Chapter 101: Dragons Do Not Nuture....
"Scholars often mistake a dragon’s generosity for kindness. They are wrong. Dragons do not nurture what they do not intend to keep." — Professor Sébastien Elias.
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"You’re talking rubbish." Aria brushed Brittney off. "Let’s just grab our food and get the hell out of here before things get even more complicated."
No matter how much Rhydian Drakhar smiled, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him. The birds that had attacked them that day belonged to House Aetheris, which meant he had been the one to give the order.
Then why was he suddenly being nice to her? What game was he playing? Or had he simply changed his mind?
The thought barely lasted a second before Aria dismissed it.
Changing his mind didn’t erase what he had done. Neither he nor the Serpent Prince could wash the blood from their hands so easily. They had treated the girls from the previous Concordia Program like pieces on a game board, eliminating them one after another without remorse.
There was no forgiving that, and there certainly wasn’t any reason to lower her guard.
Variant was the one who approached her, lowering her voice enough that only Aria could hear.
"No matter what happens next time, don’t touch a dragon shifter so carelessly. Do you understand?"
Aria met her eyes. "Don’t worry. There won’t be a next time."
She turned to Brittney. "Let’s go."
But she had barely taken a step before her attention drifted toward the food station.
Rhydian stood there with surprising concentration, inspecting every tray before serving himself generous portions like choosing the wrong dish would somehow ruin his entire day.
"You know what?" Aria stopped walking. "I think I’ll sit this one out. Just get me whatever you’re having."
"Wait, what?" Brittney frowned before following Aria’s gaze.
"Oh."
Understanding immediately crossed her face.
Aria didn’t wait for another word. She walked over to one of the empty tables, pulled out a chair, and sat down. When she looked up, Charlotte was already staring at her.
More like glowering at her.
Aria looked away without a second thought. The girl was lucky enough that the Dragon Prince hadn’t killed her on the spot.
Her gaze shifted again, and this time she found Karen.
Unlike Charlotte, Karen wasn’t glaring openly, but the contempt in her eyes was just as unmistakable. Fortunately, they had chosen tables in different rows, leaving enough distance between them that neither group had any reason to interact.
Alek, Trisha, Brittney, Variant, and Valerie had reached the food stations by then. Even from where Aria sat, she noticed how the girls gave Rhydian a respectful distance.
Only Variant and Valerie stepped close enough to stand beside him, yet even they left him to his own devices. Rhydian Drakhar appeared to treat breakfast like one of life’s greatest pleasures.
A large serving tray rested in one hand, supporting several ceramic plates piled high with food. One plate was loaded with thick cuts of roasted meat, another with rice and vegetables, while a smaller dessert plate held an assortment of sweet treats. A bottle of water occupied the remaining space on the tray.
Aria stared, stunned. How much food did one dragon need?
Little did she know, that was nowhere near enough to satisfy the appetite of a full-grown dragon.
Apparently finished choosing his breakfast, Rhydian picked up the tray and turned away from the serving station.
Aria expected him to head back to Charlotte and the others. But he didn’t. At first, she assumed he was avoiding Charlotte after what had just happened, which was pretty reasonable.
Even she avoided Charlotte after that. There was something disturbing about that girl.
Then she noticed something that made her stomach tighten. Rhydian wasn’t walking away from her. No, he was coming toward her.
Wait a minute. This can’t be real.
Except it wasn’t a dream, and within a few steps, he stopped right beside her table.
Rhydian towered over her, and Aria fought the urge to push her chair back. The Dragon Prince was intimidating enough from a distance. Standing this close, he felt larger than life.
Neither of them spoke. The silence stretched long enough to make Aria wonder if she was expected to say something first.
Then, without a word, Rhydian lowered the tray onto the table in front of her.
"Eat."
Aria blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Judging by the stunned faces around the dining hall, neither had anyone else. The small whispers from Karen’s side of the table died one after another until the entire hall seemed to be watching them. Even the kitchen staff had stopped what they were doing.
Ignoring every pair of eyes fixed on him, Rhydian picked up the spoon, scooped up a mouthful of rice, and ate it. He swallowed.
"It’s not poisoned," he said. "Now eat."
Aria stared at him.
