Page 52 of Brutal Dragon King

“I'm fine…” I whisper, wincing when he places the last twist around my arm and secures the string with a knot.

“Stop it, will you?!” he grunts, grabbing my arms harshly to pull me close to him as he stares deeply into my eyes.

My head is spinning now, confused by what's going on. The cold mask of armor the dragon king usually wears is nowhere to be found, and there's a softness in his eyes that stops me from putting up a fight against him like I usually would.

I open my mouth to say something, but Haidën doesn't give me a chance to speak. I wouldn't even know what to say, so confused by his behavior right now that I don't even feel the need to fight him like I usually do.

“Stop this constant back and forth, and just tell me if he's okay!” Haidën roars, prompting me to frown.

“H-he?” I frown, and Haidën straightens up and stares down at me.

“You are pregnant, aren't you?”

His question comes crashing into my gut on makes my heart skip a beat, my breath catching in my throat.

“I—I—” I hesitate to reply despite the forcefulness of his hands gripping my arms. I don’t even feel forced, and his presence isn’t as imposing as it usually is. There’s a glimmer of something else in his eyes which lighten to a shade of chocolate brown I’ve never witnessed before. His firm grip on me suddenly feels protective, and I feel safe for the first time in my life.

I feel safe with the dragon king, who I hated until he saved me just now. I probably would have saved myself, like I always do. I’ve been saving myself ever since my parents died, and I became an orphan in the village. But having someone swoop in to save me and protect me as they cared was something else, and I saw him in a different light.

Has my changed perspective of the king made me forget that I should hate him?

Or has the cruel dragon changed because of me?

Still unsure of what will happen when he finds out that I’m pregnant, I know I’m not in the clear just yet. If I lied and told him I wasn’t pregnant, would he throw me off the edge of the cliff and let me die at the bottom of the waterfall while he watched with a cynical smirk?

Perhaps being honest is how I survive the dragon king, who’s probably here to avenge my attempted murder of him.

“Yes, I am pregnant.”

As soon as the words leave my lips, Haidën wraps his arms around me in a strikingly unfamiliar embrace. It’s warm and protective, his arms turning familiar the longer he holds me.

I’m so confused, my brows knitting into a tight frown as I stand awkwardly between his arms. When he draws back, sliding his hands down to capture mine, he stares with a tilted face at me.

The corners of his eyes are softened, his lips trembling as if hesitating to speak the emotion in his eyes. Even I can’t quite discern what’s going through his mind while he holds my hands loosely.

He takes a deep breath then, and asks, “Then why did you try to kill me?”

I gulp hard, knowing that there’s no escaping the truth about tonight’s attack. Not now that he knows I am pregnant with his child.

Chapter 18 - Haidën

Gazing at Althea while we stand on the top of the special mountain that holds many memories for me while she just confirmed my suspicions that she’s pregnant with my child has me overcome with intense emotion.

I’d been so afraid that I’d lose both her and our baby, terrified that I’d lose the chance to live a life with her as my mate while we raised The Spine’s heir together, that right now, all I feel is relief washing over me in waves like the gushing waters flowing down the tip of the cliff.

I got to her in time to save her from the Wyrm vines in the forest. If I hadn’t been quick enough to find her, she would have faced deadlier attacks from creatures with snapping, sharp teeth, and a thirst for blood.

The vines were only the tip of the iceberg, and I was lucky enough to get to her in time.

As I stare into her eyes, my mind replays crucial moments since she came into my life. From the day she stumbled into me in the human village while I was in disguise, to her defiance in the palace courtyard and all the other times she proceeded to defy me, like earlier tonight when she called herself a slave and declared that she would be the end of me.

She has been the end of me, but not by using the Dragonclaw Dagger. Just by being herself, she’s softened this stone-cold heart, made tough the day I stepped up as the King of The Spine of Nayara.

I’d lost myself somewhere along the lines, lost the true essence of life in the beautiful realm of Nyxoria when I was weighed down by duties. The responsibility of a king had me quickly forgetting what it was like to be carefree, and perhapsthat’s why Althea tried to kill me. Because I'd become cold and heartless.

“All those innocent human lives you took…”

Her words ring out in my mind, and I pause my momentary daze. What was that about when she had the dagger pressed to my throat?

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