Page 124 of The Forbidden Dragon King
“Ouch.” Crimson instantly beads on my thumb, and I suck it into my mouth.
“Shadow Gods above, you’re just like Relius. You know something is going to hurt, but you still have to touch it yourself to find out, huh?” War laughs. “Those are Dragon Blood Roses. The last Queen, Relius’ mother, broughtthem with her from the only place that they grow in her remote home village in the mountains. She was homesick when she was brought to this palace. This garden was her sanctuary, just like it’s Relius’.”
It feels like she’s trying to tell me something important.
I don’t understand what.
War tucks the rag back over her belt, before placing her shoulder pad back on. “When will you be done sniffing roses and shit?”
“You don’t have to follow me everywhere, you know.”
“I do. Relius made me your bodyguard.”
“Stalker,” I mutter.
“If Relius wanted you stalked,” War arches her scarred eyebrow, “then he’d have selected Vic. You wouldn’t even have known that sneaky bitch was there.”
She gives a knowing grin like that’s already happened.
I shiver at the thought of being tailed by Vicious, before deliberately taking another long sniff of the rose to piss War off.
If War has been ordered to follow me around both during my servant duties and my free time, then the least I can do is make her endure the same boredom as me.
“Why is Aurelius fighting the vampires?” Worry chases through me. “When will he be back?”
War refastens the shoulder pad with deft fingers. “Surely even the wolves know why we’re fighting the fucking Bloods? Don’t worry, it’s just a small skirmish on the lands that border the Bloods. Propraetor RusticaAtticus is a wingless dick. He incites more violence than he quells. If he wasn’t Luc’s father, I’d have ripped out his tongue and made him eat it years ago.”
I straighten, nervously taking a step back. “Specific.”
“If you knew the things that he’d said to my Omega, then you’d understand.”
I wet my lips. “Why didn’t you go with Aurelius? You’re his muscled, scary chief commander of?—”
“Imperial Legate,” War corrects me with a growl.
“Yeah, that.”
“Aurelius is a big boy now. He doesn’t need me to hold his cock in every battle.”
Except, she shifts, avoiding my eye.
More like, Aurelius insisted that she stay here as my bodyguard.
I smirk, allowing myself to enjoy the moment.
I’ve spent my life looking out for myself. I accepted that no one would care about protecting me.
I’m independent.
I don’t need an Alpha to save me, but on the other hand, I love the idea of my pack protecting each other like this.
I’ve experienced how dangerous Maximinus is — I’ve reached out and been pricked by him — and I don’t fancy being left alone with a pet-hater like him in a court that I have only just started to figure out.
Aurelius can pretend to be as cold and hard as he likes.
Underneath, he’s thoughtful. He’ll even leave behind his best fighter to keep an eye out for me.
The yearning that swept through me, when I woke up and discovered that Aurelius had left on campaign again, shocked me.
