Page 2 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
A flicker of disturbance passed through Kitsuki’s blue eyes. “I deeply regret I attacked you that day. I was not myself in that moment.”
It was the closest thing to an apology Auslin had ever received for that encounter. “You were in so much pain that day. It was understandable.”
“Pain?” Kitsuki repeated with a sneer. “Kio could never come close to landing a blow that could hurt me.”
“No, not from him. Because of me.”
Kitsuki stiffened beside him. “Why would you think such a ridiculous thing?”
Auslin told the dragon monarch the truth. “Because I feel like I always end up hurting you just by being me, and I can’t figure out why.” Kitsuki was silent for many long moments, making Auslin regret his comment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to?—”
The dragon king interrupted Auslin’s apology. “Why would you saysuch a thing?”
“Am I wrong?”
“You are presumptuous,” Kitsuki coldly replied. However, Auslin swore he could see flecks of hurt coming through those blue eyes despite the shifter’s best efforts to hide his emotions.
It filled Auslin with the strength to be brave. He got in front of Kitsuki to stop him from walking. “But am I wrong?”
“What answer are you hoping to receive?”
“I don’t honestly know.” Auslin had already crossed a line, so he kept going. “But sometimes you look at me with so much hurt, and it breaks my heart. I don’t know what I’ve done or how to fix it, but I want to help you.”
Kitsuki walked around him. “You should not concern yourself with such things.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t.” Auslin hurried to catch up with Kitsuki and fell into step beside him once more. “Perhaps I should be like everybody else and believe the stories that you are the cold, emotionless Ice King. But I can’t do that when I think the truth is you feel things so deeply that you hide behind that façade to protect yourself.”
“You know nothing of what I have lived through.” Rather than sounding angry, all Auslin could hear was the weariness brought on by centuries of hurt. “Why would you care? I am the hated half brother of your lover. I have also tried to kill you before. Yet, youcontinue to show me such sympathies. Perhaps you are a bigger fool than Kio.”
“I probably am,” Auslin told him with a wry grin that slid into sadness. “But I know beyond that, you also saved my life on two separate occasions when I wasn’t with him. That counts for something. If you don’t view me as your enemy, why should I treat you like one?”
Kitsuki shook his head. “You would be better off if you did.”
“I wouldn’t be me if I did.”
The comment once again caused a flicker of emotions in Kitsuki’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.
It surprised Auslin when they entered the open field at the base of the temple. He hadn’t realized they had walked so far already.
Kitsuki escorted him to the bottom of the long staircase that led up the large hill to the temple on the fringe of the capital. “The only thing I hate is that you debase yourself with the likes of my pathetic excuse for a half brother, who does not value the love you unwisely hold for him.”
Auslin bit his lower lip for a moment as he debated the merits of pushing the conversation further. However, given Kitsuki’s unusual chattiness, he pursued it further than he normally would dare. “Why do you seem to care aboutthat so much?” It had always been a mystery to him why Kitsuki would make those kinds of statements.
“Because your love is a gift he will never be capable of understanding its true worth,” Kitsuki said in a soft voice. “He is unworthy. You deserve someone who loves you with all his heart and treats you like the treasure you are.”
The comment touched Auslin deeply. As Kitsuki had done the two times he had saved Auslin’s life, he hesitantly reached out, his hand hovering mere inches from caressing the mage’s face.
It disappointed Auslin when the dragon king pulled back before touching him. But he could already see Kitsuki walling himself off again. Auslin reflexively said, “I’m sorry.”
“You do not need to apologize.” His cold aloofness was already back in place. It made Auslin want to tear the bricks out of Kitsuki’s emotional wall to get close to him. “I merely speak the truth.”
Auslin felt the strangest urge to reach out and hold Kitsuki’s hand, but he ignored it out of self-preservation. He instinctively knew that would take things too far. The last thing he wanted to do was lose the progress they had made tonight. “I never meant to?—”
“Think nothing of it.” Kitsuki stepped back to put more distance between them. “I wish you a pleasant time at this evening’s festival. Perhaps you will celebrate by finally finding the strength to leave my half brother in the past where he belongs.”
Auslin couldn’t think of anything else to say to keep Kitsuki with him any longer. “Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty. I hope we can meet again soon.”
Tilting his head in silent acknowledgment, Kitsuki turned and walked away.
