Chapter 166: Men Will Be Men

Music Recommendation : Bioluminescence by Brianna Tam

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"How can you say that to me, Rhydian?" Tamara stared at him with unmistakable hurt, his accusation having struck a deeper part of her than she was willing to admit. "I was only trying to help."

"Were you?" Rhydian asked, his voice turning colder. "Were you genuinely concerned about my well-being, or are you simply aggrieved by the thought of a human being my mate?"

"Of course I was worried about your well-being—"

"What a liar."

"I’m not lying!" Tamara snapped, frustration breaking through her composure. Of all the people in the world, Rhydian was the last person she had ever expected to question her devotion to him.

"If you were truly that concerned about me, then you wouldn’t have suggested that I reject Aria when you know exactly what that would do to Sargon and me. He has already accepted her. If I spend the rest of my life fighting him over his own mate, Sargon and I would be in perpetual conflict. Do you have any idea what that could do to me? To my control? To the bond between a dragon and his beast?"

"Of course I’ve thought about that, but Sargon is still under your control. He should be capable of understanding the situation and making the right choice." Tamara shook her head impatiently. "Surely even he doesn’t want to see her dead."

The words landed badly.

Rhydian’s eyes flashed, his expression darkening at the casual certainty with which Tamara spoke about Aria’s death. It didn’t matter that the possibility had already crossed his own mind countless times. Hearing someone else say it aloud awakened a viciousness inside him that had his fingers curling around the satchel.

"Get out," he said, his voice low with restrained anger.

Tamara hesitated.

Rhydian’s restraint shattered. "I said get out!"

The force of his roar shook through the room.

For all Tamara’s fearlessness, she knew Rhydian well enough to recognize when she had reached the limit of what he would tolerate. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she turned toward the door, her dignity barely holding together beneath the humiliation of being dismissed by the man she had served faithfully for years.

Before she could leave, Rhydian’s voice stopped her.

"And Tamara."

Her hand tightened around the doorframe.

"If a single word of this conversation leaves this room and something happens to Aria because of it, you can rest assured that you’ll follow her to the grave."

Tamara’s fingers curled around the frame so tightly that her knuckles turned white. For several seconds, she couldn’t move.

Years. She had given him years of loyalty, service and devotion. She had stood beside him, defended his authority when dragons questioned his decisions and carried out his orders even when she disagreed with them. Yet now he was standing behind her, threatening to kill her over a human woman he had barely known.

The worst part was that Tamara knew he meant it.

Her throat tightened painfully. How foolish she had been to believe Rhydian was different.

Tamara had spent most of her life proving she deserved more than the expectations placed upon dragon females. She had rejected suitors, disappointed her parents and fought for every ounce of authority she possessed because she refused to become another female whose entire worth was measured by the male she married and the heirs she produced for him.

She had wanted more for herself. She had wanted strength, authority and a place among dragons that no one could take from her simply because she was female. And somewhere along the way, she had believed those same qualities made her worthy of standing beside Rhydian, not as another dragonness throwing herself at the Drakhar heir, but as someone who had earned the right to be his equal.

She had thought Rhydian would admire what she had made of herself. More foolishly, perhaps, she had believed Sargon would too. Dragons respected strength, and strength was naturally drawn to strength. Sargon was one of the most powerful dragons ever born to their kind. What could a beast like him possibly desire more than a dragonness powerful enough to stand at his side?

Perhaps that was why this hurt so much.

After everything she had done to become that female, Sargon had chosen a fragile human instead. A woman without scales, fire or even the strength to survive against most beasts without protection. It made every sacrifice Tamara had made over the years feel like some cruel joke. She had gained the strength, the authority and the reputation she had fought for, yet somehow, when it came to the one male she had allowed herself to want, none of it had mattered.

In the end, even Rhydian Drakhar could cast aside years of loyalty for a female who had done nothing to deserve his devotion. Apparently, males were all the same. Give them enough beauty, bat a few eyelashes in their direction, and suddenly all the strength and loyalty they claimed to value became meaningless.

Tamara swallowed against the ache in her throat before turning around.

"You cannot hide a mate bond, Rhydian. Sooner or later, everyone will see it for themselves." Her wet eyes met his without wavering. "So if you’re going to kill me when that happens, you might as well do it now."

They stared at each other in the tense silence that followed. Tamara waited, almost daring him to answer, but Rhydian said nothing. She took his silence for what it was and turned away, stepping through the doorway and closing it behind her before the tears finally slipped down her cheeks.

Everything was painfully clear now. Men would always be men. Even Rhydian.

The door closed with a hollow thud that lingered long after Tamara was gone. Inside him, Sargon was practically preening with satisfaction, pleased that Rhydian had defended their mate, but Rhydian felt none of his dragon’s triumph. All he felt was the bitter weight of guilt settling in his chest.

He and Tamara had been together for years. She had stood beside him through more than he could count, and threatening her life after everything they had been through left a sour taste in his mouth. Perhaps he had gone too far. But she was also his second-in-command. If there was anyone he should have been able to trust to stand behind his decisions, even the ones she didn’t agree with, it should have been her.

Rhydian groaned and dragged a hand over his face, his head reeling. Everything was happening too fast. Then his gaze dropped to the satchel still clutched in his hand and something inside him eased.

His grip loosened as he stared at it, remembering the gold Sargon had draped over her, the possessive satisfaction his dragon had felt while doing it. For the first time since Tamara walked out of the room, Rhydian felt as though he could breathe again.

"Aria..."