Page 13 of No Ordinary Drakeling
Chapter 5
Ellery was gawking, but he couldn’t help himself. The car he was in was massive, and although he could not say he enjoyed the motion of moving forward, he appreciated the cool air temperature inside it. His mind was a disaster. He’d found out only this morning that Chieftain Fen-Lynthi was booting him out, and if he’d known he was meeting his mate, Ellery would’ve put on the only other outfit he owned. It was in slightly better shape than the one he was wearing, but neither was close in quality to the dark suit of Emperor Chrysander Draconis.
The giant dragon wore black with a crisp white shirt along with a tie in both colors. A thick sash of what he guessed was dragonskin crossed over his broad chest with the word “Draconis” embroidered in gilded thread. He was peering curiously at Ellery, and his scaly dark eyes with the gold rings around the pupils were stunning, as was the ornate crown on his head.
“I can’t believe we’re in a limo with no champagne on a day like this,” the Imperial Duke said.
“It’s not like we drink in the middle of the afternoon. We’re usually working,” Duke Zane responded.
While his heart was singing over the idea of meeting his other half, Ellery’s brain was terrified. He hoped this wasn’t history repeating itself and that Chrysander would follow elven tradition and have a mating ceremony right away. Elves didn’t wait more than a day or two, and to Ellery it would cement the idea that Chrysander was serious about being with him. He did not want to wind up tortured by the idea of a mate who’d left him after promising to return someday.
The car came to a stop and Ellery was shuffled outside. “What is going on?”
“We’re going to have a druid from the company Dérive teleport us back to our home in Las Vegas,” Chrysander explained.
Ellery nodded. He was swept away by the enormity of how his life was changing, but he put one foot in front of the other and followed Chrysander. When they arrived at a circle, he was instructed to close his eyes. Magic danced over his skin and a weightless feeling registered; then the ground was firm beneath him again.
“You can open your eyes now,” Chrysander told him softly. The huskiness of his voice made Ellery’s belly flop, and he did not know to handle the feelings of sexual arousal. He liked them, but they were foreign.
Ellery lifted his lashes and Chrysander smiled. It was a handsome expression on his noble face. “We are in Las Vegas now?”
“Yes, we’re going straight to the condo. Zane, call Wesley and tell him to meet us there. We’re going to have to change my schedule around,” Chrysander ordered as they strode down a long hallway.
The Imperial Duke shoved open a door, and they walked into an opulent room with an assortment of chairs and tables. He slapped a hand on the wall and a button lit up. They all filed into a metal box and when it lurched upward, Ellery almost threw up.
“What is this?”
“An elevator. Awful, right?” Chrysander asked.
Ellery nodded. When they were finally free of the elevator, Ellery found himself standing on a tiled floor with the three dragons. There was another one—with eyes as black as Ellery’s companions—seated at a desk. He greeted them and Chrysander introduced him as Ellery without telling him they were mates. Ellery didn’t understand the omission, but he set it aside as he walked into a massive room with lights everywhere. It was mostly black, with thick accents of gold in the furniture and trim. He found it beautiful but also cold, though he could not explain why.
“This is home. Zane, did you want to take Ellery’s bag upstairs to a guest room? Damian, see if you can get Vadimas to head over to test him.”
Dutifully Ellery handed over his only possessions to Zane, then trailed behind Chrysander into a room full of windows which were half-covered in heavy drapes. He wished he could see more of the mountains in the distance but was delighted by the dragons flying overhead.
“Take a seat,” Chrysander said as he sat in a chair near the massive marble fireplace.
Though Ellery mourned the dirt he was probably going to leave behind on the furniture, he did as he was told. “Your home is nice.”
“Our home,” Chrysander insisted gently. “I’m glad you like it. Tell me about your mother—she’s missing?”
Ellery wanted to sigh but he held it back. The guilt in his soul would never go away. “Yes, I woke up one morning and she was gone. She was not getting up much by then—she preferred to stay in bed, so I did not see any reason to use the rope I made for when she went outside during the day. I should have taken more care to be sure she was safe.”
The Imperial Duke strolled into the room, a grin on his ridiculously handsome face. “Vadimas is on his way.”
“I think we should call Alaric. Perhaps the Sentinel Brotherhood can track down Ellery’s mother,” Chrysander said.
Damian tapped on a screen he pulled from his pocket. From what he’d read in books, Ellery guessed it was a phone.
“She has been gone for a decade now. I do not have much hope anyone can find her. She did not remember her own name most days. For decades she handled things decently but went into a steep decline a couple of years before she disappeared.”
“Do you know anything about your father? Chieftain Fen-Lynthi said his name was Harry.”
“Yes, he apparently met my mother while flying overhead, and they spent several weeks together. She told him she was pregnant, and he took off.”
“If he was flying overhead, he might be from a dragon court not far from your home. Did your people live in Montana then?”
“Yes, it is the only place I have ever lived.”
