Chapter 98

Anila’s POV

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly,” I said, gawking at Jaxon, my jaw nearly hitting the ground. “Did you just say you want me to be your queen?”

“That’s right,” he said, entwining his fingers together. “My people expect me to rule over them with a queen by my side. I assured them infinite protection since the last Dragon King screwed them over and the only way I can ensure that protection is if I give my people an heir.”

“An heir? Like a child?” I asked, my heart beating quickly against my ribcage, making me feel sick to my stomach. “How would a child help ensure the safety of your people?”

“I can train the heir any way that I want. If something were to happen to me, my child would be expected to take over as the ruler of Dragon Valley,” he explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I can’t just drop everything to marry you, Jaxon,” I said, my brows pinched together as I glared at him. I couldn’t believe he would ask me to do such a thing and to have children with him? “I have a life up there…” I pointed to the ceiling.

“Yes, yes… your other mates.” He said the word mate like it was a bad taste on his tongue. “I’m not going to pretend to know what is going on, but that is my stipulation. If you want me to save the life of that wolf… then you are to be my queen. It’s as simple as that.”

“That’s not simple at all,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I’m marked by three of my mates already and—”

“You can take some time to think about it. Think about what’s important to you. The life of one of your mates, or yourself,” he said, silencing my small rant. “But just a reminder, if you have about 2 weeks to decide or else that wolf will die, so I wouldn’t take too long to decide. We do have a wedding to plan after all and I’m not at liberty to save him until after the ceremony is complete.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening; he was giving me an ultimatum and I couldn’t refuse him, or else Xaden would die. My heart cracked at the very thought. I could still feel my mates, despite the fact that I was under the ground. I could feel Harley’s worry and Zach’s anger. He was angry that I was putting myself in danger like this, but the decision wasn’t his and he needed to understand that.

I wrapped my arms around my body, hugging myself tightly and trying desperately to not fall apart in front of Jaxon Develson, my 5(th) mate, and the Dragon King.

“Okay…” I whispered, unsure of what else to do. “I’ll be your queen.”

He smiles, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. His face was almost unreadable and gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Excellent,” he replies. “I will schedule the wedding for next week.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I honestly wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here.

“Enter,” he orders, his voice booming across the study and bouncing off the concrete walls.

The door opened and a pretty blonde woman entered.

“You called for me?” She asked, glancing at Jaxon and then at me.

“Yes. Angelica, this is Anila Montgomery, my mate,” he introduced. I was startled at his introduction, not expecting him to call me his mate. Angelica’s eyes grew large as she stared back at me, and I felt like shrinking under her scrutiny. “Anila, this is my assistant, Angelica.”

“Um… hello,” I said, trying my best at a smile but I knew it was awkward and probably looked very forced.

She didn’t say anything, but she nodded at me.

“I need you to alert the councilmen of Anila’s arrival and what she is to me. Also, I’ll need you to start the preparations for a wedding.”

Her mouth nearly fell open at his words.

“A wedding, sir?”

He nodded.

“Anila will be your new queen,” he tells her.

Her eyes flashed back to me, and I could feel heat surfacing on my face.

“Is that so?” She asked, raising her brows at me. “Well, that’s wonderful to hear. I’ll get started on the preparations right away. Will you be staying in the palace?”

“Yes,” Jaxon answered for me. “Make sure the guest bedroom next to my room is cleaned for her. Oh, and Angelica…” Jaxon said before she was able to leave.

“Yes, sir?” She asked, stopping before she reached the doorway.

“Anila has no belongings with her. Will you be able to get her some clothes and toiletries?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll have them sent to her room later,” Angelica assures him. She gave me one last head nod before she turned and left.

“I’m not sure what I’d do without her, honestly. Her hard work does not go unnoticed,” he praises as soon as we are alone.

“Then, you should tell her that often,” I told him, folding my arms across my chest. “Instead of behind her back, I mean.”

He studies me for a moment longer before nodding his head once.

“I’ll be sure to do that.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and fixed my eyes on the ground, not sure what to do now. Jaxon stands to his feet, his eyes fixated on my face as he walks around his desk.

“How about a tour?” He asked, surprising me.

I looked around at his study before my eyes met his.

