Page 21 of The Gold Dragon Prince
I took a breath and stepped back from him. “As I’ve explained, Saoirse has been gathering allies and support to attempt to overthrow my mother as High Queen of the magical realm. It is believed she has designs on other realms as well, and that some of her allies are men who have found their way into our magical kingdom illegally.”
“Yes, you’ve told me,” Selle said, making a gesture to push his glasses up his nose, then flinching when, once again, he didn’t find them there. “Your mother has sent you to gather evidence against her so that she can be brought to justice. But what you did not tell me is that she is in love with you.”
His narrowed eyes and indignation were adorable. I was sorely tempted to forgo the rest of the mission so that I could kiss and snuggle with him and our egg until we were loopy with love and bliss. But giving in to that temptation the night before was what had trapped us in the position we were in now.
I cleared my throat and said, “She is not in love with me. Saoirse loves only herself, power, and?—”
“And you!” Selle raised his voice to argue.
I shook my head. “She loves gold. A great many of the very worst people love gold more than anything. They love it more than the lives of the people they should care about, more than the wellbeing of a kingdom. They love it so much that it corrupts them and turns them into something small and ugly.”
“But you’re not?—”
Selle stopped with his mouth open as understanding struck him. His mouth formed into a silent “Oh”, and he rested a hand on our egg. “It’s not you,” he said, blinking and bringing his focus back to the moment. “She doesn’t see you as a man or even as a lover. She only senses that you are gold, so she wants you.”
“Precisely,” I said. “An unfortunate trait that has caused many gold dragons before me to lose their way and to become lonely and suspicious of whether their friends are true.”
Selle’s eyes suddenly filled with watery affection. “I love you,” he said, blinking back tears. “I loveyou, Gildur, not because you’re gold, but because you’re mine.”
I sucked in a breath, far more deeply affected by my mate’s love than I thought I would be. I suppose the worry had been there in the back of my mind, the fear that even though we were fated mates, Selle would only see my shine and not my heart.
“I love you, too, my delicious omega,” I said, cupping the side of his face, then leaning in to kiss him soundly.
Selle hummed happily and returned my kiss with exuberance. Every time I thought he would be a simple,emotional omega, he showed me that he had more power and courage within him than anyone would expect.
When he broke our kiss and leaned back, he glanced determinedly up at me and said, “What do we do? How should this garden party proceed? What sort of evidence does your mother need to bring Saoirse to justice and give her what she deserves?”
I smiled from my whole heart, so pleased with my mate that I could only drink in the beautiful, brave sight of him and our egg for a moment.
“We need to give Saoirse and her guests, her accomplices, as much rope as they need to hang themselves with,” I said. “We need to allow this meeting disguised as a garden party to proceed, and we need to note well everything that is said and everything that is involved.”
“Will your mother trust our word about things that are said or will we need another witness to their treachery?” Selle asked.
“She trusts me,” I said, suddenly brightening as the genius of Selle being with me struck me. “But it will be useful to have your word as well, and the word of our egg.”
“Our egg?” Selle looked surprised.
“Eggs are very perceptive,” I told him. “Not everyone can speak to them, but Mother can.”
“I would think so,” Selle said, an amazed, slightly far-away look in his eyes. He cleared his throat and looked at me with determination. “I should like to meet her one day, soon.”
“You will,” I told him, leaning in to kiss him again. “But now, let us turn our focus to Saoirse’s machinations.”
I took his hand and led him out of the hedge maze and up toward the lawn, where the party would take place.
“We especially need to discover which of heraccomplices do not belong in this world. There have been reports of a man from your own world, in fact, causing trouble and taking magic that does not belong to him. If we can find?—”
My words were cut short as we turned a corner around a hedge and came face to face with a middle-aged, balding man with a long, pointed beard. He was as surprised to find us in that part of the garden as we were to find him.
But the most surprising thing of all was the jolt of recognition I felt from Selle, and the corresponding frown of curiosity from the man.
“Manfred?” Selle whispered.
Chapter
Seven
Selle
