Page 25 of The Ruby Dragon Prince
“I need your help,” I addressed my kinsmen, marching up to the table with the assumption that they would do my bidding without question.
Emmerich and Argus exchanged knowing looks.
“What do you need our help with?” Argus asked, leaning back in his chair and hooking one strong arm over its top. He wore a clever grin that made me want to growl at him. He might have been the eldest, with streaks of silver in his hair to prove it, but that didn’t mean he knew better than me.
“My fated mate refuses to come here to make his life with me until a dastardly plot hatched by his father is foiled,” I said. “So we all need to band together to go to the cruel world at once, terrorize King Freslik into abandoning his plan, and bring my Tovey home.”
My declaration was met by silence underpinned by barely concealed laughter.
“Have a seat, Rufus,” Emmerich said, gesturing to the seat beside Diamant on the other side of the table. “We were just talking about King Freslik and his dastardly plans.”
Emmerich’s calm made me feel foolish. I resented that, but the way he and Argus looked at me with fondness and amusement cooled the anger and righteousness I felt. They didn’t have to say a word to scold me, but I knew they were right.
“Being a ruby dragon is a curse,” I growled, yanking out the chair next to Diamant’s and plunking into it. “This temper never does me any good.”
“At least you come by it naturally,” Diamant laughed, reaching around the end of the small table to thump my shoulder. “And temper can be tempered, if you’ll excuse the word, into righteous action and power.”
I nodded at him, stroking my beard. Diamant would know. He’d served as governor of the troll and ogre province of Mother’s kingdom for a century during the last millennium.He knew how to combine his temper with patience to bring Mother’s most unruly subjects into line.
“Which of King Freslik’s plots has young Prince Tovey so determined to choose his people over his mate?” Argus asked calmly, reaching for the glass of wine at his place.
I was grateful that one of the servants brought me a plate of the same fare my kinsmen were eating and a glass of wine. It gave me a moment to push aside my anger to remember the important details of what Tovey and his brothers had told me.
“Something about the king and a Lord Groswick planning to tax the farmers and make their lives miserable,” I said after taking a large gulp of wine.
Argus and Emmerich looked at each other and made long, low sounds, like they’d figured something out.
“That must have been why the two of them left the council chamber together when we broke for the midday repast,” Argus said.
I nearly fumbled the chunk of meat pie that I’d just speared as I glanced at him. “You know about this plan already?”
“Not per se,” Argus said, shrugging slightly. “I am part of King Freslik’s council, and they have been debating the management of the kingdom and ways to squeeze more money from the peasants all morning.”
I would have choked on my bite of pie if I hadn’t just swallowed it. “You’re the one who has infiltrated King Freslik’s council?”
Argus smiled and pretended to bow as much as he could while seated. “In disguise, of course,” he said, adding a wink.
“Which councilor are you?” I asked. Not that I would know. My experience of the cruel world consisted of that one journey there that I’d just taken.
“I shall never disclose my secrets,” Argus said, touching his nose as he looked across at Emmerich.
Emmerich nodded sagely and winked in return.
I grunted as I ate another bite. “The two of you are as thick as thieves,” I said once I’d swallowed. “Your secrets will take us all to our graves.”
“Nonsense,” Emmerich laughed. “Our secrets keep us, our mates, your mate, and the entire magical kingdom safe from interference by the likes of King Freslik and his sycophants.”
“The fewer people who know just how much of a hand we have in other worlds the better,” Argus said.
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant about other worlds but decided against it. I was vaguely aware that there were thousands and millions of worlds that made up the Universe. I wasn’t the sort to be interested in all any of them other than the one where I lived my life, served my mother, and took care of my mate and our family.
Which brought me back to the matter that had spurred me to act in the first place.
“I cannot let Tovey continue on in the cruel world for long,” I said, fighting to be practical instead of full of zeal. “We are mated now. I bred him last night. Well, half bred him. I need to complete the breeding as soon as possible.”
I admitted the last bit in a somewhat sheepish tone, bowing my head slightly. It wasn’t polite to talk about such things at the table, but it was important that my kinsmen knew my reasons for haste.
“Already?” Argus asked, looking startled. “You’ve only just met the lad.”
