Tatyana snorted while the others smirked at Kachka.

“What?” she asked. “What does that mean?”

“Yes, Kachka Shestakova,” Nina suddenly said. “Protect the king—with your very strong pussy.”

“I like it better when you do not talk, witch.”

“If anyone can protect a royal with her pussy, it’s Kachka Shestakova,” Ivan laughed.

“All of you, shut up.”

“It’s all right if you like him,” Zoya explained. “I’ve liked several of my husbands.”

“I know that was hard for you,” Ivan muttered.

“Shut up, hysterical male.”

“Are you all done?” Kachka asked.

“At least we don’t have to worry about getting drunk from this weak wine,” Marina complained. “It’s like drinking water with some flavor thrown in.”

“You know, Kachka Shestakova,” Zoya suddenly said, “I’m thinking of trying a dragon male myself. You seem so happy with the dragon king’s cock.”

“It is effective.”

“And that’s all a Daughter of the Steppes wants,” she said, sagely. “An effective cock.”

Brannie dropped down in a chair next to Aidan’s sister, Orla.

“You couldn’t look more uncomfortable if you were covered in acid,” Brannie noted.

“I only came out to see Aidan.”

“I understand. I’m close to my brother Celyn. We’re only twenty years apart, so we might as well be twins.”

“Did he ever leave you behind?”

“All the time! It drove me crazy. He got to do such fun things and I was left back at the cave. Always with a ‘you’re only forty, you’re too young to go.’ It drove me mad. But I always had aunts, uncles, and cousins around that I liked. They taught me how to fight, how to grill my meat properly, and how to destroy an entire village without killing absolutely everyone. Things every She-dragon needs to learn.” She patted Orla’s hand. “But you can shift now, which will make it easier for you to get around.”

“Aidan says it’s still not safe for me to go with him. Especially with the war coming. He thinks I’ll be safer here.”

“He does?” Brannie asked.

“It’s hard to destroy the Stone Castle walls. They were built to withstand pretty much everything.”

Brannie was forced to shrug. “Well, he’s not wrong. . . .”

“But you wouldn’t leave me here.”

“As miserable as you look? No. But brothers focus on how safe their sisters will be. That’s all they care about.”

“I guess.”

“Don’t be sad. He does love you. Very much.”

“How do you know that?”

“You’re the only one here he hasn’t purposely tried to destroy emotionally.”

Gaius stood by the stairs as Aidan made his way over to him.

“How are you holding up?” Gaius asked.

“Fine. Sorry about my father. I know he’s—”

“A prat?”

“Basically.”

“I do have to say he didn’t seem insane. Paranoid perhaps, but then so am I.”

“I’ll work on him.”

“We don’t have tons of time here, Aidan.”

“I know.”

“And we can only get the Riders to wait for so long before they’ll decide to move on their own.”

“I’m also aware of that. Just leave it to me.”

“And you should also know . . . that Brannie complained to her mum about your father.”

Aidan let out a breath. “So we have less than twenty-four hours now?”

“Pretty much.”

“Got it.”

“King Gaius,” Cinnie trilled as Aidan’s two sisters walked over to him. “My sister and I have a little dispute we need you to settle.”

“Who’s going to fuck him first?”

A question that got Aidan backslapped across the face.

Aidan snarled, his hand going to his jaw.

Gaius quickly stepped between the siblings, sure Aidan was about to punch his sister back. Not that he would blame the dragon. The backhanding was a rude, disdainful act, born of obvious contempt.

“I’d love to help, Lady Cinnie,” Gaius said in his most royal-soothing tones.

“But he cannot,” Kachka announced as she stepped in, her hand gripping his arm. “He must go to bed with me so we can fuck night away. Have good sleep, alone, She-lizards.”

Then Kachka dragged him off, Aidan’s laughter ringing out over the hall until it turned to, “Owwwww! You bitch!”

Which then led to Brannie’s voice begging, “No, no, no, no, no! Everyone just calm down!”

Once they were in Gaius’s room, he closed the door, and turned to Kachka, slipping his arms around her waist.

“No,” she said, moving away from him. “You must sleep, but I must stay awake and protect you from dangers here.”

“You do know I can take care of myself, don’t you?”

“You are a very sweet royal,” she said while dismissively patting him on the cheek. If she could have reached his head, Gaius was sure she would have patted him there instead.

Gaius watched Kachka pull her sword and stand facing the door.

“You’re going to stand there all night?”

“Yes.”

“And that seems logical to you?”

“Yes.”

Fully dressed, Gaius stretched out on the bed, arms behind his head.

“You could stand there all night, guarding my precious royal body . . . or you can just lie here. I’m sure both of us will be ready for whatever attempts to come through that door.”

She glanced over, and Gaius raised a brow and nodded his head toward the empty side of the bed.

“Come on,” he urged. “You know you want to.”

“Only because I am tired. Not because I want you.”

“You do want me, yet I will allow you to keep lying to yourself because that is the kind of benevolent king I am.”

Kachka slammed her sword back into the sheath and removed it from her waist. She settled on the bed beside him, the sheathed sword between them.

Gaius rolled toward her and smiled. “Thank you for rescuing me from Aidan’s awful sisters.”

Turning on her side to face him, Kachka said, “They were awful. If Elina was like either of those two, I would not have saved her from our mother.”

“And I would not have blamed you.”

Kachka suddenly looked down until she finally admitted, “My comrades make fun of me. Because of you.”

“Because you like me?”

“Yes.”

She sounded so dejected, it broke his heart a little. “I’m glad you like me, Kachka Shestakova.”

“Of course you are. Because I am a Daughter of the Steppes and this is great honor for imperialist dog.”

“That’s very true.” He leaned in a bit and kissed her forehead. “And I like you despite your saying things like that to me.”

She laughed. “You are right. That was bitchy. Even for me.”

Gaius reached out to put his hand on her waist, but she gripped his index finger and tossed it back to him. “No,” she said firmly. “We do not fuck until we are some place safer than this.”