Dragonless, Not Undesired: Bonded To Four Royals

Before I could process the thought, a horrific sound echoed across the outer boundary fields.

It was a wet CRUNCH, followed by the distant sound of rolling gravel.

I turned Vaelor’s head toward the noise.

A quarter-mile away, on a stone-filled training field, Ivar had lost control of his stolen wings.

He was lying completely still in the dirt, blood pooling beneath his head. His left arm was snapped backward, his red coat torn to shreds.

’Is he dead?’ Vaelor asked, tilting his head with mild curiosity.

"Not yet," I muttered, watching the Wolf Prince bleed into the gravel. "Serves the bastard right for stealing powers from poor lustful girls and creeping around first-years."

I looked back toward the Sunken Arch.

Below, the gate at the base of the ruins groaned open, and Elira and her friends stepped through the threshold, disappearing into the dark passage.

My heart swooped into my throat.

They were walking into the lower drainage sectors—an unmonitored lawless zone where the Academy’s security wards didn’t reach.

They’re going to die down there.

I hated that I couldn’t stop the panic that clawed at my chest.

If she died down there... if she was slaughtered in some damp sewer before I could demand the truth... I would never know. I would never find out if she was the girl from the archway. I would never know if she was my little wife, the girl who had held my hand while I cried, the girl who had unknowingly carried my heart for eight long years.

I couldn’t let her die.

What do I do? What do I do?

The Dragon Prince does not rescue first-years from forgotten ruins.

Princes observed disasters. They sent guards. They issued commands.

They don’t personally descend into drainage tunnels because one dragonless girl might be in danger.

Especially not when that dragonless girl might be the greatest mystery of his life.

Vaelor shifted beneath me, his golden eyes fixed on the Sunken Arch. ’You are afraid.’

"I am not."

’You are considering abandoning your hiding place, your investigation, and your father’s orders to enter a sewer because of a girl.’

I tightened my grip on the reins. "Watch your thoughts, Vaelor."

’I am your dragon. Unfortunately, I have watched your thoughts since you were eighteen.’

I was about to mentally shut down Vaelor’s speech when an idea struck me.

I lowered Vaelor through the mountain mist, dropping toward the stone-filled training field where Ivar lay.

Blood surged from a deep tear in his throat every time he tried to draw breath, staining his torn red coat into a dark, slick black.

"Not... you..." Ivar choked out, his crimson-stained lips curling into a bloody sneer. "Of all the... arrogant bastards... in this hellhole... I’d rather die... than let you... watch me die..."

"You don’t have much of a choice," I said quietly, stepping over a heap of shattered gravel until I stood directly over him. "Either way, you’re dying."

Ivar let out a strangled groan, squeezing his eyes shut as a wave of pain convulsed through his torso. "What the hell... do you want, Dravaryn? Come to... gloat?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "I came to make your last moments thoroughly miserable. I saw you trailing that first-year using invisibility. Tell me, Ivar—did you or did you not steal that invisibility power from my stepsister?"

Ivar’s remaining eye flicked up at me, glinting stubbornly. "Oh, get l-lost, Remus! As... you...c-can see. I do not have... the time... for this."

I placed my boots on an open wound on his arm. "If I were you, I’d choose my words carefully, Wulfram."

He spat a mouthful of thick blood onto the stones. "Lie... lied to you... If I said yes, wouldn’t I? She’s not... the only shifter... with invisibility power, you paranoid prick..."

"Don’t insult my intelligence, Ivar," I warned.

"Believe what you want..." he wheezed, glaring up at me through blood-crusted lashes.

Well, I tried to play nice. If the arrogant bastard was going to play difficult, then two can play.

"You know what the most entertaining part of my gift is?" I stepped closer, my pupils contracting into crimson slits as my power flared to life in the quiet field.

"I don’t just read surface emotions. When a male is as broken and pathetic as you are right now, his deepest, most shameful fears bleed out of his soul like open wounds."

Ivar’s eyes widened with sudden panic. "Don’t..."

Before he could pull back, I flicked my wrist. A shadowy mist surged out from my palm, blanketing the space between us.

The air around Ivar warped into a vivid, waking nightmare.

We were in a torch-lit arena—the Sovereign Council Chamber of the Wolf Clan. Thousands of giant dire wolves roared in unison. In the center of the arena stood Ivar’s older brother, Erik, lifting the Alpha Sovereign Crest high into the air.

"All hail the true Alpha Sovereign!" the crowd bellowed.

"The supreme warrior of the Wulfram bloodline!"

In the shadow of the throne sat Ivar—stripped of his fine clothes, bound in rusted iron chains, and reduced to a pathetic, shivering pauper.

Nearby, Raice, Ajax, and I stood, laughing openly at him as he begged for scraps. Beside him, Zev tossed a greasy bone onto the dirt at Ivar’s feet, barking an order for Ivar to go fetch his next court mistress.

"No..." Ivar gasped, his fingers clawing at the gravel, trying to tear his eyes away from the nightmare. "No! Get it... out! Get it out of my head!"

He thrashed against the iron fence, his broken bones grinding sickeningly, but the illusion held him tight.

"You’re a monster!" Ivar screamed as tears of blood mixed with the dirt on his cheeks. "You’re the devil... Dravaryn! Torturing a dying male... You psychotic piece of shit!"

With a flick of my fingers, I collapsed the illusion.

Ivar collapsed back onto the stones, panting violently, his chest heaving as if he had just resurfaced from freezing water.

"Only an idiot pities a predator who uses girls’ emotions for sport and steals their abilities," I said coldly, looking down at his trembling frame. "Stay away from my sisters, Ivar. If you ever crawl near Veyra again, I won’t use an illusion. I’ll peel your core out myself."

Ivar let out a wet, raspy laugh, turning his bruised face toward me. "Why? Because you want them... for yourself? You three aren’t even related by blood, Dravaryn. Cut the damn crap."

What the–

Was he suggesting that I’d want to get with...

I’m going to be sick.

My jaw locked. My claws started to elongate but after a brief shut of my eyes, I kept my temper at bay.

"Coming down here was a mistake," I said, turning my back on him and walking back toward Vaelor. "Die in the dirt, Ivar. It’s the most fitting end you could possibly ask for."

"Wait!"

I paused, but didn’t turn around.

"Wait... damn you!" Ivar choked out, the sound of his body dragging half an inch across the gravel echoing in the quiet. "Are you... just going to leave me here? You’re not going to help?"

I looked back over my shoulder, tossing him a dry look. "Give me one logical reason why I should. You’re of zero use to me, and your death is practically a public service to the Academy."

"You’ll regret this..." Ivar wheezed, his knuckles turning white as he gripped a jagged rock. "You need something... I know you do. Everyone needs something in this hellhole."

"Your little threats don’t move me, Wolf," I said, taking another step away.

"A wish!" Ivar gasped out. "I’ll grant you... one wish! Whatever you want! Information, assets, access... and I’ll stay away from your sisters! I’ll stay away from every girl in your circle!"

I stopped dead in my tracks as a smirk split my face.

Slowly, I turned back to face him, my eyes narrowing. "I want something else too."

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