Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1515 - 114 : We Will Not Surrender

*Saoirse*

My mind was buzzing.

Moments before, I had been fighting a headache and felt exhausted, but the news of Axureon’s return had awakened me.

I knew he would come through.

The door swung open. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding as Axureon stepped into the room. As always, his ancient dragon aura could be felt almost instantaneously, and it brought me a sense of comfort.

That was until I saw his face.

His expression was grave, and his eyes were filled with a deep sadness. I felt my mood instantly darken. I was still glad to see the man, but it was clear it had not gone well at all with the dark lord of his past.

"Axureon," Rhys greeted from beside me. "Please, have a seat. You must be exhausted after your travels."

Axureon looked like he didn’t want to sit, but he still took Rhys’ offer, coming to sit close to me. I gave him a weak smile in greeting, which he hesitated to return.

The room was silent for a moment. We were waiting for news but too scared to ask about the truth we knew was coming.

"I owe you an apology, King Rhys," Axureon said slowly. "Despite my best efforts, Pyroth remains intractable in his demands for the return of his offspring."

"You owe me no apology. If there was anyone that could win this argument, it was you," Rhys said. "While I was hopeful, I didn’t think it was likely. Even when I talked to him, he spoke of reaching a compromise, but he didn’t seem willing to give up anything on his end."

The room was silent again.

"What exactly were his demands?" I asked, wanting to hear the words for myself.

Axureon looked at me and spoke slowly. "He has issued an ultimatum. Either Egoren surrenders the dragon children to him, or he will unleash the full might of his armies upon the entire kingdom. He said he would leave no stone unturned until he has what he desires."

I looked at Rhys, exchanging a look of grim determination that took over us both.

I had just been holding out, hoping for peace or any other ending, but I would not sit by while some evil tyrant threatened my people. I still hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Pyroth, but I liked him less and less the more I heard about him.

There was one thing we had already decided. We would not give in to Pyroth’s demands to steal the children, no matter the consequences.

"Thank you, Axureon," Rhys said, finally drawing his gaze from my own. "This is crucial information. We appreciate your efforts and your wisdom in this matter."

"And what is your decision?" he asked, almost sounding unsure.

"We promise that Egoren will stand firm in the face of Pyroth’s threats," I told him in a confident tone. "We will not allow the dragons of Egoren to face this fear alone."

Axureon’s eyes brightened, and I saw the fire reignite behind his eyes.

"Dragons do not stand down," he said, his voice ringing out clear and strong in the stillness of the throne room. "We will fight with every ounce of strength and courage we possess, for Egoren, our people, and the future of our children.

We will not surrender."

I nodded in agreement and pride. My expression of unwavering determination shone bright, and I could see Axureon take comfort in that as well. This wouldn’t be the first danger we had faced together, and it wouldn’t be our last.

The road ahead was not going to be easy. I knew for sure that it would be long and hard, but I also knew that we had no choice but to stand against the darkness that threatened to engulf us all if Pyroth’s legacy proved true. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Knowing what our decision had to be was almost calming. The not knowing had been awful. Now that we knew for sure, it felt like some of the pressure that had been pressing down on me lifted. Pyroth had forced our hand and forced us into this decision.

I would not allow him to get in my head and make me feel guilty for the choice we made.

Axureon stood.

"If this is your decision, then I must be off to ready my people," Axureon said. He walked over and held out his hand to shake Rhys’. "Thank you for supporting me and my people. I will not forget it."

Rhys reached forward and shook Axureon’s hand firmly. "As residents of Egoren, you are my people now too, and I will not turn my back on you."

Axureon held on to his hand longer than normal and had to clear his throat before he could talk again.

"I will inform you of any updates or changes immediately," Axureon said. "Please reach out to me again if there is anything else you need of me."

Rhys and I nodded as the ancient dragon walked from the room, leaving silence in his wake.

Malcolm was the one to break the quiet this time, reminding me for the first time that he was still there.

"Well, I guess that answers our questions for us," Malcolm said in a lighthearted voice as if trying to lighten the mood. "Should we start planning?"

