Chapter 288: Engagements and Errands

Understandably, Riley was a mess for a good while.

Who would have expected things to end up like that? A scene so heavy and sincere that it felt permanently burned into his memory.

Frankly, he had always imagined himself on the other side of things. The one asking. The one bowing with all seriousness as he requested the hand of his partner from their family. Maybe that was projection. Maybe it was habit. But he had never really seen himself as the one to be taken care of.

And yet.

Here he was.

Curled up between the legs of the dragon lord, head against Kael’s chest, sniffing far worse than Liam, who earlier looked like a goldfish.

To think he had comforted the kid earlier, only to end up completely undone himself.

At least now, he had finally calmed down.

His eyes were still puffy, his nose a little red, and his pride remained somewhere on the floor, but his heart felt full in a way that left him lightheaded. Enough that when Orien suddenly piped up with startling seriousness, Riley actually laughed.

“I know where the wedding should be.”

Everyone turned.

The golden baby dragon stood straight, stomach puffed out, wings tucked in tight like he was about to announce something of great importance.

“The temple,” Orien declared firmly. “Obviously. It can only be at the temple. Everywhere else just won’t be good enough.”

Riley’s lips twitched.

“The temple?” Liam echoed, blinking up at him.

Lord Karion frowned slightly. Lady Cirila tilted her head, exchanging a glance with her mate because what temple? That child had never been brought to one before.

“The temple?” she repeated gently.

Kael’s brow creased.

Orien stared at them, visibly offended. “Why is everyone acting like that? The temple. The place with everything. The most important place.”

Riley pressed his lips together, shoulders shaking. But when he heard his mother and father wince, he couldn’t hold it in for longer.

He failed.

A laugh slipped out.

“He’s talking about the supermarket,” Riley said, voice rough but amused.

“…”

“…”

“Supermarket?” Lady Cirila repeated slowly.

“Yes. That place!” Orien snapped, pointing emphatically. “If the wedding is supposed to be nice, then of course it has to be done at the temple!”

Riley laughed harder, wiping at the corner of his eyes.

But then he noticed it.

Lord Karion and Lady Cirila still looked confused.

Actually confused.

Riley slowly stopped laughing.

His head whipped toward Kael as if checking first.

The dragon lord had one brow raised, golden eyes fixed on him.

The puffed up tomato momentarily hesitated, but eventually cleared his throat.

“My lord. My lady,” he asked carefully, “have you… by any chance… also never been to the supermarket?”

There was a pause.

Then Lady Cirila smiled politely. “No.”

Lord Karion nodded. “I don’t believe we’ve been to one.”

Riley stared.

Then he looked around to see waiting faces.

“Well,” he said, rubbing his face, “I guess we’re all going, then.”

“Huh?” Liam and Orien said together.

“You guys want to go to the water park, right?” Riley asked.

The children nodded immediately. Earnest. Vigorous.

“Then we can’t go like this,” Riley continued. “We’re going to have to go to the mall for practice and for essentials.”

Their eyes lit up.

“And if we’re already going,” he added, glancing around, “we might as well go to the supermarket too.”

“!!!”

Orien gasped.

“The temple!”

__

Unfortunately, not everyone took the declaration well. Like one dragon lord who reacted instantly.

Not with words.

His posture stiffened, shoulders squaring as his gaze sharpened. The agitation was immediate and obvious.

Mall.

Crowds.

People.

The excitement on the children’s faces faltered.

Orien’s wings drooped just a little. Liam’s hands paused mid clench. The bright anticipation they had been bracing each other with wilted under the sudden seriousness radiating from the dragon lord.

But for some reason Riley saw it coming.

He sighed softly, shoulders slumping in exaggerated disappointment.

“Well,” he said sadly, “that’s unfortunate. I really wanted to go to the mall.”

Kael’s hands around his mate’s waist stiffened. “Why do you want to go?” he asked, clearly confused. “You always said you could just order things and they would come.”

Riley let out another sigh, longer this time.

“Oh. Well, I suppose I could do that,” he said. “Such a shame I wouldn’t be able to show you off.”

“…?”

Kael froze.

Slowly, he tilted his head down toward Riley.

Show him off?

Riley waited.

Patiently.

Casually.

The golden dragon lord’s eyes narrowed just a fraction, curiosity flickering behind them.

“What do you mean by that?” Kael asked.

Riley smiled.

