Chapter 1497: The Dragon’s Indulgence: Priya and the Strange Twins

When they parted, Clara looked up with flushed cheeks, trying to compose a smile that kept betraying her pleasure.

Phei smiled down at her without making any such effort: "Well, Princess Moreau. That was rather forward of you."

"Me?" She stared at him, and he nodded solemnly, keeping his arm comfortably around her waist.

"You attacked an innocent man, Princess."

Clara laughed before she could stop herself.

"Innocent? You?" The disbelief upon her face nearly made him join her, though he managed to maintain his expression long enough to answer.

"Terribly."

"Phei, you—" She leaned willingly against him— Phei kissed the princess again and her unfinished scolding lost between them.

**

When Clara eventually returned to the others, he watched her go with a satisfied smile. He would have to remember how little encouragement the Moreau Princess now required, preferably before he tried claiming innocence again.

Priya had arrived later, apparently aware that he had been spending time with the other girls.

Whether she knew precisely what Clara had done remained uncertain, but the Kapoor Princess seemed quite capable of deciding what she wanted without anyone’s example.

She joined him with a playful warmth beneath her usual elegance, the garden lights glinting in her hair and jewelry while the lines of her dress complemented her figure.

Their teasing continued for several minutes. Phei began to suspect she was encouraging him to say something outrageous— do anything at her really, and he saw little reason to disappoint her.

Priya listened with a smile, he’d drawn closer to her and gently held her by the waist, she had laid her hand lightly upon his chest.

She looked up at him, rose to meet him as he kissed her.

He almost smiled against her lips.

These girls were getting bold, and he had absolutely no intention of complaining.

His hand slipped around her waist, drawing her even closer as he returned her affection.

Priya’s confidence softened while she rested against him, her fingers remaining upon his chest, and Phei found himself reluctant to let the embrace end.

When she leaned back, embarrassment mingled with satisfaction upon her face.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"You seem to be." Priya gave him a pointed look, though she had yet to move her hand from his chest.

"Immensely," he admitted.

Her laughter widened his grin, and she lingered beside him before finally drawing away.

Both princesses preferred to offer their more enthusiastic affection away from the center of the gathering. They were comfortable with him, but a little privacy spared them the scrutiny that followed a Legacy princess through most social occasions.

Phei liked having them to himself too; he could see no reason to object when the arrangement pleased everyone involved.

As the evening progressed, one girl after another found an excuse to join him beside the balcony. They talked, teased and indulged whatever affection they felt willing to offer before returning to the others. Phei began wondering whether they were taking turns.

Perhaps the visits were coincidences, perhaps Maddie had arranged something, or perhaps the girls had grown comfortable enough with one another to stop concealing their interest.

Whatever the explanation, he welcomed them.

The Young Dragon was never subtle about wanting the women he loved, and he was hardly going to feign indifference when they approached him of their own accord.

He enjoyed the familiarity as much as the kisses.

Women he had once known through family names and the guarded manners now laughed with him, teased him and spoke without weighing every word behind a polite smile.

Night had settled fully over Hell’s Paradise Island by the time he realized he had spent almost an hour beside the balcony, enjoying the relative quiet between visits.

Across the rooftop, his family continued celebrating beneath golden lights and music.

He was glancing their way when Paige and Brielle approached, two of the last princesses he had expected to join him after how little he had seen of them since their vacation.

"Well, look who finally escaped." Phei greeted them with a smile as Paige raised a questioning brow.

"Escaped?"

"From whatever important business has apparently been keeping you two away from the rest of the girls. I was told you two have never appeared in public since you went back home."

Brielle laughed softly, glancing toward her sister. "You make it sound as though we’ve been imprisoned."

"Have you?" He asked seriously like he’d wage a war on the whole Heavechilds estate if that were true— Paige exchanged an amused look with Brielle before returning her attention to him.

He occasionally wondered how much they managed to say to each other without opening their mouths.

"Would you rescue us if we had?" Paige asked.

Phei grinned. "Depends. Are you expensive prisoners?"

"Extremely." Brielle’s answer came with another laugh, and he nodded as though giving the matter serious consideration.

"Then I’m negotiating a discount."

Paige shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You’re unbelievable."

"I’ve been told." He shifted comfortably beside the balustrade as they joined him, warm air stirring around the three of them. Beyond the rooftop, lights lay scattered through the island’s forests and mountains, gathering more densely about the city’s splendid buildings beneath the vast night sky.

Paige and Brielle appeared far more interested in conversation than in stealing kisses from him.

Phei had enjoyed their last time, although they had rarely talked on that day long enough for him to appreciate the minds behind those lovely faces. The discussion began with familiar ease, and he found himself lingering over it as their curiosity drew him further in.

He had known they were intelligent. The other princesses were intelligent too, with fine educations and knowledge he had come to respect, but Paige and Brielle kept surprising him.

Their understanding reached beyond what he expected, and they followed his reasoning so readily that he sometimes found them answering a thought he had yet to finish putting into words.

He could leave an explanation half-formed and trust them to grasp what he meant.

More complicated matters only encouraged them.

Phei would reach a conclusion he considered satisfying, and one of the twins would point out something he had overlooked. She would carry his own reasoning further, then watch him reconsider it with an expression far too innocent for someone who had just outsmarted him.

He admired it the first few times; after that, he began trying harder.

They noticed, of course, and seemed to enjoy the challenge.

Paige’s smile became particularly difficult to ignore whenever he had to revise something he had said with confidence. Brielle preferred questions that sounded simple until he attempted to answer them.

Neither hurried him, which gave Phei plenty of opportunity to discover exactly where he had gone wrong while they stood there looking pleased with themselves.

Their ease together made the exchange more absorbing.

One would begin an observation and the other would continue it without disturbing the direction of her thought. A glance passed between them, a detail was added, and suddenly Phei could see further into what they meant. He never felt he was listening to two girls repeat each other’s opinions.

They understood one another well enough to build upon a thought while it was still being spoken.

Occasionally, they mentioned things he had never heard of.

His Intelligence had grown with his powers, and he had the System, his inheritances, the knowledge taken from enslaved Progenitors and Eira’s teachings to draw upon. He had become accustomed to knowing considerably more than he once did, yet Paige and Brielle could still leave him bewildered by something they treated as familiar.

When he asked, they explained with a clarity that encouraged him to keep listening.

What had been unfamiliar became understandable, though the explanation usually left him aware of several other things he wanted to know. He found himself attending to them with a student’s eagerness, a realization that amused him almost as much as it bruised his pride.

Nothing Phei had learnt or experienced since his awakening spared him the pleasure of being outsmarted by two princesses upon a balcony.

Phei could enjoy their company and feel mildly insulted on his own behalf at the same time.

He did manage to surprise them in return.

When he offered something they had not considered, genuine curiosity brightened both faces.

One leaned a little closer while the other regarded him with renewed interest, and Phei enjoyed their attention far too much to pretend otherwise. He would explain, pleased to have found something of his own to contribute, only to discover how quickly their questions could take him beyond what he knew.

How the fuck did they keep doing that

***

A/N: I do not know if you guys realize how important these last Chapters were from Clara, Priya and then the twins! Do you guys realize the twins are— yeah, no spoilers.