Page 56 of No Ordinary Drakeling
“Damianos, you know your father didn’t ask for a male mate. Fate gave us Niko, and we’ve done the best we can for him,” Andriana said, and Chrysander wished he could do something to help Niko. Fate only knew how he was treated by his parents, but Niko had never complained or asked for a single thing from him.
“Where is he?” Damian demanded. “Why haven’t we heard from him since we left to join the Council?”
“I put him out in the guest house,” Gelon informed them crossly.
“Did you bind your blood with him yet?” Chrysander asked.
“No,” Andriana replied at the same time Gelon yelled that it was none of his damn business.
“I can send him a plane ticket,” Chrysander offered.
“We don’t want anything to do with your council,” Gelon retorted.
“What exactly is wrong with the Council of Sorcery and Shifters?” Chrysander asked.
Gelon muttered something Chrysander couldn’t make sense of; then there was a noise that sounded like a door being slammed.
“You know your father prefers to make his own decisions and not have to explain his actions to people,” Andriana said. “There’s the house too. We’ve lived here a long time. It’s not that we don’t miss you or that we don’t want to be with you.”
Damian gave him another eye-roll and though Chrysander could hear the pleading in Andriana’s voice, he would never understand why they refused to leave. Others left behind land and homes, but Chrysander made sure they lived in prosperity, so it wasn’t a decision they regretted. He wanted to do the same for his parents, but they wouldn’t allow him.
“Your son’s the Emperor,” Damian told her. “He made a choice to bring the dragons into the Council and move here. He and the other Council leaders have done an amazing job, and our people live well. All I hear are excuses from you, and I’m not going to let you take up Chrys’s valuable time with this bullshit. He didn’t tell you about Ellery because neither one of us has any reason to believe you care.”
“I don’t know what I did to make you boys hate me so much. Was I such a bad mother? I guess I must’ve been.”
Chrysander was at a loss for words. As a drakeling, he spent a century in a house with Gelon and Andriana. There were few happy times as a family. The pair fought like cats and dogs, and it only grew worse with the addition of Niko. In over a millennium of life, Chrysander had not seen three people more ill-suited.
“Mother, I’ve already apologized for not notifying you about Ellery. I don’t know what else to say.”
“Do you like him, Chryssie? Is he nice to you?” He was a teenager the last time she’d called him Chryssie, and he wondered where all of this was coming from. Was there something she wanted? If so, he hoped she got to the point soon. He had a mountain of work to do.
“Ellery’s a wonderful mate. I’m very pleased to have him in my life.”
“I wish I could see you mated.”
“You can, Mother. The ceremony’s in a few weeks, I can send you three plane tickets.”
“The Consilium Veneficus might not allow us to return to our home if we travel to the Council. We aren’t members, but we probably need permission from the wizards who rule it if we wish to travel there.”
“I guess you have a decision to make then. What’s more important…watching your son bond with his mate or holding on to your life there in the Consilium’s territory? You know, the life Chrys funds,” Damian growled.
“You don’t understand, Damianos.”
“You’ve got your mate living out in a guest house. Put him on a plane, so he can have a better life of his choosing here,” Damian replied. “We’ve got a few demons now. We can break the matebond since you three never bothered to complete it.”
“Your father won’t allow it, though I do believe it would be best if we could send Niko to you. I didn’t know a demon could break matebonds.”
“They can break those that haven’t been bound by blood. I’m sure after all these centuries, any one of them would be happy to help you out,” Chrysander said. He would eagerly ask the Arch Lich or the demonic Acwellan Chieftain if they would cast the spell if he could help the threesome. “But it requires a drop of blood from each of you, so you’d still have to travel here, even if it was only for a few minutes. I can’t allow them to travel to you.”
“It’s no use. Gelon will never let go of Niko,” Andriana complained bitterly.
“Did something happen between them?” Damian demanded.
“How should I know? I didn’t want Niko in my life. I told Gelon to stay away from him. Gelon’s my mate, not that it ever mattered to him. The man’s never home.”
“Mother, could you ask Niko to call me?” Chrysander asked. “Perhaps I can discuss things with him. If he wants to come here, he can do that.”
“You’re trying to get me to go against your father, and I won’t. Niko belongs to him and it’s his business, not yours. You hardly know Niko. He’s not going to be comfortable talking to you anyway. He’s very shy.”
