Page 16 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince
“Wow! This really is a magical orchard!” I said, my heart racing.
“We’ll have our cherry pit in no time,” Azurus said, glowing with satisfaction.
“I can bring you refreshments if you’d like to wait,” the farmer said.
“Thank you,” I said, glancing from the farmer to Azurus. “I could certainly use a rest and some refreshment.”
“You deserve it,” Azurus said, taking me to a grassy slope off to one side where we could sit and wait for all our hard work to bear fruit, literally. “We both deserve it.”
“I’ll fetch everything you need,” the farmer said, walking away.
I sank down to sit in the grass by Azurus’s side, looking down the line of trees we’d planted. The work had been hard, but I had a good feeling about what it would produce.
Chapter
Six
Azurus
Whatever my mother’s intentions in sending Misha and I on her quest, I had to admit that it was nice to spend the afternoon working side by side with my omega. I didn’t exactly understand why Mother needed a cherry pit, but it had felt good to dig in the dirt with the sunshine on my back, knowing that I was helping Misha. It was good to do something that didn’t require magic. That way I could forget that mine was growing weaker and weaker despite the increasing closeness Misha and I felt.
“I still can’t believe we planted a hundred cherry trees!” Misha said as the two of us sipped on the cherry cordial that the farmer had brought us, along with a few cherry tarts. They were the second most delicious things I’d ever tasted. Misha’s lips were the first.
“You did amazingly well,” I told my beloved, taking up one of the last tarts from the tray, saluting him with it, then biting into its sweet-tart goodness, all while gazing straight into Misha’s eyes. His strong sweet pea and sugar scent only made the pastry taste better.
Misha laughed as if he didn’t believe me and took the last tart from the tray. “I don’t know how I managed it,” he said. “Truly. When we first started and I looked ahead to see how much work we would have to do, and all for a single cherry pit, I definitely didn’t think I was capable of it.”
I shook my head, then swallowed my bite of tart. “You do not give yourself enough credit, my sweet,” I said. “You are a prince, the mate of a dragon. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
Instead of being flattered by my comment, Misha sighed and shrank in on himself a little. “My mind is sick,” he said. “And I am a prince of nothing.”
It was frustrating to hear someone I loved so much put themselves down, especially knowing those dark opinions had been frightened into him by a cruel and evil father. They weren’t really a part of him. I was desperate to get past the veil of pain Misha wore and to get to my true mate.
“Your mind is healing,” I said, brushing the last of the tart crumbs from my hands then scooting to sit flush against my beloved’s side, one arm around his back. “And if all else fails, you are the mate of a dragon.” I winked at him teasingly for good measure.
Blessedly, Misha laughed. Because he was still chewing his tart, the sound came out as a snort, which only made both of us laugh harder.
It was beautiful and peaceful and simple. The two of us were sitting in the afternoon sunshine, our bodies warm and loose from hard work, watching a long row of magical cherry trees we’d just planted grow and bloom in the hope of bearing fruit.There was nothing bold or heroic about it, we weren’t saving any kingdoms or fighting against evil, but it felt as if we were exactly where we were supposed to be, enjoying each other in the perfect way.
The cozy feeling of the moment turned wistful when Misha finished eating and gazed up at me. “I haven’t gone into heat,” he said. “I should have a long time ago, but—” He finished his thought with a shrug.
“Don’t worry about it, love,” I said, combing my fingers through his hair. “Everything that is fated to be will come to pass in good time.”
“But will it?” Misha asked. “Are we truly mates if we haven’t—” he held his hands out, “—mated?”
“Of course we are,” I said. “I’ve been waiting for hundreds of years to find my fated mate,” I told Misha, feeling suddenly vulnerable. “A few more days or weeks doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Misha’s eyes went wide. “I knew that dragons lived an incredibly long time and that you are very old?—”
I laughed before he could finish his statement. “I’m notveryold,” I said. “In fact, in dragon years, I’m still a young and spry man.”
Misha blushed adorably. “You know what I mean,” he said.
“I do,” I said, smiling at him with all the simple joy that radiated from my heart.
He took a small breath then said, “What I mean is that you’ve been alive for hundreds of years. Why haven’t you found your fated mate already?”
I shrugged. “Because I was waiting for you,” I said.
