Dragon King's Harem Chapter 518. Seven Days

Dragon King's Harem Chapter 518. Seven Days

Maria didn’t say anything then. She just watched him, her expression softening in a way she didn’t bother to hide.

And for a moment, standing there in the snow with an ice blade in a child’s hands and pride in his eyes, I thought…

This was how kings were made.

We also built snow forts. Had mock battles with enchanted snowballs that exploded in glitter. Kaelen dubbed himself Commander Kaelen of the Frostfire Army and declared war on my ankles. I surrendered after five minutes and Maria forced a peace treaty sealed with hot cocoa and dragonberry cookies.

I helped Maria with her paperwork too… despite the whole 'not my kingdom' thing. I wasn’t bad at reading royal documents. Kind of came with the crown. But Maria was different. She didn’t just read; she listened.

To the way words twisted. The way intentions hid inside clauses.

She’d frown when she sensed something off. Her quill tapping the table rhythmically.

“They’re trying to sneak a loophole here,” she murmured, sliding the parchment to me.

I skimmed it. “Yeah. Clause seven conflicts with article three. It’s vague enough to allow ‘em to challenge your authority in trade matters.”

She sighed. “I’m getting tired of this.”

“You want me to eat them?” I mean it. Literally.

She smiled. “No. But I appreciate the offer.”

We didn’t talk about the future. Not directly. But it hung there, in the space between cups of tea and shared glances. In the way Kaelen looked up when I entered a room. In the way Maria’s fingers brushed mine just a little too long when we passed each other in the halls.

In the way her scent clung to my clothes, her laughter echoing in my chest.

At night, when the palace grew quiet and frost curled around the windows like ghostly vines, we curled together in bed.

No titles.

No thrones.

Just her and me.

Her skin warm against mine. Her breath slow and even. Her fingers occasionally twitching as if even in sleep, she needed to touch me.

I held her.

Because I could.

Because soon, I wouldn’t be able to.

And I didn’t know how long it would be before I could again.

Sometimes, she’d stir.

Sleepy. Half-lidded.

“Mmm… You still here?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

She’d kiss my jaw, whisper something incoherent, then fall back asleep.

Kaelen snuck in twice that week too. Claimed he had a nightmare, though I’m ninety percent sure he just wanted to cuddle. Maria didn’t mind. Neither did I.

We made room.

He slept sprawled on top of both of us like a miniature snow elf prince blanket. Warm. Heavy. Snoring softly.

I wrapped my wing around them both.

Safe.

That’s what I wanted for them.

Even if I had to go.

Even if the weight of my realm pulled me back, claws first.

I would protect them.

Even from afar.

Even from the shadows.

And for now?

I would stay.

Seven days.

Then I’d leave.

But until then?

They were mine.

The snow never stopped in this place. It didn’t fall fast, just slow and lazy, drifting like it had all the time in the world. Unlike me.

I kept pretending it wasn’t coming. The goodbye. The end of this stupid little vacation. This borrowed week of warmth in a kingdom made of cold palaces and colder politics. I kept making excuses to stay longer. One more spar with Kaelen. One more dinner with Maria. One more night curled up between Jyne’s tails and Sela’s hands.

But time didn’t care.

And that day came anyway.

Too fast.

Too damn fast.

I stood by the gates in my winter cloak, the fur around my collar stirring in the morning breeze. My soldiers were already lined up in formation, wyverns huffing pale frost clouds into the air as they snorted and shifted impatiently, wing membranes fluttering like sails in wind. The sky carriages were being loaded with gifts and the girls.

I didn’t care. My eyes were only on one thing.

Kaelen.

He stood beside Maria, bundled up in a thick blue coat lined with silver buttons, eyes red like he hadn’t slept all night. Or maybe he’d cried. Hell. I might have too. Just a little. Jyne had caught me staring at the moon like a lost dog last night, and I didn’t even bother to deny it.

Maria looked composed, of course. Regal. Serene. Snow Elven royalty wrapped in grace and logic. But her lips were too tight, and her fingers kept brushing Kaelen’s hair like she couldn’t stop herself.

“I’ll come once a month,” I said.

Kaelen looked up.

“If nothing explodes,” I added. “No wars. No riots. If I’m still alive and not tied to my throne by contracts… I’ll be here.”

He didn’t say anything at first. Just nodded. His chin wobbled, then locked in place. Strong kid. Too strong for his age.

I knelt down and held out my arms. “Come on.”

He didn’t hesitate.

Ran into me like I was the only safe thing in the world.

I wrapped him tight. My cloak folded around him, but it didn’t feel like enough. Nothing did. Seven days. That’s all I had. One week to pretend I was a real dad. One week to teach him to fight and laugh and be loud again. One week to feel like maybe I hadn’t failed everything.

“Don’t slack on your training,” I whispered.

He nodded against my chest.

“Eat your greens. Even the gross ones.”

Another nod.

“And if some punk noble kid picks a fight—”

“I’ll trip him first and punch him when he’s down,” Kaelen finished.

I grinned and kissed the top of his head. “That’s my boy.”

Maria cleared her throat. Soft. But it carried.

I stood and turned to her.

We didn’t say anything. Not at first. Her gaze searched mine like she was committing me to memory. Not just my face. All of me. The little things. My breath when I was about to say something sarcastic. My posture when I was hiding sadness with pride.

“I’ll manage him,” she said.

I nodded. “Of course you will.”

“And you’ll… keep your promise?”

“Even if I have to fly through a blizzard naked.”

That earned me a look. The elegant arch of her brow. Half scandal, half threat.