Chapter 399: I will bend
Wrapped in a thin sheet, Luke held the Dragon Queen against his chest, his hand moving slowly down the length of her back.
The warmth of her body rested comfortably against him, and for the first time since the intensity between them had subsided, the room had fallen into a quiet neither of them seemed eager to disturb.
He knew she was awake. Her breathing had steadied, but her heart still had not quite returned to its normal rhythm.
Rather than draw attention to it or risk shattering the fragile calm that had settled between them, Luke decided to give her time.
He had no intention of ruining the mood by teasing her or bringing up the war. Instead, he asked quietly, "Why are you living alone? Away from your family and your mate?"
Agatha sank deeper into his chest before murmuring, "I left that place. And I left that man because he couldn’t respect my choice. He has tried several times to bring me back."
Luke hummed in mild surprise. "Dragons certainly have an ironclad pride, don’t they? What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?"
His tone remained casual, and more importantly, he kept a deliberate distance from the subject. He did not want to pry so deeply that she felt cornered and raised her guard against him again.
"It was nothing..." Agatha hesitated. "And perhaps he was right. He proposed sending our children out to venture on their own during the first few years of their lives, so they wouldn’t grow up only to meet the same fate as many others of our race."
Luke’s interest sharpened. "Sheltering dragon children leads to something bad?"
"It’s their tendency to depend on others, especially their elders, that eventually leads to their demise." Her voice carried a faint trace of frustration as she explained. "Dragons are solitary beings. When that dependency clashes with something so deeply ingrained in our nature, those children grow accustomed to relying on others. In the wild, that makes them nothing more than easy prey."
She sounded almost disgruntled as she admitted it, as though she disliked the truth even while acknowledging it.
Luke considered her words for a moment before asking, "So, as a mother, you did what anyone would have done. You tried to preserve the custom you believed would protect your children, while your mate wanted them to break out of their shells and face danger from an early age."
He paused before adding, "I don’t think either of you is necessarily wrong. One of you is thinking with your heart, while the other is taking the rational approach."
Agatha slowly lifted her head and looked at him.
"Everyone I’ve shared this with has blamed me," she said quietly. "You’re the first person who has actually seen things from my perspective."
Luke gave her a faint smile. "Maybe because I have a family too. Not children, but people I care about. And honestly, I’d rather have them completely dependent on me than throw them into the world simply so they can become a better version of themselves."
Agatha studied him for a moment before asking, "But you can’t always be there when danger falls upon them."
Luke nodded. "I know. That’s why I’ve decided to take certain measures to make them capable enough to protect themselves. But I’ll take my sweet time doing it."
A faint smile touched Agatha’s lips.
"Unlike how you initially presented yourself, you’re surprisingly mature," she admitted. "I didn’t expect such wisdom from a human."
Luke chuckled softly. "I’m one of a kind. You must have noticed that by now."
Agatha’s cheeks gained the faintest hint of color. She reached up and pinched his neck.
"Don’t make vulgar remarks now. Whatever happened tonight won’t happen again."
Luke hummed, unconvinced. "Are you sure about that?"
Agatha fell silent.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved. Then she slipped out of his embrace and rose from the bed.
She crossed the room and retrieved the gown she had discarded earlier. With her back turned toward him, she slipped the dress over her bare form and adjusted the fabric around herself.
"I’m still the matriarch," she muttered. "And as much as I admit that I enjoyed my time with you, I still wish to remain loyal to my mate."
Luke hummed, not particularly displeased by her words. He had expected this from the beginning.
"Getting to spend such a special night with you is enough for me."
He shifted toward the edge of the bed and reached out, drawing her closer by the waist.
Agatha stiffened for a moment, but the tension left her body when she realized what he was doing. Luke simply gathered the loose strap of her gown and tied it properly at the back.
"Don’t worry. I won’t come in your way again unless you ask me to."
His words carried no attempt at persuasion, only a simple assurance.
Agatha remained silent.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about the thought of never seeing this human again. The realization had surfaced unexpectedly, and she found herself unwilling to examine it too closely.
She pushed the thought aside.
"I will go talk to him," she said.
Luke raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
She sat across from him and said, "My mate. The King, and the one whose word rules our entire race."
Luke’s brows rose in surprise. "You really will?"
Agatha raised an eyebrow. "Wasn’t that your tactic from the beginning? Lure me in and convince me?"
Luke chuckled. "More or less. But there is one thing I can assure you."
He paused, his gaze settling on her crimson eyes. Whatever playful edge had been present in his expression faded, replaced by something more sincere.
"The moments I spent with you on this bed..." He took a breath before continuing. "I wasn’t thinking about the war or what was at stake. My mind, body, and heart were all yours."
Agatha narrowed her eyes, fighting against the warmth creeping into her cheeks.
Damn it. Why did his words affect her so much?
She looked away and released a slow breath before speaking again.
"The child who was killed was my mate’s younger brother’s newborn. He is furious, and so am I." Her voice hardened as she recalled it. "Humanity has always been known for its predatory and greedy nature. They have no pride or honor."
Luke nodded slowly. "I won’t deny that. But trust me, every race has bad people and good ones. Some races simply have more good than bad. Humanity happens to be the opposite."
He paused for a moment before adding, "And just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m going to defend them blindly. . Most of the humanity might be savages but there is a reason why they became like that. And there are good people too. Trust me on this one, Agatha."
Agatha flinched slightly before warning him, "Don’t make a habit of calling me by my name. What if you address me that way in front of others?"
Luke gave a faint chuckle and raised both hands in surrender.
"I understand. I won’t do it again, my queen." He lowered his hands and studied her expression. "But what are you going to do now?"
Agatha shook her head, her expression becoming more serious.
"Not everyone on our side is willing to break the ritual for the sake of this matter either. In fact, it is a sacred protection that has shielded us from things beyond our understanding. Things that would be unimaginable without it."
Luke’s expression grew more hopeful.
"So... you can stop this war from happening?"
Agatha narrowed her eyes, her gaze drifting toward nothing in particular as she weighed the possibility.
"I can’t say for certain. But I will try to prevent the army from marching toward the wall."
She turned her eyes back to Luke, the faint uncertainty in her expression refusing to disappear.
"Though I have a feeling this won’t be resolved without chaos. So don’t become too relaxed just yet. Do you hear me?"
Luke slowly nodded and rose from the bed.
Taking a seat beside her, he held her and said, "The fact you are willing to help us more than enough. Don’t risk your life though."
Agatha snickered. "Tell me, between humanity and my life, what would you choose?" She was teasing him and he knew that.
However, he just hummed and looked up, "Quite a difficult choice..."
Her lips parted as she shook her head and said, "You are one bastard man."
Luke chuckled and pecked at her cheek, "Was expecting a better farewell but this would work too."
He slowly rose from the seat and started advancing towards the doors.
Agatha didn’t turn to look at him as he stepped out.
Lowering her head, she muttered. "I must be out of my mind..." She sighed and went to change her clothes.
After thirty years, she was returning home.
And all because of one man. A human no less.