Dragon Prince - Chapter Nineteen
Dragon Prince
Chapter Nineteen
It took several minutes for Hyunjoong to decide if he was awake or still drifting in slumber. Somehow it didn’t bother him as much as he really thought it should, that he couldn’t tell the difference. It seemed as if he had been dreaming the dreams of someone else, or simply watching them, yet now his mind was clear and peaceful. He realized that this was the first time in a long time that he was able to simply rest without thoughts or responsibilities clamoring at him and burdening him.
Against his back something warm shifted. He sighed contently and pressed back into the warmth he found there, pulling the equally warm round object tighter against his stomach as he did so.
“Hyunjoong?” a voice asked from behind him. “Are you awake?”
“No,” he whispered in response, smiling to himself at the memory of how he used to try and convince his nurse of the same thing.
“Are you alright?” the voice asked again.
It was the worry he heard in it that caused him to open his eyes and shift so he could look at the man behind him. “I’m fine.”
The relief on Youngsaeng’s face was evident. “Good,” he said simply.
“What happened?” Hyunjoong asked curiously then commented off handedly. “I feel very relaxed.”
Youngsaeng sighed and sat up, pulling away from the other man. “So much has happened to you today, I am surprised that you are conscious already,” he murmured.
With the other man sitting, Hyunjoong felt the need to as well. He shifted and was startled to discover that the warmth against his stomach was the silvery white egg. Although it had been glowing when he had last seen it, it seemed like nothing more than just a typical egg now. “What happened with this?” he asked as he arranged the egg in his lap and gave Youngsaeng a place to start.
“I have never seen what it just did,” Youngsaeng replied, his voice filled with wonder. “See my kind lives long and we have very good memories, yet for obvious reasons we have difficulty recording our history in books. There are few among us who are born with the collective knowledge of the dragons and the ability to hold and store many memories. They hold the memories of our kind. This egg must contain a dragon that is one of them. The dragon inside, although still unborn, gave you the gift of that knowledge. When you received it you blacked out, and I brought you here.”
Hyunjoong started to protest, but he instantly knew Youngsaeng wasn’t lying. As he processed what the man had told him, and tried to recall the knowledge he had supposedly been given, he looked around the room he had been brought too. It looked like a small cave that served as a bedroom. A bed had been added to the corner of the room and there was a trunk sitting at the foot of it. Although the bed was comfortable, it looked like it was little more than an afterthought in the room. Hyunjoong guessed that this was Youngsaeng’s room and if it was, a dragon would have no need for a bed.
There was a curtain hanging over the entrance that fluttered lightly in the wind, telling Hyunjoong that they were on the outside of the mountain. Somehow he knew that was where they were, inside an island mountain. He knew with certainty that the series of caves they were inhabiting didn’t begin until several hundred feet up the side of the mountain. It would take a flying dragon to reach them or some incredible climbing skills, but by the time an intruder would have reached it, everyone inside would know. They called it Haven, and Hyunjoong knew with certainty that this was not the only one.
“You call them Truth Keepers,” Hyunjoong said slowly, returning to the subject they had been discussing. It was strange to have the knowledge of something he had never learned. “My mother was one,” his eyes filled with tears at the mention of his mother whom he only knew through memories that were not his own. “She tried to bring the knowledge of the dragons to the Dragon King,” Hyunjoong blinked back tears and turned to face the dragon. “Youngsaeng, how do I know this? How does this child know this?”
Youngsaeng smiled gently, “We can share memories exactly as we experienced them with another of our kind. We cannot explain how a Truth Keeper is born with all of these memories but they always are. The sharing of memories is what Arunika tried to do with you, however our memories carry with them emotion and power, both of which would be nearly too much for any human. The only way I think you survived it was because you have the blood of a Truth Keeper in your veins.”
“And my mate was able to ground me,” Hyunjoong replied with a soft smile.
Youngsaeng’s eyes widened, “I, uh,” he stuttered lost for wards.
Hyunjoong pulled a blanket from the bed and piled it on the floor. Gently he placed the egg on it and made sure it couldn’t roll away, before turning and facing the dragon. “Why didn’t you tell me I was your Life Bonded Mate? I would have listened to you.”
“I don’t,” Youngsaeng swallowed thickly. “I didn’t know how.”
“Didn’t know how to tell me that I was falling in love and would spend the rest of my life with a man, or that I would never have an heir?” Hyunjoong countered, his previous turmoil forgotten as he simply enjoyed teasing the dragon. Then he stilled and regarded him seriously. “Or were you just afraid I would say no, or worse, betray you?”
“Yes,” Youngsaeng breathed quietly, averting his eyes with guilt that he couldn’t explain.
Hyunjoong leaned forward until he could speak directly into Youngsaeng’s ear. “I’m saying yes,” he purred, then nipped the lobe teasingly.
The reaction was instant. Youngsaeng snarled and leapt forward, pressing Hyunjoong back onto the mattress. The dragon’s eyes were swirling with black and the look on his face was animalistic enough that any normal man would be scared, but Hyunjoong was not a normal man. He knew exactly what was above him and what would happen next. “You know what will happen?” Youngsaeng asked his voice rough with desire and emotion.
“Yes,” Hyunjoong responded calmly. From the memories he had been given, he knew. He understood how the bond worked and the three pieces it took to bind them together forever in a way that nothing else could. If he really thought about it, they had slowly been forming a bond between them all along, but now, now it would become real.
“I am Kim Hyunjoong, the Dragon Prince,” Hyunjoong said gently, beginning the first step.
“I am Khemkhaeng of the Water Dragon Tribe, known to humans as Heo Youngsaeng,” the dragon replied. Step one, the offering of true names, was complete with his words.
Hyunjoong reached up and ran a hand down Youngsaeng’s back. The dragon arched into his touch and he couldn’t help but smirk at that. His searching fingers took a moment to tease their way down the other man’s back before they reached the waist band of his pants and found the small knife hidden there. Hyunjoong removed it carefully, and Youngsaeng sat back onto his legs to give him room.
Carefully, he drew the knife from its sheath and sat up as well. He held the knife in his left hand and drew the sharp blade across the skin of his other palm. A small hiss escaped his lips as the metal easily parted the skin and blood began to well forth. “I give you my blood and all that I am, to be yours.”
“Mine,” Youngsaeng growled in response. He held up his left hand and Hyunjoong obediently slid the knife across the surface of it. “I give you my blood and all that I am, to be yours,” Youngsaeng returned.
