Chapter 106: Treasure’s treasure
"When a dragon begins calling something treasure, pray it is gold. Gold can be stolen back. Hearts cannot."
~ Rebel Beast
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Perhaps realizing she was dealing with a dragon who seemed strangely fascinated with dressing her in his jewelry, Aria found a sliver of courage returning.
At the very least, he wasn’t trying to kill her—yet.
Tentatively, she reached into the glittering collection once more until she found a heavy gold ring crowned with a deep emerald gemstone. It was bold and unmistakably masculine, the sort of ring some lord would have worn while signing away estates and ruining lesser men.
Aria slipped it onto her finger, and it hung so loosely she was certain it would fall off if she shook her hand. She held up her hand for Rhydian to inspect, forcing what she hoped looked like an innocent smile.
"See? Wrong size," she said lightly. "Guess that means I can go now?"
A dissatisfied rumble vibrated from Rhydian’s chest.
"No."
Without another word, Rhydian walked over to the marble countertop beside the sinks and opened his hand, spilling the tangled mass of gold onto the surface with a chorus of metallic clinks.
Then, just when she thought the madness had reached its limit, Rhydian reached into his other pocket, and another handful emerged.
Aria’s eyes grew so wide they almost hurt.
What the—
A few necklaces escaped Rhydian’s grip before he could add them to the pile, dropping to the floor. He didn’t even spare them a glance before emptying what was left onto the growing heap of jewelry.
Aria swore before God Rhydian Drakhar had to be possessed. Surely no sane person carried this much jewelry around in their pockets.
At this rate, she’d walk out of the restroom looking like a noblewoman wearing the contents of an entire royal treasury. Seriously, what was so important about putting gold on her?
For the first time in her life, Aria regretted not paying more attention whenever documentaries discussed dragon customs.
There had to be a reason for this. But whatever it was, she needed to escape before Rhydian decided she still wasn’t decorated enough.
Completely absorbed in his task, Rhydian began sorting through the collection with remarkable concentration. Rings were pushed into one line, necklaces into another, bracelets into a third, while everything else was arranged into neat little piles.
His expression remained intensely thoughtful, as though selecting the perfect piece was a matter of life and death.
That was when Aria decided to seize the opportunity. Carefully, she took one step backward, nothing happened. Rhydian remained engrossed in his jewelry.
She took another. Still nothing.
When a third step earned no reaction either, Aria almost couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t ordinary distraction, it bordered on obsession.
Suppressing the urge to sigh with relief, Aria began tiptoeing toward the door, moving one careful step at a time until she had successfully slipped around him.
Freedom was only a few feet away when—
"Ha."
The triumphant sound echoed through the restroom.
"Found Treasure’s treasure."
Rhydian lifted the gold ring into the air, satisfaction lighting up his face as though he had uncovered a priceless relic hidden in plain sight.
"This one." His smile widened.
Then he looked toward the spot where Aria had been standing, and the smile disappeared. A slight frown settled between his brows.
"...Treasure?"
With her hand on the doorknob, Aria’s plan was simple: open the door, run, and scream loudly enough for the entire academy to hear.
Except before she could turn the handle, those piercing blue eyes found her with startling precision.
She froze.
The restroom fell into complete silence, and neither of them moved. Aria stood rooted to the spot with one hand resting on the doorknob while Rhydian simply watched her.
One heartbeat passed. Then another. Aria finally decided to surrender.
With all the dignity of prey realizing it had been caught sneaking away from its hunter, she slowly removed her hand from the doorknob, turned around, walked back toward Rhydian, and silently held out her hand.
"Just get it over with," she said with an awkward laugh.
To be honest, Aria had expected Rhydian to be angry, or at least curt with her, but that wasn’t what happened. Instead his eyes carried a gleam at the sight of her outstretched hand, possessive and pleased all at once.
