Page 4 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince
A horrible shiver went through me. I had to push Leo’s egg back into his arms before I let it get the better of me. A wave of panic passed through me that was so acute I started to shake.
“Excuse me,” I wheezed, turning away from the happy circle of my family and starting for the doorway that led out into the castle gardens.
“Misha, are you well?” Azurus asked, stepping after me.
“I—” I almost lied to him and told him I was fine, but he could see that I wasn’t. “I just need to breathe fresh air for a moment. I’ll be alright on my own.”
I thought Azurus would come with me despite my insistence on being alone, but he stayed where he was as I picked up my pace and all but fled into the garden.
I could hear and feel my brothers and their mates talking about me behind my back, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I raced out into the gardens, putting as much distance between myself and discussion of the war I knew was coming in my father’s world as I could.
At the other end of the beautiful, fragrant castle gardens was a water garden with a great many fountains. I’d always found the sound of fountains to be soothing, so I went there, sinking to sit in the grass beside one of the larger pools. There I was able to look at my reflection in the water…and I hated what I saw.
“Who are you?” I whispered demandingly at my reflection. “This is not who you are meant to be.”
A sad, frightened, defeated omega prince looked back at me. He didn’t have any answers as to why I had become the miserable man I was. Nobody had those answers.
Chapter
Two
Azurus
Iwas a sapphire dragon, son of Queen Gaia herself, and had already lived for hundreds of years and lent my strength to numerous battles and causes. I possessed a magnificent lair and a rich hoard. The ordinary people of the magical world looked up to me with respect and awe.
But nothing made me feel small and helpless in quite the way that watching my fated mate flee into the gardens, knowing he was beset by demons that I couldn’t see and couldn’t do anything to fight for him. Nothing worried me more than the fact that we had known and been close to each other for weeks now, but Misha hadn’t gone into heat and we hadn’t bonded.
It was more of a problem than Misha realized. When dragons bonded with their mates, it increased their magical powers. Although I’d never heard of a dragon’s mate rejecting him before, and while I knew Misha wasn’t purposely rejecting me, I could already feel my magic beginning to fade. The drain wasn’tbad yet, but it was a cause for concern. Misha and I needed to bond before it was too late.
I watched my beautiful, tormented mate run off into the sunlight and greenery of the garden, then blew out a breath and let my shoulders drop. We were fated mates. I was drawn to the small, handsome omega in a way I had never been drawn to any of the lovers I’d had before. He was so good and pure of heart, but so desperately needy at the same time. I did not mind being fated for a needy mate, but I minded that I couldn’t meet those needs.
Misha needed something, and try as I did, I could not figure out what it was or what might heal him.
My brother Emmerich’s hand on my shoulder jolted me out of my spiraling grief on my mate’s behalf.
“You’re doing everything you can,” Emmerich said in a kind voice.
I turned to him, noticing that all the others were watching me as well. “Am I?” I asked, my gut churning with restlessness and desperation. “Am I really? Misha awoke from a horrific nightmare again this morning, sobbing and cowering away from me as if I were some sort of devil chasing him.”
“Our father,” Leo said, scowling even as he cradled his egg protectively and affectionately. “Not a devil, our father.”
“Is that what, or rather who, he’s dreaming about?” Selle asked, picking up his egg and cradling it as well.
“I can’t imagine it would be anything else,” Tovey said, one hand on each of his eggs in the nest.
“Our father is the worst sort of villain,” Leo said, starting to pace as he stroked his egg. “He made our lives a living hell since we were born. He hated that we weren’t alphas. He despised our papa for only having omega children. He drove Papa to an early grave, and he has lived every day of his life to seek revenge on us for who we are.”
“For who wearen’t,” Selle corrected him.
“Which is utter foolishness,” Diamant said, stepping into Leo’s path and pulling him into his arms. “Anyone with eyes can see that you are every bit as potent and wonderful as any alpha.”
From what little I knew of Prince Leo, I would have expected the fierce omega to pull away from Diamant rather than consent to being pet and hugged. Leo grinned up at my brother and snuggled closer, together with his and Diamant’s egg, though. As tough as Leo was, he softened for his mate.
Which only made me more frustrated for my situation with Misha.
“Misha is a gentle soul,” I said, moving to the table where an enormous breakfast had been laid out. I picked up a pastry glazed with something sweet and sticky, but after one bite, I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat it. Not while my stomach and my entire body were so unsettled. “He was never meant for a life of conflict and war, like we’re heading for. He was meant for a quiet, domestic life of peace. He was meant to be a mate and a papa.”
“Agreed,” Tovey said with a sigh. “I think we’ve always known that about Misha. He’s the meekest of us.”
