Chapter 189: Going Home

Azura’s POV

I stood silently at the very edge of the stone courtyard, my arms wrapped tightly over my chest as I watched everyone bustle around, finalizing the bags.

A few yards away, Torin was lounging casually on a long stone bench near the center fountain, his exceptionally long legs stretched straight out in front of him.

His messy brown hair kept falling across his eyes in the wind, but he didn’t bother to brush it away.

Near the front carriage stood Genevieve.

She was standing close to her son, her slender hand resting gently on his thick forearm as she spoke to him in a low, incredibly soft voice.

Rhydor nodded his head slowly, pretending to listen to her words, but his sharp amber eyes were completely fixed on something else across the yard.

He was staring directly at me.

The moment our eyes met, a sudden, hot flash of panic flared up in my chest, and I quickly looked away, forcing my gaze down to the gravel beneath my boots.

I could not bring myself to look at his face today.

Not after what had happened between us the last two nights.

Every single time I even caught a glimpse of his broad shoulders, my mind instantly flooded with vivid images I desperately did not want to remember right now.

I could still feel the phantom pressure of his heavy hands pressing into my waist.

I could still feel the scorching heat of his mouth dragging across the skin of my neck, the rough texture of the soft mattress beneath my back, and the broken, breathless sounds that had escaped my own throat while he completely ravished me in the dark.

The worst part about the entire thing was that I didn’t regret a single second of it.

I had loved every single moment he touched me.

But I could never, under any circumstance, let him know that.

I could not let him see how entirely helpless I was against his touch, or how much my body secretly craved him.

Not yet. Not when I was still trying so hard to understand the massive storm of emotions brewing inside my own soul.

So, I did the only thing I could do: I avoided him completely. I kept a wide, safe distance between us in the courtyard.

And focused entirely on the simple rhythm of my breathing, trying to calm my mind and control the strange, tingling pull of the bond that was currently humming beneath my skin.

My inner wolf was finally waking up from her long sleep. I could physically feel her presence now.

It wasn’t a distinct voice speaking in my mind, not yet, at least, but it was a heavy, comforting warmth nesting deep within my chest that had never been there before.

But as I watched the fog roll over the trees, a cold thought crossed my mind.

If my own wolf was truly waking up, what other ancient, terrifying things were waking up inside me along with her?

I forced myself to turn completely away from Rhydor’s direction, cutting off the thought before it could make me spiral.

My eyes darted toward the massive iron gates of the castle.

The Dragon King was standing right beside the open archway, his large hand firmly holding onto Liona’s smaller fingers.

He was leaning down toward her, speaking in a low, gentle murmur, his striking gray eyes full of an intense softness that I had never seen him show anyone else.

His deep voice was too quiet for the words to reach my ears, but his posture spoke volumes.

Liona, however, wasn’t looking back at him.

Her gaze was pinned entirely to the stone ground beneath her leather boots, staring at the cracks in the flagstones as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world, doing everything in her power to avoid his face.

The great king looked utterly defeated, like a man who was willingly forcing himself to let go of the one thing he desperately wanted to keep forever.

Liona gave a subtle tug, trying to pull her hand out of his warm grasp.

But the king held on tightly, his fingers refusing to unlock.

Liona stopped moving.

She froze, looking down at their joined hands for a long, quiet beat before she finally lifted her chin and looked up into his heavy gaze.

She let out a long, slow exhale that ruffled her bangs.

Then, without a single word of warning, she took a large step back toward him.

She reached up with both of her hands, grabbed the sides of his sharp face, pulled his head straight down, and kissed him deeply.

Right there. In the middle of the courtyard, in front of the guards, the drivers, and everyone else.

My jaw dropped completely open, my eyes widening in absolute shock as I stared at them.

When she finally pulled her lips away from his, she leaned in close and whispered something quick directly into his ear.

I couldn’t catch a single syllable of the words, but I watched the Dragon King’s face transform in an instant.

The crushing sadness vanished, replaced by a soft, bright look of sudden hope that made his gray eyes gleam.

Liona turned on her heel and began walking rapidly across the gravel toward where I stood near our carriage door.

"Ooh," I cooed loudly the moment she reached my side, a massive, teasing grin stretching across my face. "Look at you."

Liona’s face went completely blank, her eyes flat as she brushed past me.