Hyunjoong tossed the knife off the bed and lifted his eyes to meet the completely black ones of the man in front of him. Slowly he lifted his hand to Youngsaeng and pressed their bloody palms together. Instantly the surface of his palm began to warm until the cut itself began to burn. The feeling of liquid fire raced from his palm down his arm and spread like a wildfire though his entire body. He gasped at the feel of it and his eyes watered as the sharp pain spread and then localized at his chest, directly where his heart would be.
His eyes clenched shut and he swore that through the gasps for breath, he felt his heart actually stop for a few beats before restarting. It took another moment or two, but eventually the pain began to subside until it had vanished altogether leaving him feeling more alive than he had ever felt in his life. Hyunjoong’s eyes flew open and he realized two things: he was cradled gently against Youngsaeng who was crooning softly to him and he wanted the man more than he had ever wanted anything in his life or would ever want anything again.
Hyunjoong made a needy sound, and in response, Youngsaeng lowered him gently back onto the bed. “You know what happens next?” Youngsaeng’s voice was rough and lower than normal. Hyunjoong had no idea how the dragon was capable of speech because he certainly wasn’t. Instead he nodded and tugged at the dragon’s clothing.
Youngsaeng chuckled, “I’m sorry this is going to be quick,” he murmured.
As their lips met Hyunjoong found that he didn’t care at all. The press of Youngsaeng above him, the touch of lips, the dancing of their tongues all served to make him feel better than he ever had. Somewhere in the back of his mind the old idea that had been instilled in him about laying with a man was nagging at him. Hyunjoong promptly decided that this wasn’t a man, this was Youngsaeng and they were meant for each other, born to be together. He could feel that truth in the very dept of his soul and that made everything alright.
The sound of fabric tearing brought him back to reality and he almost protested the shredding of his clothing. Seconds later Youngsaeng was pressed to him, skin against skin, and the small bits of fabric that had been damaged didn’t really seem that important anymore as they shifted against each other.
Hyunjoong, although inexperienced, didn’t think it was possible to be anymore aroused but Youngsaeng’s lips, tongue, and teeth proved him delightfully wrong. Nearly as soon as they were there, they were gone, replaced by something so much tighter and Hyunjoong threw his head back and released a cry. He had never felt any sensation like it and he wasn’t sure he ever would again. This feeling of becoming one and so much more, was overloading every one of his senses.
He heard Youngsaeng, murmuring something, switching between dragon like croons and noises, to actually words, and back again as they rocked together both desperate to find the end. Suddenly it was over just as quickly as he had begun, and Hyunjoong was fairly certain he had screamed with the power of it.
Youngsaeng collapsed on him, both of them panting and neither one of them caring about anything more than the other for a moment. It took twelve lazy kisses before Hyunjoong found he could form words and another ten before he actually decided to.
“That was,” Hyunjoong started and then decided that he didn’t have words to properly describe what he was feeling.
Youngsaeng chuckled and nuzzled his neck, kissing it gently. “You are just saying that because you have never had sex before,” he murmured.
“No,” Hyunjoong replied. “I am pretty sure that if there was a list of mind blowing sexual encounters that would top the list. But you would know.”
“Everything else means nothing compared to what we just did,” Youngsaeng growled upset. It wasn’t until after he said it that he heard the quiet chuckle coming from the man beneath him, telling him that Hyunjoong was only teasing him. He growled in retaliation and nipped the skin of the man’s shoulder.
“Hey!” Hyunjoong exclaimed, swatting him playfully on the butt.
Youngsaeng chuckled and wiggled his hips, reminding the prince immediately that they were still very much connected before pulling away entirely. He flopped rather ungracefully beside his mate and sighed happily. After a moment he glanced sideways and grinned at the red face of the man beside him. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“I will be once my brain processes all of this,” Hyunjoong answered. “I’ve never had sex before and it was different than I expected. In a good way but different. I didn’t know it could happen like that, but I’m not sure how else I was thinking it would happen between two males.”
Youngsaeng snickered at his rambling and shifted on his side, throwing a leg over his mate’s and tugging him close so they could lie together. Hyunjoong shifted obediently, settling a hand on Youngsaeng’s leg, tracing the skin there lightly.
“I don’t feel anything different,” Hyunjoong said softly after they had been laying together for a bit. “Shouldn’t I feel something different? Should I really know you?”
Youngsaeng released a desperate keening noise and Hyunjoong felt a wave of despair wash over him. “You are right, I shouldn’t have to try to reach into your mind we should be connected,” his voice sounded broken. “We’re not - I didn’t…”
He tried to pull away and Hyunjoong grabbed him firmly. “Wait. I can feel you. I can feel what you are feeling. That is something between mates right?”
“Some yes,” Youngsaeng responded sounding miserable.
“Then maybe we just didn’t do something right, maybe it isn’t finished yet,” Hyunjoong suggested.
“What could we have done wrong, we exchanged names and blood and then mated to seal the bond,” Youngsaeng replied.
Hyunjoong thought back on everything that had happened that night. “Would it matter that you have two names and I only have one?”
“No,” Youngsaeng replied instantly. “You are human, why would you have two names? As long as you told me the names given to you at birth then that is all that is needed.”
“Dragons always get two names?” Hyunjoong asked curiously.
“Yes,” Youngsaeng answered absently. “We are given our dragon name and then a human name to use in case we interact with humans.”
“Would my mother have given me a dragon name?” Hyunjoong asked softly.
Youngsaeng paused for a minute. “She might have, for the same reason I have a human name. What is your dragon name?”
“I don’t know,” Hyunjoong replied. Youngsaeng released a frustrated noise.
“If you have another name our bond will not be complete until I know it,” he replied sadly.
“But I don’t even know it. I don’t think anyone does,” Hyunjoong replied.
“It doesn’t matter. It is yours and it is part of who you are,” Youngsaeng told him.
“Then we will ask my mother.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“I plan to ask my father where she is and tell him I know she is alive anyway. He will let me meet her and then I can ask her,” Hyunjoong replied confidently.
“Hyunjoong,” Youngsaeng said gently. “I doubt your father would let you near her, especially if he knows you are seeking justice for his crimes.”
Hyunjoong pondered that for a moment. “She is dragon and you can talk to dragons with you mind right?”
“Yes,” Youngsaeng said slowly.
“Then if we get close enough you can ask her. I’m pretty sure she would have to be in the palace, I don’t think he would keep her anywhere else.”