Aria hadn’t prepared herself for the moment his fingers closed around hers. Tingles shot through her body from that single point of contact, sharp and electric, racing up her arm before spreading through the rest of her body. Out of instinct, she tried to pull back, but his grip held firm, unyielding in a way that made her breath catch.
His thumb moved first, tracing slow circles over the top of her palm, deliberate and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world to memorize the shape of her hand. Aria’s heart rate shot to the rooftop, her pulse fluttering visibly at her wrist. When he finally slid the ring onto her finger, it settled with surprising ease. It was a perfect fit.
How did he —?
Aria was speechless, staring at the delicate band crowned with diamonds that caught the light and scattered it in tiny fractured rainbows across the marble counter.
But Rhydian was not done. He lifted her palm to his mouth and pressed a kiss there, slow enough that she felt the warmth of his breath before the touch of his lips, his gaze locked on hers. The air between them thickened, charged and heavy, until the room felt smaller, hotter, and dangerous.
Aria wasn’t sure she was breathing anymore.
Rhydian pulled her closer, and she stumbled straight into him, one hand landing against the solid warmth of his chest. She couldn’t look away from his eyes, blue and endless, as though an invisible thread held her fixed in place. He reached past her toward the sink, retrieving a dainty waist chain from where it lay tangled among the rest of his hoard, and the movement brought him even closer, until all she could breathe in was him.
His scent wrapped around her, charcoal dust and cedarwood, threaded with incense, carrying a richness she imagined old gold might hold after centuries locked away in a dragon’s vault. It was intoxicating in a way that made her head spin.
Rhydian was seducing her. That much was certain. And yet she didn’t fight it. Her mind had gone quiet the moment his warmth closed over her, every rational thought dissolving beneath the pull of him. She thought of Variant and Valerie and the way she’d judged them only minutes ago, and for the first time she understood.
She wasn’t sure she could resist Rhydian Drakhar either.
He leaned into her, lowering the chain to fasten it around her waist, his knuckles brushing her bare skin as he worked the clasp shut. Then his fingers lingered, tracing slow, idle patterns against her stomach, and Aria gasped, her knees threatening to give out beneath her.
Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat, her blood running hot beneath her skin, and still all she could smell was him. So when Rhydian tilted her chin up, guiding her face toward his, she didn’t resist.
Don’t fall for this. It’s one of his tricks.
But Aria couldn’t help herself. She wanted this. She wanted him.
Rhydian cupped her face between his palms, and despite their size, his hold was achingly gentle.
"My treasure," he murmured, the words low and reverent, his eyes half-lidded, heavy with a devotion that seemed far too genuine for a man playing games.
Aria nearly moaned at the sound of it, melting helplessly on the inside. Her lips parted on their own, an invitation she hadn’t meant to offer.
He leaned in, dragging his jaw slowly along her cheek instead of claiming her mouth outright, and shivers cascaded down her spine, while heat gathered low and insistent between her thighs.
Rhydian took his time, tracing his face against hers with maddening patience, deliberately avoiding the one place she wanted him most.
Then, finally, his lips ghosted over hers, barely a whisper of contact. Aria gasped and pressed closer, chasing the feeling, craving him the way a parched throat craved water after days in the desert.
Just as Rhydian closed the last inch of distance between them, the door exploded inward, kicked open with such force it nearly tore free of its hinges.
The sound cracked through the restroom like a gunshot, and both of them broke apart instantly, Rhydian’s arm sweeping around her, pulling her behind him as though shielding her from whatever had arrived.
Together, they turned toward the doorway.
Maverick Nightshade stood there, filling the frame, his broad shoulders rigid with barely restrained fury.
If Aria had thought Rhydian Drakhar frightening in his intensity, Maverick Nightshade was terrifying in an entirely different way, a presence that seemed to suck the air from the room and leave her chest tight.
His eyes slowly moved from her to Rhydian, before dropping to where Rhydian’s arm still curved protectively around her waist. Fury shone hard across his face, a muscle ticking in his jaw, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
And for the first time since she’d met him, Aria saw murder in Professor Maverick’s eyes.