“And how do we do that?” Ivo wished he knew more about how things were done. He felt like a fish out of water. Or a city boy out of the city.
“The order needs to go out for everyone to assemble. But be prepared, Ivo. I believe whoever is after you will try to stop you before you can claim the throne. This could escalate things.”
“It could also bring whoever is doing this out into the open.” That’s what Ivo was hoping for. And then he could gut them himself.
Or fry them.
“Then I guess the only thing to do is set up the assembly.”
“And how do we do that?”
“Call Stas. Since he is now your official personal adviser and he knows how these things are done, he’d be the one to talk to. I’m sure he can tell us everything that needs to be done in order for this to be official.”
“I’ll call him just as soon as I get you back in bed.”
Vitki shook his head as he pushed himself up. “I’m not letting you meet him alone.”
“Vitki—”
“No.” Vitki grabbed Ivo’s hand. “We do this together, Ivo, or not at all.”
Ivo sighed. “Fine, together then.”
Vitki grinned as if he had just won some huge argument. “Thank you,lásko.”
When Vitki looked at him like that, Ivo was ready to hand him the world. “Are you okay to be getting up? Do you need a few more minutes?”
“I’m a little queasy, but it will pass.”
Ivo stood and then helped Vitki to his feet. He took a moment to stare at the handsome man. Vitki was definitely the bigger of them. He wasn’t hugely so, just a few inches and probably thirty or forty pounds. It was odd to think he was carrying their child.
“Is a male dragon pregnancy as long as a female dragon pregnancy?”
“Normally, I’d say five months, but that might change since you are a royal dragon.”
Well, they were fucked.
“I’ll have to do a bit of research. There’s a library downstairs. We can probably find what we’re looking for there.”
“We’ll check that out just as soon as we have this whole assembly thing dealt with. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
“That’s my job.”
Ivo narrowed his eyes.
“Ivo, I am the Dýka. It is my responsibility to protect the royal family. That is what I do.”
“And how does that work when you become part of the royal family?” Ivo almost laughed when Vitki blinked at him. “You didn’t think of that, did you?”
“It’s never happened before, Ivo.”
Ivo had a feeling he was going to be hearing that a lot.
“I might have to give up being the Dýka.”
Ivo winced when he heard the sadness in Vitki’s voice. “Does it mean that much to you?”
“It is all I have ever done, Ivo. I know no other life.”