"Not now, Azura."

"Wow," I chuckled, falling into step right behind her as we approached the wooden stairs. "Someone suddenly has a whole lot of courage to passionately kiss a man she claims she doesn’t even like."

Liona kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, her footsteps quick and tense.

"I truly do not want to talk about it right now, Azura."

She scrambled up the wooden steps and climbed into the dark interior of the carriage.

I let out a soft laugh and followed right behind her, sliding onto the opposite seat just as the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind us, locking out the cold morning air.

With a sudden, violent jerk, the carriage lurched forward.

Genevieve was riding in the other carriage further down the road, leaving her completely alone in the second carriage while Torin took charge of guiding the horses up front.

The carriage we were currently riding in was steered by Rhydor, his heavy presence felt even through the thick wooden roof above our heads.

The silence between Liona and me stretched out for several miles, the only sound being the rhythmic clack-clack of the wheels against the rocky path.

Then a memory suddenly flashed in my mind, making me turn away from the window to look directly at her.

​"Liona," I spoke up, my voice cutting through the steady rumble of the wheels.

​She lifted her head from her lap, her eyes curious.

​"Don’t you ever do something like that again," I said, my tone dropping into a fierce, serious register. "I mean it. That day in the woods. If you ever do something like that again... I will never forgive you."

​Liona didn’t argue or try to defend herself.

​Instead, she simply looked at me for a long, quiet beat, a stark smile touching her lips. Her expression said it all; she had completely run out of options back then, and she would make the same choice all over again if she had to.

​"We both made it out alive, Azura," she said softly, her voice steady against the rocking of the carriage. "That is the only thing that matters."

​She looked back down at her hands, her fingers nervously twisting the fabric of her skirt as she tried to shift the heavy mood.

"Do you feel it?" She asked quietly, breaking the quiet as she stared at her lap.

I didn’t turn my head away from the glass.

"Feel what?"

"The bond," Liona said slowly, her voice dropping into a careful, serious tone.

"The magical bond that connects you directly to the Dragon King."

I went quiet for a moment, my fingers tracing a small circle against the frost on the windowpane.

"Yes," I whispered, turning my head back to look at her.

"I feel it. It is not incredibly strong right now, but it is still there. I can feel the pull of it in my chest."

Liona leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, her eyes wide with sudden urgency.

"You mean you can actually feel the physical pull of it right now?"

"Yes," I said, my voice steady as I looked at her tense expression.

Liona pulled her brows together into a deep frown.

"Then... how exactly are you feeling inside? How does the Dragon King’s bond feel to your wolf?"

I shrugged my shoulders, a small, uncertain movement that felt heavy.

"I do not really know," I murmured, my voice dropping lower.

I took a deep breath, looking straight into her eyes.

"But at the same time... the mate bond coming from Rhydor is significantly stronger than the King’s bond. There is a massive, huge gap between the two of them."

Liona’s eyes widened even more, her hands gripping her knees tightly.

"And you still want to break both of them completely?"

I gave her a firm, slow nod of my head.

"Yes. I do."

"Azura, you know that is not physically possible right now," Liona said, her voice full of deep, bubbling worry as she leaned closer. "The king clearly explained it to us before we left. The magic will only take the weaker bond of the two."

"And right now... you have not fully mastered your true powers yet. You don’t know how to control the magic."

She paused, taking a soft, ragged breath before she spoke in an incredibly gentle, pleading tone.

"Can you not just mate with Rhydor first? If you mate with him, it will break the King’s bond safely without hurting you."

"Then, later down the line, you can figure out whatever it is you want to do with your and Rhydor’s bond."

"But can you at least just mate with him to break the King’s hold over you?"

I tilted my head to the side, studying the frantic expression on her face with sudden curiosity.

"Since when did you start caring so deeply about the magical bond between the Dragon King and me?" I asked, a small smile tugging at my lips.

"I thought you absolutely hated him and couldn’t stand his presence."

Liona shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her face tightening as she quickly averted her eyes, staring hard at the velvet curtain of the carriage window.

"Just because I do not like him..." she mumbled, her voice dropping into a low, embarrassed pout, "...does not mean I want to share him with anyone else."

A genuine, bright smile broke across my face.

"Ooh," I teased, leaning forward to poke her knee with my finger.

