Her Dragon King (Her Dragon King Duet 2)

He’s right. I am being disrespectful. But I don’t see any other way to get through to them. If I let them stubbornly cling to the sanitized version of their back story, how are we all going to move forward?

Still, I gentle my tone to let FJ know, “It’s not about sides, Dad. It’s about ending this feud. There’s a baby now. My son, your grandchild. If you want to see us on the regular, if you want Fensa and her family to be able to come back, we’ve got to figure out how to squash this beef with Damianos. Who is now my mate.”

Silence. Dead silence, with so many triple eye exchanges, it’s easy to tell my mom and dads are having a whole conversation about how to respond.

“You know what, I don’t care about any of this family drama,” Rafes says, rudely stepping between my parents and me. “Damianos infiltrated my personal guard and cabinet with his mind control tricks!”

“Yea, for all we know he’s brainwashed you into defending him,” Aunt Myrna points out, coming to stand beside Rafes.

I bug my eyes at Myrna. “Seriously, I present a logical argument, and all you two can come up with is mind control?”

“What else are we supposed to think?” Aunt Myrna yells back, her particularly fierce version of the Old Norse accent becoming even thicker. “While you were mating with our family’s mortal enemy, your parents were sick with worry.”

“Yes, we all spent sleepless nights imagining the worst. Innumerable resources were employed to find you. Thousands of credits in both taxpayer and private dollars,” Rafes adds, taking his wife’s low-res hand. “Nago, Knud, and me almost got fire sprayed when we tried to ask Xenon for help. That’s how scared Fensa’s mate is of this dude. And now you’re here acting like we should all be peachy cool. Defending the guy that brainwashed more wolves than I can count and is making serious moves on our gates for reasons we still don’t understand?”

“Xenon…Xenon tried to hurt you?” I’m feeling dazed from all those reveal grenades he just threw at me. And what the hell was up with Xenon? They’re assuming he did what he did because he’s afraid of Damianos, but my many confusing conversations with the Other Damianos tickles my mind. “I don’t understand why he would do that.”

“Yes, obviously there’s a lot you don’t understand. Most likely because you’ve been brainwashed,” Rafes counters.

“But I haven’t been—” I start to answer.

Rafes cuts me off with a harsh sigh. “Can we at least expect some intel from this latest inadvisable mating between a wolf and a dragon? Like why he had designs on the time gates?”

I falter, torn between my state and my mate. “I’m not sure exactly what he wanted with all those gates,” I admit in the end. “He mentioned having some ultimate revenge plan against my dads and Xenon. But I’m sure I can convince him to change his mind.”

Everybody groans. And Mom says, “I think it’s obvious she’s been brainwashed,” her eyes brimming with tears.

Papa draws her to him, comforting her, even as his own eyes tear up. “Yes, why else would she defend him so?”

I feel heartbroken and attacked and like the shittiest daughter on earth.

And man, do I miss Fensa.

My twin never made me explain myself and I never made her. Questioning each other’s sanity? Never. Not us. We were ride or die. But this attack disguised as a conversation tells me she was the only one I could rely on like that.

Her and Other Damianos.

“I’ll never truly let you go. Until my dying day, you will remain in my heart. But I do not want our hatchling born to an imprisoned mother. I want what I envisioned for us, a wedding in front of your wolves and my drakkon. What you talked about during our last round of heat sex…the matching yellow flame you call love. I want that for him. And I want that for you. And therefore, I cannot make the same mistakes as before. This is a second chance, and this time I must do right by you.”

My heart aches with the memory of the dragon who made that vow to me as I say to my parents. “Mom, Dads, I haven’t been brainwashed. I’m just trying to fix this. Make it so we can get Fensa back, and then we can all be a family again.”

But Dad goes on like I haven’t said anything at all. “I fear there is no great tale to be told,” he says with a grave nod. “In fact, it is obvious he purposefully let her escape. Perhaps as part of this ultimate revenge she believes she can convince him to abandon. He wants to rub our faces in how thoroughly he has entranced our daughter.”