Page 17 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

I force myself to take a step back. It doesn't help, but this was our decision.

Swallowing bile, I turn away.

She's angry at me for keeping her other so-called mates imprisoned, but what would she have me do? Let them run around my kingdom?

Let them live here, with me? Kissing and touching my mate whenever they wish?

Impossible.

Clenching my jaw and my fists, I make my way to my living room. I should probably head to bed. The day's events weigh on me, and I need my rest. If I'm going to make any progress, earning Ember's trust and affection tomorrow, I will have to walk a tightrope, protecting my kingdom while also opening myself up to my mate.

But there are still a few duties I must attend to.

Making myself as comfortable as I can, I fire off a handful of messages to my staff. I have big plans for showing Ember the beauty and splendor of the Water Kingdom, and I will require assistance navigating the details.

Just as I'm finishing up, a knock sounds on my front door.

I rocket to my feet.

At this hour, with Obi already dismissed and Zahra tasked elsewhere, there's only one person this can be. I've both been looking forward to and dreading her arrival.

Sure enough, I stride toward the door and open it to find none other than my mother standing before me. She's in full Queen Dahab mode, of course, resplendent as ever in a turquoise gown, her long, black and gray locs styled in a swirling coil on top of her head.

She takes me in, and I brace myself for her censure.

"Mother. You must allow me to explain."

Her stern expression cracks. "Beloved baby boy, you have nothing to explain."

She sweeps past me and into my home then. The instant I have the door closed behind her, she pulls me into her arms, and I all but melt into her embrace. I laugh into the silk of her gown, breathing in the scent of home that always surrounds her. "I thought you'd be mad."

"Shh, let's not talk of that yet."

Ah, so she is angry, then. But if she's willing to put it aside for the moment, I am glad for the reprieve.

Pulling away, she takes my face between her hands. It doesn't matter that I'm a fully-grown man, and that I have been for years; it will never not be strange to tower over my mother. She gazes up at me with nothing but love in her eyes. "You found her."

Something inside of me wants to break down, but I keep my emotions in check. I smile widely, giving her one short nod. "She's perfect, Mother."

"Perfect is a stretch," she chides, "but so long as she's perfect for you, that's all that matters."

"She is." My heart is full to bursting. "I can't wait for you to meet her."

"Me neither." Dropping her hands, my mother peers past me. "Is she here?"

"Sleeping. She was exhausted."

"I'm sure."

I don't dare reveal everything Ember told me when she first arrived. Over time, it all will need to be dealt with, but there's no point incensing my mother now. "She and her friends were being attacked when she accidentally opened the portal to our kingdom." I shake my head, swallowing bile at the way I called Prince Rafe and Prince Jianyu her 'friends'. "She did not know what she was doing. She still has no idea where we are."

"This was my conclusion as well," my mother assures me.

I nearly sag with the relief. "Her arrival represents no threat to our people then."

My mother's smile twitches, just on the edge of faltering. "I'm not certain I would go that far, my son."

"Oh?"

---