Page 130 of Consort of the Dragon King

“In that case, ask for Yaro or Tiah when you reach Barlatan. They’re his best friends in the city, so if anyone will know where Auslin is, it’s them.” Maseo remembered seeing them in Barlatan when he was with Kio during Auslin’s visits to the capital of Zinnia.

Maseo appreciated the advice, but he found it odd Sephen was so open to giving him information to find his brother. “Can I ask an uncomfortable question?”

Sephen laughed. “Sure.”

“Why don’t you seem to hate me?” Maseo rubbed his thumb over his dragon ring. “You know why Auslin should hate me. How could you not?”

Sephen looked at him with so much sympathy that Maseo forgot how to breathe. “Because both of us understand Kio is the villain in this situation. He hurt you even worse than my brother.” Maseo didn’t expect Sephen to lean over and give him a hug. “I’m sorry he treated you so terribly. You didn’t deserve it. Neither you nor Auslin did.”

“Thank you,” Maseo said in a soft voice. He struggled not to cry at the revelation. “I just…I thought everyone hated me because I was with Kio.”

“We’re much happier you got away from him. That’s what matters more than anything.” Sephen smiled at him with a warmth he didn’t understand. “I hope you can have a nice, long chat with Auslin when you find him. I think it would help you both feel a lot better.”

Maseo admitted something he had never said out loud before. “I always thought under different circumstances, Auslin and I could be friends. But Kio ruined any chance of that.”

“No, he didn’t,” Sephen said with conviction. “Auslin already thinks of you as a friend. But he’s afraid you wouldn’t want to be friends because you blame him.”

Maseo’s jaw dropped. “How could I blame him for any part of Kio’s cruelty?”

“If you feel like that, is it such a stretch to believe Auslin feels the same way about you?”

After a lifetime of abuse, Maseo found it almost impossible to fathom Auslin didn’t hold Kio against him. “He really thinks of me as a friend?”

“He definitely does. He wants you to be happy and loved, like you deserve.” Sephen smiled at him again. “Like I said, it sounds like you two need to have a nice, long talk instead of assuming the other thinks the worst of you. You two becoming close friends will be the only good thing Kio will have ever done with his life.”

Now, more than ever, Maseo was determined to find Auslin and Kitsuki. “Thank you for telling me.”

Sephen reached over and squeezed his shoulders. “I know you’ve been living like a lone wolf for a while now, but you have more allies than you think. Me included.”

“That means more to me than I could ever possibly express.” Maseo stood up to leave. “Thank you for talking to me. I promise I’ll find your brother to tell him what I’ve found out.”

“Good luck, and safe travels. I’ll say some extra prayers to Sophina that fate puts you in Auslin and Kitsuki’s path soon.”

His conversation with Sephen made Maseo even more resolved to find Auslin and Kitsuki. It mattered more than ever before that he told them what his father was planning before it was too late.

Chapter 63

Auslin

“Why has your dragon been so much more possessive than normal?” Auslin asked as they cuddled after being intimate later that night. The night stars twinkled above them on the beautiful evening.

“While I understand Yaro’s interest in you is him being overly friendly, it unsettled my dragon,” Kitsuki replied. “I apologize for not being able to keep a tighter rein on him.”

“I don’t mind. I was only curious.” Auslin stroked Kitsuki’s hair to reassure him. “But seriously, you have nothing to worry about from Yaro, of all people.”

“While I logically understand that, my dragon is desperate to lay claim to you all the same. He is not as quick as me to forgive the way Yaro was scenting you.”

Auslin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“As a dog shifter, Yaro has a very sensitive sense of smell,” Kitsuki explained. “My dragon did not like how he stayed close to you to take advantage of that.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what Yaro was doing. Besides, I have a mate now and no interest in attracting anyone else. I shouldn’t smell tempting to him, right?”

“In a perfect world, that would be true,” Kitsuki said. “Sometimes a mated person can still attract another’s attention because it is an artifact from the ancient days when there were trinity bonds.”

“Trinity bonds?” Auslin repeated in surprise. “I thought those were only a myth about when a human, Power, and shifter mated together.”

Kitsuki brushed his thumb against Auslin’s upper arm. “It has been eons since a trinity bond was formed. Had circumstances been different, my father potentially could have formed one with Arenthia and Kio’s mother.”

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