Prologue

(Prince Mateo Storm)

I was bored. I was always bored during social events. 

My tux was stiff, and my tie felt too tight. I was suffocating in this place and I would give anything to get away from here. For me, this was an absolute nightmare. 

The pounding music. The sweaty, sweaty people.

The Dragon Ball! Ugh!

The Dragon Ball was one of the most important social events in Draconià. Everyone was invited into the Feuer Castle during Dragon Ball and the castle would be fully decked with lights and flowers. 

The event usually lasted for three days and there would be a copious amount of alcohol, food, music, entertainment and a lot of girls looking to hook up with royalty. 

My brother thrived during the ball, the charming Blaine Storm and I, the future king of Draconià, couldn’t even open my fūcking mouth to form a proper sentence to anyone who dared to approach me.

I hated it. I would rather take a leisurely stroll in the Dread Woods of Delvitga and take my chances with the monstrous creatures stalking the woods, than be here. But no, I had to be here or my mother, the beloved queen, would have an aneurysm!

I looked at Caden who had been bearing this torture faithfully by my side. I never had many friends. Being a prince was hard, but Caden and I had been friends since we were young. He was from one of the most prominent clans in Draconià, Clan Blackstone. 

“You can go, Cade. You don’t have to babysit me,” I said to him and he smiled at me.

“It is fine. I can stay,” he said with a shrug. 

Arax Red and his twin brother, Marvis, walked towards where we were standing. They greeted me before they turned towards Cade. The twins and I were friendly, too.

“Cade, stop following your lover for once. There are too many girls here to waste your time follow the Prince,” Arax said, punching Caden in his shoulder. Arax and Marvis were from another important clan, Clan Red Thunder. 

Caden winced and punched Arax back. 

Thoren stared at us with a frown on his lips. Thoren was Caden’s brother and he always had that frown on his lips. It was a constant. He hung around us, but he never actually talked with us. 

I had never had many friends, but these three were my friends, next to my brother. 

There were five important clans in Draconià that formed the Royal council, and my family, Clan Firestorm, were the guardians of the Crown. 

Caden looked at me and I motioned him to go with the guys. He turned to look at Thoren. “You want to come, brother?” Theoren grunted and nodded. 

 Soon they all disappeared into the crowd with the twins. After just a few seconds I saw the guys dancing with girls.  

These boys worked so fast and I… I couldn’t even talk to a girl. 

I was sulking when Blaine shoved a glass into my hand. The snowy, glittery liquid inside it sloshed before settling in. It reminded me of the beautiful snow filled fields of Euretya.

“Elven Snow Gin, your favorite. Now stop contorting your face like that and enjoy yourself, brother. There are so many pretty girls here and you are seventeen. For god’s sake, act like a teenage boy,” Blaine said with a deep sigh, as he took a gulp of the drink in his hand, which he wasn’t supposed to have.

“And you are only sixteen. Stop drinking, you idiot,” I tried to grab it away from my brother. He shook his head with a smirk and quickly stepped away from me, as his mischievous eyes danced wickedly. “Hey, have you met Prince Mateo?” he said to a girl.

I blinked and flushed in embarrassment.

I looked up to see the most beautiful looking eyes I had ever seen in my life. A strange violet... like velvet verbena that dotted the north side of the castle. My favorite flowers.

My breath stuck and my tongue felt swollen and thick. I felt hot and sweaty and I was sure she could hear my heart doing strange gymnastics inside me.

"Take a deep breath and act cool, you idiot.” Shade, my snarky dragon, said with a frown. We were as opposite as day and night.

"How do I breathe?” I almost forgot how I had been breathing for seventeen long years. One look at her and I was floored.

She was wearing a dress that almost matched her eyes. Her long black, silky hair fell to her shoulders like mystical waterfalls.

"Talk! You know, like, open your mouth, move your vocal cords... Here, try this with me. H plus I equals hi?” my dragon said with an impatient sigh.

I tried but only air came out. She patiently waited for me to open my pie hole and say something, but I just stood there, my eyes feasting on her, my brain drawing blank. She smiled sweetly and my eyes fell on her lips. I had this feeling her lips would be as sweet as they looked and I wanted to taste that smile.

"Yeah, I want that, too. If only you are brave enough to make a move! For the love of Enore, at this rate, I think I am dying a virgin,” my dragon bellyached. It was his usual rant, but I was sure he was desperate when he used Enore’s name, the goddess of desire and lust.

"I am only seventeen.”

A song-like voice pulled me out of my tête-à-tête with Shade.

