Chapter 6

Cassian reached up and touched the bruise on his jaw.

"This is the second time you've hit me for that lowborn mortal," his tone was full of mockery. "How rare. The noble older brother actually throwing punches for a human."

Kaelen snuffed out the flame at his fingertips, his voice as cold as ice. "If I hear you call her that again, I'll beat you every time I see you."

"Ha!" Cassian let out a harsh laugh. "You're really guarding her tight, aren't you? But don't forget, you were one of the ones who signed the petition to reject the bond at the Council."

My heart seized.

A petition to reject me?

"What, is this your long game?" Cassian sneered. "Play the gentle mate, fool her into breaking the bond herself when the trial year is up? That way you keep your precious honor, then go crawling back to the noble dragonesses lining up for you."

No. That couldn't be.

I bit my lower lip hard, my nails digging into my palms.

Was Kaelen’s gentleness, his defense of me, his care over the past month... all just a trick to make me initiate the break?

"No."

Kaelen’s answer was brief and absolute.

"What?" Cassian clearly didn't expect that.

"I said, no." Kaelen turned to look his brother dead in the eye. "I have never wanted any other female dragon."

My breath hitched.

"Are you insane?" Cassian's eyes went wide. "She's just a mediocre human! She doesn't even have basic magic!"

"She is my Elara." Kaelen’s voice was quiet, but absolute. "She is brave, and kind, and good. She has given us everything and asked for nothing."

Tears welled up in my eyes.

"She's a hundred times better than those arrogant, scheming noble ladies," Kaelen continued. "So stay the hell away from my mate, Cassian."

My mate.

Those two words sent an unprecedented warmth rushing through me.

"You're out of your fucking mind!" Cassian exploded, jumping to his feet. "Are you blind? What kind of mate is she? She can't even soothe a rut properly!"

"That's because every time you wake up clear-headed, you shove her away looking thoroughly humiliated," Kaelen shot back coldly. "If you weren't such a fool, you'd admit just how desperately you relied on her presence during those three days."

Cassian's face flushed a deep, angry red. "That... that was biology! A rutting Alpha will cling to any source of comfort!"

"Is that so?" Kaelen scoffed. "Then why did none of the military healers who soothe Alphas ever make you lose control like that?"

Cassian opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

"Admit it, you fool," Kaelen's voice carried a trace of pity. "Your feelings for her run much deeper than you're willing to admit."

"Bullshit!" Cassian ran a frustrated hand through his dark hair, messing it up completely. "Even if... even if I have a tiny bit of feeling for her, so what?"

My heart pounded against my ribs.

"It's just because if a high-ranking Alpha abandons his bonded mate, the reputation hit is too ugly," Cassian rambled, justifying it to himself. "And the little brat is so clingy, she can't live without us. So, to avoid being called heartless, I decided..."

He paused, taking a deep breath.

"I suppose keeping her as a pet isn't the worst fate."

Pet.

The word was a jagged knife twisting in my gut.

"Even if she's mediocre and magicless, I don't expect her to actually be useful," Cassian went on, his tone dripping with arrogant charity. "It's no skin off my back to keep her around. Consider it... an act of charity."

"Besides," he looked up, a twisted, possessive glint in his eyes. "I will never initiate the bond-breaking. I'll make her stay by my side forever. That way, she can never fully belong to just you."