I'm The Dragon King's Heir

Chapter Six: Kingdom Of Demons

I stand before Ryder's flight as my mouth drops in shock.
"You're engaged?" I demand, glaring up at him. "To who?"
But before Ryder can answer, a sultry voice pierces the air. "To me."
Jealous rage pulses through my veins, but I tamp it down as I turn and lay eyes on Ryder's 'fiancé'. A tall, breathtaking woman makes her way through the crowd. Long black hair, deep blue eyes, and a perfect hourglass figure makes me swallow. Hard.
The woman waltzes right up to Ryder and throws her arms around him, ignoring me. She tries to kiss him, but Ryder pushes her away. "Vanessa? What the hell are you doing here?"
Vanessa looks up at him with doe eyes, batting her lashes. "I heard you were missing so I came here to see if I could help find you."
"But we are NOT engaged," Ryder says firmly. "I said I'd think about your father's offer."
Vanessa looks at Aelon with feigned surprise. "But Aelon has already accepted? That makes us as good as married."
"No, it doesn't," Ryder spits, glaring at Aelon. "He doesn't have the power to agree to anything for me."
Then Vanessa's furious gaze turns to me. "You can't be serious, Ryder. She's not even pretty! And she's weak. You know she won't make you happy like I would." Once more, she reaches out for him, but this time I push her away.
"Don't you dare touch my husband," I hiss. "You need to accept that this marriage isn't happening and leave." Taking Ryder's hand, I step close to him to prove a point.
"There will be no wedding, Vanessa," Ryder says firmly.
She glares between the two of us, her deep blue eyes so dark I wonder if they're really black. "This means war, Ryder. I'll be back."
The moment she pushes back through the crowd and disappears, Ryder grabs Aelon by the shirt with a roar. "Never speak for me again or I will have your head. Understand?" Before Aelon can answer, Ryder tosses him to the ground and turns to address the rest of his flight. "I'll talk to Vanessa's dragon lord and tell him the engagement is off. There will be no war."
I watch with disgust as Aelon stumbles to his feet, glaring up at Ryder. "You can't possibly choose your enemy over a merger with a stronger dragon flight?"
Ryder once again whirls on Aelon. "Now that Onyx's father is dead and she's agreed to be my wife, there's no need for a merger– our flight is strong enough on its own."
But Aelon won't back down. "You can't be stupid enough to think that Onyx isn't going to take her revenge on us!"
"Your fear of me is pathetic," I say angrily as I glare at the old dragon. "I'm ONE dragon among all of you."
"I'm not afraid of fighting you, girl," Aelon spits. "I'm afraid of the influence you'll have over Ryder."
I open my mouth to argue back, but Ryder's voice booms loud enough for the rest of the flight to hear. "If you trusted my judgment enough to make me your lord, you should trust my judgment now."
"Onyx will kill you in your sleep!" Aelon yells.
Much to my surprise, Ryder grins and once again wraps an arm around my waist. "She hasn't killed me yet. And if I do die, it will be of pleasure– not pain."
I almost laugh at the incredulous look on Aelon's face, but I hold Ryder's gaze, enjoying this ruse more than I thought I would.
"I love you too much to let you die," I say, with a grin, placing my hand against his hard chest. "But I do like bringing you close to the edge."
"Enough," Aelon says, covering his face with a hand. "We get it."
Biting back a smile, Ryder takes a deep breath as he looks out over the dozens of dragons in his flight. "I trust Onyx with my life and she's trusting me by being here. I'm surprised you're so ignorant and not seeing the positive side of this. Onyx is one of the best fighters in the entire continent. She's intelligent and has a devious war strategy."
"Yeah," Aelon says as he crosses his arms, "and the little slut is going to turn that strategy on us and kill us all."
This time, it's me roaring in anger at Aelon's insult. Oh, hell no. No one speaks about me like that.
"I am now your dragoness," I say, stepping close to him, my voice deadly. "So I wouldn't recommend saying shit like that again."
"Our marriage is final," Ryder says.
Aelon steps back, inhales, and finally relents. "Fine. Since Onyx is your wife, we'll accept her into our flight... if she passes our tests."
I raise a brow and look at Ryder.
"She'll pass," Ryder says confidently.
"If she doesn't, she dies," Aelon persists. "Just like every other dragon who's tried to be part of our flight."
Dies? Ryder didn't mention a damn test. Not that I'm worried– I'll pass any test they give me.
I shoot Ryder a look, but he's too focused on Aelon to notice.
"I volunteer to face Onyx in her final test and prove she's not one of us," Lex chimes in, stepping forward."
"You'll be disappointed," I say with a sigh. "But bring it on."

After leaving his flight, Ryder leads me up the stairs and into his bedroom. It's spacious, with a large four-poster bed in the center of the room, a fireplace, and deep red walls– giving the room a sort of red glow– fitting Ryder perfectly. As soon as he shuts the door, I turn on him with annoyance. "Why didn't you tell me you had a possible engagement?"
Ryder holds up his hands innocently. "I didn't agree, so I didn't think it was important. I barely know Vanessa."
"So you're not in love with her?" I ask. I don't know why I need to know, but I do.
Ryder studies my face as I hold my breath, waiting for his answer. "No. I have no interest in marrying Vanessa... ever." His lips quirk up in a grin. "But I didn't take you for the jealous type."
I roll my eyes and take a few steps back, sitting on the edge of Ryder's bed. "I'm not jealous. I just want to know the facts."
Ryder crosses his arms. "It was kind of hot, Onyx. Watching you stand up for me." He steps closer and kneels down before me, his hands gripping my thighs. "You may not like being attracted to me, Onyx, but it's obvious you want me."
I place my hands behind me on the bed and look down at him. "No, I don't."
Ryder's eyes move lower to my breasts. "I can see your tits through your shirt– it's not because you're cold. I can tell you're very, very hot right now." His blue eyes glow with desire as he reaches up and cups my breast, squeezing it in his hand and I let out a small gasp of pleasure.
"I'm not that hot, Ryder," I say with a smirk. "You aren't nearly as skilled as you think you are."
He quirks a brow. "Oh, is that right?"
"Even though you turn me on, I won't have sex with you," I add.
"I already told you I'd never fuck you," Ryder says, "but at least we can take some pleasure while we're working together." He lets out a carnal growl and uses his hand to part my legs, placing his hand between my aching thighs. A loud moan escapes my lips as he runs his fingers against the seams of my pants, sending electricity straight to my core. I quickly tighten my thighs together, already shocked by how wet I am.
"Fuck, Onyx," Ryder's voice says lowly. With a growl, he rips my clothes from me, leaving me in my bra and panties. His eyes roam over my near-naked body with need. The air between us sparks with sexual tension. Then, we lunge for each other at the same time.