“A tour would be nice,” I admitted. Anything was better than sitting in this study any longer. I wanted to see what Dragon Valley all was about and who exactly was here.

I walked toward the doorway of the office behind Jaxon, and we left the room. We stepped into a large sitting parlor, and I was amazed at how cozy everything looked. There were numerous couches and loveseats, a fireplace with some family photos on the mantle, there was even a large TV hung on the walls. The floors were a soft purple carpet that my feet nearly melted into, and the decorations brightened the place immensely. Like his study, the room was lit by candlelight and there was a beautiful crystal chandelier with candlesticks hanging in the center of the room.

As we walked through the parlor and stepped into the front foyer, I noticed a large set of stairs in the center of the room, leading up to the second floor. There were numerous doors around the bottom of the stairs and a hallway leading around the staircase and I wondered where it led to.

Noticing my gaze, Jaxon said, “That’s the kitchen. There are a couple of chefs who work in the kitchen and are there three times a day for the most part. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s a large dining area where my people are allowed to come and enjoy the chefs cooking for themselves as well. I allow all of them to join me for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if they choose to, but of course, they don’t have to. I have built several homes and allowed my people the freedom to build their own homes, so they don’t have to live in the palace. But some choose to live here, and I welcome them. There’s plenty of room for the entire valley to live here honestly.”

I was surprised to hear this; it sounds like he truly does care for his people.

“Through those doors over there is the ballroom. We will most likely have the wedding there. And then that door over there leads to the library.”

“Wow, you pretty much have everything here,” I breathed, staring around at the gorgeous interior and admiring how much work was put into this place. “How long did it take to build this castle?”

“The city itself was built before I came into power and before the dragons were actually banished to the earth,” he admits. “But I fixed up most of it when I got here. It used a lot of magic. We have a few witches that helped out a lot and I’m eternally grateful to them.”

After a pause, he clears his throat.

“How about we check out the rest of the valley,” he suggests.

I nodded and followed him through the front entrance and down the porch steps. It was strange being outside the palace, but still being inside at the same time. There were no skies, which meant there were no skies and no moon to light up the pathway. But there were street polls that were lit by candlelight, casting shadows against the stone walls. The ceiling was very high though and I wondered how deep in the earth we actually were. The elevator down here took a while and it had to be big enough for dragons to fly around, right? I mean, this was the land of Dragons after all.

There were buildings set up that looked like numerous businesses and admired the details put into the craftsmanship of each building. There was a food store, which made me wonder where they received their products, there were a couple of clothing stores and shoe stores, there was a coffee shop, and a bookstore. As we walked down the streets, my feet padding against the gravel, we passed by a farm and a couple of office-looking buildings. I paused when I saw the farm and noticed crops were growing. There were some workers as well, tending to the crops.

“How do they grow without sunlight?” I asked.

Jaxon shrugged.

“Magic,” he answered. “They are able to give the illusion of sun for the crops.”

“Incredible,” I whispered.

I also noticed there was a farm for animals as well. Typical barnyard animals: I raised my brows as I looked up at Jaxon and he just shrugged.

“We rescued them from above the land,” he explained. “They were about to slaughter them. We don’t take pride in killing defenseless animals. We care for them and take their milk and eggs. We use wool for clothing and other needed materials. But for the most part, we keep them alive and make sure they are happy. I have a few ranch hands that help out at the farm and keep our stores stocked.”

“How many live in Dragon Valley?” I found myself asking as we continued to walk down the street.

“We are populated around 100,” he shocked me by saying.

I gasped at that number.

“That’s a lot of people,” I whispered. “And they are all dragon masters?”

He paused to look at me, his eyes narrowed like he was trying to figure me out.

“Yes,” he finally answered as he continued walking. We walked past a few neighborhoods with handmade and nicely built homes. I was surprised grass grew down here as well, but I suppose that had to do with magic as well, so I didn’t bother asking him about that.

Then, something caught my eye, and I found my jaw on the ground again. It was a stable, only the stables were huge. 10x as big as normal stables and the yard around the stables was even bigger.

“Woah…” I said, my eyes glued on the stables. “What’s in there.”

He smirks as he takes hold of my hand and walks me towards the giant stables.

“This is where we keep the dragons.”