Page 48 of Brutal Dragon King

Did she… just try to kill me?

As if to confirm what I already know, I glance at the floor where the Dragonclaw Dagger had fallen from her clutches, frowning when I realize I didn't notice that it was missing from my hidden weapons room.

When did she enter my bedroom?

How did she find the dagger?

It's not as if these questions matter when the human slave just tried to kill her king.

It's the highest, most punishable act of treason, yet all I can do is stare blankly at the door as my admiration for Althea grows at this moment.

If I thought she was brave before to use her voice to stand up against me, the attempt on my life has only proven that she has a warrior's spirit.

There was never any need to doubt the reaping and the participant that came from it as my child-bearer if the result was meeting the most resilient and brave human who will no doubt pass on those extraordinary traits to the first heir of the kingdom.

The heir who has probably already been conceived, by what I've gathered.

Althea was about to slit my throat with the dagger when she'd suddenly been pulled to look down at her belly. The proceeding scream that left her throat was anguished, as if she'd felt my child stop her from killing me.

My child hasn't even been born yet, and already, it protects me against its mother.

Pride swells my chest, and I curl my hands into tight fists, my arms pumping with enough blood to expand and snap the string that binds my wrists to the chair.

I let out a sarcastic chuckle. What did Althea think, tying my wrists with the featherlight string? If I really wanted to, I would have snapped free from the binds and grabbed her when she gave me the most mind-blowing, life-altering blow job, or defended myself when she placed the dagger at my throat.

Both times, I'd become consumed by my curiosity and awe of her. I couldn't interrupt, wanting to see through her game and plotting against me.

Though I'm not sure why she'd suddenly become determined to avenge the innocent lives she spoke of, I have to give it to her that she'd been brave enough for her attempt to take my life.

Has her resentment for me become so strong? Was what happened this morning in the courtyard so wrong, that she'd decided to end my life?

Shaking my head wryly, I rise from the chair and decide to go off in search of Althea. If she's pregnant with my child—it's only a suspicion for now—I need to make amends and speak to her in a calmer setting.

Things need to change around here, and for one, she has to know how much she affects me to the point of insanity. That was the driving force behind my actions this morning, behind my words and implication that I would pass her along.

I would never dream of passing her along to anyone, my possessiveness over my human becoming stronger with every step I take toward the library door. She's probably back in her bedroom, mulling over her attempt on my life.

Those horror-stricken eyes before she dropped the dagger and fled could only possibly indicate that she's pregnant and now regrets her actions as much as I regret mine. Trying to push her away, steer clear of her while denying what I feel has boiled over with what happened tonight.

It's enough.

Marching forward, I take the stairs measuredly, each step fueling my bones with the natural desire to be close to my human. My mate, who's potentially pregnant with my child, is the sole reason for softening this dragon king's heart.

It's high time she learns of her power over me.

I get to the bedroom door, frowning upon finding it left open a crack. Pausing, my mind races with the possessive and furious thoughts that she might have been seen rushing through the palace in the most revealing negligee. No one's allowed to see her exposed body except for me, but what's more alarming is finding that she isn't in the guest bedroom beside mine.

“Althea?” I call out, my ears buzzing as my heart drops to warn me of something instinctually.

I look all around for her, to no avail. She's not in her bedroom, and neither is she in mine when I rush into mine only to find it empty.

The alarm bells going off in my head have me rushing to the balcony, realizing quickly that if Althea was pregnant with my dragon cub, she'd have gained some sort of power.

She must be overwhelmed with that power. She must have used it to flee the palace grounds.

A newfound sense of possessiveness washes over me, curling my hands into raging fists of fury that send me leaping off the balcony and shifting midair. I land on my dragon paws, sending a mind link out to call upon the royal guard.

“Has anyone seen Althea Waters?”

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