Page 46 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
Maya inhaled sharply at that, no doubt remembering the odd conversation with the man in her rebirth state. I knew the theory that everyone was thinking without saying it—that the cosmos god himself had appeared to her. I had long ago realized there were things in this universe I would never understand—like how I ended up with such an amazing mate—so the idea of him appearing to her wasn’t that shocking.
“I promise to do so.”
Queen Cyra broke into a large smile as she took the crown from the pillow, placing it on Maya’s head with a delicate touch. As it settled, power surged through the space as a golden glow surrounded our mate. Maya let out a high-pitched sound as her skin began to crackle with gold lighting, the bolts darting off her skin and hitting the floor at her feet. My eyes went wide in surprise as power slammed into my chest, an echo of what was going through Maya, and the entire crowd around us broke into a roar of applause.
Maya nearly sagged, but she held herself upright as her eyes finally opened to look at all of us, her gaze darting between us as a beautiful smile lit her face. Her joy and contentment grew as she looked at the crowd around her, pride shimmering off of her.
I nearly shook my head in shock.
Maya had come so far since we had met her. She had grown so much in not only power but in confidence in herself. As much as I wanted to believe we were part of that, I knew it had always been inside of her. She showed it to us in those first days, when she stood up to Becky Ash and Lorn.
The connection through the eight of us swelled with emotion and pride as her body glowed pure gold—an absolute vision.
It had never been more clear to me that Maya was meant to be Queen, and we would do anything we could to be right by her side, aiding her.
* * *
Maya leanedback into me as the procession of congratulations stretched on and on. I knew for a fact that she was barefoot, and I was starting to thank the Maker that she hadn’t worn the ridiculous heels that had been laid out for her in the closet. I mean, I would’ve loved the excuse to pick her up, but considering the circumstances, she probably wanted to stand on her own.
Or maybe she didn’t.
My brother let out a chuckle as Maya offered a strained laugh at something an older dragon was saying to her, the story having gone on for nearly five minutes.
The tension we had been holding had faded slightly, mostly because we hadn’t seen my father since the start. We were hoping that he’d realized he wasn’t welcome and left, but either way, this extremely long procession was stopping us from focusing on it for too long.
“I would love to hear more stories later,” Maya said. The wrinkled older gentleman flashed a massive smile, thrilled at her request. I had no doubt he would fucking love to talk to our mate for hours. Too bad Marco, on her other side, was facilitating the movement of the line.
Although when I saw who was next, I wondered if he regretted the move—the next two in line were Marco’s father and Henry’s father, who’d apparently decided to take the trip together.
Marco and his father never seemed to have a particular resemblance to me outside of their eye color. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Marco and was far leaner, but he was a fairly prominent member of the community and was said to be skilled with a sword. I didn’t know him very well, only having met him in passing, but from my understanding he wasn’t a bad man—just distant, like most Dreki fathers.
When we had a kid, I would do everything in my power to combat that bullshit.
Henry’s father, on the other hand, looked exactly like his son, with the exception of the glasses. Guilt darkened his expression as his gaze moved to his son. I had a feeling he blamed himself for Henry’s eye injury, although I’d never confirmed that.
“Father,” Marco greeted, Maya’s eyes widening.
“Son.” He nodded in greeting before looking towards Maya and bowing. “Queen Maya, it’s an honor to meet you. Not only as the queen of this new land, but as my son’s mate.”
Maya nodded as she offered her hand, a gesture her mom had instructed her on, as he met it and continued, “My name is Commander Moretti, but you’re welcome to call me Amatheon.”
“Amatheon it is,” Maya said sweetly. “I didn’t realize you would be here, but it’s good to meet you.”
“When we realized that you had come to the realm recently and we’d missed it,” Henry’s father said, stepping up to greet her, “we knew we had to take the opportunity to meet you. I’m Velho O’Connor, and it’s wonderful to finally know who my son’s mate is.”
Henry made a sound in the back of his throat as Maya met Velho’s hand. She retracted it fairly quickly, her entire body tense, probably not knowing how Henry felt. I didn’t think he disliked his father, per se, but I also didn’t think he liked him touching our mate.
I didn’t disagree—far too many people were here interacting with her.
“I hope we have a chance to talk more later,” Amatheon said, taking a step back. “Marco, I would love the chance to catch up. We’re staying the night in town.”
“Maybe,” Marco conceded.
Henry’s father walked past his son and said something about his mother, but Henry didn’t react more than a nod. Then the two of them left us, Maya’s fathers talking to the group next in line and giving us a moment to gather ourselves. Maya instantly turned towards the two of them and spoke softly. “I didn’t expect them to be here. Were you okay with talking to them? I would’ve been comfortable ignoring them if not—”
“No.” Henry shook his head and offered her a smile. “You were perfect, sweetheart.”
“Sai!” a feminine voice exclaimed.
