Page 36 of The Wrath of Ashes
Asha frowned and glanced around, seeking out Slath’s dressing mirror. He’d been afraid to look at himself before. As he neared the pane of glass, it wasn’tAshathat stared back at him butan Ashen one. A dragon. He stretched his hand before him, placing his palm on the clean surface, his nails tapping with a gentle click. A slight sheen had come over his nails, that same fire opal that reflected off the white scales of his tail. Atop his head sat the weighty pearlescent hue of his horns, and he could see the beauty of them.
But his eyes. They were the same pale blue, his newly elongated irises. A ring of fire had burst around his pupil, and the whites of his eyes were no more. Gleaming black framed them. And even his hair had more sheen to it, red in the gold. He touched his locks and flicked his gaze in the mirror to catch Jeron and Slath as they stared back at him.
“You really are beautiful, you know.” Slath stepped toward him with an outfit draped over his arm.
Asha met his own gaze once more. “I can’t tell…”
He drew his hand back and turned away from his reflection, a familiar sting in his eyes telling him to avoid looking at anyone until the moment passed.
“Come. It’ll take time to understand yourself. It’s a stranger staring back at you, after all.” Jeron coaxed Asha away, and he lost the fight with his tears. Hot trails burned over his cheeks.
“I can’t tell whether it’s a stranger or what I always was.” Asha blinked the tears away, and he wasn’t certain it was the shock of what he saw, the loss of what he didn’t, or that both forms were foreign.
Chapter Fifteen
Mezerath
Rath stared at a list of menu options, none of the offered items standing out to him in any way. All of it sounded bland, his appetites more focused on a certain Ashen one who he’d spent a lovely evening nesting with. The warmth of him and scent clung to Rath even still.
“Focus, my lord.” Nadi thumped the paper in his hand, making him startle and bleat. Papers scattered, and he clawed around, trying to catch them before they moved from his reach.
“Fine! You choose. I cannot decide.” Rath threw the papers down on the desk and sighed. His eyes wandered to his right where a jacket lay, a few sizes too small for his broad frame. The beginning of small flower embroidery adorned the collar, a spool of gold-twined thread sitting atop it.
Nadi sighed and gestured toward him. “Do your needlework, if you must, sir. I was mistaken to think you could keep your head clear. I have half a mind to suggest you ask Jeron to service you until time.”
Rath hissed with distaste and sneered. “And disrespect my mate?”
“You’re the one who chose to keep him around like some sort of consolation prize, my king.” Nadi held a paper out for Rath to glance over, earning a curt nod before she stamped it with his seal.
“He asked to stay and tend Asha. And I gave Asha a choice.” Rath twisted his lips as he sulked, focusing all his energy and magic into his stitching.
“Make sure you get ongoing consent on that, sir. Your Ashen one may have given his approval so as not to aggravate you.”Nadi licked her finger and turned a few sheafs of parchment before holding out another page for Rath’s seal.
He glanced it over. Some widowed male wanting to marry another widow. He scrutinized ages and assets and shrugged. “Send them a letter of my congratulations.”
At their ages, it had to be love. They were equally matched in finances and heirs, beyond the ages of childbearing and residing in a summer villa as they were divesting inheritances early to abdicate their positions. His careless glance cost him as he pricked his finger with the needle and swore. “Drat.”
He sucked his finger as Nadi gave the stamp of approval and pulled a generic writ of congratulations from a box of stationery to give his seal to. Rath signed it politely and went back to his embroidery. He had limited time before their ceremony and the magic needed time and focus to weave in with intent. It’d be so much easier if he knew Asha better, if they’d had more time.If they’d fucked.
“The stonemasons to the east are requesting a dragon’s aid for one of the mines. They’re hearing strange noises and want to see if someone more in tune with the earth can mark the right tunnels before they collapse.” Nadi glanced over the document and flicked her gaze to Rath.
“Ghreid or Draenvir… The value of stones speak to him, but Draenvir is better with land…” Rath hummed to himself. Pryd was better at socializing, and Galatan wouldn’t be out of hibernation for some time. He had a way with stone and earth. Slath was better with design and efficiency. Falustus… If someone wasfuckingthe cave, marrying it, breeding it, or uniting households with it, he’d be a solid bet…
“Ghreid. He could use some time outside of the castle. Draenvir is still investigating the aqueducts.” Nadi wrote a quick note and handed it to a nearby attendant to run the letter off.
“Ghreid so does hate stepping away from his numbers.” Rath finished a rather pretty swirl of gold before beaming at his work with pride.
Nadi rolled her eyes and continued rifling through papers. Occasionally she made a note to the side on a slate, summarizing things Rath needed to know.
“I do hate stepping away from my numbers, but I hate losing vested interests as well. If the country’s mines aren’t producing—we’re not profiting.” Ghreid strolled into the study and glanced around, eyes narrowed at every detail. He had that in common with their father. “Have a dozen songbirds in wait for me and by the time I get there, I’ll be prepared.”
“Noted.” Nadi wrote a missive and passed it off to a messenger to be sent off by a bird.
Ghreid glanced Rath over, eyes narrowing at his work. “Steady your hand, Brother. Your Ashen one deserves your best.”
“I’d be far steadier if we’d bedded one another, I promise you.” Rath stabbed a needle into the rich wool once more.
With a grunt of understanding, Ghreid turned his back, pacing. He did that when he had other things on his mind. “Asha is a lovely male, Rath. Pryd deserved worse than the beating Slath gave him.”
