Chapter 232

Chapter 232: Chapter 232

Tempest had never seen Dron like this.

It wasn’t that he was mad. She’d seen him mad before.

She’d seen him homicidal.

It was the fact that even after she managed to get him away from the conflict, he was still irate.

He didn’t direct any of his anger at her, but just being in the same room as him, she could tell that the second he was let back outside, he’d go after Gushex again.

"Dron, please listen to me."

"There is nothing to listen to. He laid a hand on you," Dron growled.

Tempest took a very tentative step forward.

"It was an accident. I got in the way."

"I don’t care what the circumstances were. He struck you. He shouldn’t be allowed to live."

Tempest recoiled at that. Was Dron really going to kill Gushex because of what happened? She didn’t have to think about it for too long. She knew that was exactly what was going to happen. She had to find a way to get through to him.

"Dron, you are scaring the people. You’re scaring me."

"The people need to be scared. We are about to go into the biggest fight most of them will ever experience in their lives. If they aren’t scared, there’s no way we can win this. Fear is useful."

"Not when they all believe that they are going to get the same treatment from the people we are going to fight. If you go off killing everyone who makes a mistake, what is going to make you different from the High Royals?"

"What if I’m not different!" Dron roared at her. She shivered slightly at the intensity of his voice. "I don’t agree with all that the High Royals have done, but in the time that I’ve tried to show the people on this boat that I’m different, I’ve been challenged, obstacles have risen that needn’t have risen, and now there’s talk of just walking away from the goal altogether. What if these people need more of the same?" Dron’s eyes bore into hers.

"This isn’t you talking, Dron. It can’t be." She shook her head and did her best to hold his gaze. The man she loved wouldn’t be talking about how he wanted to be the same as the people he was going against. He would be able to let this go.

The Dron standing in front of her was lost in a storm of rage.

"I never wanted to be the leader. All I wanted was you. All I wanted was peace." He pulled at the sleeves of his top, ripping them off in the process. "Now these marks have appeared, and people are saying that I’m supposed to be the next king. Yet another title I don’t want. They’ve laid all this responsibility at my feet and have not given me the choice to walk away. Now, when I make my decision, they go against it."

Tempest tried to separate what was really happening from Dron’s fear. It was true that they’d expected so much from him. He really didn’t want to do this, but he was the only choice. He was the right choice, even if he didn’t see it.

"They push against it because they think they can. Because they feel free enough to speak their mind. That is how government is supposed to work." Tempest chuckled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. "You’re not a tyrant or some aloof king who simply looks down on his people, expecting them to act as if they are zombies. You are one of them. If the shoe was on the other foot, wouldn’t you want a say and for the person in charge to hear you out?"

Dron settled for a second. He looked away and then back at her.

"I’ve never had a say before."

"And tell me, did you think everything was fair? Was it right?"

"No, but life isn’t fair. Sometimes things have to happen that we don’t like."

"That’s true, but as the leader, it’s your job to get the people on your side. Your job to convince them that you’re doing what is best for the whole and not just for you."

Dron sighed, and Tempest could nearly feel the tension in the room starting to lessen.

"I don’t know if I’m built for this. Not in the way the people want me to be," Dron said softly.

That was all Tempest needed to know that it was safe. She rushed over to him and hugged him.

He tightened his arms around her and just held her for a second.

Tempest pulled back and looked up at him. "I know it’s hard to see through all the chaos right now. Hard to know that you are exactly what these people need, but I need you to trust me. You are."

Dron smiled down at her. "I wish I had as much faith in me as you do."

"We’re working on it." She pulled back and poked him gently.

Dron walked over to one of the crates in the room and sat down.

"Oh, Moon Goddess..." he whispered.

"What? Is everything okay?" Tempest took a step forward, not wanting there to be much distance between the two of them.

"I can see it. What I’ve done. Oh... What have I done?" Dron groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

The reality of what had just happened between him and Gushex must be dawning on him. Tempest knew that Dron wasn’t an evil man. Knowing that he’d done that much damage to someone who had been trying to help him must really be weighing on him.

"Yes, that was intense. I have to admit. You scared me," Tempest said out loud.

Dron’s head snapped up. "I’d never hurt you."

"No, you wouldn’t. I know that. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you would stop at nothing if you think someone was hurting me. I love it, but it’s scary."

Dron narrowed his eyes on her. "Why?"

Tempest had been thinking about the story that they were told about the old kings. About the last one who had lost his mind when his mate was taken away.

She knew that Dron would go down the same path. That was what frightened Tempest.

"I promise you that I will do everything in my power to stay by your side, to stay safe, but..." Tempest started.

"But what?" Dron bit out.

"But if something were to happen to me, if I were taken hostage or harmed, I don’t want you to lose yourself like you did out there with Gushex."

Dron scoffed at that remark. "That’s as if you were asking me to forget how to breathe. I will always avenge you."

"Avenge me all you want, but stay Dron. Stay who you are. Live."

Dron’s eyes widened. He was understanding what she was saying.

Tempest knew she would never be able to convince him not to take revenge. She was trying to convince him not to lose his mind in the process.

"I’m not sure it works like that. The bond between us is too strong. If it were broken, I wouldn’t have a choice."

"Our bond will never be broken. No matter what happens to me. Remember that and make me proud. Even in the afterlife, I’ll be with you." Tempest reached forward and put a hand on his face. He turned his head and kissed her palm.

They were silent for a few seconds before he got up and looked down at her. "No more talk about you leaving me."

"Promise me." Tempest tried to stay strong. She didn’t want the emotion that she was feeling to come through on her face.

"I promise you, Tempest. I’ll do the best I can."

Tempest sighed. It was the best she could hope for. If something happened to her, she knew that Dron would be going against his entire instincts not to just fly off the handle. She was hoping he was strong enough to do that.

He lifted his hand and gently cradled her chin before turning her head to the side.

She snatched her face back so he couldn’t focus on the pulsing bruise she knew was there. She didn’t need to remind him any more of the hit that silenced the ship.

She wasn’t mad at Gushex. Even in that split second before he struck her, she could see the remorse and panic on the man’s face. He hadn’t meant to hit her. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"It’s not as bad as it looks."

"He held back," Dron spoke.

Tempest jerked her eyes up to him. It sure didn’t feel like he’d held back. It felt as if her face was caved in. She knew that wasn’t the case, though. She’d already examined the area with her hands, and from what she could tell, nothing was broken. Just really tender.

"What makes you think he held back?"

"If he hadn’t, your face would be broken. Even at half his strength, Gushex would have been able to break all the bones in your face. He held back."

That was good to hear and even more proof that Gushex hadn’t really meant to hit her.

"I ripped his arm off. Made him a liability."

There was no getting away from the reality of the matter. "Yes, you did."

"He’s never going to forgive me."

"Probably not. At least not for a long time."

"He won’t fight for me." Dron was starting to spiral.

"No, but that doesn’t mean he won’t fight for the others. If you can convince them that this is the right thing to do, Gushex will still be there."

Tempest knew in her heart that taking out the High Royals was the right thing to do. Even if everyone was content with what they had at the moment. She knew the peace wouldn’t last as long as the High Royals knew what was going on.