Page 29 of Taken By the Storm King

Silence fell over the garden.

Thalassar turned to me, his breathing ragged, his claws still dripping with blood.

His attention fixed on me with an intensity that staggered me.

And just like that, his rage broke.

“Lucy.” His voice was hoarse, wrecked.

Thalassar reached for me, his claws still sharp, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. Blood smeared his hands, dark against his bronze skin.

But I didn’t flinch.

I stepped into his arms without hesitation, leaning my forehead against his. His skin was fever-hot, his body still trembling with the remnants of his rage.

“I’m here,” I murmured, sliding my hands up his arms, feeling the tension coiled beneath his scales. “I’m safe.”

His breath shuddered out against my cheek, and then his arms wrapped around me, crushing me against him. He buried his face in my hair, his whole body shaking with something too raw to name.

I tightened my hold.

This was a man who had lost too much. A king who had spent his whole life shielding his people from the outside world---only to nearly lose the one person he’d let inside.

And I knew, with bone-deep certainty, that after today, Thalassar would never let me out of his sight again.

I just didn’t know if that was a promise or a problem.

THALASSAR

Ipaced the length of my chambers, blood still sticky between my claws. Each step burned off a fraction of my rage, but not enough. Never enough. My scales threatened to spread with every circuit, the dragon under my skin pushing to break free.

Lucy sat at the edge of the bed while Naia tended her wounds. Tiny, insignificant scratches that made me want to flatten cities and boil oceans.

“That one stings,” Lucy said as Naia dabbed something green onto her forearm.

“It will heal cleaner this way,” Naia murmured.

“Thank you---“

“You shouldn’t have been in the gardens alone.” The words burst from me, harsher than I meant them.

Lucy’s eyes snapped to mine, unafraid. “I can handle myself.”

“Clearly.” I gestured at her wounds, then immediately regretted it when her face hardened.

“Your Majesty,” Naia whispered, hands pausing in their work. “Perhaps I should return later---“

“Finish,” I commanded, softer this time. I turned away, staring at the wall where ancient battles played out in luminouspearl inlay. Ancestors fighting invaders, protecting what was theirs. Just as I had done.

Quiet filled the room until I heard Naia pack up her supplies.

“The wounds are minor, Your Majesty. She’ll recover fully.”

I nodded without turning. “Leave us.”

Naia bowed and slipped out, the door closing behind her with a soft click.

“Thalassar.” Lucy’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Look at me.”

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