XXXIX

In Time & Peace

As if my life wasn't troubled enough, but if Minjun Cha heard of these rumors before we could get to Black Soul? This was another detail that my father and his court needed to keep a tight lip on this. The rest of my family investigated Jaejin's arm and I was the first one to wrap my fur jacket around Jaejin.

"You need to make sure nobody on this Peak says a damn word." I demanded of my father and brother. Nova is the one to give me a curt nod. I can feel the ice in my veins from just the thought of Minjun getting word of this. He would view me as a threat, and maybe his own son. A dual rider hasn't been heard of like ever, it's what they tell kids, they are like fairy tales that you tell kids to give them confidence. As an  adult with my history certificate though, I can tell you that shit doesn't exist.

"If my father-" Jaejin tells me and I nod, a deep sigh leaving my lips.

"He'll flip on us, JJ. Dual riders aren't common, like at all. Not even my father's Court of Flames should know about this." I explain to my Mate and he hums in agreement. It doesn't take long for Nova to threaten the people on the Peak or for my father to tell me that Ambrus won't hear a word about it. That's all we can do for now. Not that Minjun would get the chance to burn down Red Blaze, it was the Kingdom with the most land, but he could burn the land down to half the size if he really wanted to. I am grabbing the book of Red Blaze and putting it in Kígyó's satchel attached to her saddle.

"I need to seal the bond, right?" Jaejin's question catches me off guard but I'm nodding in agreement. Jaejin hitches his leg in the stirrup and pulls himself up, swinging his leg over and sitting in the saddle. I smile as I look up to him, then to my dragon.

'Be careful with him, Kígyó babe, he's not a big fan of the twirling thing.' I wink at her and I look at Jaejin who's eyes turn into saucers.

'Twirling?' Jaejin squeaks in both my mind and Kígyó's. I can't help the laugh that escapes me but I slap my hand over my mouth.

"I'll catch a ride with Astraea or Orion. I'll meet you at the Castle." I smile at him and then watch him take her to the sky. Her wings spread, and she flaps them to glide herself in the air. It's breathtaking, a movie sequence in front of my eyes when I watch them fly in the air. Maybe this was the peace I was always waiting for, maybe this was always the love story I was expecting but I know now, that my story is far from over. That I would be expected to make my mating official in front of a Priestess, and then later that week I would be dealing with the coronation of taking the throne. I decide that I probably want to ride on the back of Charys, I ride a red dragon daily, I don't get to ride a Silver Dragon daily.

"You ready to go, my moon?" Astraea asks me and I nod, my mother changes the single seat saddle to a double seat saddle. I help her strap  the buckles on Charys around her belly and on her chest. I sit on the back of the saddle and my mother sits in front of me. Then for the next hour, we fly back to Langók.

Back at the stables, I watch my Mate usher my dragon back into her stall. I make eye contact with JJ and he smiles at me. Kígyó seems to give me a dragon smile and then pushes Jae in the shoulder with her snout. He scratches her under the chin and walks away to me. I grab his hand and he seems to take us in the direction of Seung's main stable. Jaejin says hi to Seung and pets his muzzle. I do the exact same thing but the same thing is not what it seems this time I am petting Seung. Like Jaejin, a new brand starts to lace itself with the red dragon body I have on my right arm. This time it's black. I don't even scream, a small whimper leaves my lips but that's it.

"So we can ride each other's dragon now, that's-"

"Crazy?" I ask him and he laughs, shaking his head. Instead, he grabs my chin and kisses me deeply on the mouth.

"That sounds like us, my Pyro." He grins at me and I can't help the bright smile that comes across my face. This was my Jaejin, this was also my Seung. Not sure how much Kígyó will enjoy me riding another dragon but I can always propose that means I will have the extra protection. She might agree to that, as in not killing Seung.

