Page 3 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince (Omega Fairy Tales #4)
Chapter
Two
Azurus
I was a sapphire dragon, son of Queen Gaia herself, and had already lived for hundreds of years and lent my strength to numerous battles and causes. I possessed a magnificent lair and a rich hoard. The ordinary people of the magical world looked up to me with respect and awe.
But nothing made me feel small and helpless in quite the way that watching my fated mate flee into the gardens, knowing he was beset by demons that I couldn’t see and couldn’t do anything to fight for him.
Nothing worried me more than the fact that we had known and been close to each other for weeks now, but Misha hadn’t gone into heat and we hadn’t bonded.
It was more of a problem than Misha realized.
When dragons bonded with their mates, it increased their magical powers.
Although I’d never heard of a dragon’s mate rejecting him before, and while I knew Misha wasn’t purposely rejecting me, I could already feel my magic beginning to fade.
The drain wasn’t bad yet, but it was a cause for concern.
Misha and I needed to bond before it was too late.
I watched my beautiful, tormented mate run off into the sunlight and greenery of the garden, then blew out a breath and let my shoulders drop.
We were fated mates. I was drawn to the small, handsome omega in a way I had never been drawn to any of the lovers I’d had before.
He was so good and pure of heart, but so desperately needy at the same time.
I did not mind being fated for a needy mate, but I minded that I couldn’t meet those needs.
Misha needed something, and try as I did, I could not figure out what it was or what might heal him.
My brother Emmerich’s hand on my shoulder jolted me out of my spiraling grief on my mate’s behalf.
“You’re doing everything you can,” Emmerich said in a kind voice.
I turned to him, noticing that all the others were watching me as well. “Am I?” I asked, my gut churning with restlessness and desperation. “Am I really? Misha awoke from a horrific nightmare again this morning, sobbing and cowering away from me as if I were some sort of devil chasing him.”
“Our father,” Leo said, scowling even as he cradled his egg protectively and affectionately. “Not a devil, our father.”
“Is that what, or rather who, he’s dreaming about?” Selle asked, picking up his egg and cradling it as well.
“I can’t imagine it would be anything else,” Tovey said, one hand on each of his eggs in the nest.
“Our father is the worst sort of villain,” Leo said, starting to pace as he stroked his egg.
“He made our lives a living hell since we were born. He hated that we weren’t alphas.
He despised our papa for only having omega children.
He drove Papa to an early grave, and he has lived every day of his life to seek revenge on us for who we are. ”
“For who we aren’t ,” Selle corrected him.
“Which is utter foolishness,” Diamant said, stepping into Leo’s path and pulling him into his arms. “Anyone with eyes can see that you are every bit as potent and wonderful as any alpha.”
From what little I knew of Prince Leo, I would have expected the fierce omega to pull away from Diamant rather than consent to being pet and hugged. Leo grinned up at my brother and snuggled closer, together with his and Diamant’s egg, though. As tough as Leo was, he softened for his mate.
Which only made me more frustrated for my situation with Misha.
“Misha is a gentle soul,” I said, moving to the table where an enormous breakfast had been laid out.
I picked up a pastry glazed with something sweet and sticky, but after one bite, I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat it.
Not while my stomach and my entire body were so unsettled.
“He was never meant for a life of conflict and war, like we’re heading for.
He was meant for a quiet, domestic life of peace. He was meant to be a mate and a papa.”
“Agreed,” Tovey said with a sigh. “I think we’ve always known that about Misha. He’s the meekest of us.”
“But that doesn’t mean he isn’t valiant and capable of great things,” Selle defended him, going to stand by Gildur. “Misha might be gentle, but he’s strong.”
“He is,” Leo agreed. He and Diamant moved closer, as did Tovey and Rufus, Selle and Gildur, until they all stood near the breakfast table. “He’s endured everything the rest of us have from Father over the years and he’s faced it with quiet grace.”
“And yet, now, even here in the magical kingdom, amidst the safety of our castle, he is tormented with nightmares and unable—” I stopped before I said too much. Some things were too intimate to share, even with family.
Because the fact of the matter was that Misha should have gone into heat shortly after the two of us met.
It was the way of things with dragons and their fated mates.
