His father continued to speak. But Gerard found himself not listening. His gaze had been caught by one of the royal family members standing towards the back of the group.
He’d already met Princess Anais and Prince Beau. But he had not been introduced to this man who stood, full lips smiling serenely at the conversation between the rulers.
Who is he?
A soft beam of sunlight fell upon his cheek, as if yearning to stroke the soft-looking skin. At the same time, a light wind stirred and caressed his long white hair.
Unlike the rest of his family, who’d worn their hair twisted and piled in various complicated configurations, he wore his hair hung down and loose. It framed his slender heart-shaped face.
He wore robes of transparent silver over a black sheath dress, which hugged his lithe frame. His eyelids shimmered. His lips glistened. Gerard could not look away.
“Now, I believe you have not met my eldest son.” Emperor Hugo gestured to the man Gerard had been staring at. “Prince Elias.” Then he chuckled. “Although, he is sometimes referred to as the lightning prince.”
The lightning prince.
Gerard tried to recall what information they had in the dossier on Prince Elias. They had dossiers on all royalty, as well as many of the nobles, dignitaries, and ambassadors, from the different kingdoms they had so recently been at war with.
What had Prince Elias’s dossier said?
Lacked intelligence. Did not fight in the war because of a deficiency in magical ability. And it stated that he wasattractive.
However, seeing him face to face, that one word, “attractive,” did not do him enough justice.
Chapter
Six
Gerard stared, completely transfixed. He’d never seen anyone so lovely. He had always thought Princess Anais and Prince Beau were beautiful. But they did not hold a candle to Prince Elias.
The empress laughed. “It’s actually quite funny, because although some do call him the lightning prince, he actually has very little ability as a lightning sorcerer.”
The rest of the family joined in with her laughter, including Prince Elias.
“Let me introduce you, Prince Elias.” The grand monk stepped forward. He gestured to each of Gerard’s family members and introduced them by name and title.
But before the grand monk said his name, Gerard could not help angling his face away ever so slightly, so his scars would be less obvious.
Fire and flames, Gerard cursed himself. He should not be ashamed of the wounds he’d attained during the war!
“This is Prince Gerard, the dragon warrior prince,” the grand monk said. “This is Princess Senta.”
Prince Elias glanced at Gerard before moving onsmoothly to Senta, not even lingering on Gerard. Gerard couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or not.
“My son arrived yesterday morning,” Emperor Hugo said, once all the introductions had been made. “He did not wish to miss out on the creation of this unprecedented peace treaty between our kingdoms.”
“My son, Prince Matteo, wished he, too, could come,” Empress Emmeline said. “But he had to remain at the Tower of the Winds with half of our councillors. Someone needed to stay back and ensure the smooth running of our kingdoms. And we knew he could be trusted to do so.”
The empress smiled. “Thankfully, Prince Elias is not involved at all in the kingdoms’ running. So his presence won’t be missed.” She laughed.
Was that a jab at Prince Elias?
If it was, Prince Elias didn’t seem to notice. He just kept smiling, not even glancing at the empress.
“Yes. Prince Matteo is very competent.” Emperor Hugo grinned. “As both a sorcerer and the future ruler of our combined kingdoms.”
That puzzled Gerard. He knew Prince Matteo was the heir. But wasn’t Prince Elias the older of the two? Gerard would ask Konrad later if he knew why that had occurred. Or perhaps it was in the dossier they had on the kingdoms, Prince Matteo, or Prince Elias.
“I can tell you, on behalf of Prince Matteo, that he greatly yearns for peace between our kingdoms,” Empress Emmeline said. “My three children fought during the war and are glad we can put that behind them.”
