Page 11 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince (Omega Fairy Tales #4)

Chapter

Six

Azurus

W hatever my mother’s intentions in sending Misha and I on her quest, I had to admit that it was nice to spend the afternoon working side by side with my omega.

I didn’t exactly understand why Mother needed a cherry pit, but it had felt good to dig in the dirt with the sunshine on my back, knowing that I was helping Misha.

It was good to do something that didn’t require magic.

That way I could forget that mine was growing weaker and weaker despite the increasing closeness Misha and I felt.

“I still can’t believe we planted a hundred cherry trees!” Misha said as the two of us sipped on the cherry cordial that the farmer had brought us, along with a few cherry tarts. They were the second most delicious things I’d ever tasted. Misha’s lips were the first.

“You did amazingly well,” I told my beloved, taking up one of the last tarts from the tray, saluting him with it, then biting into its sweet-tart goodness, all while gazing straight into Misha’s eyes. His strong sweet pea and sugar scent only made the pastry taste better.

Misha laughed as if he didn’t believe me and took the last tart from the tray. “I don’t know how I managed it,” he said. “Truly. When we first started and I looked ahead to see how much work we would have to do, and all for a single cherry pit, I definitely didn’t think I was capable of it.”

I shook my head, then swallowed my bite of tart. “You do not give yourself enough credit, my sweet,” I said. “You are a prince, the mate of a dragon. You can do anything you set your mind to.”

Instead of being flattered by my comment, Misha sighed and shrank in on himself a little. “My mind is sick,” he said. “And I am a prince of nothing.”

It was frustrating to hear someone I loved so much put themselves down, especially knowing those dark opinions had been frightened into him by a cruel and evil father. They weren’t really a part of him. I was desperate to get past the veil of pain Misha wore and to get to my true mate.

“Your mind is healing,” I said, brushing the last of the tart crumbs from my hands then scooting to sit flush against my beloved’s side, one arm around his back. “And if all else fails, you are the mate of a dragon.” I winked at him teasingly for good measure.

Blessedly, Misha laughed. Because he was still chewing his tart, the sound came out as a snort, which only made both of us laugh harder.

It was beautiful and peaceful and simple.

The two of us were sitting in the afternoon sunshine, our bodies warm and loose from hard work, watching a long row of magical cherry trees we’d just planted grow and bloom in the hope of bearing fruit.

There was nothing bold or heroic about it, we weren’t saving any kingdoms or fighting against evil, but it felt as if we were exactly where we were supposed to be, enjoying each other in the perfect way.

The cozy feeling of the moment turned wistful when Misha finished eating and gazed up at me. “I haven’t gone into heat,” he said. “I should have a long time ago, but—” He finished his thought with a shrug.

“Don’t worry about it, love,” I said, combing my fingers through his hair. “Everything that is fated to be will come to pass in good time.”

“But will it?” Misha asked. “Are we truly mates if we haven’t—” he held his hands out, “—mated?”

“Of course we are,” I said. “I’ve been waiting for hundreds of years to find my fated mate,” I told Misha, feeling suddenly vulnerable. “A few more days or weeks doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Misha’s eyes went wide. “I knew that dragons lived an incredibly long time and that you are very old?—”

I laughed before he could finish his statement. “I’m not very old,” I said. “In fact, in dragon years, I’m still a young and spry man.”

Misha blushed adorably. “You know what I mean,” he said.

“I do,” I said, smiling at him with all the simple joy that radiated from my heart.

He took a small breath then said, “What I mean is that you’ve been alive for hundreds of years. Why haven’t you found your fated mate already?”

I shrugged. “Because I was waiting for you,” I said.

“But I’m so insignificant,” he insisted. “It doesn’t seem right to think that you would have to wait hundreds of years to fall in love, and that once you finally met me I should be so….” He turned away, letting the sentence drop.

“Hey.” I twisted so that I could cup the side of his face and turn him to look at me again.

“I don’t feel as though I have missed out on anything,” I said.

“I don’t mind that I had to wait for you at all.

” I had no intention of mentioning the various lovers I’d had over the years, mostly because none of them had mattered compared to Misha. “You are worth waiting for.”

Misha’s cheek was hot in my hand, and even though I didn’t let him turn away again, he lowered his eyes. “Still,” he said, “it seems a shame that you should spend so long just…waiting.”