The bonds that formed in the magical world, particularly with dragonkind, were so potent that they caused omegas to rush into heat as soon as they acknowledged their fated mate.
Misha and I had known we were destined for each other from the moment we met.
I’d already suspected, based on the lore of our world, that I would be fated for one of the brothers of the omegas my brothers were fated for.
Fated mates within family groups were incredibly common, especially when major events of more than one world drew the alpha and omega pairs together.
Misha’s brothers had all gone into heat shortly after meeting my brothers.
Misha should have done the same, but for some reason he hadn’t.
There was a great deal of affection between us, yes.
My body reacted in all the expected ways to Misha’s beauty and his sweet pea and sugar scent.
I wanted him like I’d never wanted another omega before.
But that was as far as things had gone. We’d even kissed a few times, but Misha had not gone into heat. No bond had yet begun to form. And I could do nothing to ease the terror of the nightmares that had Misha in their grip.
And I could already feel my magic draining for lack of a bond with my mate.
“Often, even the strongest among us can reach a point where the horrors and trials they’ve experienced become too much,” Gildur said, unaware of my deeper worries, slipping his arm around Selle’s waist and smiling sadly at him.
“Prince Misha has been enduring a great deal for a very long time. It may simply be that it has become too much for him.”
“Clearly it’s become too much,” Leo said, as frustrated as I was. “But what can we do about it?”
Leo looked to me for an answer. They all did.
I blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over my face. “I’ve tried showering Misha with love and attention,” I said. “I believe it helps a little, but it isn’t enough.”
“Maybe he needs to see that we all love him and want him to be happy?” Tovey asked.
“Can’t he see that every day in the way you interact with him?” Rufus asked with a confused look.
“It might take something more,” Tovey speculated.
I tried taking another bite of my pastry, but it still didn’t sit right. It wasn’t as if I needed my magic at full strength in order to digest food, but the drain I was feeling threw everything off. I needed to bond with my mate to feel right again, but bonds couldn’t be forced.
“We need to show him,” I said, scrambling for the only thing I could think of that would make my mate feel well and whole again so that we could bond.
I tossed the pastry onto an empty plate.
“We need to celebrate all the wonderful things about him and really make him see that we love him and think he’s amazing and strong. ”
“How?” Diamant asked, arching one eyebrow at me.
Damned if I knew.
I glanced across the laden breakfast table, and an idea came to me.
“We could turn this breakfast feast into some sort of celebration for him,” I said, moving around the table to see what we had to work with. “We could cheer him up with songs and drink to his good health with the tea I know he likes.”
“Like a birthday party, even though it is not his birthday?” Emmerich asked.
“Yes, something like that,” I went on, reaching for a plate and piling it with some of the pastries I knew were Misha’s favorite.
“We’ll sing to him and let him know he’s loved.
” And with any luck, my beautiful mate would feel that love in his soul and it would restore him.
With any luck, he would go into heat and we could bond.
“It could work,” Leo said with a small shrug. “Why don’t you go into the garden to fetch him and we’ll set everything up here.”
I nodded. “He has to know that he’s loved if we celebrate him like this.”
Even though I’d said those words, something deep within me wasn’t certain my sweet mate would understand what we were trying to do for him. I’d never seen anyone so sad or so traumatized before, and I wasn’t certain that an impromptu party would make everything better.
Those feelings grew even stronger when I found Misha sitting by the edge of one of the fountain pools in the water garden.
“There you are, love,” I said slowing my steps so I didn’t startle him as I approached.
Misha jumped anyhow and twisted into a defensive position before seeing it was me and relaxing. “Azurus,” he said.
For half a moment, a smile appeared on his face. Then he sighed heavily and glanced back at his reflection in the water.
It was painful to watch. I could face down a clump of ogres without pause or battle King Freslik’s army in the field as part of Osric’s forces, all without questioning myself or my courage once.
But seeing my fated mate wilted with defeat while sitting in the grass beside a fountain in a quiet garden had my heart quivering in my chest.
I did the only thing I could think to do. I put on a happy face and reached down for his hand. “Come back to the castle,” I said, trying to pretend nothing was amiss. “Your brothers and mine have a surprise for you.”