Chapter 295: Academic Circles and Dangerous Introductions

To the dragon lord’s credit, he took about twenty deep breaths before he decided enough was enough.

That alone should have been considered an achievement.

Kael sat back at their table, posture composed, hands folded, presence deliberately restrained. To anyone else, he probably looked like a tall, quiet companion patiently waiting for his mate to return with their order. But inside his head, the situation was being dissected with military precision.

Too close.

The smaller female stood well within Riley’s personal space. Her gestures were animated. Her tone familiar. Her eyes sharp.

Okay, maybe not sharp, per se, when they actually looked more like buttons.

But who cares?

To him, they were sharp.

Hmph.

Kael catalogued everything. Distance. Angle. Reach. The lack of visible threat, but always the possibility of a hidden one. The fact that she was smaller didn’t help her case. After all, back at that damned dragon estate, weren’t Kael’s biggest competitors little opinionated cretins?

So really, smaller things were often more dangerous. And this one seemed to especially move without fear.

He was already preparing to intervene when Riley laughed.

“What the hell,” his mate said, incredulous. “I didn’t recognize you at all! You actually went through with the procedure!”

Kael stilled.

That was not a polite laugh. That was not strained. That was real.

The dragon lord’s skin prickled.

His twig knew this person?

He forced himself to stay seated. To observe. To listen. To behave like a reasonable being instead of an ancient predator assessing whether to incinerate someone in public.

Unfortunately, it became very clear that this was not a brief acquaintance.

“Yes,” the woman said, laughing. “You always get the same thing. Years later and it hasn’t changed. It was way too familiar not to catch my attention.”

Kael tilted his head.

His fingers lifted from the flimsy café table before he caught himself and clenched his hand instead.

Riley rubbed the back of his neck, visibly embarrassed. “I know, I know!”

Kael stared.

Was he flustered?

He had seen Riley under pressure. He had seen Riley injured, exhausted, terrified, furious, and on the brink of collapse. But this was different. This was soft. This was… shy. And while he had seen shy, it wasn’t a common expression that his twig openly showed other people.

His twig didn’t even look this shy in front of that noodle!

“!!!”

Then the woman leaned in, eyes bright.

“Aha. Who’s the lucky one?”

Kael’s hearing sharpened to a painful degree.

But despite that, everything else blurred.

The hum of machines. The chatter around them. The clink of cups. Gone.

His entire focus locked onto his mate. If they got attacked right at that moment, then it would suck for everyone else, because they would have to wait.

And wait some more. Because it didn’t even seem like it would be over anytime soon!

Or maybe it would? Well, provided Riley mentioned what needed to be said then life would again proceed as normal.

The very golden dragon straightened slightly in his chair, back aligning with instinctive pride. He adjusted his shoulders. Checked his posture. Briefly considered whether the hat sat correctly on his head. Whether the mask hid too much or too little.

He was ready.

Ready to be acknowledged. Ready to be pointed at. Ready to be introduced.

Instead, he heard a name.

Bailey.

Kael’s eyes narrowed into slits. Sure it didn’t come from his twig’s mouth, but still. Who on Eryndra was that?

Well, what do you know…

This Bailey, apparently, was very dedicated to proving that Riley couldn’t possibly be with him.

How interesting.

How unfortunate.

Clearly, someone had a death wish and wouldn’t it be better to start with this bearer of bad news?

But just as he was about to cull the scum of the world, he heard something that caught his attention.

“Big D?” Asked his twig.

“Oh, you know,” the woman said, lowering her voice as if Kael couldn’t hear that even if they went and hid behind three mountains. “The ultimate boss man. Very hunky. Very powerful. Very golden.”

Kael froze.

Big D?

What kind of name was that?

And what, exactly, was so big about this creature that his mate practically choked?

Hunky.

Powerful.

Golden.

The air around Kael spiked several degrees.

Golden?

His thoughts screeched to a halt.

…Huh?

Wait.

Slowly, very slowly, his temper cooled. The heat he had been unconsciously gathering dissipated. His spine straightened, not with aggression, but with dawning realization.

Could she be talking about him?

The dragon lord considered this carefully.

Hunky. Yes.

Powerful. Obviously.

Golden. Undeniably.

Fine.

He could allow that.

Just as he was beginning to feel marginally appeased, the woman continued.

“Only then did she finally calm down about the possibility of the rumors being true.”

Kael’s expression darkened.

Rumors.

Laws. Traditions. Ancient culture.

