Page 36 of Monsters In Her Head

Ira turned his head so that his good eye could see him, still not showing any urgency to explain to Ryu what was going on with the human princess. “I’m not sure I should tell you, if the princess didn’t deign to explain what is wrong then maybe she didn’t want you to know?”

Without warning, Ryu grabbed his brother by the throat, jerking him away from the table. Ira clashed his horns on his head against Ryu’s snarling back at him with as much aggression as Ryu had given him.

“You may be my brother but I am your king, you will answer me when I ask you a question.” Ryu pushed against his brother’s head, reminding him of who was dominant of the two of them.

Ira snort laughed and swung his tail out, smacking Ryu on the back of the knees and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Desmond, the bastard, watched from the sidelines amused by their squabbling.

Wrapping his arms around his brother’s neck and head, Ryu held him in a head lock, his legs pinning Ira’s in place. “Do you yield?”

Gasping through the pressure Ryu placed on his throat, Ira grunted, “Fine. I yield.”

Ryu released him and they both climbed to their feet.

Calmly taking his place by the table once more, Ryu waited for his brother to catch his breath before asking once more, “What do you know?”

Ira rubbed his neck and grimaced, “I think you bruised my windpipe.”

Ryu snarled a warning.

“You are more impatient than a babe waiting for his mother’s milk,” Ira commented with a shake of his head. Sighing, Ira kept his eyes on Ryu as he said, “The princess is likely avoiding you because she doesn’t know how to explain to you that we have mated.”

Ryu’s brows shot up.

Of all the reasons the princess could be avoiding him, Ryu hadn’t expected that answer. It did make sense though. Georgia probably thought that she was violating their arrangement by having sex with his brother. Something they had never specified but seeing as she was human she didn’t quite have the same mindset as the drakes when it came to sexual partners.

“I see,” Ryu murmured, stroking his jaw with his fingers. “And when did this occur?”

Ira shrugged. “A few days ago. Though we did have a session a bit before that up on the cliff. You interrupted us.”

“Ah, that was the scent I was smelling on her before.” Ira inclined his head, it all made sense now. The princess’s avoidance, the extra scent on her person that seemed familiar but he couldn’t place his finger on it. Ryu had just thought it was from training but if Georgia and Ira were bedding one another then that made more sense.

With the mystery solved, Ryu turned his attention back to the map before him. “The Plumus troops are coming in from the far east side of the southern border, they have at least two thousand in numbers. If the Kinoko king knows about it, he isn’t stopping them.”

Unbothered by his change of subject, Ira added on, “My spies are getting me more information but from what they have learned so far from sneaking around the troops planted outside the castle, is that the Plumus princes are now in charge. Whether that means they have killed the king or not remains to be seen.”

Ryu huffed. “Then we should plan for an all out war.” Turning to Desmond, Ryu commanded, “Send out messenger birds to the drakes in the Boyon mountains, if the Plumus princes plan to attack us with the full force of their arm then we are going to need as much help as we can get.”

Desmond winced. “Are you sure? Those Gunni drakes are a bit volatile. I blame the wings. They have to be suffering from oxygen loss from flying too high.”

“Regardless,” Ryu stared at the map, his eyes on the castle in the middle of Kinokos. “We need them. Who knows what will happen after Plumus takes over Kinokos, Gunni could be next and we have to be prepared.”

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