Page 19 of The Ruby Dragon Prince
Tovey noticed me at once. He was sitting on the grass to one side of the large fountain that stood in the middle of the cloister’s garden, surrounded by his brothers. Two of the other omegas paced restlessly beside the blanket where the others sat. One of them had been reading a book and another had been fashioning something out of wood with a small knife, but Tovey sat in the center of the blanket looking miserable and pale while the remaining brother rubbed his back.
As soon as I crossed from the stone of the cloister onto the grass of the garden, Tovey jerked straight, his eyes going right toward me.
“Rufus!” he called out breathlessly, then pushed himself to stand.
My omega didn’t look good. But of course he wouldn’t. He had separated from me after being claimed and he was only half-bred. Of course he was pale and wan, his body looking heavy and droopy, his belly slightly swollen and his eyes sad.
All of that changed in an instant as I strode toward him and as he stepped off the blanket to meet me. The color instantly returned to his face, he stood taller, and his eyes glowed with fondness and excitement again. The transformation was so instantaneous that his brothers gasped and exclaimed in surprise.
“Rufus,” Tovey said again as we met. He threw his arms around me in a powerful hug.
I hugged him back, no intention of ever letting him go again.
No sooner had I thought that than he stepped back from me, though he still clung to the cloth of my pitiful servants’ clothes. “What are you doing here?” he asked, blinking rapidly and looking me up and down. “How did you get here?”
“Why did you leave me?” I demanded in return, telling myself I was concerned, not hurt by his actions.
Regret, fondness, and wariness filled his eyes. “My brothers were calling for me,” he said. “I couldn’t abandon them, as much as I love you—oh!” He stopped, blinking in surprise.
“You love me,” I said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, even though I thrilled to hear the words. “I told you, we are fated mates. I have claimed and bred you. Our souls are entwined.”
Tovey peeked sheepishly over his shoulders at his brothers at my words. I hadn’t meant to embarrass him. I was merely stating the truth.
The omega princes all stared at me with expressions that ranged from timid to furious. It occurred to me fleetingly that whichever of my kinsmen was destined for the fiercest two definitely had their work cut out for them.
“I know,” Tovey said, turning back to me. “I can feel it so deeply in every part of me. I know that we are destined for each other, and yes, as strange and impossible as it feels, having known you only a few days, I love you.”
He smiled and raised a hand to rest on the side of my face, a gesture which suddenly made me feel as tame as a garden lizard.
“It’s as if what happened between us last night opened your entire heart and mind to me,” he said. “I know time passes differently in this world and the magical world, but it feels as if we have lived the past ten years of our lives together. I honestly feel as if I have known you that long.”
“How strange,” the omega with the book said behind Tovey. When I frowned at him, he quickly adjusted his glasses and stammered, “And wonderful. Strange and wonderful.”
I huffed and nodded, hoping he truly grasped how wonderful it was.
I turned my attention back to Tovey and said, “You will come with me now.”
That was all that needed to be said. I grasped his hand and turned to lead him out of the garden and back to where my door still waited, for a few more minutes at least, in the broom closet.
“No!” Tovey said, digging his heels into the grass behind me.
My arm jerked as he resisted. I turned back to him, eyes wide.
“What do you mean,no?” I asked.
Tovey let out a breath and glanced back to his brothers, then looked at me again. “I can’t leave my brothers when our father is so angry and determined to punish us.”
“You would choose a life in this cruel world over a life of peace, happiness, and safety with me?” I demanded, glancing from Tovey to his brothers, like it was their fault.
“I would prefer that we all had happy lives of peace and that we could all escape,” Tovey said, a spark of inspiration coming to his eyes. “Can you give me that?”
I was so close to blurting yes, I could. But the truth was that I didn’t know if that was possible. If what Emmerich had said yesterday was true, it was likely that all five of the other omegas were the fated mates of my kinsmen. Emmerich had stated outright that one of them, he didn’t say which, was his.
It was up to every dragon to claim their own mate. Omega mates couldn’t be bought or sold or captured to be given to their alpha. Mother had declared that ages ago. I couldn’t gather up all the omegas in a sack to sling over my shoulder and carry them back into the magical world to distribute to my kinsmen. Granted, I didn’t know what would happen if I were to try such a thing, but I felt instinctively that it wouldn’t be good.
“Tell them to come with us,” I told Tovey. “They can come of their own accord.”
Tovey turned back to his brothers. I could feel the new shoots of hope within him. “You could come of your own accord,” he said.
