Chapter 283: Of Rings and Absolute Certainty

“Yes!”

They kiss.

And they lived happily ever after! The end.

“…”

“…”

__

If only it were that easy, seamless, and dignified.

Cough, cough.

Because in truth, it went a little differently than one golden dragon would have liked.

For the moment his twig had spoken those words, Kael’s mind went completely blank.

Not the normal kind of blank. Not the brief pause before a measured response or the controlled silence he often used to intimidate entire councils.

No.

This was the kind of blank that probably resembled the state of the realm before creation itself. Before light. Before sound. Before someone thought it would be a good idea to invent emotions.

Yes.

He was that surprised.

His thoughts evaporated.

But his heart didn’t.

Instead, it throbbed.

Once.

Then again.

And again.

Each beat was louder than the last, pounding against his ribs like it was trying to claw its way out of his chest and announce itself to the world.

Love.

The word echoed in his head far too clearly.

Love the most in this world.

Him.

The golden dragon stared at Riley, who was still kneeling before him, looking up with that impossibly warm expression, fingers curled around Kael’s hand as if grounding him in reality.

Meanwhile, Kael’s heart was beating far too fast even for a creature that was supposed to be ancient, composed, and capable.

Will you marry me?

Marry.

Thump thump thump.

He never thought he’d be as excited to answer a question as he was today.

But instead of responding with the confidence he prided himself on, the dignified golden dragon’s next reaction was one he had never prepared for.

__

Riley was not sure if he was seeing or hearing things correctly.

But when the first soft plop sounded—something he never would have noticed without his enhanced hearing—it took him a heartbeat to understand what had just happened.

Kael was in tears.

The golden dragon lord. The man he had just proposed to was stunned silent with tears slipping free.

Riley hadn’t particularly expected this reaction.

If anything, he had braced himself for a stiff turn of the head. A dignified huff. Maybe even a dry remark about it being good that Riley had finally come to his senses.

Instead, the dragon before him was completely undone.

A single tear slid from Kael’s right eye without him even realizing it, almost glistening in the light before dropping soundlessly. And Riley found himself utterly transfixed.

Kael’s tears felt like rain falling in a desert. Rare. Precious. Almost unreal.

Without thinking, Riley reached up.

He was still kneeling, but he straightened, closing the distance between them. His hand came up gently, thumb brushing the edge of Kael’s eye to wipe the tear away before it could fall again.

That was when Kael realized.

His eyes widened.

“…!”

His breath hitched.

But then, instead of words to explain the unexpected phenomenon as some sort of hallucination, a small, traitorous hiccup escaped him.

Hic!

“!!!”

The sound seemed to echo in the silence.

Color rushed up Kael’s body in a painfully obvious wave, starting from his neck, climbing over his cheeks, and blooming all the way to his forehead. Mortification set in so fast it was almost impressive.

And unfortunately for him, Riley saw and heard it all.

And as embarrassing as that was for the proposing young man, his first thought wasn’t concern.

No.

His first thought was that it was cute.

Dangerously cute.

Unfortunately, that thought showed on his face.

The flabbergasted golden dragon noticed.

His brows furrowed immediately, lips pressing into a pout even as another hiccup followed, sharper this time.

“Hic. And what if I don’t say yes?” Kael blurted, clearly flustered and clearly grasping for dignity that was already gone. “Hic. What then?”

Riley’s shoulders trembled.

He was trying very hard to keep it together. If he laughed now, his big baby wouldn’t be able to survive today.

But Kael, as if able to read minds, could tell.

That made the hiccups worse.

Another one escaped, louder, and Kael finally groaned in frustration. He lifted a hand and covered his eyes, breathing in deeply as if trying to regain control of his traitorous body.

That was when he felt Riley move.

The next thing Kael knew, Riley had moved forward, arms wrapping around his waist. His head rested lightly against Kael’s chest, right over his heart.

The hiccuping dragon froze.

His heart was pounding far too loudly that even if his twig had been deaf, he would’ve probably started hearing things!

“!!!”

Of course, he had long since mentioned his thoughts about Riley and their relationship, but this? This is just different! Why was nothing working out for him today?!