"Let's eat. I'm starving." So we went to the kitchen. We ate some sandwiches that Zsoka had left on the counter.  We go up the stairs and to the wing where our shared bedroom is but I stop when I see my mother in my toddler room. Her arms are crossed over her chest, I can see the tears in her blue eyes. I kiss Jaejin on the cheek and he seems to notice, he walks to our bedroom while I walk inside the room with my mother. I place a hand on her shoulder and she lets out a small gasp, but smiles when she sees me.

"Pluto, my sweet boy," She smiles at me, and places her hand on top of mine that's on her shoulder. "Does it hurt, knowing you weren't raised here at least out of your toddler age?"

"Trust me, I gave dad absolute amildegia when I came here to Red Blaze, and I did not make it easy for him. I was always angry, always lighting myself on fire and being a dramatic kid. This family, it isn't- I guess my question is, do you forgive aita for the decision that he thought was right?" She takes a step away from me and picks up the picture frame. It was the night of my birth. Orion is seated on the couch, holding me, Lucijan is seated next to his heir, with Nova in his lap. Astraea is on the other side of Orion, smiling weakly in the camera. We look like a happy family, a family you never knew could have so many problems but that's what picture perfect means, doesn't it? That we look so perfect that maybe the townspeople are jealous but that's' it, it's a picture. A picture doesn't tell you that my mother gave birth and is exhausted, that my brother is a four-year old shithead, that my sister is a spoiled literal princess, and my father you ask? My father has the brightest smile on his face, the adoration in his eyes, and everytime my mother continues the line it's one of the happiest days of his life.

"He thought his decision was right and I will never fault your father for what he thought was right at that moment. If it was vice versa, I can't say that I wouldn't do the same. We have no grandparents for you three, they died before Orion could pee on his own. Your father thought what he did was right, but I do wish you weren't in harms way the entire time. I mean, Pluto, you didn't even know you were in danger when you were in Sanseong, they could've gotten to you at any moment and you wouldn't have known why. Not the real reason."

"You're right. I could've died if Minjun had ever put two and two together but he didn't, ama. I found a place there for me, sure would I have liked to grow up here? In Red Blaze? Of course I would have but then I never would have met Jaejin. I never would have been able to fix this bad blood we have with the Black Soul Kingdom." I explain to her and I know how strong my mother is. She went through the ruin of her Kingdom, traveled across the sea to get to the Kingdom that belonged to my father, and then got captured by the son who torched her Kingdom to ashes.

"You're right, my moon. You're right but there's nothing I can do to make this better, apologize to you? Promise you I will be here till my old age takes me?"

"Make what better, ama? I am happy, I am healthy, and so are my older siblings. You and aita don't need to apologize anymore, we will be okay. What I want from you is to be okay, to be happy, to be safe." I give my mother a kiss on the cheek and decide to take my leave. I walk out the door and down the hallway to my bedroom with Jaejin. I open the door and close it behind me, I hear the shower turn off. Jaejin walks out a minute later, a towel wrapped around his waist, but fuck, it makes me want to jump his bones. The tattoo marks alone would have brought me to the edge. His right arm up to his elbow is the twin dragon's mark, the left side of his neck with our mating mark, and the heir mark on his left arm. The heir mark will bloom into the King mark when he gets crowned and I can't wait for it. Right now the heir mark is like a black out tattoo, it goes from his shoulder to his elbow, when he becomes King, it will stretch down to his wrist. Not all Heir marks are black ink though, depending on the Kingdom it's a different color. For Black Soul, his blackout would be black, for Orion, since his Kingdom is Red Blaze, his blackout ink is a maroon color.

"You can stop looking at me like I am your next meal." Jaejin tells me and I take off my tunic, throwing it on the floor. I grab my belt and unbuckle it, pulling the belt out of my pant loops.

"My next meal you say? More of you are going to let that towel down, I am going to suck you off and you are going to fuck me, does that sound good, my Acid Prince?" I pull my pants and unzip my boots, pulling them off along with my socks. Jaejin watches me like a hawk the entire time and instantly I'm hard. I keep my boxers on as I walk right up to Jaejin, he wraps his hand around my throat. He gives me a gentle pressure, just enough to grip my throat in place.

