Page 46 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
“I hope you are well.” Kitaro shifted his attention to the human. “What do you think of the library?”
“It’s amazing!” Auslin exclaimed, still in awe of the sheer size of the place. “Kisano has an amazing Reskin collection he showed me. I can’t wait to see what else is here! He told me he also has an extensive collection of works by Liros.”
“I understand your fascination with Liros because of your association with the Fate’s Gate Temple, but Reskin?” Kitaro’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“He is my and my brother’s favorite author.”
Kitaro gazed at him in amazement. “You are always full of surprises. Kisano, it must shock you to hearthat from a human mage, no?”
“It was most unexpected.” Kisano still looked a bit awed by the information.
“I’ll be back soon,” Auslin promised, figuring Kitaro had come to collect him.
“I will look forward to it.” Kisano waved at the two of them as they left.
For the rest of the day, Auslin couldn’t stop thinking about Kisano’s suggestion of throwing a letter to Sephen through Fate’s Gate. He knew it would hurt when it didn’t work, but he at least had to try. “Do you have any paper I could use?” Auslin asked Kitaro.
“What kind of paper?”
“To write a letter on.”
Kitaro gazed at him with curiosity. “Do you know someone else in this time?”
“I want to write to my brother.” Auslin looked down at the floor in embarrassment. “It’s stupid and probably won’t work, but maybe I can send a letter through Fate’s Gate to reach him. I hate he doesn’t know I’m okay.”
Kitaro nodded toward his desk. “There is paper in the top right drawer with a quill pen.”
“Is it okay if I do it now?” Auslin asked. “It’llprobably take me a little while, so I can wait until later if you prefer.”
“Now is fine. Take all the time you need. We can go to the gate when you finish.”
“Thank you.” Auslin went over to the desk and pulled out some paper, along with a white feather tipped in an icy-blue ombre. It reminded him of Kitaro’s eyes. “Where’s the ink?”
“The quill is self-inking.” He grinned at Auslin’s surprised expression. “There is no need to dip it.”
Auslin stared at it in amazement. “Dragon magic makes everything more convenient, doesn’t it?”
“It does indeed.”
With another word of thanks, Auslin sat down at the desk to write to his brother. Kitaro took a seat by the fireplace and began reading a book.
By the time Auslin explained what happened, he was already several pages into the letter. He had said almost everything he needed to express to his younger brother, but as Auslin subtly glanced over to where Kitaro was sitting, it brought to mind a different set of blue eyes that still haunted the mage.
It was probably weird to worry about Kitsuki when the shifter monarch likely hadn’t noticed his disappearance, but he felt like he needed to address the matter. He hoped his request wouldn’t be too onerous of a burden on his brother.
I know it’s a lot to ask, but should your path cross with King Kitsuki’s, I would appreciate if you could tell him I have taken his advice to go on a solo journey west.
Auslin still felt like something needed to be said, but he couldn’t quite decide on the right words. He also couldn’t understand why it felt so important to convey his apologies to the shifter monarch. Auslin was certain he was overestimating his importance to Kitsuki, but he hated thinking that somehow his disappearance would cause more pain to someone who had already experienced so much of it.
After some more thought, he finally added another paragraph.
Also, please apologize to him on my behalf for disappearing for so long without saying anything to him. He will think I’m foolish for worrying about it, but I’d still like him to know I hope we can talk again when I return.
Auslin was about to conclude his letter when it hit him he had prioritized sending a message to the dragon monarch over Kio. But the reason was obvious.Between the two half brothers, Kitsuki was the only one who had expressed concern over Auslin and his well-being lately. He genuinely seemed bothered by Kio’s outrageous behavior toward him, strange as it was to the human.
It was a startling revelation that Auslin was more concerned with Kitsuki’s feelings than Kio’s, who most likely had already moved on with Maseo without another thought about Auslin’s disappearance. It still hurt, but not as much as it once did.
Part of Auslin felt he was betraying Kio, but the pragmatic side of him argued that there was nothing left to betray when his boyfriend had moved on to be with Maseo.
