Chapter 100: Enchanted Hands
"It is written in the oldest draconic records that the wrong touch could ignite a dragon’s rage, while the right one could silence it."
~ Rebel Beast
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Aria had no idea which unsettled her more.
The fact that he knew her name. Or the fact that he had said again as if they had already met.
"Excuse me?" Aria asked. "Have we met before?"
"Oh, not officially." Rhydian’s smile widened a little. "But I caught you peeking at me through the window the other day."
Fuck her life.
Heat rushed into Aria’s face.
He had seen her. Well, all of them. Her roommates had been standing right beside her, yet somehow he had singled her out as though she had been the only one there.
"Well..." Rhydian inclined his head toward his outstretched hand. Only then did Aria realize he had been waiting for her all this time.
Don’t do it.
Every instinct she possessed urged her to leave his hand hanging. Unfortunately, Aria Aspen had never been particularly gifted at listening to good advice.
She slipped her hand into his.
Warmth spread through her palm the instant their skin touched. It was not ordinary warmth. It was richer than that. Deeper.
It flowed through her fingers, across her wrist, and up her arm with a slow, intoxicating pull until it settled somewhere beneath her ribs. For one reckless moment, Aria understood why dragons were associated with fire.
She drew in a quiet breath. He was far warmer than any human had a right to be. Yet the sensation was strangely inviting, making her want to lean into it just to see if the rest of him carried that same impossible heat.
Then reality caught up with her.
This was probably how he charmed every other girl who crossed his path. She refused to become another one of them.
Aria began to withdraw her hand. Or at least she tried to.
Rhydian’s fingers tightened just enough to stop her before giving the gentlest tug. The movement caught her completely off guard, and she stumbled a step toward him, stopping herself only inches before colliding with his chest.
Aria shot him a glare. It lasted all of a second because Rhydian calmly lifted her hand between them.
Her pulse skipped.
Before Aria could understand what he intended, his lips brushed across her knuckles. The kiss was featherlight, yet the warmth of it lingered against her skin as though it had no intention of fading.
A shiver rippled through Aria’s body, escaping as the smallest intake of breath.
When she looked up, she found him watching her. There was amusement in those sapphire-blue eyes. Just a knowing glint, like someone who had expected that exact reaction from the very beginning.
Aria immediately pulled her hand free.
Rhydian offered no resistance. If anything, the corner of his mouth curved into the faintest smirk.
He straightened to his full height.
"Now, it’s nice to meet you officially, Aria Aspen."
Aria forced herself to hold his gaze.
"Likewise."
The lie tasted awful.
Caelis should have ignored the entire exchange. Instead, against his better judgment, his eyes drifted back to them.
Just like that, a scoff escaped him. Typical humans.
To be so thoroughly unsettled by one of a dragon’s oldest tricks was almost embarrassing. If Aria Aspen thought that little display had been anything special, she was even more naïve than he had first assumed.
Caelis was not the only one struggling to keep his emotions in check. Charlotte felt as though the ground had just disappeared beneath her feet.
Did Rhydian really just kiss Aria’s hand?
Her hand.
No.
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
She was supposed to be the first human to receive every one of those moments. The first hand he held. The first hand he kissed. The first human woman he willingly acknowledged before everyone else.
Instead he had given it all to Aria Aspen.
The realization burned hotter than jealousy ever should. Unable to endure another second of it, Charlotte hurried toward them.
"Your Highness," she called sweetly, stopping beside him. "We haven’t had breakfast yet."
With fake familiarity, Charlotte slipped her arm through Rhydian’s, smiling like she belonged there.
She had barely touched him but Rhydian stiffened. His dragon erupted inside him.
A violent snarl tore through his mind, so powerful it nearly drowned out every rational thought he possessed.
Wrong.
His pupils narrowed into slits while molten gold bled into the blue of his irises. Every muscle in his body locked so tightly that a tremor ran through his arms.
He ripped himself free from Charlotte’s grasp as though her touch had burned him, an anguished growl escaping his throat.
For one terrifying moment, it looked as if he wanted to shift right there and then.
"Rhydian, no!"
Aria didn’t remember but she reached for him, her hands closing around his forearm.
She wasn’t even sure what she hoped to accomplish, whether to stop or ground him. She had moved before thinking.
The effect was immediate because Rhydian Drakhar froze. The violent trembling ceased almost as quickly as it had begun, and the molten glow faded from his eyes until only his familiar brilliant sapphire remained.
Silence settled over the hall. Only then did Aria realize what she had done. She immediately released him, taking a step back.
What was wrong with her? Why did she keep touching these men without thinking?
Rhydian slowly exhaled. When he finally spoke, his voice was so calm it was almost unsettling.
"We should get our food," he said. "It’ll get cold otherwise."
Without another word, he turned and headed toward the food stations.
Nobody moved. Not that anyone seemed capable of moving.
Even Caelis watched Rhydian’s retreating back with narrowed eyes. Something wasn’t right. Something had just happened. He could sense it.
"What the fuck was that?" Brittney asked, breaking the silence.
Her eyes slowly shifted toward Aria.
"...What did you do this time?"
"Me?" Aria stared at her in disbelief.
"Well, I’m not the one going around touching dangerously attractive beast men." Brittney said in a whisper. "First Maverick. Now the Dragon Prince. At this point, I’m starting to think your hands are enchanted."