Page 17 of The Ruby Dragon Prince
Tovey’s sweet lemon scent was only an echo from the dried fluids on my skin. The glade was silent, but for the burbling ofthe brook, the singing of birds, and the silly fairies who answered them.
Tovey was gone.
I pushed to my feet and roared, “Tovey!”
Birds scattered from the trees around me and the few woodland creatures who played in the underbrush nearby dashed off in fright.
I didn’t care. My omega was gone. He’d either escaped my embrace again or someone had stolen him.
He wouldn’t escape from me. Not now. We were mated, bonded, and I’d bred him. I still needed to finish the breeding process. We were tied together with magic that only the most powerful and evil sorcerer could break.
A powerful and evil sorcerer like King Freslik.
I growled and jumped into the air, transforming into dragon form as I did so I could beat my wings and carry myself higher into the morning sky. I would go to the cruel world and find my mate, and I would slice King Freslik into a thousand pieces for his treachery.
I flew back to the castle, hardly noticing the springtime beauty of the magical kingdom below. Everything was bathed in dew and morning light. The colors of our land stood out in peaceful pastels that were already blending into the stronger colors of day.
Tovey would love it, and the sooner I stormed the cruel world and his father’s palace to rescue him and bring him back the sooner he would have that pleasure, and so many more that only I could give him.
“You’re looking, er, debauched,” Gildur commented cheekily as I landed on the transformation balcony and resumed my human form. Since he was in the transformation room himself, he must have just returned from whatever errand he’d been on during the night.
I growled at him and marched past, heading for the hallway where my bedchamber was located, uncaring that I was naked. At least the dirt that had covered me in the glade had been consumed by magic as I transformed.
Gildur was also naked, and the two of us walking side by side down the hall in that state startled a few of the newer servants whose paths we crossed. The ones who had served in the castle for a while were used to it.
“I claimed my omega last night,” I said in a low, wary voice, knowing exactly what Gildur’s reaction would be.
As expected, Gildur laughed. “Didn’t Emmerich advise you to be patient?” he asked. “Didn’t I?”
“I’ve no use for patience when my mate is within my grasp,” I said, refusing to be embarrassed.
“No, no, of course not,” Gildur said, his eyes dancing with mirth. He cleared his throat then asked, “So, um, if you claimed your omega, then where is he? And why are you here at the castle instead of installing him in your lair?”
I made a furious sound and smoke curled up from my nostrils. “Someone stole him,” I said, my words made ever so slightly sullen by the fact that I wasn’t certain what had happened to him.
“Someone stole your fated mate?” Gildur asked, only slightly concerned. Mostly, he was amused.
“He was gone when I awoke,” I said. “That can only mean that he was abducted by an evil sorcerer. And the only man I know with enough evil in his heart to steal my claimed and bred mate from me is King Freslik.”
I didn’t expect Gildur to rush to support my cause, but I didn’t expect him to laugh so hard that he nearly doubled over as we turned the corner into the hallway with our bedchambers.
“Oh, Goddess, Rufus,” he said, catching his breath as he straightened. “Your mind works at lightning speed, but in all the wrong directions.”
“You doubt me?” I demanded, turning to him. “You doubt that my omega was taken from me?” More smoke came from my nostrils.
“Yes,” Gildur said, as though it were obvious.
“How dare you?” I seethed.
Gildur continued to smile and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Firstly, King Freslik is, indeed, evil, but he’s no sorcerer. Quite the opposite. Believe me, I know sorcerers. He’s one of the dumbest, dullest men who ever existed. He doesn’t have the first clue that our magical kingdom exists, and he has even less of a clue that our agents have infiltrated his council of advisors, not to mention several other key roles throughout his sad little kingdom.”
My eyes went wide. “What advisors? Who must I consult to demand that my omega is returned?”
Gildur shook his head. I had the feeling his humor was fading into something much worse, pity.
“Your omega was not taken from you,” he said. “He left of his own accord.”
“He wouldn’t,” I insisted. “We are fated. I claimed him, bred him. I need to finish the process.”
