Page 4 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“Because I am your sister and the wife of your second-in-command. I can do as I please,” she smiles.

“Very bold for a dragon who won’t be able to shift soon,” I say, and she smiles.

“You won’t hurt the heir to the throne,” she says.

“Excuse me?” I ask, glancing at Eyrx.

“Find a mate and I’ll stop saying it,” she shrugs.

“I can certainly punish her for that, but it might delay the meeting,” Eyrx laughs.

“Only by a few seconds,” I remark, and he frowns. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

“So, it seems like they are just wandering around when they’re in the neutral zone, but for months?” Eyrx says. “They’re up to something. I just can’t seem to pinpoint what. They’re not coming close to our wall, but all the ones we’ve spotted are directly connected to the royal family.”

“Well, they haven’t broken the treaty, so we can’t exactly do anything about them being weird,” I say. “The abrupt retreat is odd. How about this… Let’s place some soldiers close to their wall and try to provoke them a bit. King Rystar is a hothead, so I know he will reach out if we get close. His moronic son, Aldric, might be the one, though. Rystar likes to delegate shit.”

“We’re going to have a problem on our hands when Aldric takes the throne,” Julianna remarks cautiously. I respect that she is aware that she shouldn’t actually be here, but I won’t say no to her. She is one of the few that I will bend to occasionally. I took the throne at nineteen when our parents passed in a mining explosion. She wasonly seven when they died, so I raised her. She’s twenty-six now, but I am still just as protective of her as when she was a young child. I couldn’t be happier that she is mated to my best friend. I know Eyrx is just as protective of her.

“I agree,” I sigh.

“You okay?” Eyrx asks me.

“Yeah, just feeling a bit drained today,” I say. “I’m going to stop by the mine and check with Keril. Send me someone later, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll keep an eye on things,” Eyrx says with a concerned tone. It’s not like me to feel drained like this for no reason. It’s been a while since I bedded a woman, so that must be why.

Dragons have to fuck frequently, especially unmated ones. They like to act like I am choosing to not have a mate, but I want to find her. I am nearing forty and I need an heir. Anything could happen and I would be without someone to take over. I trust that Eyrx could handle it, but it would make me a failure. My bloodline would die out. All of this is exaggerated, considering dragons can live to upwards of four hundred years. Julianna thinks it’s a combination of losing our parents and simply being lonely. All I know for sure is that I want to find and breed my mate. I want to know what the pull feels like. It angers me that I hold jealously for those who have mates.

When I get to the mine, Keril is already waiting for me. “Your Highness,” Keril says, bowing his head.

“Report?” I ask gruffly.

“We hit another pocket of Ignisium,” he says proudly. “We are stockpiling at this point.”

“You can slow production by thirty percent. Offer more breaks so they aren’t digging as fast,” I say. “Any accidents to report?”

“No, Sir,” he says.

“Alright. Updates are going to Eyrx for the remainder of the day,” I inform him.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he bows. Fuck, the feeling is only getting worse. I refuse to appear weak around my people, though. I power through the trip back to the castle.

Vulkara is a beautiful land with a warm climate. It offers us the ability to farm all year long. Everything is built to perfection, and we are advanced because of our never-ending supply of Ignisium. It is the essence of dragon fire, so we are able to use it for several things. I feel blessed by the Gods to have such a magnificent territory to share with my people. They are who make everything run as efficiently as it does.

The castle was built from obsidian generations ago, long before the treaty was passed. It offers us protection from most spells in recent years since we started focusing on mining the Ignisium and could incorporate that into the walls of the castle. I think we all have an unspoken understanding that the witches won’t be ableto help themselves. They will eventually break the treaty, and we can destroy them once and for all. They are powerful when they are banded together, but they are still nothing against us.

When I get into the castle, I go up to the bedroom. The King’s space takes up an entire wing of the castle, but I have one dedicated area that no one is allowed to enter without specific reasoning. Eyrx and Julianna know that I do not want others in here, so guests are limited to those I invite to fuck.

Eyrx will have a woman here soon, so I strip down and lie on the bed. I have many things swirling in my mind, but I keep coming back to the meeting. Why would they pull back so fast? My instincts tell me they’re about to break the treaty, but how? I hear the large door to my room open and I sigh as I run my hands down my face.

A woman softly clears her throat to let me know she is here, so I stand. I have fucked this one before. She is usually who Eyrx sends when I need them to be able to withstand my stress. She is used to my aggressive tendencies, and she knows what I expect. I lift her chin, and she smiles sweetly at me. She’s a decent fuck, but she’s not my mate.

Dragons have outstanding stamina, and we can go for hours while coming several times. Let’s see how much this one can take before one of us passes out. I suspect that she understands my state of mind since she is only called when I need something to fuck my anger out with. I might be feared, but it is known that I will notharm a bedmate. I have enough self-control to ensure their safety. On rare occasions, I will have several women so that I don’t injure one. When I find my mate, she will be made to take me. She will be delighted to take me as many times and for however long I want. She and I will share the same lust for one another. We will be able to sense each other’s pleasure, and it will grow in perfect synchrony. I want my mate because I am stronger with a mate.

“Would you like for me to start on my knees, my King?” she asks softly.

“Yes,” I huff. She nods and sinks to her knees. “Speak up if I hurt you, understood?”

---