“Hi Mateo. I am Vera,” the girl said as she gave me a soft look from under those illegally long lashes. Her cheeks were the most magnificent shade of pink. Even the Euretyan sky wouldn’t come close to the magic that was happening in her face right now. Even with half of her face hidden by the silver mask, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life.

“Your home is marvelous,” she commented as she grabbed a glass of frosted champagne from the waitress passing by. “So, what is it like, living in a castle?”

She took a sip of her champagne, licked her lips and I stared. Like a freaking creepy, crawly as*hole, I just stared.

Her cheeks flushed in response to my look.

“Do you want to go somewhere more quiet? I feel like my voice would crack if I keep shouting?” When she looked at me with those eyes, at that moment, there was nothing I wouldn’t do. I would scale the mountains, stitch the clouds. Whatever!

My heart thundered and even though my tongue was freaking glitching, my legs had the sensibility to move. She followed me to the east wing, where we lived. It was the only place guests were not allowed. Everything else was open to the public. So right now, this was the only place that wasn’t crowded.

“Wow, is she wearing the eye of Sabius?” Vera’s eyes widened as she stared at one of the portraits of my ancestors. She was my great great great--I totally didn’t know how many great greats there were --grandmother.

The eye of Sabius was a precious family heirloom. The stones were said to be the eyes of the very first dragon. It would take two of my kidneys, my heart and whatever spare part I could offer to buy one.

“Yes.”

She gave me a smile.

“So he speaks!” she teased as she stared at me with those violet eyes. They were mesmerizing. “I have never seen anything as beautiful as this. Well, who am I kidding? I have never seen anything beautiful in my life.” For a second she looked so crestfallen and then she gave me a big smile. “They say the stones are stolen?”

“One of them was stolen. But the other one is... still here.”

She nodded and walked around, looking at the portraits on the walls and she kept talking about them. I liked hearing her talk. It was music, her voice, the most beautiful composition I have ever heard.

“That is a twentieth century Nichye, isn’t it? God, the colors... it just steals your breath away.” She looked at me, her eyes gleaming.

“It does,” I whispered as I looked into her eyes.

“You live among so many beautiful things. You are lucky, you know?”

“You love art?”

“I am obsessed with beautiful things... I love your eyes, too. Beautiful. They are the strangest green and-”

My heart was an absolute chaotic mess. It was like a stormswept land. There was no order, only violent, disrupted rhythms.

“Vera...” I gasped as I stared at her. My fingers itched to touch her in a way I had never touched a girl in my life.

“Sorry, sorry.” She chuckled as she slapped her forehead, looking absolutely cute and mortified. “I have this propensity to blurt out the most inappropriate things. My brother tells me it is because someone stole the filter between my brain and my tongue,” she said with an amused twinkle in her eyes, as she danced away from me.

The shadows softly cloaked her features and my eyes went to her soft breasts and god, for the life of me, I couldn’t take my eyes away. I wanted my hands on her breasts... I felt my cock tighten.

“Oh, your c*ck works, alright! That is a relief. I was scared it was only for ornamental purposes!” my dragon said with a sarcastic smile. I ignored him.

She was looking at the portrait of my great great blah blah blah great grandmother and I was drinking in the sight of her. The most beautiful art in this whole room.

“Do you want to see it?” I blurted out and she swirled around, her hair moving along with her, and her eyes widened as her soft lips parted in a gasp.

“You mean the stone-”

I smiled. “Yes.”

“Oh, no, I don’t want to impose on you.” She looked at the stone and then turned to look at me. “Let’s go and dance.” She grabbed my hand in hers, and my whole freaking body froze.

“Come on,” I said as she looked at me and I entwined my fingers with hers. She grinned as we walked further inside the castle. I opened the artifacts room. This was where the rare collections were kept, the ones that were not in the Ethent Museum.

Only a few of us knew the code to this particular room. I pushed the door open and she gasped and twirled around, looking delighted.

“This is heaven,” she giggled, looking free and exhilarated. It made me happy, too, to see her like that. “It is the Blade of Wrath! Oh, the craftsmanship.” She gripped my arm tighter. “Oh, look, it is Ealded’s unfinished piece. He died before he could finish it! And it is still magnificent.”

Her enthusiasm was contagious. “Yes. When he was found, the colors had spilled, must be from the fall, and seeped into his skin.”

“So he went out with a splash?”

I laughed. She bit her lips as she took a step towards me. My breath stopped.

“I know it is a bad joke, but still...”

“It is funny,” I breathed out as she took another step towards me. I could smell her scent. It was soft, seductive.

