Chapter 282: The Missing Promotion

Being surprised and similarly on the brink of having a heart attack seemed to be a common experience for one twenty-five-year-old originally human aide.

It happened so often that Riley had long accepted the possibility that this was simply his default state now. Permanently stunned. Regularly speechless. Mildly concerned for his own lifespan despite it being stretched for far longer now.

And it was happening again.

Only this time, his hand was being lifted so carefully, so gently, that his mouth fell open on instinct, his brain producing the most intelligent response it could manage.

“What?”

In truth, that single word carried an impressive amount of meaning.

What is that?

What’s happening?

What are you doing?

What possessed you to do this now?

But Riley didn’t voice any of it. More like he couldn’t.

Because the moment he felt it, his thoughts completely blanked.

Kael’s hand shook.

Not badly. And would probably be barely noticeable to anyone else. It was the faintest tremor, something that might have been dismissed as imagination if Riley had not been watching so closely and if his hand had not been in contact with Kael’s large hand.

But he was.

And for a man who wouldn’t normally flinch even with a blade directly pointed at his eyeball, that tiny tremor was… concerning.

Unprecedented.

Riley stared.

If he only knew how many times Kael’s hands had shaken like that since meeting him, he might have started asking even more questions.

But that was for another time.

Right now, what mattered was the way Kael held his hand and how he started to open his mouth with that much-needed explanation.

The dragon lord did not let go of Riley’s hand.

He sat there, posture straight, expression composed, every inch the intimidating golden dragon lord who could silence a room by existing in it.

And yet.

His grip was just a little too careful. His thumb brushed against Riley’s knuckles once, then stilled, as if he had to consciously stop himself from doing it again.

“This ring is capable of storing and releasing my mana,” Kael said, tone clipped and efficient.

“You can use it to practice. Just like we did today.”

The lagging learner blinked, staring at the ring, then at Kael’s hand, then back at the ring.

“Oh.”

That actually made sense.

The golden dragon continued, still not letting go of Riley’s hand. “It will also provide ample protection in case it’s needed, and will respond to threat levels automatically so there won’t be need to mind it as much.”

Riley’s shoulders loosened a little.

Phew! He didn’t know what he had been expecting earlier, but listening to Kael’s words about it being a mana tool, basically an artifact, had him breathing easier.

Of course it doubled as a defensive artifact. Of course his golden dragon had thought of everything.

“And,” Kael added, eyes shifting away for half a second, “if it is too conspicuous, you can change how it looks. Or hide the appearance entirely.”

Riley nodded along, relief settling even more.

“Right. That makes sense. I was thinking it might stand out a little, but if I can just hide it then that’s probably better for public situations and—”

“But I don’t think you should do that.”

Riley stopped.

“Huh? What?”

He looked up, confused.

Kael’s gaze snapped back to him.

Sharp.

Focused.

His pupils narrowed, gold irises flashing into slits.

“You shouldn’t hide it,” Kael said firmly. “I don’t want you to hide it.”

The marginally covered ex-mortal stiffened.

“…Why?”

Surprisingly, the answer came immediately.

“You promised to be my mate.”

The unexpected words landed heavier than Riley expected. They were just talking about practicing earlier and now this?

Worse, Kael didn’t sound commanding.

He sounded… pouty.

The flabbergasted immortal’s brain stalled as Kael continued, brows knitting in visible irritation.

“But you only told me about matching phone wallpapers. You never mentioned rings. Not once.”

Riley’s mouth opened. Then closed.

“To think we’ve been in the middle of getting married,” Kael went on, voice tight. “No, we’ve actually been in the middle of a ceremony for centuries. Centuries. And only now did I discover this thing about rings.”

“If that elf at the MBE hadn’t gone around telling everyone about her ring, I wouldn’t have known about such a concept.”

“!!!”

Riley straightened so fast the blanket nearly slipped.

“You didn’t mention something this important,” Kael said, grievance pouring out much to the still-processing immortal’s surprise.

