Page 12 of Consort of the Dragon King

“Got you,” Auslin murmured with satisfaction. He brought his hand up to Kitsuki’s arm and slowly pressed the pulsating silver light into his severed arm, where it was absorbed, much to the wonderment of the shifter monarch.

Kitsuki stared in disbelief as Auslin moved his hand downward, revealing more of his new arm. His shifter markings glowed a beautiful icy lavender from his aura combined with Auslin’s. It took an agonizing amount of time before reaching where his elbow should be. He held his breath, unsure if it would work or not.

Despite Kitsuki’s trepidation, his elbow appeared and continued into his forearm as Auslin poured all his energy into recreating his limb in perfect detail.

Enraptured by the process, Kitsuki watched in fascination as his hand grew under Auslin’s careful guidance, each finger fully developing. When the claws appeared, Auslin ran his hand along the length of the new arm, surveying it to make sure it was completely perfect. Satisfied with his work, Auslin broke the link between himself and Kitsuki.

The energy drain from using so much power was too much. Auslin fell back toward the bed. Kitsuki instinctively caught him, staring in shock as he held on to the mage with two hands for the first time in centuries.

Kitsuki guided Auslin to lie down on the bed. He was in utter awe of what the human had accomplished.

Satisfied Auslin was comfortable, Kitsuki studied his new arm. To his great surprise, his markings, which had darkened after Mitsuki severed his arm, were now a bright silver, like in his youth. He held both of his arms out to confirm the brightness had extended to all his shifter lines. Auslin rendered everything perfectly in loving detail.

Kitsuki allowed his dragon to come to the surface. His markings pulsated with more power than before, looking like a mercury river. The power rush intoxicated his dragon, so Kitsuki took control once more.

After Auslin had healed Jaega’s hand, his uncle still couldn’t summon his magic with it. Kitsuki stared in amazement as a silver flame responded to his call immediately, dancing in his palm as he moved his fingers to manipulate the fire.

It made Kitsuki wonder if his shifter healing had also been restored. While it felt like sacrilege to damage Auslin’s work, Kitsuki had to know. He used his claw to make a superficial scratch at the base of his palm. To his relief and amazement, it healed instantaneously. How had a mere human accomplished the impossible?

Kitsuki tentatively reached out with his new hand to brush Auslin’s hair away from his face. It was a small, intimate touch, yet it overwhelmed Kitsuki with the enormity of everything that had happened to him since being reunited with Auslin. He kept waiting to wake up and find out it was all a cruel dream. But none of his dreams had been so realistic.

“Thank you,” Kitsuki whispered to the slumbering human, meaning it for so many things.

Kitsuki picked Auslin up, moving him higher up the bed so he could put the covers over him. He then tentatively spooned behind Auslin, pulling him close to his chest with his newly reformed arm. He deeply inhaled Auslin’s scent, basking in the closeness of being with the human after so long. They still had things they would have to overcome in their relationship, but all that mattered in that moment was that Auslin was there and in Kitsuki’s arms, right where he belonged. Everything else could wait.

Chapter 9

Kisano

To be summoned to Kitsuki’s bedroom was enough of an oddity that Kisano hurried over to find out what had happened. When he arrived, Auslin was asleep in bed with a purple dragon made of fire resting on his stomach. Kitsuki sat by his side with a worried expression.

“Is that a fire spirit?” Kisano asked in bewilderment. When he received a nod from his brother, Kisano hummed with fascination. “I had not realized he was protected by one.”

“Hibiki was a gift from Kizoshi to keep Auslin safe.”

“Has something happened to him?” Kisano asked with concern. It troubled him the mage hadn’t stirred once at the sound of them talking.

Instead of answering with words, Kitsuki outstretched his arm and summoned his dragon fire. It took a moment for Kisano to register that it was the same arm Mitsuki had amputated. Kisano’s jaw dropped at the sight. “How?”

Kitsuki extinguished his flame before caressing Auslin’s hair. “He restored it with his healing powers.”

While Kisano knew Auslin was a powerful healer who had fixed Uncle Jaega’s hand, seeing he had regrown a missing arm was a level beyond comprehension. There wasn’t a healer in the Living Realm capable of that impossible feat, and yet Auslin had succeeded. “Vanra—I mean, Auslin did that?” Kisano asked, correcting himself when he automatically called Auslin by the name he had used in the past. The name change would take a little getting used to.

“Indeed.” Kitsuki clenched his new hand into a fist and opened it again while wiggling his fingers. “I witnessed it myself, yet I still cannot believe it.”

“That is astounding. He really is remarkable in every way.”

“He is.” Kitsuki’s worried expression returned as he looked back down at Auslin once more. “But Auslin has not stirred once since he finished. Hibiki appeared earlier this morning, which I believe is helping restore Auslin’s energy. But I thought perhaps you would know something about what to do.”

Touched that his brother had summoned him about something so important, Kisano regretted he didn’t have a better answer. “To regrow your arm with your shifter abilities restored must have taken an extraordinary amount of power on his part. I suspect his body is doing its best to recover from such an effort. If Hibiki was a gift from Kizoshi, I am sure the fire spirit is doing everything he can to help.”

“Logically, I understand that. But it is still uncommon for humans to sleep this long. I worry he overdid it and hurt himself.”

“It also is not common for humans to regrow missing shifter limbs and restore their powers,” Kisano countered with a wrysmile. “I do not think you can judge his deep sleep by mere human standards right now. Especially when Hibiki is present.” The fire dragon guardian rhythmically pulsated purple as they slept.

“I logically understand that, but it does not make it any easier to accept he has been comatose for over a day.”

Kisano’s gaze softened at Kitsuki’s upset. “I am certain he will awaken refreshed as soon as his body has recovered its strength. What is waiting another day after how long you have awaited his reappearance?”

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