Jory swallowed the lump in his throat. "Sorry."
"You have to present your dragon," Lewn said. "For confirmation that their marks match your beast. It is a dragonkin tradition."
"What about them?"
Lewn shrugged. "Everyone knows what their dragons look like. But we don't know about that." He pointed at the dragon on Jory's shoulder. "Put it on the table," he said, indicating a table in the middle of the room.
"Her," Jory corrected.
An older woman walked up to the stage, her bearing regal and her eyes cold. She waited before the table to see the dragon.
Jory swallowed. For the first time, he was nervous. If he didn't miss his guess, this was some relative of the king's. She had Rai's eyes. With cautious motions so not to startle the little beast, Jory lifted the dragon off his shoulder, walked over, and placed her on the table. She stood there like a statue so the others could check for similarities.
Lewn examined her.
"I declare this mating valid."
A roar came up from the crowd. The black dragon moved uneasily on the table. "Good girl." Jory patted the beast on the head.
The trio went to the sidelines as others came forward and revealed their mating marks. Some turned into dragons to prove their marks to their new mates, some weren't dragons so it wasn't necessary. Jory sat comfortably between his two mates as the king's brother presided over the ceremony.
When it was all over and people were starting to leave Jory stood up.
"Can I hold her?" There was a look of awe in Rai's eyes as he stared at the black dragon.
"I'll ask, but if she doesn't want to, don't push. She spits acid."
"I know."
"Acid and fire." The woman gave a wide smile. Jory was certain the unusual expression could crack the woman's face. "The pretty man found a god-be-damned queen." She pinned him with eyes so similar to his lover's it was unnerving. "Any man who can call a queen is worthy of my nephew. I give my blessing."
"Um. Thank you?" He wasn't proud that it sounded more like a question than a true statement. After all, he wasn't sure he wanted both a king and a duke as his mates. His father would have way too much fun with that. Maybe he could try again and get a foot soldier or someone who didn't have any royal blood.
This was an accident waiting to happen.
"So what do we do now?"
Rai and Val both stepped forward to take Jory's arm. Low growls rose from their throats as they tried to stare each other down.
Breaking between the men, Rai's relative took him by the arm. "Why don't you come with me, dear, and we can discuss what you need to wear for the crowning ceremony. I'm Duchess Thi, Raiston's aunt."
"Crowning ceremony?" He focused on the phrase as a lifeline. Something to focus on other than the panicky thought he was mated to two powerful men and his father was going to be insufferably happy about the entire event.
He was afraid from the look she gave him that he sounded as appalled as he felt.
"Yes, you will be a co-king and a co-duke so you must look your best." She scanned Jory's outfit. "Though you seem to have a nice style of your own."
"Can't I just have Britson make me something?" Wow, he sounded whiny. His mother would have kicked his ass.
"Britson?" The duchess gave his outfit another look. "You've been in town for less than a week and you already have someone dressing you?" She slid an arm through Jory's. "Yes, I think you will do very well. Where do you come from, dear?"
Jory was about to give a vague reply when his mates came to his rescue.
"Not so quick, treasure." Val said. With a smooth motion, he disengaged Jory from the woman and slid his arm around Jory's waist.
The king was fast behind him and frowned when he saw Val's position. "Yes, Aunt Thi, we barely have him claimed and you're stealing him already."
"I thought Joriah would like to decide what he's going to wear for his crowning."
