All Chapters of A Kingdom of Corruption and Chaos: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Slowly, he pulled back from me, like it was the last thing he ever wanted to do before turning over onto his side, still facing me, still watching as I followed him. Turning back onto my side once more, I faced him. I just couldn't bring myself to let go of him, not now, not after that. Instead, I curled in against him once more, pressing my forehead against his chest. I still didn't fully understand this draw, this bond between us, but when I was around him, I never wanted to let go. "Thank you for everything," I whispered to him as he wrapped his arms back around me, cradling the back of my head as he just held me there. "You're welcome. Now, just try to sleep for a little while longer, princess." "Will you wake me up when you get up, please?" "Ari, you need to rest as much as you can right now. While there shouldn't be anymore of that poison in your veins, it still took a massive toll on your body." "Xavier

I stood there, watching for a long moment as he flew before heading back over to where Nova still stood, also watching as the morning light gleamed off his dark scales. Pressing my palm against her foreleg, I felt her jump under my touch, and bright violet eyes snapped down to mine. Are you okay? I asked, looking up at her as the dawn shimmered across her opalescent scales. Yes, I'm fine. She whispered, but I could tell that she wanted to say more. Nova, we promised, no more secrets. If there's something bothering you, please just talk to me. I watched her for a long moment as she continued to watch Xavier before lying down in the snow, and I moved to sit with her, leaning back against her side as she curled in around me. There is still a lot more that we need to tell you. We were waiting until we knew for sure that you had fully accepted everything, and I was honestly expecting Bane an

We made our way back to his room, as he packed a quick bag, along with hooking both of his swords to his bag, before sheathing every single one of his daggers into the sewn-in sheaths along the ribs of the armored vest he pulled on over his short-sleeved undershirt. "You do realize that we're just going to a little border village, right? Not to war?" I questioned as I watched him finish by strapping two more sheathes onto his thighs. He just shrugged, throwing me a rogue smile as I raised an eyebrow at him. "You obviously haven't learned enough about me yet, princess. Just because we're going to a little village doesn't mean a damn thing. Personally, I would rather go back out onto the front line rather than find myself anywhere near another little village ever again, and I'd be dead before I ever walked into one of them with you unarmed. Even if it is purely for the intimidation factor alone." "I honestly don't thin

My father's blue eyes tracked the movement of the large dragon that was now sprawled out on the table top in front of me. However, now, there was definitely a spark of fear shining in those blue eyes. As much as I hated it, as I looked a little closer, I remembered that face. Back then, it had been blurry from my tears and looked far younger, but there was no doubt this was the man who left me crying in the fucking dirt. "Aria, it doesn't have to be like this. You don't understand. I had to leave you. I was only trying to make a better life for you." "Oh, because that makes it right to leave your own child crying in the dirt, right after her mother had died right in front of her, and the house we used to live in burned to the fucking ground. You didn't even bother to so much as glance back or care as you walked away from me back then, so what makes you think I'm going to trust anything you have to say now? Oh, and to answer your question from earlier, no, I

I wasn't paying attention in the slightest as we walked. I couldn't. Everything about this place seemed like it was closing in on me. Everywhere I looked was a stark reminder of every single bad thing that happened here. How all of the people pretended that I didn't even exist, every single quaint little house mocked me. Reminding me of the fire, and the fact that my own father hadn't even given a single fuck about me. The only reason he even came back was to make a buck off of selling me off to the highest fucking bidder. The only thing keeping me from breaking apart in the middle of this godforsaken place was Xavier. He held my hand in what felt like a death grip, or maybe that was me gripping onto him like he was my only lifeline; either way, he was all but dragging me through the streets of the small city and back out towards the exit. Someone called my name, snapping me out of my stupor enough that I didn't run straight into Xavier as he stopped in his tracks. It took me a mome