Page 7 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince (Omega Fairy Tales #4)

Chapter

Four

Azurus

A s we left my mother’s throne room, I felt buoyed by the possibility of being able to help my mate fight his demons and be happy again, but also worried that I wouldn’t be able to complete the tasks Mother had set for us.

Not with my magic draining and turning unpredictable.

Besides which, I had no idea what she meant by the one hundredth cherry tree or by a purple chicken feather, but I knew full well what The Black Mirror was.

People in the magical realm whispered about The Black Mirror as if just speaking its name could curse you.

It was an evil artifact left over from a time that no one remembered, and with good reason.

Legend had it that it was created by a dark sorcerer as a place to trap his enemies in eternal torment.

Granted, I didn’t know anybody personally who had come up against The Black Mirror, at least nobody who had faced it and lived to tell the tale, but I was determined to be ready for whatever collecting a shard from the mirror would mean.

“We have to prepare ourselves for this quest,” I told Misha as we stepped out of the sphere of my mother’s throne room and into the pastoral countryside where it was currently located.

I looked around to get my bearings, then said, “We have to make absolutely certain that nothing on this journey can harm us.” Especially if I wasn’t going to be able to rely on my magic to keep us out of harm’s way.

“Is it very dangerous?” Misha asked, gripping my hand tightly and glancing up at me.

I smiled as soon as I stopped searching for whatever equipment we might need to complete the quest and focused on him instead. “Whatever the danger,” I said, resting a hand on the side of his face, “I won’t let it harm you.”

Misha’s smile was filled with gratitude and love, and for a moment I wanted to forget the quest entirely in favor of taking him back to my lair and trying to see if we could bring on his heat. Heat and bonding would fix things just as much as completing my mother’s quest, I was sure.

As was the way of my mother’s magic, however, as soon as I had those thoughts, I suddenly noticed a large storehouse off to one side of the hill that hadn’t been there before. If that wasn’t a subtle hint from Mother to stay true to the quest she’d set for us, I didn’t know what was.

I stole a quick kiss from my sweet mate, then took his hand again and moved forward toward the storehouse.

Misha jumped as soon as he turned around and spotted it. “That wasn’t there before,” he said in awe.

“Yes, well, this is the magical realm,” I explained, “and we’re close to Mother’s throne room.

” Although looking around now, it appeared as though the entire garden where Mother had her throne had vanished entirely and, worryingly, I didn’t feel as if my magic was strong enough to find it again.

“Mother has a way of giving us exactly what we need at precisely the moment we need it,” I said, mostly to reassure myself.

“What is she giving us with this building?” Misha asked, gazing up at its plain, barn-like edifice as we came closer.

“If my guess is correct, it’s a storehouse filled with everything two travelers might need to accomplish the quest she’s set for us,” I said.

“Then I’m eager to see what’s inside,” Misha said, picking up his pace as we reached the large, open door. “I have a good feeling about this quest. I think Queen Gaia really can heal me. I could feel it coming from her. I’ll do whatever it takes to bring back the items she asked for.”

I smiled as we moved from the brightness of the meadow to the relative dimness of the inside of the storehouse. It was such a relief to see Misha excited and eager, even if he didn’t entirely know what he would be facing.

“What sort of things do you suppose we’ll need to find? Cherry pits and feathers and mirror shards?” he asked as he walked farther into the storehouse, looking up and around at the many shelves of supplies.

“Let’s see,” I said, looking around as well.

The storehouse truly had everything. On one side of the vast space were hung suits of armor, shirts of chainmail, and weapons of every kind.

There were swords and spears and axes, and even a few bows and quivers of arrows.

There was armor and weaponry for horses as well.

I stepped closer to examine all of it, hoping to find something suitable for my omega’s smaller frame.

“Look at all this,” Misha said in awe as he examined shelves on the other side of the space.

I turned to find him standing in front of what could have been a banquet’s worth of food.

There was bread and various cheeses and sausages, along with many pots of preserves, both sweet and savory.

Misha took a jar of something from the shelf and looked at it before putting it back with a thoughtful sound.

There was more in the storehouse than just armor, weapons, and food.