“Well, a lot of couples go to malls together,” he said lightly. “There are plenty of things to do. You walk around. You eat. You look at things you don’t need. I thought we could do that too. Be productive and also… you know. Be seen. Even if we have disguises on, we’ll still go together.”

The children leaned closer together.

Their faces squished side by side, eyes growing wider by the second as they stared at Kael. Orien’s tail wrapped around Liam’s ankle. Liam clutched Orien’s arm. They waited.

Kael looked at Riley.

Then at the children.

Then back at Riley.

His jaw tightened.

“…Fine,” he said.

For half a second, the room was silent.

Then it exploded.

“Yes!” Orien cheered, hopping in place.

“We’re going!” Liam exclaimed, arms thrown up.

The older couples chuckled at the rejoicing children and even Riley felt his shoulders relax as he smiled.

“When?” Kael asked.

“In two weeks,” Riley replied easily.

Liam froze.

The deciding immortal barely had time to breathe before the questions came flooding in.

“Brother,” Liam said slowly, eyes wide with disbelief, “in two weeks? Would two weeks be enough time?”

Riley honestly couldn’t blame the little guy. For someone who until very recently, was the poster boy for the struggle is real, he didn’t really seem like the best person to give such a short timeline.

And he honestly would have loved a longer deadline, but he didn’t think it would work for what they wanted to do.

“Yeah,” Riley replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Because if I still can’t get a handle on things after two weeks, then it’s basically impossible for me to go to the water park in a month.”

“!!!”

The children visibly stiffened after hearing something so horrific.

“Oh no,” Liam whispered, clearly distressed.

“Don’t worry,” Riley said quickly. “I already have a new training method lined up.”

“?”

“And Kael helped me with it.”

“Really?!” Liam’s eyes lit up instantly.

Riley nodded, confidence returning just a little after remembering his earlier success. But then something else clicked in his head. Several things, actually.

The training.

The ring.

The heirloom.

“Oh.”

OH.

He had been so concerned about that earlier but forgot all about it because of everyone’s well wishes!

“!!!”

Before anyone could react, Riley suddenly pushed himself upright just enough to lean to the side and plant a quick kiss on Kael’s cheek.

“?”

“??”

“???”

The room froze.

Kael blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that to happen. But by now, he had learned that when Riley did something affectionate out of nowhere, it usually meant chaos was imminent.

Sure enough.

The twig clapped his hands together once, as if in prayer, straightened his back while still seated between Kael’s legs, then bowed deeply. Properly. Reverently.

“I, um,” Riley began nervously, voice careful, “there is something I should formally apologize for and explain.”

Everyone stared.

“I received the Dravaryn family heirloom from Kael as an engagement ring,” he continued.

“And don’t get me wrong, it’s really beautiful. Anyone would probably be thrilled to wear it,” Riley added quickly. “But I still thought you should know. Especially since we did try to take it off earlier, and it just… wouldn’t budge.”

His fingers felt like they were going to get glued together.

“I briefly considered pretending that I wasn’t wearing the ring,” Riley admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I was given this with sincere feelings and I don’t think it would be a good idea to deny that.”

“But rather than you all finding out later or from someone else, I figured I would inform you myself.”

Silence followed.

Then Lady Cirila tilted her head slightly.

“Oh? Isn’t that a good thing?” she said calmly. “Well, that would be helpful in emergencies.”

Riley blinked.

“But,” Lady Cirila added thoughtfully, “I would suggest modifying its appearance when you go outside. That stone looks like it would catch on everything. Wouldn’t it be difficult to use your hand?”

“Huh?” The repentant black dragon stared at her, completely bewildered.

Lord Karion nodded along. “It’s no problem. In fact, I think this is a good idea.”

“???”

Confused green eyes looked between them. “Really? But this is…”

“A family heirloom,” Lord Karion finished easily. “And while it is reassuring for us to have something like that, it would be best for us not to rely on it too heavily.”

He paused, then added, “Besides, Eryndra would be much safer if you had it on you.”

Riley frowned. “How so?”

“Because if you’re safe,” Lord Karion said evenly, “then no one would need to protect themselves against him.”

He gestured toward his son.

Riley slowly turned to his golden mate.

Kael, who looked mildly smug, lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug.

The newly minted immortal narrowed his eyes at him.

But the golden lizard’s expression clearly said, See? Not a big deal.

And really it wasn’t an issue. Because Lord Karion was right.

Nothing would have been more destructive than Kael who was without his mate.

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