He scoffed internally.

Who gives two shits about those?

“Since when did the validity of his bond depend on the approval of graduate students and dusty books?

Last he heard, they were all allowed to exist because he was magnanimous enough to permit it.

That was it.

The final thread of restraint snapped cleanly.

The dragon lord exhaled once, slow and controlled, then rose from his seat to allegedly assist his mate.

If that Bailey wished to deny reality, then Kael would simply correct it.

After all, the elves were always gushing about how confidence looked good when it was generous.

And right now, he intended to be very generous indeed.

__

Meanwhile, caught between a dynamite and a nuclear explosion waiting to happen, was one hapless ex-mortal who only wanted to eat cake pops.

Riley stood there for a split second longer than necessary, brain scrambling. Then he paused and thought about how he himself would react if he were in his golden dragon’s shoes.

The answer was obvious.

So Riley reached out, took the unfamiliar black card from Kael’s fingers, and said calmly, “Thank you, honey. And it’s okay. I only want these. No need to buy everything!”

The word landed exactly where it needed to.

Kael’s expression did not change, but the pressure in the air eased just a fraction.

Riley glanced down at the card in his hand. It really was unfamiliar. It was not that Kael had never had one before. It was just that most of the time, Riley was the one holding onto things like that. Kael rarely dealt with money unless it came in the form of bullion.

So he would have liked to think about that more.

Unfortunately, Aya had other plans.

Her fingers closed around the fabric of his sleeve and tugged.

Oops.

Riley felt it immediately.

Kael tilted his head to the side. His gaze dropped, sharp and direct, to where Aya’s hand was gripping Riley’s clothes.

Right. Crisis management time.

They needed to move. Preferably away from the counter. Preferably before the part-time baristas collectively passed out.

“T-thank you for your purchase. Please c-come again,” the barista stammered, handing over the card, the receipt, and the very large order.

Fortunately or probably unfortunately for them, there were no other waiting customers willing to risk their heads, so the staff couldn’t pretend to be busy entertaining other people.

Riley smiled at them and slipped a generous amount of cash into the tip box. He hoped it would compensate for their near-death experience.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely.

He gathered the bags and gently but firmly herded his small party away from the counter, citing a much-needed proper introduction. When they reached their original table, Riley noticed that no one else had taken the seats.

Ah.

So Kael had protected them with magic.

Of course he had.

Aya looked like she was strongly considering fleeing for her life. Riley couldn’t blame her. Unfortunately, allowing her to escape now would probably doom the planet later.

So, for the sake of everyone involved, Riley invited her to sit.

She followed stiffly.

Kael, on the other hand, moved with leisurely menace.

Riley sat between them and took a breath.

What a combination.

Deciding that delaying would only make things worse, Riley turned to his intimidating fiancé and held out the black card.

“Here’s your card,” he said quickly. Then, with his other hand, he lifted one carefully chosen item from the bag. “And here’s what I wanted you to taste.”

He presented the matcha strawberry cake pop like an offering.

Kael’s eyes flicked to it.

Riley nudged it closer, expression hopeful and completely unashamed.

Instead of taking it, Kael leaned forward and took a bite directly from the stick.

Riley watched closely.

He expected irritation, maybe a bit of indifference. And he did get that, but only up until a certain point.

__

The dragon lord was still annoyed. That much was obvious. He was so riled up that he couldn’t really concentrate on what he was being offered to taste.

Who cares if it tasted good when nearly everything appeared distasteful to the dragon lord at the moment.

But his outlook suddenly changed as Riley leaned in and bit off the remaining half of the cake pop.

The stick was left empty between them.

“!”

Kael stilled.

Then his gaze sharpened, not with anger, but with interest.

Suddenly the flavor seemed to cut through the edge of his temper before he could help it.

He liked that.

He especially liked how the small blob across the table looked utterly stunned by the casual intimacy of it.

Riley swallowed and smiled, clearly pleased with himself.

Then, as if this were the most natural thing in the world, he said, “Honey, I’d like you to meet my friend, Aya. And Aya, I’d like you to meet my mate.”

He turned slightly toward Kael. “Kael.”

Kael leaned back in his chair, posture relaxed and dangerous all at once. A small, satisfied smile curved his lips.

“Good to meet you,” he said smoothly. “I’m Kael Dravaryn, Riley’s mate and fiancé.”

Aya stared.

She blinked once.

Twice.

To the credit of the small blob, she didn’t die.

Good for her.

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