“I haven’t just been waiting,” I said with a shrug. When he glanced questioningly up at me, I went on with, “I’ve been working for Mother, as we all have. The magical world seems peaceful and glorious, but even this place is not without its conflicts and trials.”

“Really?” Misha blinked. “It seems so perfect to me.”

“It only seems that way because my dragon brothers and I have put in a great deal of work to make it so,” I said. “That’s the way of everything. You have to constantly work at the things you love in order to keep them alive.”

“Like a garden,” Misha said, brightening a little. “My Papa loved his garden and gave so much of himself to keep it alive and growing, even in the darkest times.”

“Precisely,” I said. “You cannot plant a garden once and expect it to look beautiful and colorful forever. Everything has its season, and work needs to be done during each of those seasons to keep the garden healthy.”

Misha smiled and sighed. “That’s a beautiful way to look at it,” he said. His smile faltered and he went on with, “Right now, it feels like my garden is covered in brambles and thorns.”

“Maybe it is,” I said, which surprised Misha.

I wondered if he expected me to disagree and say everything was beautiful and growing with him.

I stroked the side of his face again and said, “You weren’t the one who planted those brambles and thorns.

It feels unfair for you to have to be the one to clean it all up, but at least I’m here to help. ”

Misha smiled again. “I’m so grateful,” he said. “I…I was worried that I would be alone my entire life.”

“So was I,” I admitted.

That surprised my love. “I cannot imagine you ever being alone.”

“Hundreds of years can seem like a long time when you haven’t met your fated mate yet,” I confessed. “I’ve been wondering when you would come along for a while now.”

“I hope I’m not a disappointment,” he whispered.

“Never,” I said, cupping his face with both hands.

I couldn’t resist kissing him then. The sunlight was too warm, the scents of grass and dirt and cherry blossoms, not to mention my sweet omega, swirled around us, and birdsong and the sound of farmworkers singing as they harvested cherries filled the air.

The moment was too blissful not to lean in and kiss Misha softly.

Whether it was the closeness that the two of us had found through working together, the beauty of the afternoon, or something magical in the air, that kiss felt more important than anything we’d shared so far.

Misha’s mouth was warm and ready, and he opened to me without hesitation.

I could practically feel his heartbeat, even though we were barely touching.

I could feel more from him as well. As I explored him with my tongue, gossamer tendrils of what I knew would become our bond seemed to swirl around us, catching us in a net.

The slow drain of my magic seemed to stop for a moment.

More than that, it felt as though every part of me tingled with renewed magic and wonder.

I could feel Misha’s earnest hopes for a better future and his fear that he would never be truly healed, but above all I could feel a latent desire deep within him.

Misha wanted me. My sweet, fearful mate was alive with desire that was just waiting to burst free and encompass both of us. Whatever worry I might have had that he didn’t want me that way or was frightened of how ferocious a dragon might be in bed was dismissed as I felt the longing pull at him.

And yet, he still wasn’t going into heat, and I still felt somehow…faded.

I ended our kiss, not wanting to pressure him too much. If Misha wasn’t ready, then all the desire I felt and all the need to breed my mate that pulsed within me wasn’t going to make things suddenly right with him.

“No,” he whimpered as I let my hand drop from his face.

“No?” I asked, worried he was telling me he didn’t want me after all.

Misha shook his head and swallowed, then looked up into my eyes. “I don’t want to feel this wall between us anymore. I want to be normal, to go into heat like a normal, ordinary omega who’s met his mate.”

My heart broke for my sweet omega. “I know,” I said, stroking my fingers through his hair, then pulling him into my embrace. “But these things cannot be rushed. We’ll get there in time, and when we look back, this delay will feel like nothing at all.”

“I hope so,” Misha said quietly.

“I know so,” I echoed him.

I did more than that. As I had in the garden of the castle, I closed my hand and summoned enough magic to create a sapphire bloom.

Only, when I opened my hand, the faded, flickering bloom was only there for a moment before it vanished.

I swallowed hard, fighting not to react too strongly and to upset my omega. I should have had more than enough magic to summon a flower. I tried again, but the attempt was even more feeble than before.

Just when I’d thought things were getting better, it appeared as though they were taking a turn for the worse.