There were sacks of every size and description to carry bedrolls and camping tools, tents that could be pitched and tools for everything from fixing carriages to mining.

The supplies were appropriate for people who might go mountain climbing or those who intended to swim through the sea.

“There is so much to choose from. What do we take with us?” Misha asked. “What are we going to need to make me better?”

I turned in a circle, looking around at it all and taking it all in.

“First and foremost,” I said, heading for the wall of armor. “I want you to be protected on this quest.” Especially since I didn’t know how much I would be able to protect him myself, especially from The Black Mirror.

“Alright,” Misha said, following me.

I pored over the armor and selected a sturdy, gleaming breastplate made of silvery metal and set with sapphires.

It seemed only appropriate, given who I was.

Misha found a woolen shirt to wear under the armor, and once he’d donned that, I fastened him into the breastplate.

I also added arm and leg guards and found a helmet that matched the rest of the armor.

“If that doesn’t protect you, nothing will,” I said, returning to the wall and selecting a powerful sword. I brought it back to my mate, who lifted his arm heavily to take it. “No enemy would dare to harm you equipped like that.”

“I suppose not.” Misha said, though he didn’t sound as enthusiastic about his suit of armor as I was.

“We’ll need a few other things to keep you safe and secure as well,” I said, heading to the other side of the storehouse and taking up one of the leather packs.

I filled it with a few items of food, but also with a large dagger, a hammer for pitching tents, a coil of rope in case we reached a pit and needed to climb out, and various other tools. When I returned to Misha, I slipped the pack on his back, then stepped back with a smile to study my work.

My smile quickly dropped. Misha had all but disappeared under the heavy armor and extensive supplies. He didn’t really know how to hold the sword and could barely keep it lifted.

“Nothing will harm me now?” Misha asked, his voice small and echoing somewhat in the vast helmet.

I frowned. I’d given my mate everything he could possibly need to be safe and protected, but instead of making him look like he could withstand an army, he looked like he might drown under the weight of all the “help” I’d given him.

“It’s not right, is it,” I said, my shoulders sagging. All I wanted to do was keep Misha safe, but anyone with eyes could see that I’d only made it worse.

Misha cleared his throat slightly and said in the softest, kindest voice, “These might be the right things to keep you safe and make you strong, but I can hardly move.”

I sighed. He was right. The same sort of things that would make me stronger were only crippling my sweet omega. What he really needed to keep him safe was not equipment and armor, it was my magic. But without our bond forming, I had no idea how much of it I would have to surround him with.

“Let’s take this all off,” I said, moving toward him and starting to strip away all the protective layers I’d burdened him with. “You’re right. This isn’t the way to equip you for the journey ahead of you.”

We managed to get the pack and all the armor and weapons off Misha’s shoulders and set it aside. The trouble was, without all those things covering him, my dear mate looked more vulnerable than ever. It was almost enough for me to march back to Mother and demand another way to heal him.

“There has to be another way to prepare for this quest,” Misha said, glancing around the storehouse again. “I know we need to be safe and protected, but I can’t wear all that armor or carry a sword.”

“What makes you feel strong and safe, then?” I asked, accompanying him back to the side of the storehouse with the food and smaller tools.

Misha shrugged and rubbed a hand over his face. “Nothing, really. Not when I know how much power my father has over me.”

“He doesn’t have power over you here,” I insisted, standing by his side as we looked up at one of the shelves.

Misha peeked sideways at me as if he wanted to believe me but didn’t quite.

He looked at the shelves again, then blinked into a smile and reached for a small dagger, no bigger than the kind used to open letters. “This is pretty,” he said, turning the small, slim, silver thing over. “It reminds me of my Papa, of his garden. See?”

Misha held the dagger up to me. Sure enough, the handle was carved with roses in full bloom. It wouldn’t hold up in any sort of fight with a serious enemy, but it made Misha smile.

It did more than that.

“Papa always loved his roses,” he said, his cheeks glowing pink at what I could see was a beautiful memory.

“He could grow the largest and most beautiful roses, and he grew them in all different colors. I don’t think I ever saw him happier than when he was working with his roses. He once told me they reminded him of?—”