Youngsaeng sighed and relaxed against him again. “I could ask her. I’m sure she would tell us. No dragon would ever keep a mate bond from being completed.”
Hyunjoong nodded to himself and they lay in companionable silence for a few moments. “What if it was the sex?” he asked suddenly.
Youngsaeng stiffened, “There was nothing wrong with the sex.”
“I don’t think so either but it was really fast,” Hyunjoong mused. “Maybe we should try it again, slower this time, just to be sure.”
When he turned his head to look at the dragon, Youngsaeng was grinning wolfishly. “If you wanted to do it again all you had to do was ask.”
“No I really think we need to be sure, for our bond,” Hyunjoong replied, honestly.
“Mm hmm,” Youngsaeng rolled over and covered Hyunjoong’s body with his own again. “Then I guess we should, just to make sure.”
“Right. For our bond,” Hyunjoong said before their lips met and he forgot all about their bond.
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
The sounds of stifled laughter woke him from a deep sleep and he rolled over wiggling into another body before stilling again. He hoped it would just disappear and he wouldn’t have to roll out of bed and kill something already this morning.
“I totally win,” a familiar voice whispered. “They slept together.”
“You can’t know that,” hissed another in return. “They are covered with blankets. Maybe they just had an emotional time and feel asleep in each other’s arms.”
“They aren’t women,” the first voiced hissed. “I highly doubt that happened.”
“Hey,” the second replied. “What about that night where you fell asleep after spending hours crying in my arms?”
There was the brief sound of a scuffle and then the first voice hissed, “We agreed never to speak of that again.”
“You brought it up,” the second returned.
On the bed Youngsaeng growled. “Jungmin! Hyungjoon!” he snapped. “If the two of you don’t get out of my room this instant I will freeze every bit of liquid in your body and pull it out through your nose!”
“Uh mom sent me to get you. The council is meeting again,” Jungmin said with a poorly concealed laugh.
“Great. Out!”
The pair chuckled but the sound of their footsteps retreated, leaving Hyungjoon’s response of “You’re right, you win,” floating behind them.
Youngsaeng growled again and the man beside him chuckled. “Tell me,” Hyunjoong murmured and Youngsaeng decided immediately that he loved the sound of his voice just after he had awoken. “How exactly did you and Kyujong manage to do anything with them around?”
That question caught Youngsaeng by surprise and closed his eyes with guilt. He felt bad enough that he had lain with another besides his mate, his mate didn’t need to keep bringing it up. “We were discrete,” he said finally.
“Mm,” Hyunjoong hummed. “If we ever go traveling with them again we are getting our own wagon.”
Youngsaeng laughed at the idea of that. “I can carry you far away from them whenever you want,” he replied with a smile.
The man beside him smiled at that and he finally gave into the temptation of leaning in for a kiss. They stayed like that for several minutes, sharing soft kisses and tiny touches before Hyunjoong pulled away smiling. “We should probably go before they send someone else to collect us.” Hyunjoong glanced around for a moment and then sighed when his eyes fell on the remains of his clothing. Youngsaeng gave him a sheepish look because all that remained of his outfit was the Link that he wore around his neck.
“Sorry,” the dragon muttered.
“Don’t be,” Hyunjoong replied with a dismissive wave. “I wasn’t complaining. Do you have something I can wear?”
“In the trunk at the end of the bed,” Youngsaeng gestured to it. Hyunjoong nodded and slid from the bed, not bothered in the least that he had nothing on his body.
Youngsaeng watched him with hungry eyes as he moved and then bent to dig through for something that would fit him. The dragon found himself torn between desire and contentment as he watched his mate, pull out the clothing of his choice. Something deep with him was satisfied with what had occurred between them. Although their mate bond was not yet what it should be, there was something between them. It helped, he thought, that he knew for certain that Hyunjoong had chosen him.
The man rose and began pulling on the clothing he had located. Youngsaeng purred happily at the sight and was out of the bed and running his hands over Hyunjoong’s newly clothed body before he could stop himself. Hyunjoong allowed him to touch with a smile on his face. “I like you wearing my clothes,” Youngsaeng rumbled. “It tells everyone you are mine.”
Hyunjoong smiled and wrapped his arms around Youngsaeng, allowing the dragon to kiss him for a moment. “If you don’t stop that I’m going to be right back out of these clothes again,” Hyunjoong said with a grin. Youngsaeng wondered for a moment how much either one of them would really mind the slight delay and figured that although they wouldn’t, Soojin would.
The dragon released Hyunjoong and stepped back away from the bed. As he did so he allowed his body to begin to change back to his true form. He could feel Hyunjoong’s eyes on him the entire time and he wasn’t sure what to make of the attention. Kyujong had never been able to watch him shift to his other form, he had said it was too strange, yet Hyunjoong seemed transfixed by it.
When he was finished, Youngsaeng shook himself as if to settle his new body and then turned to look at his mate who was wearing an unreadable expression all over his face. ‘What?’ he questioned.
“You are beautiful,” Hyunjoong said as if he was stating a fact, “and mine.”
‘I’m not beautiful,’ Youngsaeng replied indignantly. ‘Now come over here and get on or you are going to take the long way down.’
Hyunjoong, having heard or simply felt the humor in his voice laughed. “You are. You are the most beautiful dragon I have ever seen.”
‘I was the first and only healthy dragon you have ever seen, of course you think I am beautiful,’ Youngsaeng retorted.
His mate laughed and climbed onto his back to settle in the same position that he had taken the last few times. “You know, if this is going to be a regular thing, I think I need something to sit on here. If you jerk sharply I might crush some important bits.”
‘All of your bits are important. Don’t worry mate, we will get to that,’ Youngsaeng told him. He didn’t bother telling him that he was in no danger. Even if he fell off, the dragon could easily catch him before anything happened to him.
“What about the egg?” Hyunjoong asked suddenly.
‘It will be safe here,’ Youngsaeng replied, moving towards the entrance. As he approached the fabric rolled up on itself until it was curled in a tight bundle at the top of the entryway leaving it clear. Youngsaeng stepped out onto the ledge just outside his room, careful not to disturb the ropes that allowed humans to climb up from the ledge lower to it. ‘Are you ready?’ he asked gathering himself in preparation.
“Yes,” Hyunjoong replied and he could both feel and hear the man’s excitement.
Youngsaeng released a happy noise. ‘Then fly with me, my mate,’ he purred. He reached into his mates mind and tied their senses together, something that was infinitely easier due the partially formed mate bond. Perhaps in the future, Youngsaeng thought, they may simply be joined like this, but for now he could initiate it. Without any further warning he leapt, and threw them off the ledge.