"So you actually do like him."

"It is complicated, okay?" Liona snapped sharply, her face turning a slight shade of pink as she defended herself.

"I am just trying to figure things out in my head. I seriously do not know what I am feeling right now."

"I do not know if what I felt back there was just the silly mate bond forcing its way into my brain, or if it is something else entirely."

She paused, letting out a long sigh as she rubbed her temples.

"For right now... let us just say that he is a friend. Nothing more."

I raised a single eyebrow, my smile widening into a full grin.

"Just a friend? Are you sure about that?"

I tilted my head to the side, my voice turning entirely innocent.

"Did something happen between you two in that council room?"

In an instant, Liona’s entire face turned red.

A bright, burning red that spread all the way down to her neck.

Her mouth opened slightly to defend herself, closed tightly, and then opened again, her hands flying up in a panic.

"Yeah, well, about that..." she stammered, her words rushing out of her mouth far too fast as she desperately tried to turn the tables on me.

"You want to talk about something happening? What actually happened between you and Rhydor in your chamber two nights ago, huh?"

I blinked, my grin vanishing as confusion took over.

"What?"

Liona leaned forward until her face was just inches from mine, her eyes gleaming with victory.

"Seriously, Azura. Everyone in that wing of the castle heard it."

My entire face went completely hot, a fierce wave of burning embarrassment rushing through my cheeks.

I quickly looked away, staring out at the passing trees again, my fingers twisting the fabric of my skirt.

"Nothing happened," I mumbled quickly, my voice tight.

"Nothing happened between us at all."

"Oh, please!" Liona laughed, leaning even closer until she was practically whispering loudly right into my ear.

"You have been teasing me this entire morning, and now you are trying to sit there and tell me nothing happened?"

"We all heard you. You were screaming his name like..."

"Stop!" I gasped out, quickly lunging forward and slapping my hand firmly over her mouth to cut off her words.

"Shut up, Liona! Nothing happened, I tell you. It was just... we were just doing some physical exercise. That is it. Forget about it."

Liona laughed against my palm, her chest shaking.

She reached up, grabbed my wrist, and easily pulled my hand away from her lips, her grin stretching wider than I had ever seen it.

"Exercise?" she giggled loudly, her eyes dancing with pure mischief.

"What kind of crazy exercise makes you scream like that? What kind of workout makes you say..."

She raised her voice, mimicking my tone in a high, mocking squeak.

"’Yes, Rhy, I need more! Give me more! Yes, yes!’"

"Liona, shut your mouth right now!" I shrieked, my face burning so hot I thought it would melt as I lunged forward to cover her mouth again.

"That did not happen!"

Liona burst into a fit of wild, unstoppable laughter, ducking away from my hands.

I reached out and shoved her shoulder roughly, causing her to lose her balance and fall entirely back against the cushioned seat, her hands covering her stomach as she continued to laugh hysterically at my misery.

"Whatever you say, Azura," she gasped out, wiping a small tear of laughter from the corner of her eye as her chuckles finally began to die down.

She turned her head, looking out her own window as the carriage bounced over a small rock.

The brilliant smile on her face slowly softened, turning into something quiet, peaceful, and deeply nostalgic.

"I am just so happy we finally get to go home," she whispered, her voice full of a soft, heavy emotion.

"I miss my parents so much."

At the mention of parents, the light mood in the carriage vanished, replacing the space with a sudden, dull ache.

I thought of my own parents.

Kai and Helen.

I had never truly known them in this life. Not really.

But I had seen their faces clearly.

I had watched them through the fragments of memories that didn’t even belong to my own brain.

I didn’t cry.

Instead, a small, incredibly sad smile touched my lips as I stared out at the endless green forest.

"Yeah," I whispered.

I paused, a sudden, strange realization washing over my heart as I watched the gray clouds roll across the sky.

"To be honest... I kind of miss Isadora too."

Liona’s head snapped toward me so fast I heard her neck click, her expression completely covered in absolute shock.

"Huh? Are you crazy? You miss the exact woman who tried to steal your true mate away from you?"

I kept my eyes fixed on the passing trees outside, my small, sad smile remaining steady against the glass.

"Yeah," I murmured, my voice trailing off into the quiet rhythm of the rolling wheels. "Strangely enough... I kind of do."