I nodded my head and steered us toward the small crowd waiting at the cliffside. My mother was already there, waiting, her handkerchief pressing to the corner of her eye.

“I’m glad you agreed to have the coronation here after we’ve honored your father. The monument you had commissioned for him is stunning. It feels right.”

Some of my anger softened at her continued support. Despite all the hardships this woman had endured, her position of looking towards the future instead of dwelling on the past never wavered.

I could take a lesson or two from my mate.

The pain of my twin’s betrayal may never die, but after today I was determined to find a way to put it behind me. There were too many others depending on me to choose anything else.

I squeezed her hand in gratitude and kissed the top of her head. The one thing I would never do was take this precious gift for granted. She was already my queen in every way possible, but today we would make it official.

Cordelia Ferguson would get everything she deserved and more.

ChapterSeven

Kitra

As we traveled through the forest, the shadows grew, and the sun disappeared below the horizon. We'd been traveling for hours and I was hot, tired, and hungry.

The ten miles I'd thought we were from the falls had turned into much more, and I was beginning to doubt my plan to leave this realm. That imp had gotten into my head with her whispers about breaking my magic with a special amulet and I couldn't get it out of my mind.

Of course, I'd seen no sign of her since she'd flown off in fear of the man traipsing behind me. I didn't understand his game at all, but I could still feel his glare boring into my back as we continued.

When I tripped and fell to my knees, he grabbed me by the arms and hauled me to my feet before I slammed my face into the ground.

"Thanks," I mumbled, not feeling thankful at all. I needed a break and if that meant curled on my side in the cool grass at my feet, so be it.

"Stop," he ordered, and to my shame I followed his command immediately and almost tripped over my feet again. "It's getting late," he said, looking around at the forest that would soon be shrouded in total darkness.

"Thank the Goddess," I whispered.

His head turned to me sharply. "Are you tired? Why didn't you say something? I'm an asshole, not a slave driver. If you need something speak up, so I can at least consider it."

"Let me go then."

"No."

I rolled my eyes. So much for his consideration.

I attempted to lift my tied hands behind my back, but was too exhausted to move them more than a few inches. "I am tired. But you had to know that. No one in their right mind would actually think traveling like this all day would be comfortable. Not to mention I haven't eaten all day."

"You were the one who led me to believe these falls were not far." He said sharply. "Maybe if you were honest..."

"I was. I mean I am. I heard them as I slept last night. They should have been much closer."Asshole.

Thesilence between us had stretched on for so long, I suspected the last thing I wanted to do right now was antagonize him. Since my hands were tied, I had little control over simple things like food and water. And I didn't trust whether he would withhold them as further punishment.

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