Shadow King

Chapter 21

The Queen and King sit ramrod straight in red thrones pushed against the far wall on top of a golden platform. Zander saunters over and sit at their feet, pulling a sharp knife from his pocket and cleaning his nails with it. I avoid his gaze, not liking the little spark between us. Adrian takes note of my discomfort and pulls me to his side. "Princess Hailey has arrived!" Zander blurts suddenly, several of the guards stationed around the room drop to one knee. I press harder against Adrian, I didn't like the attention.

"Enough of that." The Queen waves a hand and they get to their feet. Like Zander she has vibrant blonde hair, nestled around a golden crown and that frames a heart shaped face. She raises a prefect blonde eyebrow at me. "You've bonded with the shadow dragon? Pity." Rage wraps around me threatening the air in my lungs. It takes me a second to realize it's not my rage.

"What did you say?" Adrian's voice is low with untamed fury. His grip around my waist was almost bruisingly tight now.

Zander stands, slipping his knife into a side pouch. "Forgive my mother she meant no disrespect, give her a chance to explain." I tug on Adrian's shirt until he looks at me. Calm the fuck down. I hiss through our link.

The corner of his mouth ticks up in amusement. Sensing the threatening vibe leave him the queen speaks again. "As the last first born princess you had the choice to take any male heir from the dragon clans as your mate, including my son." Zander winks, making me blush. He didn't seem put off by not being chosen, in fact he seemed pleased. "Those who are not chosen becomes your protectors."

"I'm her protector." I glance at Adrian, who's staring hard at the queen. The king watches everyone with mild amusement in his eyes. I wonder what he thinks about this?

She rolls her eyes. "They are her Royal bodyguards, destined to protect her with their life. They too have a bond with her, making it easier for her to find them." She eyes me, looking me and down like I personally offended her. "I'm sure you've felt it with my son already." I blush, embarrassed to be put in the spotlight like this.

Adrian frowns at me, clearly not liking the idea of me having any type of bond with another male. "What do you feel?"

I shrug. "Just a spark." He nods, accepting my answer.

"Is that why you invited us here? To tell us my mate has a bond with your son?" He scoffed.

The Queen's eyes harden, and I'm sure whatever she opened her mouth to say was not going to be friendly. Luckily the King chose that moment to speak. "There's more, a threat is brewing every day, getting stronger. It threatens the extinction of every dragon, including your mate. It's prophesied that she is the key to terminating it." I stiffen, just my luck. The more I discover about myself the more I wish I was a regular human. "But she can not defeat it alone. She'll need her mate and her bodyguards."

"What's the threat? Are you talking about the dragon hunters?" Adrian ask, now seeming to care about the situation. Threaten my life and he's all ears. I grin at him, lacing our fingers together.

The King scoffs. "The dragon hunters are kids play to what's coming. No one knows exactly what the threat is, only that it will arrive when the princess is awakened. From the smell of it she's had her first shift, meaning it has begun." I cringe, what does he mean smell? Can he smell my dragon? What does she smell like?

The dragon in question moves across my mind, absorbing the information with keen interest. Taking in the room with a bored, then curling back to sleep. Not concerned with the possibility of my death since there's no immediate threat. "So what? We find her bodyguards and hunt down this threat?" Adrian gives a little head nod to Blake who's standing next to him. He nods back, then darts from the room. Where is he going? I ask Adrian through the link.