With little effort his wings opened and caught the morning air, keeping them from dropping through the sky. He knew that Hyunjoong could feel the joy that he was feeling at flying, but more than that it was the joy of sharing that with his mate.
“Amazing,” Hyunjoong cried, excited. “How can you not fly all the time?!”
Youngsaeng laughed and banked sideways sending them into a lazy roll. He knew he didn’t need to warn his mate, Hyunjoong would know what he planned to do the moment he did it. The man on his back laughed and leaned close to the dragon’s neck so he would have no trouble staying on as they completed the roll.
‘Sadly some things have to be given up,’ Youngsaeng told him.
“It’s a shame,” Hyunjoong replied. Youngsaeng had to agree with him on that. It was indescribable to a human what it felt like to fly. The closest he had gotten to it was when he had told Kyujong it would be as if he could no longer walk, or only do so every once in a while. However he had no need to explain this to his mate. Hyunjoong could feel the way it made him feel. He could feel the strength and power as his wings beat to keep them aloft in the endless sky. He could feel the wind; know what would aid him and what would hinder him. He could know the freedom that came with the simple act.
If Youngsaeng could, he would have spent the rest of the morning flying with Hyunjoong, yet there was something else they needed to do. He banked lazily and they drifted around the mountain. The ledge he was aiming for was a large one that only had the smallest bit of rock overhang enclosing the very back end of it. It was only accessible by dragons, due to its strange location and lack of tunnels running to it and therefore made the perfect location for a meeting needing secrecy.
His sensitive ears picked up on the conversation as they neared, and he knew that Hyunjoong could hear it trough him as well. “We need to strike and strike hard, we can take the city with dragon magic and storm the palace.”
Youngsaeng felt anger flare up, hot and strong in Hyunjoong and he released an angry cry in response to it. At the sound, every head turned up to see them. Youngsaeng folded his wings and dove, opening them at the last minute to catch them just before the platform. It was a stupid move, he knew, because if it was poorly executed they would both be smashed to the rocks, however if he could pull it off, it was impressive.
He managed to pull them out of it and hit the ledge killing the rest of his momentum by taking a few running hops. Hyunjoong who had been ready for it and had gotten his feet under him in preparation, jumped off and landed easily, the momentum causing him to take a few brisk steps forward before Youngsaeng had even stopped moving. The entire event had enough theatrics to make it look like dragon magic was involved when none had been.
As risky as it had been, it had the desired effect. Not a person was talking or forming enough of a thought to stop Hyunjoong as he launched into his rebuttal a moment later. “That is not only a suicide mission, but would make us no better than the King himself. You are purposing a plan that will kill countless innocents, innocents you have sworn to protect.”
Soojin recovered first and smiled at him as he came to stop in the center of their semi circle of chairs. Youngsaeng stepped up behind him, close enough that it was obvious they were a united front.
Myungki glared. “You think you have the right to speak here?” he snarled.
“Myungki,” Soojin cautioned firmly.
“No, I have held my tongue for too long while this child,” he stabbed his finger towards Hyunjoong, “puts everything we love in danger.” He stood up and began moving towards Hyunjoong. “He and his father destroy everything they touch and only spread misery and pain. A month ago he was ignorant of what his own blood does and now he thinks he can stand here?! Here among us whom have suffered the most by the hand of his father!?”
It was clear that Myungki was working himself up into a speech. The gypsies appeared to be hanging on his every word with the exception of Soojin while Hyunjoong stood, appearing un-phased. “He thinks just because there is a crown to his name he can come here and tell us how we should do things! How is that just? The one whose hands are drenched in blood giving orders to supposedly deal with another of the same?”
“We have fought hard for our rights to speak here, our rights to live, yet here this brat does nothing and gets the same right?” Youngsaeng released a warning rumble. “Face it, not a one of you would be listening to word he says normally. You are all blinded by the fact he has made this creature,” he stabbed his finger at Youngsaeng, “his bitch. He is no better than a whore.”
Youngsaeng snarled and made to lunged toward the man, but Soojin was faster. She was out of her chair before anyone could move and had kicked Myungki’s legs out from beneath him before he saw it coming. With one knee pressed firmly on the center of his chest to keep him pinned to the ground, she leaned over him, her small knife at his throat. “You may insult our family,” she began her voice calm and dangerous, “you may insult our ways, you may disagree all you like, but if you ever degrade my children like that again, it will be the last thing you ever say.”
As quick as she had moved onto him, she was up again and tucking her knife away. She looked around and met the eyes of every single person present. “Never forget our hands are not clean either,” she said firmly. Then she turned and walked calmly back to her seat. Soojin waited until Myungki had picked himself off and returned to his chair before continuing. “You say we should not attack the city. Why?”
Youngsaeng, tried to pay attention to what was occurring but it was becoming difficult to fight the urge to defend his mate. Myungki had wronged them and that could not be allowed to pass. Hyunjoong stepped closer and laid a hand on his shoulder. Instantly his anger diminished as he realized just how upset his mate would be if he decided to do anything. Hyunjoong’s touch calmed him and he sent the man an apology for his near actions.
Hyunjoong’s hand patted him lightly, but stayed where it was when he spoke. “Besides the fact that hundreds of innocents would die?” Soojin nodded and he continued. “There are tunnels from the palace running all over beneath the city, like a labyrinth. The King could place troops anywhere he wants in the city, very likely before our own would even know about it. His city was built with dragon magic and has been immersed in it for generations. He has been stealing so much dragon magic that we have to assume that his magical power is at least five times ours. With his resources we don’t stand a change taking him in his city.”
“Then what you suggest?” Soojin asked. Her face wore a pleased and proud look that Youngsaeng had seen several times before when she knew what was going to be said but was proud that her children had come to that conclusion on their own.
“The first rule of battle,” Hyunjoong replied immediately, “is to have the battle on terrain where you have the advantage. We need to get him out of his city and bring him to us.”
Myungki laughed bitterly. “See! This is all the great Dragon Prince can come up with. That will be impossible he will never leave.” Soojin sent him a look silencing him, but she did not refute his words.
“No,” Hyunjoong replied confidently. “He will leave, and I know exactly how to do it.”
Chapter Twenty
Masterlist
AN: Well that was the moment you were all waiting for. I hope it lived up to what everyone was expecting. I am so excited to here from you all about how you felt about this chapter. *happy sigh* And this one was extra long too.
