The Warrior King (Inferno Rising) Owen, Abigail (books to read for 13 year olds TXT) 📖

Meira’s eyes widened. “Wow. He scented her and knew? How?”

Samael lifted the curl still wrapped around his finger and inhaled. “He said her scent reminded him of everything that was lovely in the world. A very specific scent.”

“What scent?”

“Guess.” Samael grinned, then chuckled when her eyes narrowed playfully.

“Hmm…” She scrunched her face up something adorable, gaze moving around the room but not seeing as she thought it through. Then she gasped, and he knew she’d hit on the right answer.

“No,” she breathed.

“Jasmine.”

Meira’s lips formed into an “O” of surprise, and Samael, laughing, kissed her until she was dreamy-eyed and warm against him.

“See?” he said against her lips. “You were always meant to be mine.”

Tempting to do more, strip her bare before the fire and sink into her body. Except they weren’t long from the meeting with Skylar and Ladon.

She gave her head a tiny shake, blinking away the haze and searching his eyes. “There’s more to the story, though. Where does the guilt come in?”

Samael grimaced. “Gorgon regretted the way they died because he didn’t listen to the protests my father had originally led.”

“Oh?”

“My sister and I were conceived quickly, especially for dragons, but the men my father had led to protest, most of them didn’t find mates in that time. Resentment grew. They despised him for finding his happiness and leaving the cause to flounder.”

“Oh no.” She put a hand to her mouth. “They killed him?”

Samael nodded. “They tried for all of us, only I wasn’t there that night. I often snuck out to watch the King’s Guard train. If I’d been there—”

Leather creaked, and Meira covered fists he hadn’t even realized he’d made with her own hands. “You could’ve died, too.”

“They shot my dad, I’ve been told. And my mother died with him. Then set fire to our home. My sister was still alive—” He broke off and swallowed.

Meira glanced at his scarred hands and knew without his saying that his sister had been whom he’d tried and failed to save. She took his face in her hands. “You don’t have to.”

“She was still young, too young for her first shift, unable to protect herself. She died in the flames. I tried to get to her, but it was too late. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can still see her charred body…” Samael trailed off and closed his eyes, trying to squeeze the memories out of his mind.

For once in his life, Samael put everything out there. Laid it before his new mate because he knew, with everything inside him, that all he would get back was acceptance and comfort. Not just because he was her mate, but because of her heart.

A heart that he’d considered a liability at first, but now realized was the most beautiful part of her. Their people would bow down before her because of her softness and her need to save everyone, not the opposite. They needed her combination of innocence and self-sacrifice.

The fates knew what they were doing, because he’d do everything he could to protect her from herself.

As her mate, he would make sure to put her needs first. Always.

Sweet lips pressed against his, cool and calming. A balm for his pain. Just as he’d known he could trust from her. “I couldn’t watch my mother die. I closed my eyes, and she sent me away. I will regret that cowardice forever.”

“You’re not a coward,” Samael scowled.

She smiled and smoothed away the frown with her fingertips. “I told you. I’m always afraid.”

He shook his head, hating that she viewed herself that way. “Fear doesn’t make you a coward, love. It makes you smart. Only a fool doesn’t experience fear.”

A twinkle brightened her eyes, chasing out the blue, and she gave him a cockeyed stare. “Are you calling Skylar a fool?”

Samael barked a laugh. “Let’s just say I’m glad you’re my mate. I don’t think I could handle the rash sister.”

“See?” She straightened and grinned. “A political answer. Proof you are ready to be king.”

“Huh.” He set her back slightly and got to his feet, then offered her a hand. “We shall see soon enough.”

She tipped her head, smiling at him. “I know you’ll make an amazing king, you know how?”

“How?”

“Because you love your clan, you’re loyal, and you’re a fighter, but you’re also fair. Even if I didn’t know you, I would follow a leader like that.”

Samael grunted. The thing was, dragons followed leaders based on bloodlines. “I hope you’re right. I want to be a king like that.”

“You will be,” she said with total confidence, grinning at him, that hidden dimple winking at him.

“What kind of queen do you want to be?” he asked, tracing her face with his finger, her skin soft against his.

“A kind one,” she said.

He chuckled. “I should have guessed.”

Meira shrugged. “I want to live in a world where people don’t suffer, don’t starve, don’t have to fight. Numbers may tell us to give up hope of that—we are what we are, that kind of thinking.”

“If I didn’t know anything about you other than your tech side, I would have guessed that would be you.”

She nodded. “I think my mother is who taught me that I can be both. I can use numbers and analytics to help me make decisions or figure out a best path. But when it comes to the world around us, I believe we only find peace with kindness.”

Even in the change he’d seen her go through these last days, finding her footing and her confidence, she still hadn’t lost that innocent kind of faith that things could be better if she tried hard enough. He’d do his damnedest to make sure she never lost that.

“I will be so proud to have you as my queen,” he said, then kissed her. “And our children, when they come, couldn’t ask for a more wonderful mother.”

“Children,” she whispered, eyes sparkling. “That sounds…lovely.”

“Yes, it does.” He pressed another kiss to her lips, loving how she lingered