Page 54 of The Wrath of Ashes
The full moon would be his undoing.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rath
For a king, the ceremony was painfully plain. Dragons several stations beneath him had ceremonies far more grandiose, but Rath didn’t fret over it. His parents would have seen to something far more ostentatious, but they weren’t there. Maybe they would be one day. He couldn’t put his life on hold to wait for someone who may not wake for another hundred years. And that was to be expected. To move on.
Asha had been a blushing mess every time Rath had seen him from sometime after dawn since the drawing evening when they’d stand before a gathering crowd—not in any human display indoors but outside, where Rath would guide Asha into his first full shift. Where they would declare their love for one another. Declare their mateship. Love would take time, but they had that in spades, as many as the fates and true gods would grant until they weren’t needed.
Rath sat in his guest chambers, where he’d taken temporary residence until Asha was ready for him, and stared at his hand. Pryd had come home straightaway from his duties to see to molding the gold for Asha’s horns. He’d been a spectacular goldsmith for some time, a better artist at the metal than Rath ever was or Slath ever could—despite his twin being an artist to his very core. Pryd had a certain connection to the vanity of gold.
His fingers rolled over the piece made of the Tippen signets and chained with gold, a single grain of which had been chipped from Rath’s to unite them in more than mere words and promises. A reminder in gold to bind their future.
A soft knock caught Rath’s attention, and he lifted his head to find Ghreid leaning in the doorway. “Brother.”
Rath stood, the gold still in hand and stared Ghreid down. As he did so, his tail curled anxiously behind him. “Is it time?”
“As good of one as any. Not much in the way of fineries, but the world still turns.” Ghreid stared at the chain and smiled. “Then again…you may not want many fineries. It may outshine your mate.”
“Nothing will outshine him. I’ll see a mane like fire and scales like fractioned light in fog. I only wish that it couldn’t be done sooner.” Rath smiled, the gesture a foreign one, tugging at his cheeks. His usual snarl of delight didn’t quite warm his face the same way.
“Wear that smile, Brother. It suits you. Though, you may not smile so vividly once you hear what I’ve witnessed.” Ghreid gestured for Rath to follow, but hesitation held both of them in place.
“Do I want to know?”
“Want to? No. Need to? Yes. Falustus was with Kensing and Jeron not too long ago going over something to make Asha a little more…pliant. The boy is all nerves.” Ghreid snorted. “They were giving him some wild yam and other herbs… You will have your talons full.”
Rath hesitated. “Asha is already overcome with desire. I cannot imagine this going very tamely.”
“I cannot, either. With the full moon and that going on, I anticipate being an uncle sooner or later.” Ghreid tidied Rath’s tunic and tugged at things a bit.
“Does Asha know this?” Rath froze, his heart beating hard.
“Of course. Jeron would never give him anything without full consent.” Ghreid scoffed and waved a hand dismissively.
Rath swallowed hard and tucked Asha’s chain in his pocket, following Ghreid’s lead.
It hadn’t been too long since he’d seen Asha in his mind for the first time, fleeting bits of darkness and pain that fueledthe flames of wrath. The earl and his son had been bitter but ultimately satisfying. His mate would soothe that aftertaste like nothing else. The thought consumed him as he walked.
Ghreid gave Rath a few placations that he couldn’t recall on the way, his mind a storm of curiosity, excitement, and joy. The underlying current of desire was there, but somehow less than the other sensations. In an hour, maybe more, he’d be whole.
The walk from his guest quarters to the promenade leading toward the castle courtyard was far longer than he’d ever recalled. Every step seemed to take him backward, failing to lead him out. The frustration mounted until he practically ran for half a hallway until Ghreid caught him by the elbow with a glare.
“Steel yourself, Brother.” Ghreid tidied him once more and held fast to his arm, frog marching him through the empty halls until they met the main entrance doors.
Never before had those barred wood doors seemed so final. Inches of wood, gold filigree, banding, and nails all stood between him and his nervous mate. He took a deep breath and pushed, squinting out at the sun setting low in the sky, preparing to welcome them to their first night of eternity.
“A dragon only lives as long as they’re needed, Brother. See to it you and your mate become people the world needs. And may your young be useful to the world, too.” Ghreid gave Rath a halfhearted hug.
Rath licked his lips and stared out of the cracked door. Time was growing short, but there was enough. “You’re next, Brother.”
“I dismissed my bedservant not two years ago and never bothered for another. Unseemly vice, love and lust.” Ghreid sniffed.
“One that I trust you’ll learn to love in time.” With that, Rath stepped into the light and took a deep breath of the thin, cool air.
A throng of people and dragons gathered along the promenade, some seated around the courtyard in various states of finery. Some wore the working-class garments of castle staff and those that lived in Sauria proper. Some wore the tailored adornments of dragons, all with expressions of genial kindness ranging from almost joyful to peaceful. The mating of a dragon to an Ashen was a spectacular thing to witness, and some believed the spectacle brought good luck to those that witnessed it.
Some even said it brought a chance to find their own mates.