But before he could say anything, before he could attempt to salvage even a shred of dignity, Riley spoke.

“If you didn’t agree today, then I would understand,” Riley said softly.

“Huh?” Kael was taken aback. That didn’t sound good at all. What understand—?!

“If it’s not today then I will try again next time.”

He shifted back just enough to look up at Kael’s face.

“And if you say no again, then I would try a different approach.”

Riley smiled. Not teasing. Not playful. Certain.

“Normally, people would call that a creep and really, you wouldn’t want to do such a thing because when people say no, they normally mean it.” Riley warned sternly and Kael felt his insides churn in alarm because there was no way in hell he wanted to say no, he was just flustered, extremely flustered and now, utterly regretful.

However, before he could confess to being a bumbling idiot, his twig continued.

“But that’s them.”

“In our case, I would keep asking. Again and again.”

“Huh?” Golden eyes blinked in sudden confusion, only for that confusion to deepen when the face staring up at him broke into an even brighter smile before a hand once again reached for his face.

“Because how could I not be sure,” he said quietly, “that among everyone alive, there is probably no one who loves me as much as you do?”

The room fell silent.

Kael jolted like he had been electrified.

His breath caught sharply, and Riley watched in awe as even the tips of Kael’s ears burned red.

Well.

If there was ever a perfect moment.

Riley straightened, gaze steady, eyes suddenly glowing brightly as his dragon pupils surfaced without warning.

“So,” he said gently, reverently, “my beloved mate. Will you marry me?”

Kael gasped.

This time, the sound was not out of embarrassment.

It was surrender.

And as he said it something deep inside him hummed, every hidden scale, every thread of mana resonating with utter, complete certainty.

“Yes,” Kael said.

Then, stronger. Clearer.

“Yes. I will marry you.”

Hic!

“…”

“…”

Argh! Dammit! Kael thought as his twig finally burst out laughing.

__

To be fair, there was really no surviving that.

Kael had been absolutely adorable and as someone hopelessly in love, Riley figured he finally understood what kind of nonsense people were talking about when they said you only ever saw the best parts of the person you loved.

Everything was rose colored now.

Kael could say absolute bullshit at this point and Riley would still think it was cute.

Then again, he really was cute, especially when the topic of the ring came up.

Riley had already decided that this was probably where they would veer wildly off anything remotely conventional. Because honestly, if Riley tried to put the ring on Kael’s finger himself, he was fairly certain the golden dragon would respond with something bordering on vehement melodrama.

So instead, Riley did what made sense for them.

After all, at what point in their relationship had the word conventional ever applied.

So imagine Kael’s surprise when Riley handed the ring back to him.

“Huh?”

“Normally,” Riley said lightly, “I would put that on the fourth finger of your left hand. Because, well, I just proposed.” He paused, watching Kael’s expression carefully. “But I’m also very aware that you want me to wear the ring.”

Kael nodded without hesitation.

As expected.

Riley smiled.

“Then, my love,” he said warmly, extending his hand forward, “please put it on me.”

Kael blinked.

“Here?”

“Yes. There.”

For a moment, Kael just stared at Riley’s outstretched hand.

Then his fingers twitched.

Very slightly.

The golden dragon’s movements slowed as he carefully took Riley’s hand, his grip gentle but steady. His expression was so serious, brows drawn together in concentration, that Riley almost laughed.

Dang! He was really cute.

Kael pushed the ring onto Riley’s finger and the newly minted fiancee sighed in contentment.

Only to be surprised when the world reacted.

“!!!”

The ring flared to life in a sudden burst of light.

Mana surged.

It was overwhelming. A warm, rushing tide that swept through Riley’s body from his hand outward, racing along his veins, coiling through his core, resonating deep in his bones.

Riley gasped.

His knees nearly gave out.

He instinctively braced his hands against Kael’s legs, breath coming in short pants as the sensation washed over him again and again. His skin prickled. His chest burned. His heart hammered like it was trying to escape.

“What—” Riley breathed, head spinning as he looked up at Kael. “Kael, what’s with this ring? What is this?”

Kael looked away.

Just slightly.

“…The Dravaryn family heirloom,” he said.

“!!!”

Riley’s eyes widened.

“WHAT?!”

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