Dragon felt Jade’s shift in mood and raised his eyes to face her. He saw the fear in her eyes and stood to take her in his arms.

“Everything will be fine.” He kissed her softly. “I promise.”

Outside in the foyer, Valerian’s pacing had become too loud to ignore. Still, Jade’s distress took priority, and Dragon pulled her along with him as he lowered himself into one of the wingback chairs by the fireplace in their bedroom. Valerian had already waited an hour; a few minutes longer wouldn’t make a difference.

“What’s going on, my love?” he asked, sitting her on his lap and turning her slightly toward him.

“I remembered something…”

“About us?”

She nodded. “Yes. About not wanting to kill any longer, and stolen moments with you before you married your brides—”

“That was never going to happen. We’re back together, and you have nothing to fear any longer.”

She leaned away. “But things don’t magically fix themselves because you say so. I told you already—” she said, “It was always me, and now I’m not alone anymore, but it’s so scary, and I have all these emotions I can’t understand.” She shook her head. “I can barely recognize myself. For as long as I could, I refused to consider that there could be something between us, but it’s like I changed the moment I gave myself to you.” She looked at him with her big, almond-shaped eyes, her expression pleading. “I don’t know who I am. For the Goddess’ sake! I even flirted with you—”

“Even though we were fated to be together, it’s still the beginning of our relationship, and you might feel the strain because it’s all so new to you,” he said.

“But it’s all new for you as well, and yet, I don’t see you acting as strange as I do.”

“Your body is undergoing a drastic change which probably explains your emotions being all over the place.”

She eyed him warily, but then her expression slightly relaxed. “You think?”

“It makes sense,” he said, caressing her arm. “It might also be that you now feel free to be yourself—”

“I’m not flirty.”

“Maybe you are, and much more, but the Academy suppressed your true self because an assassin doesn’t need certain traits.”

Jade canted her head to the side and scrunched her forehead. “You think so?”

“You started training when you were—”

“Sixteen,” she supplied.

“You were too young and still developing as a woman. The Academy pruned and molded you into the perfect soldier they needed.”

She nodded. “So I could be flirty.” She didn’t sound convinced.

“You can definitely be flirty if you want.” He smiled, leaning to brush her nose. “You are actually great at flirting. But if you don’t feel like it, be whatever you want to be. You can finally be yourself.”

“And if I want to be something you don’t like? What then?”

“You are my soulmate. I’ll adore you no matter what.”

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“I can.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “It’s the way of the dragon.”

She raised her hands up in defeat. “There’s no winning against your circular logic.”

Chuckling, he shrugged. “It’s the way it is. I exist to serve you. No other explanation is necessary.”

“Your blind belief scares me.”

“Why?”

“Because.” She waved her hand in frustration. “What if I’m not able to match the depth of your sentiments?”

“Me being devoted to you doesn’t require that you feel the same. I would love you in any case.” He smiled, although he felt a bittersweet pain taking hold of his heart. “Of course, it would be nice if you loved me as well, but I can’t command your heart.”

Dragon heard Valerian’s knocks but ignored them, focusing on his soulmate.

The knocks didn’t stop though. If anything, it sounded like his lieutenant was about to destroy the door. That wasn’t like Valerian.

“What is it?” Jade looked over Dragon’s shoulder in the direction of the foyer.

The sounds became loud enough for her to hear them.

“Is it Valerian?” she asked, jumping away from his embrace.

At the same time, the loud noise of a siren filled the room, the lights dimming to a red hue.

“What’s happening?” Jade reached for the blades she had left on the nightstand. “Why weren’t we warned?” She eyed the gramophone that remained silent.

“Don’t know.” Dragon grabbed his knife from the top drawer of the dresser and took her hand. His heart pounded in his chest as he walked toward the foyer.

The external door gave away in a loud burst, and several men entered the room.

Dragon knew a few of them. They were part of Glory’s crew, and he had bumped into some of them from time to time.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he barked, pushing Jade behind him.

One of the men, the oldest of the lot, stepped forward. “High Lord, thank the Goddess you and Lady Jade are alive.”

“What happened?” Jade asked.

The man turned toward her. “The ship has been taken by a group of terrorists—”

“Where is Valerian?” Dragon interrupted him. “Did you see him in the hallway?”

“No, sir. Valerian’s been kept prisoner in the command room since the beginning of the attack.”

“There was someone out there,” Jade said. “If it wasn’t Valerian, who was outside our quarters?”

The man shook his head. “We just arrived.”

“What about the rest of the crew?” Dragon asked.

“The captain was killed, and the princess is wounded,” the man said, lowering his eyes to the floor.

“Where is Gilda?” Dragon asked.

“We took her to the kitchens. She needs medical attention,” the man answered.

Jade spoke next. “Has anyone else escaped?”

“I don’t know,” the man whispered hoarsely. “We were working on the lower deck when the attackers stormed the main bridge.”

Dragon howled in pain and frustration.