The Dragon Queen and her mates.
Chapter 279: I can’t help you

Chapter 279: I can’t help you

Rosalie was a fine young woman. She was tall and good-looking with impish features. With a flaming red dress that looked nothing less than a cheap copy of the ones that Bree used to wear and her brown locks tied in a bun with two curls left to dangle on the side of her face, Rosalie would have looked cute.

But she didn’t. Cian’s jaw was set as he brushed past Rosalie, who was standing in front of him as if she were hoping for something else other than his distant response. It was truly funny because Cian had never—not once—said anything that led her on or made her believe that he liked her.

Though he was a siren, Cian was not a heartless man who would lead women on and then dump them as if they were beneath him. He knew that he needed to be better than this; after what happened to his mother and the fact that he was blamed as one, it didn’t sit well with him.

"I can see that you are upset with me." Rosalie winced when she heard him speak to her in that cold tone. "I am sorry. I really didn’t expect my father—"

"Well, what were you expecting him to do when you told them all those lies?" Cian questioned with an annoyed voice. "When did I ever say that I wanted more from you, Princess Rosalie? As far as I know, I was nothing but civil with you. Did you really think that I was trying to seduce you? I was just talking with you and nothing more."

She was not the first one to make such claims and Cian knew that she wouldn’t be the last. As a siren, he was often questioned for seducing men and women when the truth was that it was his appearance that threw them off. He never did anything to them, never turned on his charm but he was still blamed.

Because it was easier to push the blame on his head, making it sound like they were better than him as if they hadn’t thought of betraying their husbands, wives, or partners because they lacked the loyalty and ability to resist the beauty of a siren.

But somehow he was the one at fault every time.

"I didn’t mean to lie to him but I had no choice." Rosalie spoke to him in a beseeching voice. "I didn’t want to do it either but when I asked him to help your brother, my father told me that it was a bit difficult and your brother—well, he is quite an insistent person. He told me that he was willing to do whatever it took to get my father’s support, so I spun that lie."

When Cian heard that Omar had gone back to King Pierre for his support, he wasn’t surprised but that didn’t mean that he was not furious. He was. He couldn’t believe that his brother had let him down in such a spectacular manner.

Omar must have sensed that the princess liked him and thus tried to use him. He must have never expected that Cian would find his mate and that mate would turn out to be Bree.

"Why did my name even pop into your conversation and that too in such a manner? I am a mated man."

Her lips thinned when he called himself ’mated,’ and Cian knew that she didn’t like it. Well, she had to just deal with it if she didn’t like it.

"I didn’t want it to happen either. It just came up when I told my father that I didn’t want to be engaged anymore. He asked me if I had someone in mind, and I told him that I would like it if it was someone like you—I cannot," her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as she struggled for a while before drawing a breath and stating, "I cannot sleep with men, as my father already told you. It’s really hard for me to do that, but my father, his fief, needs an heir, which is why I need a man. That’s why I told him that if only I could find a siren who could make me forget my fears towards a man. Maybe I might be able to get pregnant."

"I knew no other sirens other than you, which is why I ended up saying your name. I never thought that my father would make such an audacious demand from the Empress."

"I swear, I never meant to cause trouble for you or Her Majesty."

She could swear as much as she liked but Cian was no longer going to believe a thing coming out of her mouth. He tilted his head to one side and questioned, "Do you really think that your hesitation is because of your fears?"

"Of course I do," she replied, sounding a little affronted. "Why are you even asking such a question? Do you really think that I am making light of my fears and the trauma that I went through? I was about to be ruined, Cian. If not for the knights who saved me, I am afraid I would have been..." She stopped speaking as her shoulders shrunk.

Cian shook his head. He wasn’t putting her down or making light of her sufferings but he had never, not once, sensed any kind of fear from Rosalie. She looked fine to him without any trauma. If he was being honest, she looked a bit unstable to him but nowhere traumatic.

If she was, then he would have sensed it. As a siren, he could sense such things. After all, only by using the emotions of a person could he make them trust him enough to give into him and he didn’t sense that kind of pain from Rosalie.

He said to her, "I am not making light of your sufferings, your highness. What happened to you was really sad," her eyes lit up when she saw him taking pity on her. "But I cannot help you."