Chapter Nineteen
It took several minutes for Hyunjoong to decide if he was awake or still drifting in slumber. Somehow it didn’t bother him as much as he really thought it should, that he couldn’t tell the difference. It seemed as if he had been dreaming the dreams of someone else, or simply watching them, yet now his mind was clear and peaceful. He realized that this was the first time in a long time that he was able to simply rest without thoughts or responsibilities clamoring at him and burdening him.
Against his back something warm shifted. He sighed contently and pressed back into the warmth he found there, pulling the equally warm round object tighter against his stomach as he did so.
“Hyunjoong?” a voice asked from behind him. “Are you awake?”
“No,” he whispered in response, smiling to himself at the memory of how he used to try and convince his nurse of the same thing.
“Are you alright?” the voice asked again.
It was the worry he heard in it that caused him to open his eyes and shift so he could look at the man behind him. “I’m fine.”
The relief on Youngsaeng’s face was evident. “Good,” he said simply.
“What happened?” Hyunjoong asked curiously then commented off handedly. “I feel very relaxed.”
Youngsaeng sighed and sat up, pulling away from the other man. “So much has happened to you today, I am surprised that you are conscious already,” he murmured.
With the other man sitting, Hyunjoong felt the need to as well. He shifted and was startled to discover that the warmth against his stomach was the silvery white egg. Although it had been glowing when he had last seen it, it seemed like nothing more than just a typical egg now. “What happened with this?” he asked as he arranged the egg in his lap and gave Youngsaeng a place to start.
“I have never seen what it just did,” Youngsaeng replied, his voice filled with wonder. “See my kind lives long and we have very good memories, yet for obvious reasons we have difficulty recording our history in books. There are few among us who are born with the collective knowledge of the dragons and the ability to hold and store many memories. They hold the memories of our kind. This egg must contain a dragon that is one of them. The dragon inside, although still unborn, gave you the gift of that knowledge. When you received it you blacked out, and I brought you here.”
Hyunjoong started to protest, but he instantly knew Youngsaeng wasn’t lying. As he processed what the man had told him, and tried to recall the knowledge he had supposedly been given, he looked around the room he had been brought too. It looked like a small cave that served as a bedroom. A bed had been added to the corner of the room and there was a trunk sitting at the foot of it. Although the bed was comfortable, it looked like it was little more than an afterthought in the room. Hyunjoong guessed that this was Youngsaeng’s room and if it was, a dragon would have no need for a bed.
There was a curtain hanging over the entrance that fluttered lightly in the wind, telling Hyunjoong that they were on the outside of the mountain. Somehow he knew that was where they were, inside an island mountain. He knew with certainty that the series of caves they were inhabiting didn’t begin until several hundred feet up the side of the mountain. It would take a flying dragon to reach them or some incredible climbing skills, but by the time an intruder would have reached it, everyone inside would know. They called it Haven, and Hyunjoong knew with certainty that this was not the only one.
“You call them Truth Keepers,” Hyunjoong said slowly, returning to the subject they had been discussing. It was strange to have the knowledge of something he had never learned. “My mother was one,” his eyes filled with tears at the mention of his mother whom he only knew through memories that were not his own. “She tried to bring the knowledge of the dragons to the Dragon King,” Hyunjoong blinked back tears and turned to face the dragon. “Youngsaeng, how do I know this? How does this child know this?”
Youngsaeng smiled gently, “We can share memories exactly as we experienced them with another of our kind. We cannot explain how a Truth Keeper is born with all of these memories but they always are. The sharing of memories is what Arunika tried to do with you, however our memories carry with them emotion and power, both of which would be nearly too much for any human. The only way I think you survived it was because you have the blood of a Truth Keeper in your veins.”
“And my mate was able to ground me,” Hyunjoong replied with a soft smile.
Youngsaeng’s eyes widened, “I, uh,” he stuttered lost for wards.
Hyunjoong pulled a blanket from the bed and piled it on the floor. Gently he placed the egg on it and made sure it couldn’t roll away, before turning and facing the dragon. “Why didn’t you tell me I was your Life Bonded Mate? I would have listened to you.”
“I don’t,” Youngsaeng swallowed thickly. “I didn’t know how.”
“Didn’t know how to tell me that I was falling in love and would spend the rest of my life with a man, or that I would never have an heir?” Hyunjoong countered, his previous turmoil forgotten as he simply enjoyed teasing the dragon. Then he stilled and regarded him seriously. “Or were you just afraid I would say no, or worse, betray you?”
“Yes,” Youngsaeng breathed quietly, averting his eyes with guilt that he couldn’t explain.
Hyunjoong leaned forward until he could speak directly into Youngsaeng’s ear. “I’m saying yes,” he purred, then nipped the lobe teasingly.
The reaction was instant. Youngsaeng snarled and leapt forward, pressing Hyunjoong back onto the mattress. The dragon’s eyes were swirling with black and the look on his face was animalistic enough that any normal man would be scared, but Hyunjoong was not a normal man. He knew exactly what was above him and what would happen next. “You know what will happen?” Youngsaeng asked his voice rough with desire and emotion.
“Yes,” Hyunjoong responded calmly. From the memories he had been given, he knew. He understood how the bond worked and the three pieces it took to bind them together forever in a way that nothing else could. If he really thought about it, they had slowly been forming a bond between them all along, but now, now it would become real.
“I am Kim Hyunjoong, the Dragon Prince,” Hyunjoong said gently, beginning the first step.
“I am Khemkhaeng of the Water Dragon Tribe, known to humans as Heo Youngsaeng,” the dragon replied. Step one, the offering of true names, was complete with his words.
Hyunjoong reached up and ran a hand down Youngsaeng’s back. The dragon arched into his touch and he couldn’t help but smirk at that. His searching fingers took a moment to tease their way down the other man’s back before they reached the waist band of his pants and found the small knife hidden there. Hyunjoong removed it carefully, and Youngsaeng sat back onto his legs to give him room.
Carefully, he drew the knife from its sheath and sat up as well. He held the knife in his left hand and drew the sharp blade across the skin of his other palm. A small hiss escaped his lips as the metal easily parted the skin and blood began to well forth. “I give you my blood and all that I am, to be yours.”
“Mine,” Youngsaeng growled in response. He held up his left hand and Hyunjoong obediently slid the knife across the surface of it. “I give you my blood and all that I am, to be yours,” Youngsaeng returned.
