“Some people would disagree.”
“Even when your King is half Eljaffna?”
He lifted his blond brows. “I believe that is the very thing that has led to the belief that we are heartless killers.”
“Ah,” I said, finally understanding why people were so reluctant to tell me what King Shaleros was. “He survived, and the kingdom assumes it was because of his Eljaffna blood. Therefore, Eljaffnas can't love the way other races do. They're a bunch of unfeeling blood drinkers.”
“Precisely.”
“You do know that you're not seen as such in other kingdoms?”
He shrugged. “What do other kingdoms matter to me?”
“Fair enough. But one of your kind is mother to the King. That doesn't earn you some respect?”
The man sighed and leaned back against the sofa. He sipped his wine and glanced around the room. “It was like that once.”
“Before the Duchess died.”
“Yes.”
“How did she die?”
He grimaced. “That too has added to our reputation.”
I sat up straight. “Tell me. Please.”
“Duchess Erelis died giving birth to the Dragon King's child. Both she and the baby expired. The physicians were baffled. Dragons don't die in childbirth. Neither do their children. It has never happened. The only explanation was the babe. And its father.”
A shiver ran down my spine. “Another mixed-race Dragon.”
“Part Eljaffna.” He nodded. “They say the child sucked her down into death with him.”
“A boy?” I whispered.
“A boy, yes.” The Eljaffna shook his head. “It was tragic. So tragic. The kingdom mourned, believing they had lost the entire royal family in one swoop.”
“But they didn't.”
“No. The King lived.”
“But he's never been the same.”
“Correct.”
I glanced at the King's table, still empty, and wondered if he was coming to dinner. He had disappointed me, but I didn't blame him. I understood. And now, I felt only sympathy for Shale. Sympathy and pity. He lost his immortal mate because she tried to give him a child like him. Gods, that cut me, and I never knew her. I couldn't imagine how Shaleros had mourned. No, that's not true. Icouldimagine. I'd seen it. And this was afterone hundred and fifty-seven years, supposedly without any love in his heart.
“I'm Casu, by the way,” the Eljaffna said.
“Nice to meet you, Casu. I'm Sebastian. Thank you for keeping me company.”
“Thank you for not looking at me with revulsion.”
I blinked. “It's truly that bad here?”
He shrugged.
“Why don't you move to another kingdom?”
