Page 71 of Dragon Blood

Kai bowed his head. “Of course.”

“I’ll need a minute to write the official summons.” The king said to Bayn, nodding his dismissal to Kai. “It was good to meet you, princess Astred Arakkil. Your mother has been a long-time friend and ally. You may understand that this relationship between our nations has been kept quiet for the safety of the greater good.”

Astred nodded. “I do. Obviously, the Consortium never considered your court would have any connection to ours, given their attempts to secure the mountain seal, as well as access to our vault. No doubt, they’d have sought the stone to find some way to use it.”

“We are very conservative when it comes to outsiders.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Joey is dedicated to extracting the third seal from the Consortium. She’s spent eons of time trying to pinpoint where they keep it.”

“You know her well?” Astred lifted a brow.

Bayn said, “Joey is my brother’s consort.”

The king laughed. “More like I am hers. Though it takes nearly every ounce of my will to stay out of her projects. My duty is to maintain neutrality.”

“The Watchers.” Astred nodded.

“Indeed. But now and then a storm rages, and when it does, we hit hard. Never doubt that. A balance must be maintained. This is why we partner so closely with the Shield Claw. They are our connection to earthly affairs in this sector of the world. What affects dragons has an impact on all the paranormal world. As you will see for yourself.”

Bayn glanced at the window behind his brother, then to his watch. “The sky lightens.”

The king turned to his desk, eyes lifting to Astred. “We will have dinner this evening. You’ve had a long flight. Go and rest.”

Kai opened the door of the king’s private study, allowing Astred to pass through before him.

An attendant awaited them in the corridor, as protocol demanded.

Kai nodded respectfully to the steward, whose gaze softened as he assessed Kai. “It is good to see you, Master Chan.”

“And you, Kai, welcome back. You will reside in your old apartment?”

“The king wishes it.”

The old man nodded and bowed to Astred. “Princess Arakkil, a pleasure.”

They followed him through the winding corridors to the guest wings. Kai’s eyes lingered on the ancient woodwork as they made their way through, reminded of the Aeleftherian decor. So different, yet the similarities were unmistakable.

One society. Dragonkind.

His people, though he’d never really thought so, favoring his Tiger ancestry his entire life. Until now: Yes, he was a dragon, too, though still an outsider.

Always was, always will be.

But he’d come to terms with that long, long ago. He’d had to. And now it was his strength; not too mired in the ways of just one society but well acquainted with many, which had so many commonalities among their differences.

He appreciated the acceptance that the Long family had shown him, despite his status as a hybrid. Perhaps it had made the exposure to his Aeleftherian heritage a little easier to swallow?

They’d understood the Aeleftherians in ways that the tiger clan couldn’t.

Kolina had sought him out to reconcile in her way. She hadn’t made it about her trying to save a relationship with him, but for him to have a relationship with his sister. She’d done that. Reunited the siblings and taken a step back, though she’d made her regrets clear. Now it was up to Kai to decide if he wanted Kolina in his life.

Without a doubt, he’d wanted to see his sister again, despite his misgivings that she might have turned into a carbon copy of their mother.

The similarities were there, but she was her own woman and dragon.

That was evident in her choice to commit to her relationship with the mountain dragon, Jori. An odd king, if Kai had ever met one, so different from any before in his life. Jori’s upbringing as a human was glaringly obvious. He lacked the ingrained apex qualities that signaled his dragon side, let alone his royal one.

But then, Astred was different too, in her own way.

Kai followed behind Astred as Master Chan led the way to the royal guest wing.

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