“I mean, is it the same for someone of another race? If your Goddess draws someone from another race to a Dragon, does she give that non-Dragon person the same blessing?”
“Of course.” He looked away. “Although they aren't as bound as Dragons.”
“Aren't as bound? Elaborate.”
“Dragons give their mates a piece of their soul. People of other races can't do that. So when a Dragon mates someone who isn't a Dragon, they don't get a piece of their mate's soul.”
“That leaves the relationship unbalanced.” I leaned back and sipped my tea. “Imbalance is not good. It creates a vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum.”
“The Dragon is the only one lacking, and they don't mind. There is no void in him or her.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “There's something you're holding back.”
The King sighed. “The Dragon is bound by his soul and the Goddess. But if the mate isn't a Dragon, they are not bound as tightly. They feel the magic and receive all the blessings it entails, but if they wanted to leave the Dragon, they could.”
“But the Dragon couldn't?”
“I suppose anything is possible, but the separation would cause the Dragon immense pain.”
“Physical pain?”
“No, emotional.”
“I see. And what are the blessings that the couple receives together?”
The King chuckled again. “You're so analytical about something emotional and magical.”
I lifted my eyebrows.
“The blessings are a unity of souls, knowing each other deeply, sensing each other's needs, and a general sense of wellbeing.”
I made a pensive sound. “I don't think I'd like that.”
“What?” The King jerked back and stared at me in horror. “You wouldn't want to be so close to someone that you could literally feel their love for you?”
I considered it, and then shook my head. “No. It sounds tiresome.”
“Tiresome!”
“Yes. Exhausting. It's hard enough to deal with one's own feelings. To have to constantly cater to someone else's emotions sounds like a lot of work to me. I'd prefer a partner who is supportive but not smothering.”
“Smothering?! Dragons do not smother their mates.”
“In my opinion, such closeness would feel smothering. Frankly, I feel sad for you.”
“Dear Gods,” he muttered. “You do not know what you're talking about.”
“I disagree. I think you are the one who doesn't understand. You've been raised with this divine decree hanging over you. Your parents want you to be happy, so even though you have no choice in your mate, they call it a gift. They make it sound wonderful. It's magic from the Goddess! But they also call it a bond. This so-called blessing binds you to a stranger whom you may or may not want to be with. Forever. It's worse than an arranged marriage. At least you could flee an arranged marriage. But you can't run away from divine magic. If you try, you suffer. Now, tell me, where is the joy in that?”
The King gaped at me. “The Goddess isn't forcing us into a marriage of her choosing. Her magic searches Serai for the person who was born to be our mate and then draws us together. The magic knows better than we do. It can see into our hearts and the future. I would rather put my faith in divine magic than choose a person whom I might think I love in the moment, but who later betrays me or falls out of love with me. The Mating Magic ensures happiness not because it forces it on us, but because it knows the people it unites will make each other happy.”
I shook my head. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have threatened your beliefs. This is your fate. Unavoidable. It was cruel of me to shine a light on the way you've chosen to deal with it. Ignore what I said. I wish you luck in finding your mate, King Falken. But I assure you, I am not the one.”
The Dragon King stared at me silently for a few minutes and then sipped his tea. When he set it down, he said, “Only the Goddess knows that, Master Sevarin.”
Chapter Nine
Only the Goddess knew if I was his mate? I didn't like that. It made sex with the King even riskier than it already was. I considered ending things, but then I looked at him.
