Page 33 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
Vanra looked stricken. “She wouldn’t do that, would she?”
“If she has not done it by now, I do not foresee her putting in any effort to end my life, given I pose no real threat to her,” Kitaro said with a shrug. “My existence does not alter her position in my father’s life, so there is no benefit in coming after me and risking angering my father. I still have some value to him. And Kizoshi is close to me as well, which would most likely stay her hand.”
“What about Kisano’s mother?” Vanra hesitantly asked. “Did Arenthia kill her, too?”
“No, she died centuries ago during the Great Illness before I was born,” Kitaro answered. “Kisano rarely speaks of her, but she was well known throughout the lands at the time for her beauty as much as her kindness. She did not possess great powers, but she earned respect because she had such a brilliant mind. Her insatiable appetite for knowledge is the reason we have such an immense library. It is thanks to her influence that Kisano has been allowed to live his quiet life instead of being forced to be a fighter, even after she died. Many mourned her passing.”
“That’s so awful,” Vanra whispered, tears welling up in his eyes.
Kitaro reached out to caress the side of the human’s face. “You should not let such things troubleyou. There is no changing the events in a far distant past.”
“It’s still heartbreaking,” Vanra said in anguish.
“The kindness of your heart is astounding,” Kitaro complimented him. “You genuinely care about shifters you have never met. It is a most unusual thing.”
The praise flustered Vanra. “How could I not be moved?”
“What use does a human have to care for shifters who died centuries ago?” Kitaro countered. “It should have no impact on you, and yet you are clearly hurt by finding out about the loss of shifters you have never met.”
“To know that your wonderful mother met such a cruel end for such a petty reason…how do you bear it?” Vanra asked with a sniffle.
“I have had my time to come to terms with the events,” Kitaro replied with a shrug. “It would have horrified Mother if I held on to an angry grudge for centuries over what had happened to her and let it darken my heart.”
“Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry if I pried into something I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Think nothing of it. Should I have an objection to anything, I will let you know.”
Vanra’s stomach chose that time to rumble. Kitaro chuckled, making Vanra’s embarrassment that much worse. When the mage instinctively apologized, Kitaro cut him off with, “Lunch sounds like a fine idea.Perhaps after that, we shall do some more training in the training hall.”
“I’ll go get ready, then.” Vanra dashed to the bathroom. Kitaro could only laugh at the mage’s bashfulness as he continued to laze in bed a little longer.
Chapter 15
Auslin
After lunch, where both Tatsuki and Mitsuki were both mercifully absent, Auslin and Kitaro headed to the training hall. Upon entering, Auslin startled when Kitaro’s first action was to braid his silver hair with magic. Somehow, he looked even more gorgeous. He then used his magic to make his shirt disappear in a wisp of lingering smoke.
“Is there some reason that you’re doing that?” Auslin asked, trying to ignore the dragon prince’s perfect body.
“I expect to work up a sweat. I would rather not do that while wearing expensive silk with my hair free to get in the way.”
Auslin had given little thought to what he put on earlier, so he was wearing a dark blue satin shirt that was similarly ill-suited for training. He knew heshould take it off, but he was too self-conscious to do so in front of the shifter prince.
Kitaro solved his problem by impishly doing the same to the human’s shirt with a mere wave of his hand.
Left suddenly bare, and caressed by the lingering tendril of silver smoke that was slow to disappear, Auslin profusely blushed. His embarrassment was made even worse when Kitaro chuckled at his discomfort.
“It’s not funny.” He resisted the urge to cross his arms over his chest to hide himself from Kitaro’s gaze.
“What reason do you have for embarrassment over losing a shirt when we sleep together naked?”
“That’s different,” Auslin heatedly protested. “We’re both asleep, so it’s not like you see anything.”
Kitaro hummed with interest. “But I have excellent night vision. And you are still wearing pants, so there should be no issue.”
“Because you look like you, and I’m like this.” Auslin gestured between the two of them for emphasis. “We went over this yesterday.”
“Your point?” Kitaro asked with an arched eyebrow.
