Page 25 of The Gold Dragon Prince
Gildur cleared his throat. “Yes, of course she would. It’s just that….” He hesitated, face tight, guilt and shame rolling at me through his bond.
“Gildur,” I said as kindly as I could, stepping forward to touch his arm. “Is there something you’re not sharing with me? Have you done something you’re not proud of?”
His eyes widened a little, and he said, “I am immensely proud of you.”
I almost laughed at his off-color comment. Then I realized it wasn’t merely a joke.
“You’re not supposed to be with me, are you,” I said, gasping as I grasped the truth. “Being with me has somehow meant you’re not doing what your mother asked you to do, and you don’t want to face her and admit you’ve disobeyed her.”
“It’s not that,” Gildur said, stepping closer to me and sliding an arm around my waist. “I love you, my darling. You are my fated mate. You bear my mark and have birthed my egg and everything.” He stroked the top of our egg as it rested against my belly, then looked sheepishly up at me. “But I may have disobeyed just a little by taking you when I did…and ignoring the call for help when the ogres attacked.”
“Gildur,” I said, raising a hand to cradle the side of his face. “You might have made a small mistake, but you did it for a good reason. I’m certain your mother would bepleased to know you’ve found your mate and that you have an egg, even if you disobeyed her a little bit to get there.”
“You don’t know Mother the way I do,” he said, wariness in his expression and our bond.
“If she is good, she will forgive you,” I said. “And everyone I’ve spoken to says she’s good.” I leaned into him, wanting to hug the fear I could feel in him away. It made me wonder if he’d ever gotten into trouble before or if he’d always been his mother’s golden boy.
But of course he had. He was a gold dragon. He probably felt as though he had to be perfect at all times.
“You are wonderful just as you are,” I told him, smiling as I caressed his face. “You are doing your best.”
“But I—” Gildur tried to protest. I could feel the shame and uncertainty boiling within him.
I countered it by lifting to my toes and pulling him close for a kiss. I wanted to convey that I loved him and would stand by him, come what may. He was my dragon, my mate, and whatever he did I would help him and be proud of him.
Gildur made a sound of acceptance and pulled me into his arms to kiss me back. I could feel love and gratitude spilling from him. The feelings between us were so powerful that I felt our egg vibrate with?—
“Scandalous!” Lady Saoirse’s voice shouted far too close to us. “Betrayal! Gildur, how could you?”
We jumped apart and turned to find Saoirse standing just a few yards away from us. The nobles who had been following her around the party were still with her, but the more I looked at them, the more I saw flickers of light around them, as though some sort of magic that had been cast around them was failing. The more I looked, the morethe nobles seemed to grow and bulk out until they looked like?—
“Ogres,” I whispered.
“How dare you kiss your undergardener?” Saoirse demanded, stepping closer to Gildur. “How dare you throw me over forhim?” She turned to me with a sneer.
To his credit, Gildur stood straighter and put a hand on the small of my back. “Selle is my mate, my true love,” he said, head held high. “I never cared a bit for you.”
Saoirse gasped. At first I thought it was in offense or anger. But, no. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at my stomach. “Is that a golden egg?” she asked breathlessly.
Terror ripped through me, but not even that reaction was fast enough to stop Saoirse as she used some sort of magic to rip my egg away from me. It flew right out of its holder and into her arms.
“A golden egg!” she squealed, everything else forgotten as she stared at my baby and rubbed her grubby hands all over it. Gildur was completely forgotten. “I’ve always wanted a golden egg. One golden egg can make more golden eggs. This is exactly what I’ve needed.”
“No!” I shouted, lunging toward her.
She held up a hand without even looking at me and I was frozen.
“Give that back,” Gildur said, charging at her as well.
To my shock, Gildur was also frozen to his spot. Saoirse’s magic must have been strong indeed if she could stop a dragon in his tracks.
“Take them out of my estate,” she told her ogres, which were now fully visible, her eyes still trained on our egg with extreme avarice. “Do whatever you want to them once they’re beyond the wall. I have an egg to play with.”
“No!” I shouted again as she walked away, cradling the egg.
My cry fell on deaf ears as the ogres surrounded us and lifted us to take us out of the estate grounds.
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