Page 5 of Consort's Dragon
“You’re forcing me to marry you.”She saw no point in being demure.
“Being wed to me would be to your advantage.”
“How so?”
“You are currently a queen without a throne.Branded a traitor by the one who stole it.”
Her lips pinched at the reminder.“How does being your consort fix that?”
“You need an army and I happen to have a rather large one, plus a vast fleet of ships to transport them.”
“I don’t wish to kill my people.”
“Who says they’ll die?Sometimes a proper show of force is all that’s needed.I imagine there are many displeased by the situation but lacking the courage to step forward.An army led by their true queen might prove to be a compelling factor.”
The emperor put forth an interesting argument, but she wasn’t about to agree so quickly.“I am too weary to be discussing this right now.”
“Of course you are.My apologies.Let us get you properly situated before we discuss important affairs.”He turned and raised his hand.“I have a palanquin to transport us to the palace.”
Avera eyed the gilded box on poles, the weight of it carried by eight very burly men, their chests bare and gleaming as if oiled, the muscles of their arms and legs thicker than her waist.They set the palanquin down nearby and pulled back a curtain.The displayed enclosed space had her glancing at her ragged attire.
“You might not wish to be in such close proximity to me.”
“It is my fault you arrived in such a state.The late Captain Koonis obviously didn’t clearly grasp your importance to me.Shall we?”He crooked an arm, a courtly gesture that took her aback.
This emperor was nothing as expected.Perhaps the son wasn’t a scoundrel like his father.Not that she intended to marry him.Her grief over Griffon remained a raw, ragged wound on her heart.Just as she’d come to realize her feelings for him, he’d been taken.
She tucked her hand in the crook of the emperor’s elbow and let him lead her to the litter.Upon entering, she was struck by the comfort, from the fat pillows for sitting to the lightly scented brazier that would hopefully mask most of her pungent body aroma.
The emperor sat across from her, a handsome man, she had to admit.His brown hair was thick and long enough to have a slight wave to it, his eyes a piercing gray.
As the palanquin lifted into the air, she sought something to say and blurted the first thing that came to mind.“I wasn’t aware Emperor Titus had passed.I am sorry for your loss.I, too, have recently grieved the passing of a parent.”
The statement for some reason made him smile.“My father, Magnus, has been long dead.I am Titus.”
She frowned.“I’m sorry for the mistake.I must have mixed up your names.”Apparently, she should have paid better attention to her lessons on politics.
“Actually, you didn’t.My situation is rather unique.You see, while I might look rather young, in actuality, I am more than seventy years old.”
“Impossible.”The word flew out of her as she recalled what she’d been told when trekking across Verlora with Koonis’ men.They’d claimed that witches used magic to make the emperor young again.Apparently, they’d spoken the truth.
He arched a brow.“Would you call me a liar?”
Careful.Now that she stood on somewhat solid ground, it wouldn’t do to anger the one person who literally held her life in his hands.Especially since thus far he seemed somewhat reasonable.
“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t understand.How do you appear so young?”
“Magic.”His white teeth flashed as he grinned.“Your confusion is understandable, as is your disbelief.I felt the same when the elixir of youth was presented to me.”
Magic.For a woman who’d grown up believing it was just something put in stories for entertainment, she’d come to realize much she knew needed updating.
“So your youth is a spell?Does it require renewing?”
“In a sense, yes.While the elixir did reverse decades, I am aging once more and will eventually have to imbibe again to remain young.”
“How incredible.”
“Life changing,” he quipped with a wink.“You’ll soon discover many wonderful things once you’ve settled in.I hear you have a curiosity about how things work.”
