The Dragon

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Hadrian, is it true you're sleeping with the Atlantean prince?"

"Hadrian, what about the dance you shared with the Atlantean prince?"

"How will this affect your next big event?"

"Will you continue dancing in Atlantis?"

I stood at the entrance of the concert hall, smiling tightly as paparazzi flashed their cameras in my face, microphones shoved to my mouth like some kind of bukkake reenactment. I stroked the sides of my outfit, seeking out the light bumpiness of the glitter sprayed over smooth soft silk, the camera flashes making the glitter sparkle and shine in the lights. The air smelled of smoke and expensive perfumes. The lights were too intense.

I don't want to be here.

"Hadrian, are you involved with the Atlantean prince or not?" A reporter demanded, thrusting his microphone right up to my lips, nearly clocking me in the mouth.

"Excuse me," a deep rumbling baritone growled suddenly, making my smile turn genuine now, "You need to back the fuck up." I glanced to my right to see my bodyguard, Kodi, appear. He was an impressive male, standing at six foot eight with short dark curly hair and insidious green eyes lined with eyeliner. His black BDUs and monstrously huge boots just added to his air of deadly intent.

The reporter gaped like a fish, opening and closing his mouth in disbelief, before his expression screwed up in preparation to fight, except another reporter snagged his arm and dragged him back from Kodi.

"You idiot! Don't fuck with that guy," the other reporter hissed, "They call him the Dragon." The angry reporter relaxed to degree at the name and glanced at Kodi, scanning him up and down and deciding maybe it was smarter not to challenge the near seven foot monstrosity in front of him. Much to my relief as well.

"Answer a question," Kodi muttered to me, "Or get the fuck out." I inclined my head and looked to the reporters, who still held their microphones out, but at a distance now, all eyes on me expectantly.

"I've already informed the reporters that my relationship with the Atlantean prince is nothing, but platonic," I explained calmly, "He is my dear sweet cousin and I wish to make him feel welcome to the outside world. I see nothing wrong with making him comfortable with family and friends. If the world sees my behavior as something sexual, that is entirely on them and not a reflection of who I am, or who my cousin is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to return home to rest for the evening." Even with the dismissal, the reporters started up another roar of questions that I promptly ignored and turned to Kodi, who nodded at the silent command. He put his hand on my shoulder and we teleported from the concert hall in Hades back to my home in Purgatory.

My fathers' mansion was exactly what you would expect from a powerful ruler. Three stories of high class mediterranean architecture doe in beiges and blues with palm trees and plants galore in the main courtyard and a pair of massive double doors that led to a lobby decked out from floor to ceiling in marble with columns and a winding staircase. The cherry on the sundae was a chandelier the size of a Prius dangling in the middle of the room.

We appeared in the lobby a second later.

As soon as we landed, Kodi thrust his fists up and glared at the ceiling.

"Fuck those guys," he snarled, making me smirk in amusement, "They've been asking the same questions for almost two weeks and you keep giving them the same answer and they still ask them! How stupid can you get? Ugh! I hate reporters! Fuck 'em!"

"Without them, we wouldn't know what's happening in the world," I pointed out, earning pause from Kodi, who wrinkled his nose as if he were prepared to debate that, "Anyway, we're home now, that's all that matters." Kodi shrugged his shoulders, but nodded and gestured for me to head up the stairs first, but I shook my head.