81. The Next Queen

*’He kisses,’* Reya thought numbly.

*’Like a man starved,’*

Fast, hot and angry, Armani’s lips moved over hers like a hurricane, sweeping her away until she wasn’t sure she could even keep up with the intensity of his passionate kissing.

Hands were all over body- she did not even know which was which because they were everywhere, squeezing and roaming her entire frame before she could even memorize the feel of their hands. Reya clenched Armani’s shirt in her hands as he deepened the kiss, his tongue reaching out to slide heatedly across hers.

Reya’s legs fell like jelly, all worn and wobbly. She moaned into Armani’s mouth as a hand reached out and tweaked her nipple through her clothes, cried out when another cupped her heated core through her clothes.

Armani finally let her lips go with an audible smack, allowing his mate to pant for air- or at least Reya thought.

“I’m going to strip off your dress. Is that okay?” He inquired, his hands holding up her breasts.

“Yes,” she exhaled, squirming and exhaling heavily as Aidan stroked her core lazily.

Aidan worked with the zipper while Armani was stripping off her dress from the front, rolling it down her shoulders, chest and hips until it laid on a heap on the floor.

“Are you ready to kiss me, sweetheart?” Aidan asked, caressing the flesh of her ass and kissing her neck.

Reya nodded feebly and turned around, reaching up on her tip toes to kiss him.

Grunting, Aidan leaned downwards and picked up her thighs before hoisting her up.

She didn’t need anyone to tell her to wrap her legs around his torso.

Aidan kissed like slow, sensual sex. It was a far more different kiss from his brother’s. The slant of his lips over hers was careful, calculated, measuring just the right amount of tongue to slide and tangle with hers.

He parted her legs slowly and suddenly jerked forward, pressing his clad erection into her core. Soon, he was grinding against her, applying pressure to her center. Armani was peppering kisses down her spine, his hands tightening at her hair.

Reya moaned the exact same time she heard a knock that made her freeze.

Armani, clearly irritated turned towards the door and glared at it, the haze of lust in his eyes fading.

“Who is it?” Aidan asked, his face equally repulsed.

“Julii! Everyone is searching for your mate right now. Any idea where she is?” A loud baritone called from outside the door.

Reya gingerly stepped out of reach from her mates and began trying to throw on her dress.

“No, I do not. I’ll set out to find her,” Aidan replied coolly, discreetly helping Reya zip up her dress.

“Well, The Queen is searching for her. Make sure she washes off your scent so she doesn’t know what you were doing,” he snorted.

“Get out of my wing, Julii,” Aidan rolled his eyes.

“Sure. Tell my other cousin to get a soak too,” the voice snickered before Reya heard footsteps receding into the distance.

“He’s not going to open his mouth,” Armani turned towards Reya, that slight irritation sparking in his eyes.

“Now let’s get your scent cleansed,” Aidan teased, nipping at her ear.

***********

Reya shifted on her feet, perceptibly unnerved by the Queen’s blatant staring. She had been looking at her like that for the past few minutes as though she were trying to pick her brain apart. Did she by any chance know what she had been up to with the twin princes?

“Reya,” The Queen quirked an eyebrow, folding her arms across her white overflowing dress.

“Your majesty,” She bowed, trying to suppress her gulp.

“Where were you?” Queen Aprilina pressed.

“In Roanna’s suite,” she lied smoothly, grateful the Queen wasn’t a dragon shifter so she would not notice that Reya had been sprayed with some suppressors.

“Alright,” The Queen answered, turning away and glancing at her desk. It was clear the Queen did not believe her but she was choosing not to say a word.

“I know The Princes have not proposed yet, but we need to start carrying forward with some certain things,” she explained, lifting up a sheet of paper.

“As a first grade Princess, an entire wing containing an array of apartments will be given to you. You shall see fit how you would like to decorate. Next, You will have many appointments with a modiste to expand your wardrobe- one that is fit for a Princess. We will also have to meet the jewelers to start making tiaras for you. You will also have to make a trip to the Royal treasury. Many more come after that but the main thing is that you will need a proper princess training. What to eat, how to look, where to be, what to say- you need all of that. Becoming a noble woman in the royal dragon clan also ensues many things. You will get a membership into my exclusive club,” The Queen explained.