"It sounds like you are trying to give orders, Pluto Kardos," He licks his lips, "But you are in no position to give orders, are you? Just my sweet little Mate." He hums and he takes my lips in a deep kiss. His tongue makes it past my lips and he doesn't leave a single inch of my mouth untouched with his tongue. His hand is still wrapped around my throat and every minute he'll give me a light squeeze. He pulls away from my lips and I watch the trail of spit that comes from our lips.

"I need you to-"

"I know what you need, baby, don't worry. Now get on your knees." I followed his orders and got on my knees, even if my dick is now painfully hard. He pulls the towel down and his member stands up proudly. How is his dick even pretty? It doesn't take me long to wrap a hand around the base of him and take him in my mouth. His skin feels so warm in my mouth and it feels so good to me. Jaejin's hand is in my hair, gripping my brown hair in his fingers. I bob my head and moan against his dick as I suck him off.

"You going to fuck me now?" I ask him as I pull up for air. He only bites his lip and nods, helping me up. He lays down on the bed and brings his hands to rest behind his head.

"Strip," He commands and I take my boxers off, "Now come ride your Acid Prince." He lustfully watches my every move and it's so gods damn sexy. I reach for the lube and lube the outside of my hole. I poured lube on his cock and massaged it over him. I climb on top of his lap, grabbing his member and lining it up to my hole. I slowly sink down onto him and a whimper leaves my throat.

"So big." I groan as my ass sits fully down on his hips. He only smirks and grabs my hips, massaging them. Giving me the time to adjust to his girth. That's all I need and start to bounce up and down.

"You are a God, Pluto. So fucking beautiful." He grunts and throws his head back. I can't help the moans that leave my lips and place my hands on his chest. My pace slows down as I feel myself closer to that edge but that's not good enough for JJ. He digs his nails into my hips and starts to thrust up into me, not leaving an inch of him untouched inside. His tip beautifully rams into my prostate with each thrust and it's enough for my orgasm to come through. I throw my head back, shouting out his name and spilling myself over Jaejin's stomach.

"Cum for me, cum for me, my prince." I grunt and it only takes three more thrusts before Jaejin is spilling himself inside of me with a shout. I roll over Jaejin and lay down next to him, and cuddle into his side. I draw lazy shapes and letters into his muscled chest. I am so glad that the Gods blessed me with him.

"I hate to bring up topics that are so sensitive especially after we had sex." He warns me and I look up at him.

"Then don't." I bluntly tell him with a smile and he laughs.

"My father doesn't like me being here in Red Blaze, he thinks I should be there in Sanseong."

"That's understandable Jae, you are his son and heir to the throne." I tell him softly and it makes me freeze. What am I supposed to do now? Just leave my family that just recently got back together? I am just supposed to leave and become the King? I know it's been almost half a year but I feel like I just got here in Langók.

"I want to send a letter to my father, I want to propose that the Kardos family comes to Sanseong, that we set up a peace treaty. Orion, Lucijan, Minjun and I, all sign the paper, and it will follow into future reigns. The Acid Fire Prophecy was right and we should be able to have a peaceful Eclia again. I want to do this. Tell me you think we should do it." I give it some thought and it's not exactly a bad idea.

"We would need to ask my mother if she's okay with that first, you're asking her to go back to the place where she was kept against her will. We won't go without her." I tell him and he nods.

"Your mom gave me permission already. She told me that she trusted me to keep your family safe, no, she made me promise to keep your family safe from my father and I don't back down on my promises, do I?" He tells me and I nod, a small smile comes to my face though. Of course my mother would make him promise and of course, my Jaejin would do anything for me, including my family.

"I love you, Jaejin Cha. You know that?" He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckle.

"Like I said, Pluto. I would do anything for you, you need to stop doubting me, maitalea." I kiss him and he gladly accepts it, I get back on top of his lap. His eyes shoot wide, and I smile at him.

"Round two, maitalea?"