Page 12 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
Auslin tried not to get too paranoid about what was being discussed between the father and son about his situation. It was hard to soothe his fears about all the ways things could go wrong for him. What if Tatsuki refused to help him, or worse, what if he didn’t believe him? Or worst of all, what if Tatsukicouldn’thelp him?
Every time Auslin thought he had his nerves under control, a fresh wave of anxiety would crash into him. He did his best to stay above it all. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Unable to sit any longer, Auslin got up to pace.
The bedroom door slid open without warning. Kitaro appeared with an unreadable expression on his face. He gestured for Auslin to come over. “Father will see you now.”
Auslin’s heart dropped out of his chest. He took a shaky breath to steady himself. The last thing he wanted was to present himself as an anxious wreck in front of the powerful king of Valzerna. However, his nerves shredded at the prospect of being judged by the legendary dragon shifter monarch.
They seemed to walk an impossible number of stairs, twists, and turns. Auslin could only hope that Kitaro would wait for him to guide him back to wherever he needed to go afterward, because Auslin was pretty sure he could get lost for an eternity in such a sprawling castle. They didn’t exchange a single word as they walked, which did little to put his mind at ease over what was about to happen next.
Finally, they reached a door with elaborate dragon carvings. Auslin stopped short of running into Kitaro. He looked up at the shifter prince with wide eyes full of apprehension.
Kitaro gave Auslin’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “While it is true my father is legendary for his ferocity, he is not without sympathy. He prizes truth above all else and will not abide by lies.”
“Understood.” Auslin tried to calm his racing heart that felt like it was ready to beat out of his chest. Kitaro’s hand on his shoulder provided some small measure of comfort in the situation. He tried to trust in Kitaro’s confidence.
Auslin jumped when he heard a deep, booming voice call out to them. “Enter!”
What little calm Auslin had reclaimed disappeared in an instant at the thought of the fearsome creature awaiting him on the other side of that door.
“Remember, you are not without an ally here,” Kitaro whispered before the door slid open.
“Son, you are to wait outside until you are called,” Tatsuki ordered.
Kitaro placed his hand over his heart and bowed deeply. “As you command, Father.”
Auslin’s panic rose when Kitaro retreated from the room and the door automatically slid shut with an ominous noise. He remained frozen where he stood, staring at Tatsuki sitting on a dais with a terrifying glare.
In Auslin’s entire life, he had never seen such a massive shifter, who was easily over eight feet tall, with an enormous physical presence. He exuded so much power that it oppressed Auslin, who was sensitive to auras. He had expected Tatsuki to be dressed for hunting, but he wore only black pants and no shirt. It allowed Auslin to see the solid wall of muscles of a shifter who could crush him in an instant. His abundance of auburn hair added to his wildness.
Tatsuki was even more ferocious-looking because the sinuous markings covering his whole body were bright red with flares of gold that pulsated, like moving magma, all over his fearsome form. They looked so much like fire that Auslin thought they would burn him should he dare to touch them. It wasrude to stare, but nothing in the legends had prepared him for the overwhelming intensity of King Tatsuki in person.
“Approach.” Tatsuki watched the human with an unreadable expression.
It took a supreme effort of wills to obey when every instinct of Auslin’s was screaming at him to run away from such a deadly shifter. He probably reeked of fear, but there was no helping it. Auslin was terrified of Tatsuki and his oppressive aura, trying to crush the mage’s.
Sinking to one knee before the lord of the lands, Auslin bowed deeply like Kitaro had. He could only hope it was the right thing to do as he continued to stare at the ground before Tatsuki’s feet, which was easier than looking at his terrifying form. “Your Majesty.”
Auslin’s heart jumped into his throat when the throne creaked as Tatsuki stood up. The shifter ruler descended the three steps down the dais to stand before the mage. He reached down to force Auslin’s chin up with one of his fingers. Tatsuki held eye contact, forcing Auslin to gaze deep into his glowing red eyes. “You are far braver than you look to seek us out for assistance, human.”
The markings on the back of Tatsuki’s fingers almost seared Auslin’s skin. He swallowed hard as he stared at the dragon monarch with wide eyes.
“We are not in the habit of helping humans, letalonemages.” Tatsuki spit out the last word with venomous hatred. He wrapped his hand around Auslin’s throat, his claws pressed threateningly into tender flesh. It was enough to give Auslin a genuine fear of dying.
“You humans are such tedious, foul creatures with sinfully simple minds. Your tiny lives are a meaningless blink of an eye to a shifter, yet you act so self-important. Mages are the worst of all, having hunted our kind since the dawn of time for fear of our superiority.”
Auslin was too scared to move or reply. He only blinked in response as he trembled in the grasp of claws that could end him in an instant. It was impossible to hold back a pained gasp when Tatsuki roughly yanked the human to his feet.
“We normally would see you dead before granting the likes of you an audience,” Tatsuki menacingly growled. He pressed close enough that Auslin stopped breathing. “Should we find out that you are lying—and wewillsmell it the instant you do—we fully intend to make that threat a reality. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Auslin whispered. He couldn’t speak any louder because of the tight grip holding him in place. His vision started spotting because of a lack of air.
The ruler released him into a heap on the floor. “Tell us your fantastical story, human.”
Auslin coughed and gasped for air, which causedTatsuki to smirk cruelly at the display. It took a moment to compose himself enough to stand up again. “In the future, I am a mage at the temple that protects Fate’s Gate. Last night, I foolishly went through the gate. It sent me back in time to this era, where I came across your son as a dragon.”
“It was the height of foolishness to do what you did.”
Auslin looked down in shame. “I know it was stupid, but I always thought those stories were just silly superstitions.” Despite spending most of his life living at the temple, he wasn’t particularly religious. If not for his mother sending him and Sephen there after her death, Auslin never would have been involved with the mages. It was part of why he enjoyed being on the road so much.