I was surprised to feel Rhys’ hand worming through mine, gripping it tightly. I looked over to see him smiling warmly at me before looking back to Malcolm. Despite the seriousness of our circumstances, I couldn’t stop the butterflies his smile produced.

"It’s been a long day, Malcolm," Rhys said with as much of a smile as he could manage. "We made one huge decision, so I say we take the night, think about everything, and come back fresh in the morning."

"Works for me," Malcolm said with a shrug and a yawn. "Meet after breakfast?"

"See you then," Rhys said with a slight nod.

Malcolm followed Axureon’s path out of the room. Rhys’ thumb started tracing patterns over my hand as he tugged me along to follow. As soon as Rhys suggested calling it a night, I felt a wave of exhaustion pass over me. I was glad we were going to bed.

The nursemaid gave us a descriptive telling of how the babies had been for the remainder of the day, which I appreciated. We sent her on her way, eager to spend time with each other. I could sense from Rhys that he was on edge, and I wanted to ease his worries, even if they were valid.

The two of us walked into the nursery to check on the babies, but they were both fast asleep. We stood there for a moment, enjoying the sound of their steady little breaths, still constant in a world full of turmoil. We stepped out of the room, silently closing the door behind us.

I let out a gasp as Rhys twisted me suddenly and pinned me softly against the wall, pressing his body to mine. My mouth opened to say something, but it was quickly overtaken by Rhys’ mouth. I gave in to the passionate kiss without a second thought.

My arms wrapped around his shoulders. He hooked his arms under my legs, picking me up and causing another gasp to escape my lips.

"What has gotten into you?" I asked in a whisper as his lips found a new hold on my neck.

Instead of answering me, Rhys’ lips found mine, pressing deeply. Once again, I responded without hesitation.

I didn’t really need Rhys to answer my question because I knew exactly what he was feeling. I was feeling it too.

While we had known that war was a possibility, even a likely possibility, now that it was decided, my whole perspective had changed. I just wanted to enjoy every minute I had on this earth because every minute was no longer guaranteed.

And it seemed as if Rhys felt the same.

Rhys threw me down on the soft mattress, and I suddenly felt the absence of his touch. I opened my eyes and reached for him, but he seemed too busy soaking me up with his eyes, taking in every inch of me.

If that was what he wanted, I could at least give him a show.

I dropped my hands to the buttons on the front of my shirt and slowly started to undo them. Rhys’ eyes flashed as he realized what I was doing, but he didn’t move. My fingers made slow but efficient work of my clothes. It wasn’t until my thumbs had hooked around my underwear to shimmy them off that Rhys’ self-control finally snapped.

In just a fraction of the time it had taken me, all of his clothes were off, and he was jumping onto the bed and me. I had to hold back a yell of joy as his hands and lips finally found my body again.

I couldn’t hold back the cry of ecstasy as he plunged inside me. Rhys was desperate for my touch and comfort, and I was more than willing to give it to him. He seemed insatiable as we went, but I wasn’t complaining one bit.

With all the stress, we had been distant. This was just the thing we needed to come back stronger than ever.

After what seemed like hours, we were both panting and sweating, lying curled in each other’s arms in the bed. Rhys’ hand was stroking my back so softly that it almost tickled. I wiggled even closer to him.

"I love you so much, Saoirse," he whispered into my hair. "Answering that letter from you was the best thing I ever did. Just know that whatever happens, you are the love of my life, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you."

"Shh," I whispered, looking up and pressing a finger softly to his lips. "Don’t think like that. Nothing is going to happen to you or me."

I couldn’t guarantee that, but we needed to stay positive if we were ever going to survive what was to come.

Rhys kissed the tip of my finger still pressed to his lips. With a smile, he brought his hand up to grab mine, intertwining our fingers.

"What would I ever do without you?" he asked, closing his eyes softly.

"Lucky you never have to worry about that again," I replied, kissing his chest since it was a much easier target.

And as we lay hand in hand in the royal suite where our babies rested only one room over, I sent up one final, silent prayer to the Goddess.

I pleaded with her to give me the strength to face whatever challenges might come with Rhys by my side, united in our love and duty to our kingdom.