Page 6 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince
It was painful to watch. I could face down a clump of ogres without pause or battle King Freslik’s army in the field as part of Osric’s forces, all without questioning myself or my courage once. But seeing my fated mate wilted with defeat while sitting in the grass beside a fountain in a quiet garden had my heart quivering in my chest.
I did the only thing I could think to do. I put on a happy face and reached down for his hand. “Come back to the castle,” I said, trying to pretend nothing was amiss. “Your brothers and mine have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Misha turned his face up to me, but his expression contained only mild curiosity instead of anything close to excitement.
“Yes,” I said, holding his hand tightly when he slipped it into mine. I helped him to stand and pulled him into a quick embrace. “We all care so much about you, Misha. We just want to see you smiling again.”
I’d hoped saying that would encourage him, but instead, Misha lowered his face once more.
“I’m sorry that I’m such a….” He shrugged, unable to find a word that described what he thought he was.
“You’re wonderful,” I told him, still trying to smile, though my heart was breaking. “That’s what you are.”
Misha gave me a look as if to say, “If you think so”.
“I absolutely think so.”
To prove my point, and to test how depleted my magic had become, I closed my hand, then opened it, revealing a magical blossom that glittered like it was made of sapphires. I smiled at it then tucked it behind Misha’s ear. All was not lost as long as I still had some magic.
“Come.” I kissed him quickly, then led him back toward the castle.
Everyone was waiting for us, and as we stepped through the glass doors into the room, they burst out into song.
“For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good fellow!”
I smiled and sang along, but my heart pounded harder and my desperation to make Misha happy bordered on panic when Misha shrank at the singing instead of gaining confidence from it. We might not have started bonding yet, but I knew my tragic mate well enough to know that the celebration we’d hastily planned was making things worse instead of better.
“For he’s a jolly good fellow, that nobody can deny!”
When the song finished, all of Misha’s brothers and mine stood waiting, expectant smiles on their faces.
Nothing happened. Misha only stared at them, his bottom lip quivering and his eyes going glassy. My magical blossom seemed to wither and fall from behind Misha’s ear, disintegrating before it could hit the floor.
“See, Misha?” Tovey said, taking a step forward. He had both of his eggs in his arms and he looked as though he wanted to hand them over to Misha so he could feel their happiness and comfort. “We all love you. We’re so glad you’re here with us.”
“You’re not alone,” Selle added. “You’ll never be alone as long as you have family.”
“But I am alone,” Misha blurted, his tears beginning to flow. “I’m so alone. You are all too kind to me. I don’t deserve it. You don’t know what these horrible feelings of fear and sadness are like.”
“We’ve all experienced Father,” Leo said, inching closer, like he wanted to embrace his brother, which was, as far as I knew, out of character for Leo.
“No,” Misha said, shaking his head and backing away, even from me. “You don’t know what it’s like. You all experienced Father and were stronger and braver than me. I’m the only one who has broken down and can barely draw breath now. I cannot let you celebrate me when I’m so broken. I cannot do this.”
Before I could reach for my beloved to pull him close and tell him that everything would be alright, he turned and bolted for the door leading into the garden again. It felt as though some of my magic vanished with him.
I wanted to go after him. Everything within me wanted to chase after him and catch him and just hold him, crying with him until we could figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. At the same time, I thought perhaps my beloved mate needed tobe alone for a moment. Or perhaps not? I just didn’t know, and because I didn’t know, I couldn’t make him better.
“Should we go after him?” Tovey asked, his voice and expression showing that he was just as puzzled about what to do as I was.
“I think he needs some time to himself,” Leo answered.
“Or he’s had too much time to himself and he needs to know that we care about him enough to chase after him,” Selle said.
“Or will that just upset him even more?” Gildur asked.
“The whole thing is just so frustrating,” I blurted before I could stop myself. It was my business and Misha’s, but I needed the care and support of our family as much as Misha did. “I’ve never encountered anything like this cloud of sadness and fear that Misha seems stuck under. It’s…it’s affecting me as well.” I sent a sideways look to Emmerich, but I wasn’t ready to share my loss of magic. This was about Misha, not me.
“These are the scars left by evil men like King Freslik,” Emmerich said with a sigh. “They are far worse than battle wounds and the scars they leave.”