Hyunjoong tossed the knife off the bed and lifted his eyes to meet the completely black ones of the man in front of him. Slowly he lifted his hand to Youngsaeng and pressed their bloody palms together. Instantly the surface of his palm began to warm until the cut itself began to burn. The feeling of liquid fire raced from his palm down his arm and spread like a wildfire though his entire body. He gasped at the feel of it and his eyes watered as the sharp pain spread and then localized at his chest, directly where his heart would be.
His eyes clenched shut and he swore that through the gasps for breath, he felt his heart actually stop for a few beats before restarting. It took another moment or two, but eventually the pain began to subside until it had vanished altogether leaving him feeling more alive than he had ever felt in his life. Hyunjoong’s eyes flew open and he realized two things: he was cradled gently against Youngsaeng who was crooning softly to him and he wanted the man more than he had ever wanted anything in his life or would ever want anything again.
Hyunjoong made a needy sound, and in response, Youngsaeng lowered him gently back onto the bed. “You know what happens next?” Youngsaeng’s voice was rough and lower than normal. Hyunjoong had no idea how the dragon was capable of speech because he certainly wasn’t. Instead he nodded and tugged at the dragon’s clothing.
Youngsaeng chuckled, “I’m sorry this is going to be quick,” he murmured.
As their lips met Hyunjoong found that he didn’t care at all. The press of Youngsaeng above him, the touch of lips, the dancing of their tongues all served to make him feel better than he ever had. Somewhere in the back of his mind the old idea that had been instilled in him about laying with a man was nagging at him. Hyunjoong promptly decided that this wasn’t a man, this was Youngsaeng and they were meant for each other, born to be together. He could feel that truth in the very dept of his soul and that made everything alright.
The sound of fabric tearing brought him back to reality and he almost protested the shredding of his clothing. Seconds later Youngsaeng was pressed to him, skin against skin, and the small bits of fabric that had been damaged didn’t really seem that important anymore as they shifted against each other.
Hyunjoong, although inexperienced, didn’t think it was possible to be anymore aroused but Youngsaeng’s lips, tongue, and teeth proved him delightfully wrong. Nearly as soon as they were there, they were gone, replaced by something so much tighter and Hyunjoong threw his head back and released a cry. He had never felt any sensation like it and he wasn’t sure he ever would again. This feeling of becoming one and so much more, was overloading every one of his senses.
He heard Youngsaeng, murmuring something, switching between dragon like croons and noises, to actually words, and back again as they rocked together both desperate to find the end. Suddenly it was over just as quickly as he had begun, and Hyunjoong was fairly certain he had screamed with the power of it.
Youngsaeng collapsed on him, both of them panting and neither one of them caring about anything more than the other for a moment. It took twelve lazy kisses before Hyunjoong found he could form words and another ten before he actually decided to.
“That was,” Hyunjoong started and then decided that he didn’t have words to properly describe what he was feeling.
Youngsaeng chuckled and nuzzled his neck, kissing it gently. “You are just saying that because you have never had sex before,” he murmured.
“No,” Hyunjoong replied. “I am pretty sure that if there was a list of mind blowing sexual encounters that would top the list. But you would know.”
“Everything else means nothing compared to what we just did,” Youngsaeng growled upset. It wasn’t until after he said it that he heard the quiet chuckle coming from the man beneath him, telling him that Hyunjoong was only teasing him. He growled in retaliation and nipped the skin of the man’s shoulder.
“Hey!” Hyunjoong exclaimed, swatting him playfully on the butt.
Youngsaeng chuckled and wiggled his hips, reminding the prince immediately that they were still very much connected before pulling away entirely. He flopped rather ungracefully beside his mate and sighed happily. After a moment he glanced sideways and grinned at the red face of the man beside him. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“I will be once my brain processes all of this,” Hyunjoong answered. “I’ve never had sex before and it was different than I expected. In a good way but different. I didn’t know it could happen like that, but I’m not sure how else I was thinking it would happen between two males.”
Youngsaeng snickered at his rambling and shifted on his side, throwing a leg over his mate’s and tugging him close so they could lie together. Hyunjoong shifted obediently, settling a hand on Youngsaeng’s leg, tracing the skin there lightly.
“I don’t feel anything different,” Hyunjoong said softly after they had been laying together for a bit. “Shouldn’t I feel something different? Should I really know you?”
Youngsaeng released a desperate keening noise and Hyunjoong felt a wave of despair wash over him. “You are right, I shouldn’t have to try to reach into your mind we should be connected,” his voice sounded broken. “We’re not - I didn’t…”
He tried to pull away and Hyunjoong grabbed him firmly. “Wait. I can feel you. I can feel what you are feeling. That is something between mates right?”
“Some yes,” Youngsaeng responded sounding miserable.
“Then maybe we just didn’t do something right, maybe it isn’t finished yet,” Hyunjoong suggested.
“What could we have done wrong, we exchanged names and blood and then mated to seal the bond,” Youngsaeng replied.
Hyunjoong thought back on everything that had happened that night. “Would it matter that you have two names and I only have one?”
“No,” Youngsaeng replied instantly. “You are human, why would you have two names? As long as you told me the names given to you at birth then that is all that is needed.”
“Dragons always get two names?” Hyunjoong asked curiously.
“Yes,” Youngsaeng answered absently. “We are given our dragon name and then a human name to use in case we interact with humans.”
“Would my mother have given me a dragon name?” Hyunjoong asked softly.
Youngsaeng paused for a minute. “She might have, for the same reason I have a human name. What is your dragon name?”
“I don’t know,” Hyunjoong replied. Youngsaeng released a frustrated noise.
“If you have another name our bond will not be complete until I know it,” he replied sadly.
“But I don’t even know it. I don’t think anyone does,” Hyunjoong replied.
“It doesn’t matter. It is yours and it is part of who you are,” Youngsaeng told him.
“Then we will ask my mother.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“I plan to ask my father where she is and tell him I know she is alive anyway. He will let me meet her and then I can ask her,” Hyunjoong replied confidently.
“Hyunjoong,” Youngsaeng said gently. “I doubt your father would let you near her, especially if he knows you are seeking justice for his crimes.”
Hyunjoong pondered that for a moment. “She is dragon and you can talk to dragons with you mind right?”
“Yes,” Youngsaeng said slowly.
“Then if we get close enough you can ask her. I’m pretty sure she would have to be in the palace, I don’t think he would keep her anywhere else.”
Youngsaeng sighed and relaxed against him again. “I could ask her. I’m sure she would tell us. No dragon would ever keep a mate bond from being completed.”