We were standing in front of the glass case where the stone of Sabius was. Her fingers traced the glass as her darkened gaze met mine.

“Do you want to see it? You know outside of the box?” I said. I wanted to be her hero. I would have showed her my heart if she wanted me to.

"That is a tall f*cking order, lover boy!” Shade shook his golden emerald head.

I opened the box and gently took the long chain out of the box. “Show me your palm.”

She did. I grabbed her palm in mine, suddenly bolder than before. I put the chain in her hand, and she looked at it before she looked up at me, her eyes full of innocent wonder.

“I am holding the eye of the first dragon.”

“You are.”

“It is beautiful.”

I looked into her eyes. “Yes, it is so beautiful.”

She saw me looking at her and she took another step towards me, so close, and her mouth was an inch away from minee.

"I don’t know how to kiss!” I was f*cking screaming inside my head.

"You do. Stop freaking out.”

“No, no, no...”

“Calm the f*ck down, Mat, or I will kill you.” Shade said in a deep rumbling growl.

“Mateo?” The way she said my name sent blood rushing south. “Put your hands on me,” she said, her eyes darkening. My body felt electrified and my c*ck was stiff and painfully erect.

I did as she asked. She was soft and lush. Like decadent velvet and satin and sin.

She ground against me, her soft body rubbing deliciously against my erection, sending bolts of electricity. A dark moan left my lips and it seemed to spur her on. She took my right hand from her hip and pressed it against her breast. My eyes rolled into my head as I softly fondled the creamy swell of her breast. I could see the outline of her n*pples poking through her dress and my heart stopped.

"Oh, she knows what she is doing!”

“Touch me. Hard, Prince Mateo,” she said as she moved my other hand down her ass, even as she mercilessly grounded against my bulge. If she continued like this, I would make a mess of her beautiful dress and my expensive pants and she would be the only one to blame.

And then... like thunder and lightning, her lips slammed against mine as she ripped my shirt off. Buttons scattered and rained down.

My erection throbbed as her fingers studied my skin.

"This girl will eat you alive...” my dragon whispered, fully aroused, half worried.

"I am not averse to that idea.”

She kissed me, wildly, without any restraint as her hands clawed at my back, as if she couldn’t get enough of me. I couldn’t get enough of her, either.

Our breath mingled and her moan was loud in the silence of the room.

I bit her lips, feeling bolder, and she opened her mouth to me as her hand boldly rubbed against my erection.

She lifted my hands up as her lips came back to mine.

“You are most deliciousYou  taste the most delicious. This is the best job ever. I am sorry to do this!”

What?

Before I could process what was going on, she quickly handcuffed me to the window. I growled under my breath as she studied me with a lazy smile. “What are you doing?” I glared at her. “Vera, uncuff me right now.”

She put the chain with the stone of Sabius around her neck. and Tthe stone of Sabius sat nuzzled between her cleavage, and even when I knew what was going on here, my traitorous body still wanted her.

She leaned towards me and I growled, snapping my teeth at her.

“I like this side of you, dragon prince,” she teased as she kissed me again, hard, and I wanted to resist, but I couldn’t. She bit my lips, and I could almost taste the blood on my tongue. I, like the f*cking shameless idiot I was, moaned.

She pulled back and winked at me, her wicked eyes flashing, a devilish smile sneaking up on those bruised lips that were fūcking thoroughly kissed... I gritted my teeth and fisted my palms.

“I will find you.” I warned her in a thundering growl.

“Thank you for this...” her voice was absolutely arrogant. “And no, you won’t find me, prince.”

There was no soft shyness anymore. Only arrogance and pride.

“You b-” I stopped. I had never called a woman that, and even though she was one...

She pulled her mask off and dropped it with a flourish. She was fūcking mocking me... I growled again, struggling against the metal cuffs. I tried to shift and break it, but the handcuffs were made of Styrodian, an unbreakable metal, and had some kind of herbs or magic in them which stopped the shifting.

With a bow to me, the little thief disappeared into the night.

When Blaine found me, I was shirtless, my body was flushed in shame. I was panting heavily and handcuffed to the window... and yes, I was reminded of that every day by my family for a long, long time, and they would do it for several more years, too, probably until the day I died.

That was five years ago.

And...

She was fūcking back.

I would never, ever forget those eyes or the brazen look in them when she walked away with my family heirloom, after handcuffing me.

And then something else happened.

Shade lifted his head with a lazy growl and moaned, MINE.

You gotta be kidding me! What the fūckingty fūck?!

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