Page 32 of Consort of the Dragon King

Auslin had far more patience than Kitsuki. “I’ve moved on with my life. Nothing you can say or do will ever make me go back to you.”

Kio drew himself to his full height with a menacing gleam in his eyes. “Don’t be so sure of that. I’ll have you, one way or another.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Auslin demanded.

Sheathing his sword, Kio looked at Kitsuki. “Fine. I’ll let you have this round, asshole. But the next one is mine. It’ll be the best revenge ever and make Auslin hate you as the ultimate fuck you.”

Before Kitsuki could demand an explanation, Kio had turned on his heel and casually walked away with a wave at Auslin, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary. Kitsuki finally sheathed his sword once Kio’s presence had moved far enough away to not be an actual threat.

Only then did Kitsuki turn to look at Auslin, his dragon refusing to retreat yet. “You should not have interfered.”

“If I didn’t, you would have killed him!” Auslin exclaimed in outrage.

“And what exactly is the problem with that?”

“He’s yourbrother,” Auslin reminded Kitsuki. “You can’t kill him just for being a mouthy asshole!”

Kitsuki’s dragon narrowed his eyes in irritation. “As head of our family’s clan and ruler of this kingdom, we may carry out such punishments as we see fit.”

“Why can’t you understand I don’t want him killed because of me?” Auslin angrily questioned. “Why do you want me to live with that awful guilt for the rest of my life?”

“He is not worthy of such emotions,” Kitsuki’s dragon tried to reason with Auslin. “You should feel nothing but happiness that he finally isn’t around to cause you pain anymore.”

“That wouldn’t make me feel better!” Auslin exclaimed in frustration. “That would actually make me feel worse!”

“Then you wish to return to him?” Kitsuki’s dragon arched an eyebrow in silent challenge.

Auslin threw his hands up in frustration. “Why isthatyour logical conclusion to my protests?”

Rather than answering, Kitsuki’s sullen dragon silently looked at Auslin with an unreadable expression. It seemed to further irritate the mage.

“Why are you being so unreasonable?” Auslin demanded.

“We are not the one being unreasonable.” The argument pained Kitsuki and his dragon. It was an awful reminder of how different he was from his days as Kitaro.

“Oh, and I am?” Auslin incredulously demanded as he pointed at himself. “Yes, I amsuchan unreasonable, awful person asking you not to murder yourbrother.”

“Half,” Kitsuki’s dragon reflexively corrected. “Do not let your humanity excuse his odious behavior. He does not deserve mercy.”

Auslin stared defiantly at Kitsuki. It riled his dragon that Auslin was not submitting to them.

Since his dragon wasn’t having any luck, Kitsuki pushed him back into his cage before walking closer to Auslin. He reached out to physically reassure him, but the mage stepped back and out of reach. The rejection burned. Kitsuki could only stare down at Auslin in silent questioning.

“Is being human really so odious to you?” Auslin looked down, refusing to meet Kitsuki’s gaze.

The question was not the direction Kitsuki expected the argument to go. “It is not Kio’s humanity I find so objectionable but his strong familial resemblance to Father and Mitsuki’s unconscionable behavior.”

The comment finally made Auslin look up at Kitsuki with a pleading gaze. It moved the shifter monarch despite his rage. Kitsuki had always been weak against Auslin’s lavender gaze in the past, and apparently, nothing had changed in the intervening centuries. He reached out to stroke Auslin’s cheek. It was a relief when Auslin didn’t pull away from his touch. “Do you not understand I would rather rid this realm of him than allow him to hurt you for one more day?”

Auslin covered Kitsuki’s hand with his own, then nuzzled against it. It went a long way to reassuring Kitsuki. “And I appreciate that sentiment,” Auslin said, the defensiveness finally leaving his voice. “But that doesn’t mean that you get to kill Kio.Thatwouldhurt me more than anything he can say or do to me. I can’t have his death on my conscience.”

“He is unworthy of such kindness,” Kitsuki coldly told Auslin, even as he admired his lover for the strength of his forgiving heart.

“Probably,” Auslin agreed with a heavy sigh. “But I won’t change my mind about this. He can run his mouth all he wants. It changes nothing. I want to be with you and only you. He’s not a threat to us.”

“I wish I could share your certainty,” Kitsuki sighed. His instincts warned him worse was still to come from Kio’s attempts at trying to win back Auslin. But he couldn’t bear having his intended upset with him. “Very well. I will abide by your wishes for now. But should he become a threat to your safety, Iwillput an end to it.”

“Not even he’s stupid enough to physically hurt me. It’ll be fine.” Auslin went up on his tiptoes to kiss him for it. It helped ease some of Kitsuki’s discomfort with staying his hand for the time being. “Thank you for caring so much. I’m sorry I’m asking you to go against your nature, but this is too important.”

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