Hyunjoong nodded to himself and they lay in companionable silence for a few moments. “What if it was the sex?” he asked suddenly.
Youngsaeng stiffened, “There was nothing wrong with the sex.”
“I don’t think so either but it was really fast,” Hyunjoong mused. “Maybe we should try it again, slower this time, just to be sure.”
When he turned his head to look at the dragon, Youngsaeng was grinning wolfishly. “If you wanted to do it again all you had to do was ask.”
“No I really think we need to be sure, for our bond,” Hyunjoong replied, honestly.
“Mm hmm,” Youngsaeng rolled over and covered Hyunjoong’s body with his own again. “Then I guess we should, just to make sure.”
“Right. For our bond,” Hyunjoong said before their lips met and he forgot all about their bond.
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
The sounds of stifled laughter woke him from a deep sleep and he rolled over wiggling into another body before stilling again. He hoped it would just disappear and he wouldn’t have to roll out of bed and kill something already this morning.
“I totally win,” a familiar voice whispered. “They slept together.”
“You can’t know that,” hissed another in return. “They are covered with blankets. Maybe they just had an emotional time and feel asleep in each other’s arms.”
“They aren’t women,” the first voiced hissed. “I highly doubt that happened.”
“Hey,” the second replied. “What about that night where you fell asleep after spending hours crying in my arms?”
There was the brief sound of a scuffle and then the first voice hissed, “We agreed never to speak of that again.”
“You brought it up,” the second returned.
On the bed Youngsaeng growled. “Jungmin! Hyungjoon!” he snapped. “If the two of you don’t get out of my room this instant I will freeze every bit of liquid in your body and pull it out through your nose!”
“Uh mom sent me to get you. The council is meeting again,” Jungmin said with a poorly concealed laugh.
“Great. Out!”
The pair chuckled but the sound of their footsteps retreated, leaving Hyungjoon’s response of “You’re right, you win,” floating behind them.
Youngsaeng growled again and the man beside him chuckled. “Tell me,” Hyunjoong murmured and Youngsaeng decided immediately that he loved the sound of his voice just after he had awoken. “How exactly did you and Kyujong manage to do anything with them around?”
That question caught Youngsaeng by surprise and closed his eyes with guilt. He felt bad enough that he had lain with another besides his mate, his mate didn’t need to keep bringing it up. “We were discrete,” he said finally.
“Mm,” Hyunjoong hummed. “If we ever go traveling with them again we are getting our own wagon.”
Youngsaeng laughed at the idea of that. “I can carry you far away from them whenever you want,” he replied with a smile.
The man beside him smiled at that and he finally gave into the temptation of leaning in for a kiss. They stayed like that for several minutes, sharing soft kisses and tiny touches before Hyunjoong pulled away smiling. “We should probably go before they send someone else to collect us.” Hyunjoong glanced around for a moment and then sighed when his eyes fell on the remains of his clothing. Youngsaeng gave him a sheepish look because all that remained of his outfit was the Link that he wore around his neck.
“Sorry,” the dragon muttered.
“Don’t be,” Hyunjoong replied with a dismissive wave. “I wasn’t complaining. Do you have something I can wear?”
“In the trunk at the end of the bed,” Youngsaeng gestured to it. Hyunjoong nodded and slid from the bed, not bothered in the least that he had nothing on his body.
Youngsaeng watched him with hungry eyes as he moved and then bent to dig through for something that would fit him. The dragon found himself torn between desire and contentment as he watched his mate, pull out the clothing of his choice. Something deep with him was satisfied with what had occurred between them. Although their mate bond was not yet what it should be, there was something between them. It helped, he thought, that he knew for certain that Hyunjoong had chosen him.
The man rose and began pulling on the clothing he had located. Youngsaeng purred happily at the sight and was out of the bed and running his hands over Hyunjoong’s newly clothed body before he could stop himself. Hyunjoong allowed him to touch with a smile on his face. “I like you wearing my clothes,” Youngsaeng rumbled. “It tells everyone you are mine.”
Hyunjoong smiled and wrapped his arms around Youngsaeng, allowing the dragon to kiss him for a moment. “If you don’t stop that I’m going to be right back out of these clothes again,” Hyunjoong said with a grin. Youngsaeng wondered for a moment how much either one of them would really mind the slight delay and figured that although they wouldn’t, Soojin would.
The dragon released Hyunjoong and stepped back away from the bed. As he did so he allowed his body to begin to change back to his true form. He could feel Hyunjoong’s eyes on him the entire time and he wasn’t sure what to make of the attention. Kyujong had never been able to watch him shift to his other form, he had said it was too strange, yet Hyunjoong seemed transfixed by it.
When he was finished, Youngsaeng shook himself as if to settle his new body and then turned to look at his mate who was wearing an unreadable expression all over his face. ‘What?’ he questioned.
“You are beautiful,” Hyunjoong said as if he was stating a fact, “and mine.”
‘I’m not beautiful,’ Youngsaeng replied indignantly. ‘Now come over here and get on or you are going to take the long way down.’
Hyunjoong, having heard or simply felt the humor in his voice laughed. “You are. You are the most beautiful dragon I have ever seen.”
‘I was the first and only healthy dragon you have ever seen, of course you think I am beautiful,’ Youngsaeng retorted.
His mate laughed and climbed onto his back to settle in the same position that he had taken the last few times. “You know, if this is going to be a regular thing, I think I need something to sit on here. If you jerk sharply I might crush some important bits.”
‘All of your bits are important. Don’t worry mate, we will get to that,’ Youngsaeng told him. He didn’t bother telling him that he was in no danger. Even if he fell off, the dragon could easily catch him before anything happened to him.
“What about the egg?” Hyunjoong asked suddenly.
‘It will be safe here,’ Youngsaeng replied, moving towards the entrance. As he approached the fabric rolled up on itself until it was curled in a tight bundle at the top of the entryway leaving it clear. Youngsaeng stepped out onto the ledge just outside his room, careful not to disturb the ropes that allowed humans to climb up from the ledge lower to it. ‘Are you ready?’ he asked gathering himself in preparation.
“Yes,” Hyunjoong replied and he could both feel and hear the man’s excitement.
Youngsaeng released a happy noise. ‘Then fly with me, my mate,’ he purred. He reached into his mates mind and tied their senses together, something that was infinitely easier due the partially formed mate bond. Perhaps in the future, Youngsaeng thought, they may simply be joined like this, but for now he could initiate it. Without any further warning he leapt, and threw them off the ledge.
