My voice was steadily growing louder and louder.
“I know the shop and the handbook are still just pipe dreams, but I’m planning to work towards them, bit by bit.”
Filled with excitement at my prospective future, I looked Ray straight in the eye.
“So you see, I still have so much I want to accomplish here in Vaxwald. I won’t ask you to support it, but please don’t fight me on this. I refuse to go back to Myulan. Not yet,” I finished with a proud smirk.
Ray stared at me in wide-eyed surprise for a moment, then clapped a hand over his face and fell still. Seconds ticked by.
“Uh, Ray?”
When he finally lowered his hand, after what felt like an eternity...his eyes were shining with the same excitement I felt. “I can never compete with you,” he sighed, his smile conflicted. “How can I possibly tell you no when you sound so giddy?” Wrapping his arms around me, he continued, “You’re always so quick to flush all my hard work down the drain, you know that? Do you know how hard it was to tell you that you weren’t my Bondmate? To leave your side? No...I was so hostile to you, you couldn’t possibly have known.”
“So I am your Bondmate!”
“Of course you are.” At last, Ray had finally admitted it. “You were right—when you first told me you were a Flowerfolk, I immediately thought of the Flowerfolk chapter from Tales of Tribal Romance. As much as I wanted to take you home with me to Vaxwald, it just didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to put your life in jeopardy.”
I was willing to concede my inability to handle extreme temperatures, but no matter what, I refused to believe that merely existing in Vaxwald over the winter was going to kill me. Maybe if I wandered around outside for hours and hours without a coat or something—but I would never do that. Plus, the castle came equipped with fireplaces.
“You’re so paranoid,” I muttered.
At this, Ray pulled away slightly, then looked directly into my eyes. “I was worried about more than you freezing to death,” he explained. “As I said earlier, in Vaxwald the weather is harsh in some form or another for a majority of the year, and you would have to endure that for years on end. When I thought about how miserable it would make you to have to live here, I just couldn’t bear to do that to you.”
“I get that,” I replied, half-annoyed. Trust me, I got it the first time.
“So then I thought about moving to Myulan to be with you...but I hail from the aristocracy, and as an only child, I’m expected to inherit the family legacy. Our bloodline has served the royal family for generations now—I can’t just throw all that away. Besides, just as you have your loyalties to the Princess, I too wish to serve His Highness. He’ll make a great king one day, and I want to be there to see it.”
“I can relate.” This time my reply was sincere. Besides, I could never ask him to throw away his career, much less his heritage—especially for someone he barely knew. Had he done so that early into our courtship, it would’ve made me really uncomfortable.
“Besides, had I actually thrown my life away to come to Myulan, I would’ve been too ashamed to face you. Perhaps I could find a different job soon enough, but even then...I don’t want to disgrace myself in front of you if I can help it.” He pulled me back into his arms, more tightly this time. “You can’t know how bad it hurt to force myself to leave you. I had to tell myself it was for your own good or else I couldn’t have managed it. And yet...despite my noble sacrifice, you turned up in Vaxwald as part of Her Highness’s dowry...” Ray grumbled.
“That wasn’t my choice! She asked me to come with her!” I argued.
“Do I send you back to Myulan, or do I support your dream...? I just don’t know,” he muttered, burying his face in my shoulder. Soon, however, it became apparent that he’d found his answer. “In my head, I know the correct answer is to send you home, but you just look so happy when you’re talking about your dreams here in Vaxwald...and I can’t just turn a blind eye to my Bondmate’s feelings. I can’t.”
I stayed quiet and let him work it out for himself.
“When I left Myulan, it was easier. You didn’t have strong feelings for me, so my absence didn’t pain you.”
“If I cried and begged you not to go, would you have stayed?”
“Well, if you were serious about it, then yes, I imagine I would have. Probably would’ve left my family name and my title to people I could trust. Likewise, I can’t exactly disregard your wishes this time around, either. I know you’re serious about making your dreams come true, and my only option is to support you.”
“Thank you,” I said with a smile.
He laughed and straightened up. “When you’re having fun, I have fun. When you’re happy, I’m happy. And if I’m being honest, I would do anything for you.”
“What if I wanted to hike up a snowy mountain?” I teased.
“I would stop you, obviously,” he answered with a grin. “But if you honestly, sincerely, desperately wanted to go, then I’m sure I’d end up caving eventually. And if we did end up going, I would take every single precaution to ensure you won’t freeze to death.”
“Well, fortunately for you, I don’t have a burning desire to hike up a snowy mountain at the moment.”
Unless I hear of any rumors that mountain-dwellers have especially healthy hair or unique hairstyles or something like that. Then all bets are off.
“Anyway...I just wish you would’ve been honest with me right from the start. You should’ve just told me you were worried about how a Flowerfolk would fare in Vaxwald. Then you wouldn’t have pissed me off the way you did.”
I scowled slightly.
“And so what if I ended up in Vaxwald? Instead of telling me to ‘get out,’ you should’ve just cautioned me against the extreme weather conditions so I could make my own informed decision.”
“Even if I had, would you have chosen to leave?”
“...Well, no... I came here to support the Princess,” I mumbled.
“I knew better than to try to talk it out with you because I knew you weren’t fully conscious of your weak constitution,” Ray explained, his arms still wrapped around me. “Even now, you think I’m simply ‘paranoid’ or what have you. Had I been straightforward with you, you would’ve merely laughed it off.”
At this, I stayed silent...because I knew he was right.
“And I only lied about you not being my Bondmate because I felt it was the right thing to do. If I continued to let you think I was a good man, it might have hurt you more when I left you.”
“Somebody’s full of himself,” I snarked...but he simply grinned as if to suggest he knew precisely how good-looking he was.
“Oh, please. Be honest—after five days together, you were already interested in me, weren’t you? Any time I drew close to you or smiled at you, you’d always turn red...right here.” He grinned as his fingers brushed my ear.
“Grrr! Quit teasing me!” I growled, embarrassed (and blushing) but not actually annoyed with him.
“I’m not teasing you. It’s just cute, that’s all.” Then his tone turned serious. “I’m sorry I upset you. I just thought it’d be best if I made myself into the bad guy before I left Myulan. And I admit, I’ve been acting coldly toward you here in Vaxwald because I hoped it would encourage you to go home. I wanted to piss you off.”
“Too bad for you, I’m not the rage-quitting type. I’m far more professional than that.”
“You’re right. I was naïve, and I underestimated your devotion to your work.” His expression shifted to a confident smile. “So, seeing as you initiated this conversation, can I take this to mean you’re ready for what happens next?”
“What do you mean...?” His bright smile put me on guard.
“You made me admit that you’re my Bondmate. Then you told me about your ambitions for the future and asked me not to fight it. Thus, my only option is to accept that you’re my Bondmate, love you with all my heart, and support you as you work toward your dream.”
“I mean, that’s not your only option,” I mumbled shyly.
A big grin crept up on his face. “I’m warning you now: a Dragonkin’s love for his Bondmate is rather intense. And I’m done holding back.”
Suddenly, it felt as though I had inadvertently awoken a sleeping dragon...and my smile stiffened as I realized there would be no escape...