Reya nodded, her heart racing. It was truly happening. She was truly going to be a Princess.

“You will need more education on the histories of our kingdom and how things work in the Royal dragon clan. This clan is wielded in a different way than the other clans. Your schedule will be brought to you tomorrow. You will also be given enough time to work on your cure,” she explained in detail.

“Thank you so much,” Reya said honestly, wondering what she would have done without the Queen’s kindness.

“I suppose I should thank you too,” The bronze beauty said, turning towards the window with a wistful expression.

“My scepter will be passed on to you. Being Queen... it is a heavy burden, one that still weighs on my shoulders even though I have ruled for over a century. Every day is a battle for my life, all because I am not a dragon,” her voice hardened with bitterness.

“Since the dawn of time, the only women fit to be Queen were dragons- white dragons to be specific. Do you know why they love white dragons?” She turned towards Reya, her vines gleaming from the reflection of the sun kissing her vines.

“No,” she answered truthfully, still shocked that the Queen was opening up to her.

“All I know is I must be the least favored white dragon there ever was,” she joked.

A saccharine smile lifted up the Queen’s lips, the mole sitting above it popping.

“You were only caught in the crossfire of a political game. Many had ambitions that were quenched because of your existence. They will fight to bring you down, so that the dreams they once had would be actualized,” she laughed, her inky curls bouncing.

“Up until my reign, Queens in this kingdom were useless in politics. White dragons have always been deemed as puppets, the strongest organ of importance was their womb. They are calm, meek- everyone walks over them because it is in their nature to be that way. They were taught that they were only good for raising heirs to the throne. You weren’t raised that way, having to survive that monstrous household. I’m passing my mantle and burden on to you and I’m teaching you not to be manipulated by the hands of these Royals,”

“You have no idea how they hate me because I am not weak, how I would not lower my lashes and turn the other way when they choose their greed over the good of others. I can rule this kingdom for a millennium but I will never be accepted as Queen because I am a Witch. I have shown this kingdom, the nobles and its people what it is to be great. What it means to wield the power of a Queen. Knowing they weren’t any high born White dragons, their heads were filled with the thought of putting one of their own on the throne so they could wield the power I have shone that a Queen can yield. This is why they hate you, because they know you will succeed me,” The Queen stood before her.

“And you’ve shown them that you wouldn’t be manipulated easily. You’ve shone them that you can be strong. They are afraid of what you will do to them. When I’m done training you, I will make sure all their fears are actualized. This is you returning the favor of making your Phoenix invisible. I want a successor that will precede my deeds. Do you understand me Reya?” She said seriously, her eyes glowing with fierceness.

“Yes,” Reya nodded sharply, her heart swelling with a strange sense of pride- or the need to make this woman proud.

“A white dragon has never wielded a Sol Sword. You, Reya- you will wield it. You will push yourself to your absolute limit, wield everything that is meant for you and you must find your royal gift when Your dragon comes back. You have to do that if you want to survive these noblemen. Power is a figment of one’s imagination. It does not truly exist unless you wield it,” she explained fiercely.

“Lady Danielle’s quote?” Reya smiled, recalling the intellect test from the bridal selection.

The Queen snorted and rolled her eyes.

“It’s mine. I said it once and she decided to use so she could impress me. That certainly did not age well,”

Reya laughed and shook her head but when she saw The Queen’s serious expression, her smile faded.

“The exclusive club that you founded, The Queen’s Gambit,” Reya started.

The Queen quirked a brow.

“What about it?”

“You exposed yourself to noble women that would have wanted your position. They could have easily have you killed,”

The Queen shook her head, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“It was made so I could watch my back. So that I could spy on my enemies. When The women from the Ton are drunk they tend to spill a lot of secrets,”

Reya gaped at her in shock. She would never have realized it.

“And those women may claim to hate me behind my back, but they were all crawling for a membership card when it begun. Who would want to pass up an opportunity to dine with the Queen?” She chuckled, her eyes quickly filling with amusement.

“You need to join it to protect yourself. Now enough of our talk. Let us begin,”