Page 4 of Sea and Sky
It’d been months since he’d been inside, always doing whatever His Majesty bid him to do. Pointless missions. Luckily, Belea, the madam of the establishment, kept the library neat and tidy. Not one layer of dust marred his beloved books.
The room was smaller than he’d like, but it housed what he needed. Two of the four walls were bookshelves filled with books. He had a simple desk and chair, but Belea had insisted on something comfortable as well and had a lounge brought in. He was grateful for it. Too often before, he’d found himself falling asleep at the desk.
A window let the moonlight in. Not nearly enough to read by. He walked to his desk and dropped the stack of fresh books. Then tapped the thick glowstone lining the windowsill to fill the room with brilliant light. It was as if the sun were shining.
He shoved off his boots and loosened his belt. Planning to spend the night, he tugged off his shirt as well. After taking the first book off the top of his stack, he scooted to the lounge and plopped down. Sighing, he leaned back and brought his feet up to lie in the plush velvet. He wouldn’t stay awake long, but wanted to get started on the book.
His current research topic, or rather, his passion project, was merfolk and their tales. A copy of every book he could find on the topic from all over the realm and neighboring kingdoms was his. It all started with his mother’s stories when he was a child. She’d had a girlhood friend that was merfolk he suspected she loved more than as a friend. But duty called, and she married His Majesty. Gavin couldn’t help that he’d romanticized the stories. But learning about merfolk helped the realm, too. Mer tears could heal and he wanted to know if they had any other useful properties. Not that he’d force a mer into being a research subject. He wasn’t that type of person.
He often thought about what he’d do if he met a mer. What would their voice sound like? How would they move? Would he be able to tell they were merfolk when they were in their human form? Descriptions of merfolk in human form were rare.
The journal in his hand was deep green with an embossed mermaid on the cover. He’d found it a couple months back and was eager to read it. From his initial glance, it was written by merfolk about merfolk and their magic. The authors were a mer couple by the names of Kallen and Rayla. Gavin hoped to discover secrets he hadn’t found through other means. And learning another type of magic just added to his excitement.
He knew he should read something that’d be more useful, but he always gravitated toward merfolk. The fact he hadn’t yet met one frustrated him beyond measure. They hadn’t been seen in any of the known realms for decades, not since the necromancer war before his birth. If only he could meet a mer. He just wanted to have a conversation, nothing more. Sate his curiosity.
Opening the book, the spine cracked, and he cringed. He hated that sound. The first page had a faded drawing of a woman’s face, labeled Rayla. Long, flowing hair went off the page. She had a sadness about her hidden beneath the obvious beauty. He imagined she was blonde, though not sure of the shade. The next page was a faded drawing of a blond man labeled Kallen. Long hair flowed around his head as well, though not as long as Rayla’s.
The third page was a drawing of a perfectly round gelatinous egg. It took up the entire paper. He couldn’t help the grin. So, merfolk were eggborn. Or were they like dragon shifters and could choose between eggborn and human birth? The label under the egg explained merfolk didn’t have surface names, but that friends above water usually named them. The parents had no way of writing out their son’s mer name, and hadn’t given him a surface name themselves.
Him.
The word hatched was underlined with a date. Gavin calculated the time. The mer would be twenty-four, twenty-five come next spring. Page four was a portrait of an adorable, chubby-cheeked child. Was he still alive? Why had the journal been abandoned?
Gavin flipped through the journal and found several fascinating stories about grand adventures. He couldn’t wait to dive in, but his lids were so heavy.
A knock came at the door, startling him from his thoughts. “Enter.”
The door swung open and Damon—Gavin’s personal guard—strolled into the room. He was wrapped in a cape like Gavin had been. Gavin had been so engrossed in his book he hadn’t heard Damon’s heavy boots climb the stairs.
He was a full head taller than Gavin, not to mention the span of his thick horns. Damon was a true giant of a dragon in human form. There was little doubt why His Majesty chose him for Gavin’s guard.
Compared to other dragon shifters, especially to Damon, Gavin was small, but he was still huge when compared to humans. Gavin was easily half a foot taller than the average man. Thick muscled thighs, broad chest and shoulders, big arms. He had no complaints about his physique and neither had anyone else. Silver eyes and curving horns told the world he was dragon, and that was enough for him.
Damon smiled at the book in Gavin’s hand. “One of these days, I’ll catch you with someone.”
Gavin cocked a brow. “Doubtful. I only come here to study.”
“Which is the funniest damn thing I’ve ever heard. You know the rumors.”
Gavin waved away Damon’s words. “Yes, yes. Prince Gavin goes to the brothels every time he’s home. He must have dozens of little bastards running around.”
Damon snorted and settled at the desk, causing the chair to creak and groan.
“Your father summons you.”
Gavin barked out a laugh and snapped the book closed before setting it next to him. “I’ve been home for half a day, and he’s already sending me back out. Anything to keep me out of his hair.” His voice was raw with the need for something to drink. He wanted to stay here for the night, like he planned.
“He’s not sending you away this time.” Damon slapped his knee before pushing back to his feet. “He said to pull you out of whatever cunny you were fucking and drag you to the throne room, but he doesn’t know you like I do.”
Gavin snorted. “Ihavepartaken of the offerings of the establishment before.”
“But not lately.”
No… not lately.
Damon tipped his head toward the door. “We should probably head out. His Majesty doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
“Neither do I,” Gavin clipped out. “If he’s not sending me away, what does he possibly want?”
