Page 65 of In the Embrace of Dragons

The way he’s holding me now with my head in his lap, I wonder for a moment who I am, whoweare. In here, he became both my caretaker and my headmaster, making me pay recompense to Nissia for the terrible ass I’ve been. I see it now, after the way she laid into me with intention. I’ve hurt her at a vulnerable time, when I should have been trying to see the world from her perspective.

Ragnakor has shown me that. I understand now what he’s been trying to say since the beginning. She is as physically sensual as she is emotionally sensitive, and I have stomped all over her like a horse crushing a sprouting flower. There is still a vast canyon between where we are and where I wish we could be, but perhaps tonight, my captain built me the beginnings of a bridge.

Neither Ragnakor nor I mention, though, that we did not release our scent glands this time. There is still a piece missing, an unresolved emotion in the room. My body will not be satiated by this act alone.

My cock still itches, and I urge it to be silent. We mustfocus on laying the slats of wood until I can finally cross to her.

We all part ways that night after quiet goodbyes, as much as I wish they would stay. I certainly would not mind falling asleep next to my captain and my wife, and that is a new feeling for me.

After they’re gone, my room becomes rather empty, and it is cold under the blankets alone.

The following day,the wind shifts. I sense autumn in the air when I leave the castle walls, which means snow will follow soon after.

I hope that my new queen from the lowlands will do all right when it truly gets cold here.

It is new, certainly, to be concerned with her well-being. But I see how much more fragile her human skin is than our scales, and I want to wrap her up in fur to make sure she stays warm.

Not only outside is the world changing, but so is it inside the castle, too. Once again, Nissia joins us in the meeting room, and I listen casually to her and Syzari coming up with their strategy. They are now discussing the idea of sending emissaries to the human kingdom to plant the seeds of their immigration plan.

Nissia makes good arguments about how dragons still are foreign and frightening to humans, and how the north seems inhospitable. We would have to clear these rumors before humans would consider it—but they could reap great benefits, too.

She is smart and quick, I think after the day is over. The two of them have started cooking plans that I’ll have to clear before it can happen. Strangely, watching her work has mademy groin ache even more fiercely. She is already shaping up to be a good queen, despite how she’s been thrown into this.

Now I watch when Nissia and Ragnakor spar, which is most nights. I may not know much about swordplay, but I can see for myself how quickly she adapts in a fight, how her skill grows from match to match. I’m not the only one who gathers around to observe, and I see how much the soldiers admire her despite her being weak and human.

She is not weak, I suppose. Not like I thought she was.

I spend time with my wife as often as I can, taking her on horseback rides, eating with her, spending days working alongside her. Though I try to court her and romance her at every opportunity, she is only polite, only friendly—never romantic in return. Sometimes I wonder if Syzari was right, and I have truly broken the thing between us, even after our night together with Ragnakor.

And then I get word that my gift has arrived. The caravan has been seen at the southern watchtower. I’m nearly shivering with my anticipation as I wait and wait, and then finally, get dressed and head to Queen Nissia’s door to knock.

When she opens it, her curly hair is loose around her shoulders, and I am drawn to how the ringlets reflect the light. Her appealing shape is covered in a loose white robe with gold detail, and her dark nipples are clearly visible through it.

Immediately, I want to wrap my lips around them. I am more attracted to her every day, but lately, I’m not sure whether she reciprocates it anymore.

I hope my gambit can breathe life into us again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

NISSIA

Iknow that Vizarios is trying, and yet I still can’t help remembering how he came into my rooms and insisted we create an heir. I can’t forget how it felt to be stabbed in the chest that way, and now it’s impossible to trust how he behaves, even when he’s kind to me.

Is he doing it simply to seduce me? And don’t I want to be seduced?

But that’s not all it is now, and I won’t be happy with mere bodily pleasure. Giving him access to me means giving him a key to my heart, and if he’s simply using me, I can’t risk that.

So every day, I try to learn him. I sit with my husband at meals and listen to understand, and speak so he might understand me. He is willing to open up about his mother now, how he learned everything he knows from her.

And still, I wonder if it’s all just a ploy to get what he wants.

I’m surprised when the object of my thoughts comes to my door dressed in a deep crimson I haven’t seen him wearbefore, and it’s striking. He takes my hand without a second thought as Ragnakor catches up to him.

“My queen,” Vizarios says, bending his head low and pressing his lips to the back of my hand. “Will you come with me?”

I’m not used to such intimacies from him, and a tingle spreads up my arm.

“What is it?”