With little effort his wings opened and caught the morning air, keeping them from dropping through the sky. He knew that Hyunjoong could feel the joy that he was feeling at flying, but more than that it was the joy of sharing that with his mate.
“Amazing,” Hyunjoong cried, excited. “How can you not fly all the time?!”
Youngsaeng laughed and banked sideways sending them into a lazy roll. He knew he didn’t need to warn his mate, Hyunjoong would know what he planned to do the moment he did it. The man on his back laughed and leaned close to the dragon’s neck so he would have no trouble staying on as they completed the roll.
‘Sadly some things have to be given up,’ Youngsaeng told him.
“It’s a shame,” Hyunjoong replied. Youngsaeng had to agree with him on that. It was indescribable to a human what it felt like to fly. The closest he had gotten to it was when he had told Kyujong it would be as if he could no longer walk, or only do so every once in a while. However he had no need to explain this to his mate. Hyunjoong could feel the way it made him feel. He could feel the strength and power as his wings beat to keep them aloft in the endless sky. He could feel the wind; know what would aid him and what would hinder him. He could know the freedom that came with the simple act.
If Youngsaeng could, he would have spent the rest of the morning flying with Hyunjoong, yet there was something else they needed to do. He banked lazily and they drifted around the mountain. The ledge he was aiming for was a large one that only had the smallest bit of rock overhang enclosing the very back end of it. It was only accessible by dragons, due to its strange location and lack of tunnels running to it and therefore made the perfect location for a meeting needing secrecy.
His sensitive ears picked up on the conversation as they neared, and he knew that Hyunjoong could hear it trough him as well. “We need to strike and strike hard, we can take the city with dragon magic and storm the palace.”
Youngsaeng felt anger flare up, hot and strong in Hyunjoong and he released an angry cry in response to it. At the sound, every head turned up to see them. Youngsaeng folded his wings and dove, opening them at the last minute to catch them just before the platform. It was a stupid move, he knew, because if it was poorly executed they would both be smashed to the rocks, however if he could pull it off, it was impressive.
He managed to pull them out of it and hit the ledge killing the rest of his momentum by taking a few running hops. Hyunjoong who had been ready for it and had gotten his feet under him in preparation, jumped off and landed easily, the momentum causing him to take a few brisk steps forward before Youngsaeng had even stopped moving. The entire event had enough theatrics to make it look like dragon magic was involved when none had been.
As risky as it had been, it had the desired effect. Not a person was talking or forming enough of a thought to stop Hyunjoong as he launched into his rebuttal a moment later. “That is not only a suicide mission, but would make us no better than the King himself. You are purposing a plan that will kill countless innocents, innocents you have sworn to protect.”
Soojin recovered first and smiled at him as he came to stop in the center of their semi circle of chairs. Youngsaeng stepped up behind him, close enough that it was obvious they were a united front.
Myungki glared. “You think you have the right to speak here?” he snarled.
“Myungki,” Soojin cautioned firmly.
“No, I have held my tongue for too long while this child,” he stabbed his finger towards Hyunjoong, “puts everything we love in danger.” He stood up and began moving towards Hyunjoong. “He and his father destroy everything they touch and only spread misery and pain. A month ago he was ignorant of what his own blood does and now he thinks he can stand here?! Here among us whom have suffered the most by the hand of his father!?”
It was clear that Myungki was working himself up into a speech. The gypsies appeared to be hanging on his every word with the exception of Soojin while Hyunjoong stood, appearing un-phased. “He thinks just because there is a crown to his name he can come here and tell us how we should do things! How is that just? The one whose hands are drenched in blood giving orders to supposedly deal with another of the same?”
“We have fought hard for our rights to speak here, our rights to live, yet here this brat does nothing and gets the same right?” Youngsaeng released a warning rumble. “Face it, not a one of you would be listening to word he says normally. You are all blinded by the fact he has made this creature,” he stabbed his finger at Youngsaeng, “his bitch. He is no better than a whore.”
Youngsaeng snarled and made to lunged toward the man, but Soojin was faster. She was out of her chair before anyone could move and had kicked Myungki’s legs out from beneath him before he saw it coming. With one knee pressed firmly on the center of his chest to keep him pinned to the ground, she leaned over him, her small knife at his throat. “You may insult our family,” she began her voice calm and dangerous, “you may insult our ways, you may disagree all you like, but if you ever degrade my children like that again, it will be the last thing you ever say.”
As quick as she had moved onto him, she was up again and tucking her knife away. She looked around and met the eyes of every single person present. “Never forget our hands are not clean either,” she said firmly. Then she turned and walked calmly back to her seat. Soojin waited until Myungki had picked himself off and returned to his chair before continuing. “You say we should not attack the city. Why?”
Youngsaeng, tried to pay attention to what was occurring but it was becoming difficult to fight the urge to defend his mate. Myungki had wronged them and that could not be allowed to pass. Hyunjoong stepped closer and laid a hand on his shoulder. Instantly his anger diminished as he realized just how upset his mate would be if he decided to do anything. Hyunjoong’s touch calmed him and he sent the man an apology for his near actions.
Hyunjoong’s hand patted him lightly, but stayed where it was when he spoke. “Besides the fact that hundreds of innocents would die?” Soojin nodded and he continued. “There are tunnels from the palace running all over beneath the city, like a labyrinth. The King could place troops anywhere he wants in the city, very likely before our own would even know about it. His city was built with dragon magic and has been immersed in it for generations. He has been stealing so much dragon magic that we have to assume that his magical power is at least five times ours. With his resources we don’t stand a change taking him in his city.”
“Then what you suggest?” Soojin asked. Her face wore a pleased and proud look that Youngsaeng had seen several times before when she knew what was going to be said but was proud that her children had come to that conclusion on their own.
“The first rule of battle,” Hyunjoong replied immediately, “is to have the battle on terrain where you have the advantage. We need to get him out of his city and bring him to us.”
Myungki laughed bitterly. “See! This is all the great Dragon Prince can come up with. That will be impossible he will never leave.” Soojin sent him a look silencing him, but she did not refute his words.
“No,” Hyunjoong replied confidently. “He will leave, and I know exactly how to do it.”
Chapter Twenty
Masterlist
AN: Well that was the moment you were all waiting for. I hope it lived up to what everyone was expecting. I am so excited to here from you all about how you felt about this chapter. *happy sigh* And this one was extra long too.