Page 30 of The Diamond Dragon Prince
“We’re fast enough on foot,” Emmerich said, enjoying the chaseand the banter a bit too much.
He had a small point. Being dragons, we were capable of great speed, even in our human form. I didn’t like the way my human muscles ached and my lungs burned after an hour of running, though. There were easier ways to accomplish the mission that beat through every vein and cell in my body.
I wasn’t about to give up or let up, though. The closer I came to Leo, the more I could feel him. He was in distress. He needed to birth our egg. Beyond that, as the distance between us closed and I could feel his emotions with more clarity, I sensed a sort of astonishment from him that confused and worried me.
“Look ahead,” Emmerich said as we rounded the top of yet another hill. “There they are.”
My brother was right. Ahead of us, spread out over a vast, grassy plain, was what looked like a large army camp. Unlike the mercenary soldiers working for King Freslik, this camp seemed ordered and organized, even from a distance. Smoke from many campfires set at equal distances from each other curled into the air, and the arrangement of the small tents contained in the camp was regular and tidy.
“I don’t think these people work for Freslik,” Azurus said what I was thinking. Or, at least, what I would have been thinking if every bit of my brain and heart wasn’t focused solely on my omega.
“There are other powers in this world, other kingdoms,” Emmerich said, though I could tell from his frown that he wasn’t certain what he was looking at either.
The better discipline of this new army was also apparent in the way the three of us were noticed long before we reached the perimeter of the camp. A small contingent of men on horseback broke away from the campand rode toward us, and before we were anywhere close to a place where we could do harm, we were surrounded.
“Who are you and what is your business here?” the lead scout demanded, though with a note of fairness in his voice that gave me hope Leo hadn’t fallen into the wrong hands.
“We’ve just come from King Freslik’s abominable work camp in search of the omega princes,” Emmerich answered, standing tall and proud, like a dragon should.
“You have my mate,” I blurted, breathless and anxious. “Prince Leo. He is mine, my omega, my heart and soul. Take me to him at once.”
Emmerich sent me a sideways look of disapproval and shook his head. Azurus chuckled, then hid his grin behind his hand.
The soldier scouts didn’t know what to make of us. I wasn’t surprised. We weren’t like any alpha of standing they would have expected to come out of Freslik’s kingdom.
“Remove any arms they carry,” the lead scout ordered the others.
“We’re unarmed,” Azurus said, holding his arms out to his sides to prove it.
Two of the others dismounted to check us all the same, then nodded to their superior that we were telling the truth.
“Come with us,” the lead scout said, wheeling his horse around and marching us toward the camp.
It was indignant for dragons to be led around by mere mortals, but I didn’t care about high and low at that moment. All I cared about was my Leo and holding him in my arms again. It was as if I’d had my heart and my purpose ripped from me to be separated from him. My dragon kin was right. I had never amounted to much before Leo danced and fought his way into my life. I could see nowthat the idleness of my days was a pale version of the life I could have been living, the life I would live with my fated mate.
My eagerness to reunite with Leo was tempered slightly by the surprises waiting for us inside the army camp. For one, the camp and army were just as well organized up close as they had been from a distance. The soldiers we passed all seemed clean, well-equipped, and disciplined. The camp was efficient, and even though the soldiers were eating their morning meal, they all seemed ready for whatever orders they might be given.
The biggest surprise came when we reached the center of the camp. Several camp chairs had been set up around a larger fire. A few soldier servants rushed about, serving food and providing the men seated in the chairs with steaming mugs of something. It was comfortable and almost homey, even though it was out in the open.
None of that mattered to me.
“Leo!” I called out, rushing forward to where my indomitable omega sat slightly hunched in one of the chairs.
Leo glanced up at me as if he’d been struck by lightning. He let out a cry, then dropped his mug to the grass in front of his chair and flew to me.
“Diamant!” he groaned, leaping into my arms and wrapping himself around me.
I let out a cry of relief and wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. I could feel his body and soul settle and repair themselves as we breathed each other’s air and felt each other’s warmth. Leo let out another cry as he pressed his cheek against mine, then shifted so that he could kiss me passionately.
Everything would be alright. That was what that kisstold me. I had my omega back in my arms, our egg was still safe inside him, though I could feel how eager it was to come out into the world. A whirlwind could have swept through the plain, flattening everything, and I wouldn’t have felt it.
“—can see that they are mates,” a deep, warm voice from the center of the area we’d been led to said.
Remembering that Leo and I were not alone and that the world we were in was fraught with major events shook me out of the moment of reunion. Leo seemed to realize we weren’t alone either. He lowered his legs until he was standing on his own then pivoted to stand by my side, one arm still around me.
“I must admit to being confused,” Emmerich said, far more focused on whatever situation we’d walked into than I was. “Who are you?”
“He’s our cousin, Osric,” Rumi said, standing from where he’d been seated in one of the chairs and approaching Emmerich with stars in his eyes. I’d never seen Prince Rumi so taken with anyone before. It was clear there was a connection between him and Emmerich already, and if Emmy wasn’t such a stick in the mud, Prince Rumi would have thrown himself at him as quickly as the other princes had embraced their mates.
