“You have to restructure your dread and help them find a new way of life.” He waved a hand out toward the Dragons who danced in the space between tables, several with non-Dragon partners.
I followed his gesture to look at the hall. The new nobles of the Gavemor Dread were not racist like those they'd replaced.Even if they had seen Dragons as better than others, after today's battle, their opinions would have changed. I did not doubt that. It was impossible to view the other races as less than after watching them take on more powerful foes with unwavering courage and determination. Even when it looked as if we would fail, those soldiers kept fighting.
“You have to build a new future, Ly,” Aras went on. “Not just in the enclaves but in your entire kingdom. You have a chance to change things for the better. A clean page to write a new story upon.”
Warmth rushed through me as I looked back at my mate. “You're saying that I shouldn't just rule, I should also make a difference?”
“Are you teasing me?”
I snorted a laugh. “Only a little. You know I've been wishing for this for a long time. The weight of elitism and racism made me bitter, but now that's gone. Of course, I'm going to help the enclaves restructure themselves. That is my duty as their king. And after the loyalty my kingdom has shown me, I must do right by it as well. You're speaking from my heart.”
Ellas, sitting down beside Duke Zixin, stood up and shouted, “Gavemor Dread!”
The music softened into silence and all action subsided as everyone gave their attention to my friend.
“My fellow nobles!” Ellas lifted his glass.
The Dragons cheered. They'd won a type of freedom for themselves. Their new status reflected that above all else. Oh, I'd be rewarding Dragons with the many estates that were nowlacking owners, but they would still be needed to perform the jobs they had before. It would be strange, this working nobility, but I hoped it would influence other dreads. First, we'd have to prove that it could work.
“Our King has done a lot of things differently lately,” Ellas went on. “He has broken many traditions, including the one about presenting his mate.”
I went still.
“Ly?” Aras whispered.
“It's fine. It's Ellas,” I whispered back. But I was still nervous to hear what was said next.
“I support his decision one hundred percent,” Ellas went on. “I don't think our kings should have to seek approval from us to take a mate, not even if that mate is from another race.”
The Dragons cheered and several of the other races joined them.
“There's just one problem with that,” Ellas said. “We haven't been able to welcome our king's mate properly. And after getting to know this man, after seeing his bravery and loyalty to our king and our dread, I feel the need to rectify that. With our King's essence in his soul, he is now part Dragon. And he needs to know that we see that. So, Dragons of the Gavemor Dread, join me in welcoming our new duke to the dread.” Then Ellas raised his glass to Aras and said, “Welcome to the Gavemor Dread, King's Mate!”
The Dragons in the room repeated the words, then all of them, including myself, jumped to their feet and roared.
There were tears in Aras's eyes when the roaring died down. I drew him to his feet, then faced our dread with him. “All of you, and I mean every soldier who fought today, not just the Dragons, have humbled me with your bravery and steadfastness even in the face of death. We had help today from our new allies—the magic-users Jeven, Geralne Habri, Fregamo, and Saval.” I motioned at the magic-users, hoping no one noticed that Risarren wasn't named.
No one seemed to. They just cheered while those closest slapped the magic-users on their backs.
“And the Sea Dragons of Morilren!” I shouted before I inclined my head to King Vaxarion. More cheering came, and then I said, “But that will be the last time we require aid. We are never going to divide ourselves again. And because we now stand united, the Gavemor Dread will grow to become one of the greatest dreads on Serai!”
The response was deafening. Even the non-Dragons cheered this because the strength of our dread was directly proportionate to the strength of the kingdom.
When the roar died down, I said, “Internal fighting weakened us. I tore us apart. But it also gave us a chance to start anew. Now we can make this dread into exactly what we want it to be—a dread that supports its Dragons and views all as equal. And I want that equality to spread to the rest of our kingdom. You saw the bravery of the men and women from other races who fought beside us today. They fought for what we did—the chance to live in a better place. We can build that place together. If we live in harmony with each other and respect each other, we can make Gavemor the greatest kingdom on the planet. I want this day to be remembered in our history as the day when webecame the kingdom that other kingdoms aspire to be. A place of safety, peace, and unity among all races!”
The castle stones vibrated and my ears rang with the strength of the applause. People stomped their feet in addition to clapping and cheering. And it went on for several minutes. During that cacophony, I pulled my mate into my arms and kissed him. It felt right. The perfect conclusion to the evening. Well, the perfect public conclusion.
As the cheering died down, I drew away from Aras and asked, “Shall we retire for the night, Mate?”
“Finally,” Aras grumbled.
I laughed as I turned to face the hall with him. “Now I'm going to celebrate our victory privately with my mate. I urge you all to do the same. And if you don't have mates, tonight is the perfect time to look for one.”
People chuckled and raised their glasses to that.
“Happy hunting,” I said. “And goodnight, my friends.”
I bid my parents, my best friend, and my royal guests goodnight before leaving the dais with my mate. We moved slowly through the hall, stopping to speak with people as two of my King's Guard escorted us—one a Dragon and one an Argaiv. I would continue to keep my Guard mixed to show my respect for all the races of Serai. And even though my entire dread was now noble, I would do away with the law that only Dragons from noble families could serve the King. There were a lot of laws I was going to change.
