Wolf Princess Sold to the Dragon King novel Chapter 56

Chapter 56: That Is Actually Not Stupid (It Cost Him)

Five out of six people in this group were bleeding, unconscious, or carrying someone who was. Sterling was the sixth and the only reason the other five were still moving.

His blade found three fae in the undergrowth in under ten seconds. "Clear."

They continued for a few miles. The only sounds were boots, breathing, and Damon’s occasional cough, each one producing more blood than the last.

"She needs water." Maddox glanced over his shoulder at Damon. "So does he."

"Yeah." Kael didn’t slow down. "If either of them drink the water in this jungle without boiling it, they’re dead. Our fire is dead. Do the math."

Nicholas spoke from behind them. "Her flame works."

Kael stopped walking. He turned his head, looking at Nicholas over his shoulder with the expression of a man who had just been told something useful by a source he found deeply irritating.

"Noted. Her flame is still a screaming, glowing, golden dinner bell." His tone was flat. "And we have nothing to boil it in."

Nicholas’s jaw tightened. "She doesn’t need a container to boil it in. I’ve watched her flame mold to my beta without burning him."

Maddox and Kael’s heads snapped to Nicholas, who realized a second too late that was new information to both of them. Maddox recovered first, looking down at her, then ahead.

"If she can hold water in her palms and heat it," Nicholas continued. "She could purify it without a container."

Kael froze, considering it for three full seconds, which was two seconds longer than he typically gave ideas that originated from people he didn’t respect.

"That is actually not stupid." The admission sounded like it physically cost him. "Good noses. Decent instincts. Reasonable temperaments. If one could mount without it turning sexual—"

The word mount landed like a gauntlet. Nicholas’s eyes flared full gold, his wolf surging hard enough that his upper lip pulled back from his teeth. Damon matched him automatically, because bleeding didn’t excuse him from the job of backing his Alpha.

"Wolves don’t view it the way dragons do, Kael." Maddox’s tone landed like a door slamming shut.

Kael walked right through it. "Interesting. You corrected me like you’ve had this conversation with a certain wolf before." He turned back to the jungle. "Retracted. Wolves are clearly a sensitive subject. I’ll add it to the list."

Ryker saw Kael first and his blade came up. Then he saw Maddox holding Guinevere, followed by Nicholas supporting his Beta behind them.

"Stand down, Ryker." Maddox’s voice carried the weight of a command he did not enjoy giving. "He has forty-eight hours."

Ryker’s blade lowered. The motion was slow, communicating compliance without agreement, obedience without approval, and a promise that the forty-eight hours would be counted to the second.

He and the rest of the strike team had established a perimeter, blades out, backs to a rock formation that gave them a wall on one side.

Kael walked into the perimeter like he owned it. "Lovely setup. Very cozy. I’d have picked a position with two walls instead of one, but I understand you’re working with limited jungle experience. No judgment."

He surveyed the Drakencrest warriors, all of whom were staring at him with expressions ranging from murderous to confused. "Oh, stop it."

Ryker moved towards Guinevere, but halted mid-stride when Maddox’s eyes cut to him.

He understood, and the understanding was a blade he swallowed without flinching, because the man ten feet from them was watching.

Kael rolled his eyes so hard his head moved with them. "She told me you were her friend, Ryker. The cat is out of the bag on that one."

He looked around the clearing then let out a dark laugh. "Gods, the pantomime. This acting would embarrass a first-year diplomat. Maddox, you talk to her like dirt then call her ’baby’ five seconds later. Pick a lane and play the part."

"This—" Kael gestured towards the field. "—is stupid. Even if she were lower than a concubine, your men would interact with her. If she’s dead weight, give her to me. I’ll carry her and get her fever down."

Ryker didn’t look at Kael when he spoke. "Walk towards her, Kael. I dare you. You are injured, and I won’t hesitate."

"There it is. Finally some honesty." Kael gave a slow smile. "One person acknowledges she’s important. Tell me, Second, does Maddox know you’re in love with his concubine?"

"You’re fishing, Kael," Ryker replied, unperturbed. "The only thing I’m in love with right now is the idea of your forty-eight hours running out."

"Jaxon," Maddox cut in. "Check her."

The mage’s hands found her forehead. Hot. His fingers moved to her pulse. Fast. Thready. Running but running.

"She’s dehydrated past the point where the fever matters," he said, voice steady. "If she doesn’t get fluids in the next hour, her organs will start shutting down."

He pulled a waterskin from his belt. Standard issue, Drakencrest military, filled from the supply cache before the portal jump. Clean water. Safe water. The most valuable object in the jungle.

Without a word, Ryker also handed his waterskin to Nicholas for Damon.

Maddox: Gwen, Kael is watching. I’m sorry baby.

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