KING JARITH RYKOR
Marissa had betrayed me, and the entire Drackon race. She was here for her own, corporate greed. It made me sick. It made me sick to think I had fallen in love with her and did not know that she had a secret agenda, a mission. How could I ever trust her again? But I wanted to. I wanted to put it all aside. I wanted her to be at my side today at the coronation instead of in the audience where she had been for my father's funeral.
A week had passed and I had not visited her once. The guards that I had placed at her door were for her safety after what happened with my brother. But after she told me what she had done, those guards were now there to keep her from roaming the castle. She could not be trusted.
I made arrangements for her to be sent back to Earth, but that mission would not launch for another week. There was just too much going on in Cerista with the death of my father, the mutiny from my brother, and claiming the throne as the new king.
"We are ready for you, King Rykor," Axon said as he came into my room.
"Thank you; I am ready," I said.
Moments later, I was sitting on the throne as the crown that my father wore was placed on my head.
"I now grant you, Jarith Rykor, King of Mooreah."
The crowd cheered. My eyes focused on one face in the audience: Marissa's. She looked at me with longing. I wanted to go to her. I wanted her to be at my side as my queen, as my father had intended. She looked sad.
The coronation celebration began. A feast was served. Music played. I moved down to the tables and stood right in front of her. She looked at me with surprise.
"Will you dance with me?" I asked her. I was still mad at her, but I could not resist. I missed her scent. I missed touching her. A dance would have to do for now.
"Yes, I would like that," she answered. I took her hand in mine and let her out on the dance floor. It was obvious that everyone was watching whom the king was dancing with. But it was no secret who she was. After the battle, everyone knew about the human female that I had rescued from my brother.
On the floor, I pulled her close to me. She was so small. Her head moved against my chest as she looked up at me. She was delicate and I breathed in deep of her scent.
"I have to tell you something," she whispered to me as she stared up into my eyes. I wanted to kiss her trembling lips, but I had not forgiven her. I didn't know if I could ever forgive her.
"It is no use. Whatever you have to say, you are going back to Earth," I said to her out of anger and spite, even though it was not what I truly wanted.
"I do not think that journey would be safe for me," she said to me.
"I will make sure it is safe. The threat of my brother and his followers has been abolished. You have nothing to fear," I said to her.
"I was not thinking of my safety, but that of the child that I carry. A youngling. It is yours," she said.
Her words shocked me. It was not what I was expecting her to say. A smile came across my face. I was filled with happiness. She smiled at me. Then I remembered her treachery. I grabbed her hand and led her off of the dance floor, through the castle, and up to my quarters.
"Tell me again," I said to her once I had her alone.
"I am pregnant. It has to be yours," she said to me.
"Is this a clever trick? You do not want to go back to Earth. This is your way of staying. Of trying to get me to forgive you," I said as I grabbed her shoulders and stared at her.
The smile faded from her face. I had hurt her once again. "How can you say that to me? I would never lie about such a thing. I am sure there is a way that the Drackon have of finding out the truth on this. Why would I lie about it, knowing that you are able to find out if I am pregnant? That you are able to find out if it is yours? It is only a matter of time before you have those answers for yourself. Why would I lie about it?" she said as she moved away from me and sat down on the bed.
She began to cry. I felt for her. She was in fact on a foreign planet. She was away from her home. She had been through a lot and her life had changed completely. It was my fault. I had brought her here. I had seduced her. Now, she must be frightened to be pregnant with a hybrid child, and I was treating her like shit instead of comforting her.
I sat beside her and put my arms around her, "I am so sorry, Marissa. I have treated you wrongly. You must feel very frightened right now. I am here for you."
"Does that mean you are happy? Does that mean you want this child with me?" she asked.
"I do. In fact, when you first told me, I thought of nothing else but pure happiness. So much has come between us. I want it to be good; I want it to be honest."
"That is what I want as well, Jarith. It is the only thing I want. I want to stay here with you and have this child."
"That is not what I want," I said to her.
She looked at me in sorrow and said, "I understand."
"No, you do not understand. What I mean is that I want you to not only stay here and have my child, but I want you to be my wife and to be my queen. Let us be a proper family," I said, planting a kiss on her lips. She kissed me back and wrapped her small hands around my neck, pushing her fingers into my hair, her favorite thing to do.
I was going to have a hybrid child. Marissa did not know what this meant. It was something that many craved; the Drackon held It in high regard.
I pulled away from her and said, "There will be something different about our child if it is a son," I said.
"What is that?" she said with a smile.
"When human females and male Drackon mate, it produces a weredragon that has never been seen on this planet before until we started mating with the humans. It is a weredragon that when it shifts, the scales and wings are not the colors that we are used to. Instead, it is many colors, vibrant blues, greens, yellows, oranges."
"Like a rainbow," she said to me.
"Does a rainbow have many colors?" I asked her, not knowing what she spoke of.
"Yes, it does, and it is beautiful."
"Then yes, and it is beautiful."