“You’ve been walking around with that embarrassing guardian heartstone like it was enough. It’s not enough. They said rings are an indicator. People are supposed to see them. That’s how they know you already have a mate.”

Riley stared at him.

Not at the dragon lord.

At the man.

Brows furrowed. Jaw tight. Eyes bright with something dangerously close to hurt.

Maybe it was the vulnerability in that face or just the sheer certainty in his own heart, but as he listened to the outpour of grievances, something in Riley’s being just clicked.

Then as if deciding on something crucial, he asked slowly.

“…Wait, from what you’re saying… Are you talking about an engagement ring?”

“Yes!” Kael snapped without hesitation. “We are mates, so why do I only get matching lock screens?”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Riley’s heart thumped once.

Then again.

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh yes.

__

Finally!

Kael felt an immense sense of relief when his twig finally realized what he was talking about. He had practiced better lines. More composed ones where he wouldn’t sound like an aggrieved child. Lines that sounded dignified and proper and worthy of a dragon lord who just needed answers to his questions.

But when Riley looked that stunned, all of that went out the window.

He just started talking.

And unfortunately for everyone involved, he had a lot of grievances.

Because imagine his shock upon learning about the concept of a fiancé.

A fiancé.

If he had not overheard that conversation, then when exactly was he supposed to learn that he didn’t even qualify to be a fiancé even when they already made a promise to be mates!

Sure, Riley said that there was the matter of getting to know each other. That much made sense.

But as fated mates who had already started their bond years ago, how could he simply remain a boyfriend?

That was when he learned about rings.

A rapid and very panicked explanation followed from a trembling elf. There had been a stern question and answer portion. Kael remembered that part clearly. By the end of it, he understood one crucial thing.

Rings mattered.

They were symbols. Indicators. A visible declaration that someone was already taken.

And while it was not strictly required, the elf had strongly advised getting a proper one. Preferably something the recipient would appreciate but if there was no particular preference, then one that symbolized the affection of the giver would be best.

Because while all rings should have the ability to tell others to back off, better ones would tell them exactly how much you want them to back the fuck off.

Kael had felt like he was struck by lightning.

Thankfully, finding the right ring had not been difficult.

What he could not understand was why his twig had never told him about it.

So deciding to just take the initiative, he had come to give Riley the ring so he could wear it and show it off to everyone else, too.

Problem solved.

Except.

His twig was suddenly laughing.

Kael frowned.

He didn’t understand what was so funny that Riley had to wipe tears from his eyes.

“Kael.”

The dragon lord heard his name and felt that he needed to straighten immediately.

The laughter stopped.

Instead, Riley now looked at him seriously. There was still a smile on his face and his head was tilted just slightly, but Kael felt an inexplicable need to focus fully.

“I apologize for not informing you,” Riley said gently. “It honestly slipped my mind. But I’m really touched that you considered human customs. Even though I am a dragon now.”

Kael opened his mouth, but apparently Riley wasn’t done.

“So since we’re doing this the human way with the order completely jumbled,” Riley continued, “I figured we should try to do it as close to tradition as possible, so you could experience all the promotions”

“?”

Kael’s brow lifted as Riley carefully moved off the bed. He tied the blanket around his waist with practiced ease and then lowered himself down.

Right in front of him.

“???”

“Hey,” Kael started, confusion rising.

Then he looked down.

And forgot how to breathe.

His twig knelt before him, looking up with a softness that made the golden dragon’s chest tighten painfully.

“See,” Riley said quietly, “for humans, when they find the person they love the most in this world, they ask a very important question.”

He took Kael’s hand.

Warm. Steady. Certain.

“And because you are the one I love the most in this world and even the next,” Riley continued, smiling up at him, “I will ask you the same thing.”

Kael’s vision blurred. And it felt like everything was swimming all around him and yet it didn’t even end there.

“Kael,” Riley said softly, “will you marry me?”

“!!!”

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