The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL]

Riley’s breath kept catching in his throat as he knelt there, completely unsure of how he was supposed to proceed.

He didn’t know what to do, where he could even touch, or whether he had any right to interfere when, technically speaking, he was largely to blame for this.

Sometimes, it almost felt as though Riley existed specifically to mess up Kael’s life whenever the golden dragon managed to find even the slightest semblance of peace. And now, somehow, he was witnessing the particular moment when Kael had believed he’d lost his mate before they’d even gotten the chance to properly meet.

The frazzled ex-mortal couldn’t stop his hands from shaking.

He wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort him, to somehow explain that everything would eventually be okay, even if it would take an admittedly ridiculous amount of time before they found each other again.

But the child before him looked so delicate and fragile that Riley didn’t even know where to begin.

Kael still hadn’t moved from the exact same position.

It was almost as though he’d been completely frozen in time.

All around them, the room remained filled with the young golden dragon’s raging blue flames, and unfortunately for Riley, they were actively hurting him.

Not enough to burn him alive, thankfully, but enough to make every movement sting.

Which, admittedly, didn’t make much sense.

As a black dragon, Riley should’ve been immune to blue flames. Even before he’d shifted, however, Kael’s fire had never harmed him.

But these flames belonged to a Kael who didn’t recognize him yet.

That alone was enough to convince the grown interloper that whatever this memory was, it certainly wasn’t something he could control.

He could only hope the dragon lord still could.

Because as much as the ex-mortal wanted to believe he was simply witnessing something that had already happened, the last thing he wanted was for his mate to become so lost in the memory that he could no longer find his way back out.

Still, getting scorched suddenly felt rather insignificant when Riley looked at the child in front of him.

Kael had been this small when he’d gone through all of this alone.

And that hurt far more.

Still shaking, Riley eventually managed to lift one hand, though he hesitated for several seconds before reaching toward the child. Some irrational part of him was almost terrified that the moment he touched Kael, the boy would disintegrate like all those ashen bodies around them.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Riley’s trembling fingers softly brushed the tips of Kael’s soot-covered hair.

"Kael..." he called out quietly.

Nothing.

The child didn’t even seem to register his presence. Still, the Iltheran heir was now certain of at least one thing.

He could physically touch him.

So Riley tried again, his voice cracking slightly as he carefully ran his fingers through that soft golden hair.

"Hey... it’s me."

Still no reaction.

"...Kael, I’m here."

Not even a blink.

Admittedly, that hurt enough to make Riley’s lips tremble, and when the child still refused to acknowledge him, desperation finally crept into his voice.

"Please... please look at me."

But just like his earlier attempts, nothing happened.

Riley’s nose started stinging as his vision turned misty, but he fought to keep himself together until he could at least figure out what to do. At the same time, he didn’t dare grab the child or force him to move.

He couldn’t quite explain it, but something about Kael’s current state, coupled with the worsening condition of the estate that didn’t quite match his mate’s retelling, gave Riley the sinking feeling that pulling him away would be a very bad idea.

Unfortunately, the collapsing room couldn’t have cared less about his hunch.

A loud creak sounded overhead.

Riley’s head snapped upward just as a heavy burning beam broke loose from the ceiling and plummeted directly toward them.

He didn’t even think.

Instead of trying to move Kael out of the way, he instinctively threw himself over the child, wrapping both arms around that much smaller body while using the absolute slightest amount of mana he could manage to stop the beam from crushing them.

The burning wood halted barely above his back before crashing harmlessly to the side, but the black dragon barely noticed just how close it had come to hitting him.

Because the child he’d instinctively pulled tight against his chest finally moved.

"!"

Kael suddenly struggled against him with enough violence that Riley nearly loosened his arms in surprise. For one brief, hopeful moment, he thought the child had finally recognized that someone was holding him.

Then he followed Kael’s frantic gaze.

The eggshells.

Apparently, when Riley threw himself over Kael, he’d shifted the child’s position enough that several of the broken shells he’d been obsessively protecting had been displaced.

And that was enough to get a reaction.

The young golden dragon began struggling even harder, desperately trying to wrench himself free of Riley’s embrace as one small hand clawed forward to reach the scattered pieces.

Riley stared.

Well.

That was certainly something.

And while seeing Kael this distressed over a bunch of broken shells that weren’t even his certainly didn’t make the worried ex-mortal feel any better, the fact that he’d finally reacted gave the black dragon a tiny bit of hope.

Maybe he could work with this.

"Hey," he muttered, trying to lighten his own heavy mood before he completely jumped the gun. "You can’t blame me later when you find out you chose the shells over me, okay?"

But before Riley Hale could think of what to try next, another low groan reverberated throughout the estate.

This time, however, it didn’t sound like another part of the burning structure simply giving way.

Riley stiffened as the space around them seemed to shift. Cracks rapidly spread across the walls, but instead of sending more debris crashing down, the fractured surfaces began distorting strangely at the edges.

Almost like the memory itself was starting to come apart, yet the very person at the center of it all didn’t seem to notice a thing.

"Oh, shit."

Not okay. But o-kay.

Whatever was happening, Riley had the terrible feeling that he was running out of time.

The black dragon looked down at the child in his arms, only to find Kael still intent on getting back to those displaced pieces.

At this point, the already frazzled ex-mortal would’ve happily given his mate every concession in the world if it meant the golden dragon would just come back to him.

Unfortunately, he first had to get the stubborn baby to actually look at him.

So perhaps going a little nuts himself, Riley decided to try something admittedly childish.

After all, if it could work on one young Orien, why wouldn’t it work on version 1.0?

"Hmm... Shouldn’t those shells be a little shinier?"

Hearing something like that come out of his own mouth definitely sounded absurd. It was certainly nothing like what his mother had taught him about getting along with other children in school.

But just when Riley was beginning to regret letting those words echo so embarrassingly across the room, the cringe proved worth it.

The little dragon reacted.

Kael stopped struggling.

Then, slowly, the child turned his head.

Riley might’ve celebrated finally getting his attention if the soot-covered little face staring back at him hadn’t been absolutely furious.

The young golden dragon actually snarled.

"..."

Good god.

For one incredibly inappropriate moment, Riley could’ve sworn he was looking at an angry Orien.

But before he could decide whether that was adorable or mildly terrifying, those furious golden eyes finally lifted enough to see who was holding him.

Kael’s breath hitched.

And honestly, the reaction was understandable.

Because reflected within those trembling golden eyes wasn’t the grown man who’d somehow barged into his personal sanctuary and proceeded to insult the precious shells of his supposedly unruly mate.

Instead, what Kael saw was a small, shimmering black dragon.

For several seconds, the child simply stared, seemingly unable to understand what he was seeing. But those golden eyes that had been practically dead only moments ago were no longer quite so empty.

There was something there now.

Something small, but unmistakably alive.

The little black dragon huffed.

"I can’t show you the same shells you polished," Riley said gently, "but I believe I turned out shinier after hatching."

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