Page 23 of Daring the Drakarn Warrior Lord
"That's because it's active. Reading the ambient temperature right now." Orla made another adjustment and held up the device. "Want to see it work?"
All three children crowded closer.
I watched Orla demonstrate her invention, explaining the technical details in terms the children could understand. They asked questions. She answered patiently. No defensiveness. No need to prove herself. Just a scientist sharing her work with curious minds.
Footsteps approached from behind me. I glanced back and saw Selene, Reika, and Kinsley heading toward the courtyard. They hadn't noticed me yet.
I stepped back, deeper into the shadow of the pillar.
Selene reached Orla first. "Making friends?"
"Educating the next generation," Orla corrected with a grin.
Reika hung back slightly, her posture still uncertain around strangers. But Kinsley moved forward confidently, kneeling down to the children's level.
"That's a clever design," she said, examining Orla's device.
One of the children, the green-scaled girl, looked at Reika. "Are you scared?"
Everyone went still.
Reika's hands twisted together. But she met the child's eyes. "Sometimes. But I'm learning to be brave."
"My mama says being brave means doing things even when you're scared."
"Your mama is very wise."
The child beamed.
I watched the four women interact with the Drakarn children. Natural. Easy. No one was challenging them. No one was questioning their right to be there. They were just people, sharing space, existing together.
They weren't trying to prove anything.
They were just living.
A Drakarn adult approached the courtyard, probably a parent collecting their child. She nodded to the humans with casual politeness. "Thank you for entertaining them."
"Our pleasure," Selene said.
The adult gathered her children and left. The courtyard quieted.
I stayed in my hiding spot, watching.
Orla packed up her device with careful movements. Reika had relaxed slightly, her shoulders not quite so hunched. Selene stood guard, not obviously, just aware of their surroundings in that way healers learned.
They looked like they belonged.
Not because they'd proven themselves in some grand trial. Not because they'd won over every skeptic. Just because they'd carved out a space and filled it with their presence.
The pressure I felt, the constant need to justify my existence, to prove I was worthy of Darrokar's choice, that was unique to me. The other women weren't immune to harassment or prejudice. But they also weren't carrying the weight of being the Warrior Lord's mate.
Every decision I made reflected on Darrokar. Every failure confirmed the traditionalists' beliefs. Every success was attributed to his protection rather than my capability.
I was trying to meet expectations that were impossible by design.
But I couldn't leave Darrokar. Wouldn't. The mate bond aside, I loved him. Loved the life we were building together. Loved the future we could create.
So what was the solution?
