Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Stroke the Flame: Chapter 25

I knew we should never have stopped in the Air Realm.

I cleared my throat, trying not to show my panic. “You must be mistaken. I’m not Prince Tanariel, I simply bear a passing resemblance to him. Please stand up.”

The innkeeper slowly rose to his feet and lowered his voice. “Of course. Your secret is safe with me, your highness.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Please don’t call me that.”

“My apologies.” He clapped his hands together and smiled at the group. “Now then. You’ll have the finest rooms available, and I’ll make sure some food and wine is brought up for you. Is there anything else I can do for you?’

“That will be great, thanks,” Jasin said, as he glared at me. He already hated me, and now he had even more reason. Not that I was particularly fond of him either, but I didn’t want to fight with him, for Kira’s sake at least.

And Kira… she gaped at me like she’d never seen me before. My gut twisted with guilt and shame from deceiving her, even if I had a good reason for keeping my identity hidden. Now that my secret was out, would she look at me differently, knowing who I truly was?

The innkeeper showed us to two of his best rooms, which meant they were slightly larger and cleaner than the others, before apologizing again and promising to have someone bring up some refreshments. I pressed a coin into his hand and assured him all was well.

The second he was gone, Kira turned to me with narrowed eyes and asked, “You’re a prince? I thought you said you were only a distant relation!”

I sighed. “I said I was no one of consequence in the family, which is true.”

“I don’t think being fifth in line to the throne of the Air Realm counts as inconsequential,” she snapped.

“I can explain everything,” I said quickly.

“Better get started, Auric,” Jasin said, crossing his arms. “Or should we call you Prince Tanariel? Is Auric even your name?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s my middle name. No one calls me Tanariel. That was my grandfather, not me.”

“So you really are a prince,” Kira said.

I met her eyes. “Yes, I am.”

“I’m surprised none of you recognized him,” Reven said from the corner, where he was flipping one of his knives.

“You knew who he was all along?” Kira asked, growing visibly more upset. “And you never thought to mention he was a prince at any point?”

Reven shrugged. “Not my problem.”

“It’s all of our problems,” Jasin said. “Auric was going to be recognized sooner or later, which puts all of us at risk. He should have told us long before we got to the Air Realm.”

“Yes, he should have,” Kira said.

Before I could respond she threw open the door and stomped out. Silently cursing myself for being an idiot, I started to follow after her, but Slade blocked me in the doorway.

“What’s going on?” he asked, sounding weary.

“Auric is a prince of the Air Realm,” Jasin explained in a low growl.

Without waiting for Slade’s response, I darted after Kira, who had slipped into the other bedroom reserved for us. I closed the door behind me and faced her. “Kira, I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. But please let me try to explain.”

“You lied to me,” she said, in a way that made my heart twist.

“I didn’t lie, not once. Everything I told you was true, I simply…omitted certain things.”

She sat down on the edge of one of the beds. “Some really big things. Things you should have told me.”

I sat beside her. “Probably, yes. But you have to understand that when this started I had no idea who you or the others were. I didn’t know if I could trust any of you. Telling people I’m a prince is like putting a target on my back. Not to mention, people treat me differently once they know who—what—I am. I didn’t want that to happen with you, Kira. I wanted you to get to know me as you would any other man, not as a prince. And after everyone’s reaction to me being a nobleman, can you blame me for being hesitant to reveal the truth?”

“I understand why you didn’t tell me at first, but don’t you trust me now?” she asked.

“I do, yes. And I was going to tell you at the right moment, I promise.”

She raised an eyebrow. “When was that going to be?”

“Um.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Before we reached the Air Temple, for sure.”

She sighed. “I just don’t know how I can trust you anymore.”

“I’m sorry I kept this from you, but please try to understand. I’m the youngest prince, with enough older siblings to make sure I’ll never be king. In my family, I’m the odd one out who was always in the library instead of attending balls and dealing with politics. I never cared about any of that and so to them I’ve always been inconsequential. So yes, I am a prince, but at the same time, nothing about me has changed.”

She nodded slowly. “Are you hiding anything else from me?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “There’s nothing I am hiding. Simply things I haven’t chosen to share yet. Surely you can understand that. There are lots of things you haven’t told us either, and I don’t see you getting upset with Reven for not sharing all the details of his past. But in time, I’ll be willing to open up completely.”

She blew out a breath. “Okay, I see your point.”

“Thank you. I truly had no wish to deceive you, I just wanted to make sure my place in the group was more stable before I told everyone.”

“Why wouldn’t it be stable?”

I cleared my throat and looked away. “I’ve been reminded many times that I don’t fit in with the rest of you.”

“Ignore the others.” She leaned against my side. “I want you to stay, and that’s all that matters.”

“You do?” I took her hand in mine. “Because I have no desire to leave either. This is my life now.” I slowly ran my thumbs along her knuckles. “That’s another reason I didn’t mention I was a prince. In my mind, I no longer am one. I gave up that life and that title when I left home to replace you.”

“Do you regret leaving all of that behind?”

“Not one bit. I’m your mate and one day I’ll be the Golden Dragon. That is more than I ever dreamed of, and all I could ever want.”

She melted into my embrace and our lips found each other easily. Kissing Kira was the most amazing thing I’d ever experienced. When we touched, sparks danced between us, but when we kissed, our connection flashed like a burst of lightning. I could only imagine what it would be like after we’d officially bonded.

Her hand rested on my thigh as she moved even closer, and the sensation shot straight to my groin. I groaned as I pulled her flush against me, my fingers digging into her hips as I took the kiss deeper. This woman, Gods. She was gorgeous, but that wasn’t why I cared for her so much already. It was her intelligence, her kindness, and her inner strength that had won me over. Even now, she accepted me for who I truly was, despite my mistake of not telling her the truth sooner. How had I gotten so lucky to end up as one of her mates? When I met the Air God again, I’d be sure to thank him for choosing me.

Her hands stroked my jaw, but she finally pulled away. “Come on. Let’s go calm the others down.”

When we went into the other room, she held my hand, even though the other men eyed me warily. “All right,” Kira said, as she glanced between them. “Auric was a prince once, but he’s one of us now, and that’s all that matters.”

Jasin frowned and looked away, while Reven shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. Slade said, “Fine with me.”

“I know this isn’t easy for any of us, and I can’t expect all of you to get along, but please try at least.” She looked between me and Jasin. “For me.”

“Fine,” he muttered.

“Of course,” I said, squeezing her hand.

A knock sounded on the door, and the innkeeper and a young woman brought in large trays of food with two bottles of wine. If nothing else, at least we’d be well fed tonight. I still wasn’t thrilled my true identity had been revealed this way, but at least the weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I didn’t have to keep it from Kira anymore. Of course, once we got closer to the Air Temple, I’d have to reveal some of the other things I was afraid to admit—but hopefully she would accept those parts of me too.