“Ah, I see. So, this is a great honor for you, Sebastian.”
I grimaced at the Sea King. “Better than a bed slave, I suppose.”
Shale laughed at my sour expression. “I did give you the option. And you know there will be no other.”
“I do?”
“Sebastian,” he said in a chiding tone.
“All right,” I gave in.
“You are so doting, King Shaleros,” King Vaxarion said. “It's adorable. But I'm not ready for that. As you said, we've only just awakened from our forced hibernation. I want to enjoy myself before I take a consort. And then, maybe, the magic will bring me my mate. But I hope I have a few years before that happens.”
“I thought you were eager for a mate?” Shale asked, surprising me with the ease in which he spoke of it.
But then, he wasn't speaking of his mate, was he?
“Why would you think that?” King Vaxarion asked.
“You had mentioned reading about mates.” Shale shrugged. “I assumed you were interested in finding yours.”
“I am. Just not right away. One of our sea kings has found his mate, and he is utterly consumed with the man. A human, no less.”
“A human?” I asked.
“Yes, did you not know that Dragons could mate humans?” King Vaxarion asked.
“Uh, no. I assumed it was only immortals. What happens when the human dies?”
“Oh, they don't,” the Sea King said. “When a Dragon mates, they share a piece of their soul with their mate. With two Dragons, it's an exchange. But when the mate is of another race, only the Dragon gives of themselves. In the case of a human mate, the Dragon's essence shares its immortality.”
“The human becomes immortal?” I whispered.
“Yes, exactly,” King Vaxarion said.
Shale glanced at me, his look heavy. He didn't have to say anything. I could feel his guilt. He would never be able to give me that. And when I died, if we were still together, he would blame himself. Just as he had with his mate. Fuck.
“Anyway,” the Sea King went on brightly, “King Asmar is besotted with his little earthling. I don't know if I want that. It seems . . . well, it's almost as if the magic has made a king into a slave.”
“It does enslave you,” Shale said grimly. “But in the best possible way. You will not regret it. And you will wonder how you survived before it.”
My heart plummeted. It shouldn't have mattered. I knew a Dragon mating was magical. It was what they all hoped for, so great that losing it was supposed to kill them. But hearing Shale speak of it like that, in that cold tone and yet with such intense words, hurt me. I knew then that this was what life with himwould be—a series of ups and downs. Pleasure and pain. But could one exist without the other? No, that was all life, wasn't it? It would simply be exaggerated with Shale. Everything was extreme with him.
“You speak as if you have experience, King Shaleros,” King Vaxarion said softly.
“I have,” Shale said. “I lost my mate.”
King Vaxarion's eyes widened. “But I thought that losing a mate kills us?”
“Not all of us.”
King Vaxarion stared at Shale for a few moments, then nodded. “I understand. And I'm very sorry for your loss, Your Majesty. Now I see why you were so adamant about Sebastian not being your mate. But it's good that you've found him, even if this is all you have. And you never know, my friend. Your Goddess can be fickle, but our God is merciful, and he knows the power of love. Perhaps—”
“I stood with Karadas against the Goddess,” Shale said. “But I don't believe she is fickle or evil. You say our God knows the power of love, but it is Ensarena who gave us the mating magic. She wanted love for us, still wants it, and uses her divine power to draw our mates to us. That is something I will always be grateful to her for, even after losing my mate.”
“She imprisoned Karadas and sent us into hibernation.”
“Because he betrayed their love,” Shale said. “He took other lovers, then gave his heart to one of them. Yes, she reacted badly, very badly. She lashed out at him and us. But she's agoddess, and we are her children. She deserves our respect, even when we stand against her.”
