Page 58 of Consort of the Dragon King

“I still don’t understand what makes me so special out of everyone in the Living Realm.” Trying to figure out the mystery hurt Auslin’s head.

“Your heart has a remarkable capacity for love, which allows you to touch those who have closed themselves off from believing they deserve that affection. It is one of the many gifts your healing powers blessed you with.”

Auslin had never considered that trait as an extension of his healing abilities. “I can do that for anyone?”

“Yes, so long as they’re willing to open their hearts to you. Kisano is a great example of your abilities to make someone’s life better with your love.”

Auslin toyed with his lower lip as an idea formed in his mind. “What about Maseo?”

“What about him?”

“Do I have the power to make him believe he deserves a love like Kitsuki and I have?”

She studied him carefully. “Why is that so important to you?”

It took a moment for Auslin to articulate his reason. “Because it breaks my heart no one’s ever loved him. Now that he’s left Kio, I don’t want him to be alone.”

“You want to show him what love is?”

Auslin rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I do. Is that weird?”

“You should trust your instincts with him,” Kizoshi said. “They will never lead you wrong.”

Her answer strengthened Auslin’s resolve to help the half-shifter. “I hope I see him soon, then.”

“Your paths will cross again sooner than you think. You will heal him in many ways at that time.”

Relief flooded Auslin. He still didn’t understand why it was so important for him to make Maseo’s life better, but something inside him insisted it was the right thing to do. That certainty had only increased with the growth of his powers.

Auslin fell silent as he struggled with a troublesome question. “If Imeyu was my father, why didn’t he heal my mother so she didn’t die? How could the Healing Power let someone he loved die when he could cure her?”

Kizoshi’s gaze grew sympathetic. “Unfortunately, fate would not allow him to do so.”

“But that’s so unfair!”

“Please understand, I do not say this out of unkindness.” She paused before continuing. “Fate decreed you and your brother must live at the Fate’s Gate Temple. As heartbreaking as it is,your mother's death was necessary for that to happen. Imeyu understood that.”

The news left Auslin with a weird feeling of guilt. But the dots connected for him. “Because I had to be there to go through Fate’s Gate to meet Kitsuki in the past.”

“Precisely.”

Auslin absentmindedly rubbed his fingers over his newly emerged lines on his arm. “What about Sephen? What’s his reason for needing to live at the Fate’s Gate Temple?”

“Because it was the only place where he could learn to be the person he needs to be.”

“To what end?”

“To gather the knowledge to bring happiness to himself and others. Your brother will touch the hearts of many. You do not need to fear for his future.”

It was a relief to hear. “Is he also secretly a half-Power?”

Kizoshi shook her head. “His father was a human warrior, which is why he has no magic.”

“But if my mother was in love with Imeyu, then how did that happen?”

“Imeyu fell deeply in love with your mother from afar. He abandoned his duties to live with her here in the Living Realm. When he was recalled to the Divine Realm, the normal punishment at the time for that crime was banishment to the Beyond Realm.”

“Why wasn’t he punished that way?”

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