LOGINLyriaA deep, amused rumble escaped his chest.I laughed. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were this gorgeous?”He lowered his enormous head toward me. I reached out carefully and touched his scales. They were warm beneath my fingers, smooth and surprisingly pleasant to touch. I ran my hand over them, completely fascinated.“You’re beautiful,” I whispered.He nudged me gently with his enormous head.I laughed again. “Don’t get too excited. You’re still an asshole.”He made another rumbling sound, and I walked around him, admiring the silver patterns across his scales and the magnificent wings folded against his body.Then he lowered himself toward the ground.I stopped. “What?”He lowered himself further.“Are you tired?” I asked. An irritated growl escaped him. “Well, excuse me, Your Royal Blueness. I’m not a fucking dragon interpreter.”He shifted one enormous wing and gestured toward his back.I stared. Then understanding hit me. “Wait.” He watched me. “You want me to climb ont
LyriaBy the time we left the capital, I had learned more about the Dragon Kingdom than I had during my entire stay at the palace. Aurelian knew everything, from the history of ancient wars to the origins of particular traditions, and he seemed genuinely happy to explain it all.He even told me about a yearly celebration when dragons gathered to honor their ancestors by flying over the oldest mountains in the kingdom. Thousands of dragons filled the sky during the ceremony, their scales reflecting the light of the setting sun.I made him promise to take me when the celebration came around.He said he’d consider it.I informed him that wasn’t an acceptable answer.He informed me that I was becoming a problem.I told him he was several thousand years too late to complain.Our next destination was the training grounds.And holy fucking shit! The place was enormous.Two mountain ridges surrounded a vast complex of open fields, stone arenas, elevated platforms, and buildings that appeared
Lyria’s POVAurelian found me in the palace hallway just as I was making my way toward the gardens, looking entirely too pleased with himself for someone who hadn’t even said hello.“Well, look who finally decided to join the living,” he greeted me.“Good morning to you too, asshole,” I replied.“It’s almost lunchtime, sweetheart.”“And? Are you the fucking sun? Why are you monitoring when I wake up?”“Lucien asked me to make sure you don’t cause another international incident,” Aurelian explained.“Then he should have hired someone qualified.”“Unfortunately, nobody who qualified was stupid enough to accept the job.”I burst out laughing, and the bastard looked even more pleased with himself. He was dressed casually today, wearing dark trousers and a loose white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. For someone who had apparently lived for thousands of years, he had an annoying amount of energy.“Come on,” he said, gesturing toward the palace entrance. “I’m taking you somewhere.”“Where?
Lyria Malakai leaned toward his camera. “One more question.”“What?”“Is this Aurelian better-looking than me?”I stared at him.Cassian immediately started laughing.Kael closed his eyes.Soren looked toward the ceiling.“Oh, my God,” I whispered.“It’s a reasonable question,” Malakai insisted.“Malakai, you’re a Demon King.”“And?” he asked.“Why are you competing with a dragon I’ve only just met?”“Because I have standards,” he replied.“Clearly not very high ones,” Cassian muttered.“Fuck you, vampire.”“Get in line,” Cassian shot back.I laughed until tears gathered in my eyes.When I finally managed to breathe, I wiped my cheeks and looked at the four faces on my screen. “God, I really have missed you.”This time, nobody made a joke. Kael was the first to speak. “We’ve missed you too.”Cassian nodded. “More than I expected.”Malakai gave me a crooked smile. “Obviously. My balls have been telling you that for the past twenty minutes.”“Malakai!”“What? I’m being honest!”Soren s
LyriaaKael frowned. “I fail to see what’s amusing.”“You!” I managed. “All four of you!”Cassian folded his arms. “Care to explain?”“You rule entire kingdoms! You command armies! People probably wet themselves when you walk into a room, but you couldn’t figure out whether you were allowed to call your own mate?”“We were respecting the arrangement,” Kael said.“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Kael! It’s a phone call, not an invasion!”Malakai pointed at the screen. “That’s exactly what I said.”“No,” Soren corrected. “You suggested arriving at the Dragon Palace unannounced.”“Same thing,” Malakai insisted.“Not remotely,” Soren replied.I shook my head, still laughing. “Listen to me, all of you. You can call me whenever you want. You can text me. You can send me pictures. You can tell me about your day. You don’t need permission to speak to me.”Kael studied me. “Even while you’re staying with Lucien?”“Yes!”“And if he’s with you?” Cassian asked.“Then I’ll answer when I’m available. Or I’l
Lyria’s POVI woke up to the sound of Lucien threatening someone’s bloodline with his voice alone.“I gave you three days to resolve this matter,” he said into his phone. “If the council cannot handle something so simple, perhaps I should reconsider why I have a council in the first place.”I opened one eye and found my handsome dragon standing near the window, already dressed in an expensive black suit. Whoever was on the other end of that call was clearly having a terrible morning.“Good morning, sunshine,” I muttered into the pillow.He turned, and the cold expression on his face disappeared the second he saw me.“I’ll deal with this when I arrive,” he told whoever was on the phone before ending the call.“Someone’s in a wonderful mood,” I teased.Lucien approached the bed, leaned down, and kissed me. “Good morning, little mate,” he murmured.“Good morning, Your Grumpiness.”“I am not grumpy,” he protested.“You were just threatening to fire an entire council before breakfast.”“Th







