Novel Full Chapter 48: Handle His House
Chapter 48: Handle His House
An enemy is dangerous. An entertained enemy is worse.
~ Rebel Beast
------------------------
At first glance, most people saw Rhydian Drakhar as the carefree Casanova heir of the Drakhar family.
They weren’t entirely wrong. That was simply who Rhydian was. Except they made the mistake of assuming carefree meant foolish.
The dragon prince was larger than life and determined to enjoy every second of it. He laughed loudly, fought recklessly, flirted shamelessly, and rarely took anything seriously.
As a result, most people underestimated him. Rhydian didn’t mind. It made life easier. Because beneath all the charm and chaos was a mind far sharper than people gave him credit for. He was simply recklessly intelligent and unapologetically Rhydian Drakhar.
Caelis knew better than to underestimate him. Perhaps it was a dragon thing. Dragons were naturally knowledgeable creatures. Wise, however, was an entirely different matter. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have orchestrated that attack.
Their stunt had only strengthened Maverick Nightshade’s resolve. The wolf’s greatest weakness had always been his sense of responsibility. Now the humans were even further under his protection.
"That is not funny. Stop it," Caelis snapped.
Rhydian stopped, but the smirk remained.
"Who is it?" he inquired.
Caelis told him, "She goes by the name Karen Donovan. I want her alive for now."
"Why?" Rhydian asked.
"Why?" Caelis repeated, pretending not to understand the question.
Rhydian stared at him patiently. "Yes. Why do you want me to keep her alive?"
Caelis folded his arms. "Did I question why you wanted Aria Aspen alive? So why bother questioning mine?"
"Because you never bothered asking," Rhydian retorted. "And since we’re being honest, I wanted Aria Aspen alive because she seemed fun during her interview. It would’ve been a terrible waste to kill that much potential so quickly."
For the first time, Caelis looked genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected Rhydian to answer the question himself. The dragon prince was many things. Honesty was not one of the qualities he usually associated with him.
Having answered, Rhydian looked at him expectantly.
"Well?" His blue eyes gleamed with curiosity. "What do you want with Karen Donovan? You certainly haven’t fallen in love with a human, have you?"
He barked out a laugh. "Nah. Serpents don’t have beating hearts. So tell me, Caelis Cobryn. What exactly are you planning?"
The problem was that Rhydian was watching him too closely. Those bright blue eyes suddenly seemed capable of seeing far more than they should.
For the first time since arriving, Caelis felt a flicker of genuine unease. He couldn’t tell Rhydian his father was making deals with humans. The two of them weren’t allies, they were enemies. For all he knew, the dragons were conducting schemes of their own.
Maybe the nonsense about Aria Aspen being "fun" was exactly that. Maybe Rhydian already knew what Aria was, and the gods only knew what the dragons were truly after.
Caelis immediately went on the defensive.
"You expect me to believe you have no idea what Aria Aspen is?" His silver eyes narrowed. "And that you just happened to choose her by coincidence?"
The amusement immediately faded from Rhydian’s face. The light in his eyes dimmed.
As proud creatures, dragons could tolerate many insults, and being called a liar was not one of them, especially when they were telling the truth.
For a moment, Rhydian simply stared at him. Then he exhaled heavily through his nose.
"Fine." His voice lost all traces of humor. "Aria for Karen. We have a deal. Now fuck off."
Caelis’ expression shifted slightly. For a moment there, he had forgotten they were supposed to be enemies.
The ceasefire was making things messy, and the lines were beginning to blur. He didn’t like it one bit. The sooner this truce ended, the sooner things could go back to the way they were supposed to be.
Unable to let him have the final word, Caelis called out as he began to walk away.
"Well, fuck off, giant lizard. And perhaps for once try to rein in the dragons. Otherwise, people might begin wondering whether the Drakhar heir has any control over his own house anymore."
But Rhydian simply threw his head back and laughed.
He turned around. "Oh, don’t worry about me, little worm. I’m already handling it."
His grin widened. "Just try reducing your obsession with me a little. One of these days all this sexual tension is going to boil over."
Caelis hissed at him with enough venom to kill a small animal.
Rhydian merely chuckled, turned, and continued toward the academy with a noticeable spring in his step.
Phone in hand, he scrolled through the messages on the screen. A few minutes ago, he had sent a request to his dearest fang, asking for the location of one particularly troublesome dragon.
The response had arrived almost immediately.
Thamas, the little asshole was bold enough to go to class as if nothing had happened.
Well then, this was going to be fun.
Class was still in session when Rhydian Drakhar arrived. Without slowing down, he grabbed the door handle and ripped the classroom door open so hard it slammed against the wall with a loud bang.
Every head immediately snapped toward him, and even the professor paused mid-sentence. The sudden interruption shattered the lesson entirely.
"Rhydian Drakhar," the teacher, Selene, called out disapprovingly, placing both hands on her small waist. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Sorry about this," Rhydian said as he stepped into the room. His eyes immediately found Thamas.
The dragon in question went pale. So he knew fear after all.
"But we might be having an impromptu practical lesson today."
He paused beside Selene and gave her a quick once-over. "Also, nice skirt, Selene. You look lovely."
Just like that, the professor’s prepared reprimand died in her throat as a faint flush crept up her neck.
Meanwhile, Rhydian continued forward as though nothing had happened while Thamas looked ready to leap out the nearest window. Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t one close enough.
Instead, he slowly sank lower into his seat as Rhydian approached.
"Your Highness..." He began weakly.
"Hello, Thamas." Rhydian smiled.
The smile somehow made things worse.
Around them, students had completely abandoned any pretense of paying attention to class and watched the scene with intrigue.
Without warning, Rhydian grabbed the front of Thamas’ uniform and yanked him clean out of his seat.