Page 17 of Ember's Dragon
“Because,” Ciris began, sighing again. “His omega brother is a servant here and has tried to seduce me on more than one occasion. He’d come to me and asked if I wanted to spend the evening with him. I’d lied and told him I needed to refuel the hot spring, a lie, I know, but I was tired of his persistent attempts atflirting. Vrenus wants his brother and I to mate and for me to dismiss my claim on my fated mate.”
I gasped, holding Ember closer to me. “Why on earth would he even think you’dwantto do that?!”
Ciris held up a staying hand, silencing the rest of us before we could ask further questions. “Vrenus decided to check up on me in the hot spring, knowing I would be there, but instead he found Ember. An omega he’d yet to meet and who was sitting in the royal hot spring alone. He came to the conclusion that Ember was either there to seduce me, or I’d asked him there. His dragon’s instincts took over, his protectiveness over his brother making him do something stupid, which was why Ember was attacked.”
“Is his omega brother Loui?” I asked, or rather, growled.
Ciris sighed. “Yes. The one I’ve already told you about numerous times.”
“And this time, he’s getting fired, right?” Midos asked, his tone almost a growl.
“They both are,” I declared. “But I still want Vrenus killed for what he did to my mate.”
Ember said nothing, but I felt his turmoil. He was afraid and something else that was hard to pin-point. Maybe he felt like a burden, or guilty over being attacked?
Chapter Fourteen
Ember
I’d been at the palace for around a week, perhaps more, and already two people were being firedor killed. I couldn’t help but feel at fault for Loui losing his job. It wasn’t his fault that his brother was stupid enough to attack me, and as far as I could tell, Loui himself hadn’t done anything other than flirt obsessively with the king, something many omegas likely did. It wasn’t just in my kingdom that omegas wanted to mate with some powerful alpha. But it didn’t seem like Ciris had ever taken him up on his offer, which meant he was partly at fault for not realizing Ciris wasn’t meant to be his.
“Also,” Ciris continued, unaware of my spiraling thoughts. “Vrenus admitted to spying on me, which was how his brother always knew my whereabouts.”
“Then why the fuck can’t we just kill him?!” River demanded, his grip on me tight enough to hurt.
“I um,” Ciris swallowed, standing completely still as he stared down at the carpet. “I asked what he was planning to do once my fated mate showed up.”
“And?” Reinos asked, sitting forward, eyes intense.
“He admitted to having obtained poison,” Ciris whispered, eyes distant.
River was up from the couch in an instant. “I’ll kill him!”
“Too late,” Ciris said, quieting the room and making River pause his sprint to the door. “I’ve already killed him,” Ciris admitted, not looking particularly proud of the fact.
“Then why the fuck did you let us believe he was still alive and kicking?!” Midos growled, his eyes glowing blue.
Ciris’s gaze met his. “Because I needed to know you agreed with me on his punishment. I let my temper take over, or my dragon, I should say. It broke free the moment he admitted he was planning on killing my fated mate as soon as he was found and brought here.”
My alpha grabbed Ciris’ shoulder, squeezing it as they shared a look. “We protect our family,” River said, sounding awfully calm considering he was ready to go kill someone a mere minute ago. “You didn’t decide on killing him on your own, I already said I wanted him dead.”
“I don’t want to be like grandfather Trion,” Ciris whispered, making his brothers frown.
“You could never be him,” Reinos said, his tone firm.
“Never,” Midos agreed. “He ruled with fear and punishments. This is the first time you’ve ever killed someone yourself and it was only because your family was harmed and threatened.”
I felt like an outsider as I sat there, watching the four brothers comfort one another. My hands twisted and pulled at the fabric of the borrowed shirt I wore, and I tried to make as little sound as possible. It was obvious the brothers were close and needed one another. No toxic jealousy like my siblings and I had between us, just love and understanding. I felt a twinge of envy, mostly because it would’ve made growing up easier. Leaving them would’ve hurt, though, so I couldn’t feel too envious about it.
“I’ve already had Loui removed from the palace,” Ciris continued, righting himself as the brothers all sat on the couch, River’s hand finding mine blindly. “I used my alpha bark on him as well to test if he was in on it or not. He wasn’t, so he left with his life intact.”
“Then the threat should’ve been dealt with and we can relax now,” Reinos said, suddenly looking very tired. Had all the brothers been awake since I was attacked?
“Yes, hopefully,” Ciris sighed, smiling softly at his brother. “I need to rest for a week myself.”
They laughed at that, all standing like that meant the meeting was over with.
“Use the next three days to have some fun as newly mated,” Ciris ordered with a wink aimed in our direction. “After that, we’ll show you off to the kingdom as their Taov.”