"This is ridiculous!"
Nothing about this made sense. One minute, the Dragon Prince wanted humans dead. The next, he was standing over her, insisting she eat his breakfast.
Across the hall, Charlotte looked equally horrified. What had Aria Aspen done to her Dragon Prince?
Rhydian remained unmoved.
"If you keep looking at it instead of eating it, it’ll get cold. Humans should eat to survive."
"I can’t finish all this!" Aria blurted out instead.
His gaze swept over her before returning to her face. "You’re too thin. You should eat more."
That did it.
"Who do you think you are?" Aria shot back. "We’re not friends. We barely know each other. Why are you doing this?"
The question landed harder than either of them expected, and for the first time, uncertainty crossed Rhydian’s face.
His brow drew together, and he looked down at the tray. Then at Aria. Only now did he seem to realize how bizarre his own behavior looked.
Rhydian closed his eyes briefly and drew a slow breath. When he opened them again, the fierce possessiveness in them had settled, though it hadn’t disappeared completely.
"Just..." he muttered, his voice rougher than before. "Eat."
Aria’s heart pounded. Why was he so determined to feed her? Had he poisoned it?
No. He had eaten from it himself.
Her thoughts immediately argued back.
If Rhydian Drakhar truly wanted her dead, poisoning her breakfast in public was beneath someone like him.
Her eyes searched for Variant and Valerie.
The two women stood by the serving station, watching everything unfold. Silently, Aria pleaded for help.
Valerie met her gaze. Then she mouthed two simple words.
Just eat.
That was enough. Aria slowly picked up the spoon, scooped up a small bite of rice, and brought it to her mouth. The moment she swallowed, the tension in Rhydian’s shoulders eased almost imperceptibly.
A deep, satisfied warmth settled over his dragon.
They had fed their Treasure.
Aria waited after the first bite, expecting that to be the end of it.
She was wrong.
"The meat," Rhydian instructed. "Eat it. You need to put some flesh on those bones."
His tone left little room for argument. Aria had the unsettling feeling that if she refused, he would personally feed it to her.
She decided not to find out. Silently, Aria picked up another piece of meat and ate it.
"I’m done," Aria announced, a note of defiance creeping into her voice.
"Eat more."
She was about to argue when Rhydian abruptly turned and strode out of the dining hall, his shoulders rigid. Aria watched him leave, her gaze following him until the doors swung shut behind him.
Barely a heartbeat later, a deafening roar rolled across the academy, shaking the windows and rattling the dishes on the tables. A massive shadow swept past the tall windows, and no one needed to look twice to know the Dragon Prince had shifted into his beast form.
For several long seconds, the dining hall fell completely silent. Aria could feel countless eyes fixed on her, but she pretended not to notice them. Instead, she calmly finished the food on her plate.
God knew what that crazy dragon would do if he came back and discovered she’d left any behind.
Trisha was the first to break the silence. Tray in hand, she stared at Aria in disbelief.
"What the fuck just happened?"
"We have no idea," Variant admitted, her eyes never leaving Aria.
"This is the first time we’ve ever seen Rhydian behave like this," Valerie said. "We know he loves food, but he’s never fussed over whether someone was eating, let alone a human."
"On the bright side," Brittney squealed, clasping her hands together, "that was the hottest possessive-beast moment I’ve ever seen!"
Alek and Trisha exchanged a look before quietly moving farther away from Brittney, unwilling to catch whatever delusion she seemed to be suffering from.
Meanwhile, at Charlotte’s table, the girls looked at one another uncertainly before turning to her.
It was Zainab who spoke up. "Did you just see what happened?"
"You seriously think I’m blind?" Charlotte snapped.
She nervously bit at her fingernail, her thoughts racing.
She was certain of it. Aria Aspen had done something to Rhydian, just like she had done something to Maverick. There had to be something she was using on those men.
"Such a whore," Karen muttered. "At least she won’t be able to seduce you, Your Highness." She was speaking to Caelis.
But the Basilisk Prince didn’t answer. His attention was elsewhere.
No. Surely it couldn’t be what he was thinking. More likely, that idiot dragon had simply decided to chase humans now.
Because if his suspicion turned out to be true...
Rhydian Drakhar was completely fucked.