“Your father didn’t marry an alpha dragon.” Elouan skated on thin ice here. Those were Curtis’s parents he brought into the argument. “From what I see and hear, they’re very much in love and happy with their choices.”
Curtis slammed his hand down on the coffee table. “His court rejected Dad for refusing the mate they chose for him. He can never go back. I’ll never meet my grandparents or fly. I’ll never be a full dragon because of my parents’ selfishness!”
Whoa! Did Leon know of Curtis’s hostility? Curtis likely wouldn’t have met his extended family anyway, because of the wars decimating entire courts. Elouan kept his voice calm. “Everyone has the right to choose who they spend their time with. I'm sorry you feel your parents took something from you. Talking to them would be best, but you have no right to tell them who they can choose to be with, just as you should be free to choose your own partner.”
“Who’s gonna want a half-dragon?” Okay, now Curtis tugged at Elouan’s heart. “I don’t fit in with the humans, and I don’t fit with dragons. I’ll always be lesser, not good enough.”
Elouan put a little distance between them, stepping into the kitchen area for a beer. “Lots of people would want you, because it shouldn’t be a half-dragon or a half-human they’re looking for, just you. The guy who likes reality TV, intends to be a nurse after graduating because he loves helping people, and is good at it. Who makes a mean omelet but otherwise doesn’t like to cook. The guy who always tries to make the person with him feel special. The king of heavy metal. They won’t give a hot damn if you’re an omega, alpha, Pisces, or anything else. They’ll fall in love with you.” Wow! That was the most Elouan had ever said about love.
Curtis peered through copper-colored lashes when Elouan returned to the living room, a touch of hope in his voice. “Do you think there’s someone out there who really would?” His voice came out so small.
Elouan shrugged. “I’ve heard enough songs about there being someone for everyone. Some are sickeningly sweet. Yeah, I think it’s possible. More than possible, actually.” What had gotten into the usually upbeat Curtis? Oh. “Do you not like Jules for some reason you don’t want to tell me?” Curtis seemed to like everyone, even if he preferred the company of dragons.
Curtis sighed. “I’m not sure how, but he’s weird. Several full dragons I know won’t talk to me, but those who do say they can’t read him. I mean, everyone gives off vibes, human, dragon, or a mix like me. Him? A total void. How can you trust someone you can’t feel?”
Elouan's hackles prickled but didn’t fully rise—yet. He’d noticed the same but hadn’t been in the human world long enough to figure out whether all humans possessed a readable aura. If only he could talk to Sakaris. The mage would know. Thespell he’d cast helped Elouan quickly process human concepts but didn’t hide him from dragons living here.
Was there a spell to hide an aura? Sakaris needed to come for Elouan, let him go home. A niggle of discomfort lodged behind his breastbone. While they were just getting to know each other, he would be reluctant to leave Jules. He’d not had someone he could so easily talk to in a long, long time.
Even in his guise as a human, others wanted Elouan for what he could do for them, making them look good by being on his arm. Or so they said. Jules called Elouan good-looking but didn’t dwell on the subject like some humans and even dragons did.
If Sakaris arrived today, necessity would force Elouan to choose an omega-dragon mate unless someone had already chosen one for him. So, either Elouan could go back home without Jules, or he could stay here, live as a human, and never go home again.
He wanted to go home to ensure his court survived and to reunite with his brothers. The “king” part wasn’t the prize many people thought. He’d watched Father all his life, performing a delicate balancing act between the people’s wishes and what was actually good for them. No, thank you.
He’d face returning when, or perhapsif,Sakaris returned. Until then, he’d enjoy Jules’s company. Besides, who was to say Jules wouldn’t tire of Elouan?
An image of Jules’s smile came to mind, the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he laughed. Those freckles.
If Sakaris was going to return, he shouldn’t rush on Elouan’s account.
Elouan sank onto the couch next to Curtis. “You’re dear to me, too. And I love you like a brother. I wish you wouldn’t put yourself down. You’re as worthy of love as anyone, and one day you’ll find it.”
Curtis sniffled. “Do you really think so?”
Elouan pulled Curtis into a hug. “I know so.”
Elouan excused himself for bed once reasonably sure Curtis wasn’t about to fade deeper into whatever depression had overcome him. A long talk with Leon might be in order. Elouan wouldn’t betray Curtis’s confidence, but Leon needed to know about his son’s resentment. Saying nothing could prove dangerous for all concerned.
Then again, there might be more reasons than Curtis had initially given for him to have moved out of his parents’ house while still in school. Privacy alone might not be the reason. Neither Curtis nor Leon spoke about why Curtis didn’t still live with his parents, though they seemed to get along fine.
Elouan snagged another beer for later before showering and retreating to his bedroom, a room vastly different from his one back home. Here, he shared all spaces with Curtis except this room, a tiny space he couldn’t even pace in properly.
He’d had an entire suite of rooms at the castle: one for entertaining, another for dining when he didn’t wish to join the court in the family dining room, a bathing chamber, his hoard, and his sleeping lair. He didn't allow other dragons into his lair unless he explicitly invited them, and those invitations were short-lived, not with his hoard stashed in a hidden, bespelled compartment nearby. Inaccessible to most, yes, but Elouan wouldn’t take chances with his treasures.
Yet, a nagging idea invaded his thoughts: what would Jules think of his hoard? Would he find the collection of jewels, precious metals, and rare books impressive? Books likelybrought by magical means from Terra. Elouan snorted. Why did he want to impress a human?
Still, the large blue diamond pendant Elouan inherited from his grandmother would look even better hanging from a chain around Jules’s elegant neck.
While he’d never been able to bring physical things with him through the portals between realms, Sakaris transported small amounts of Thorne gold, and even sold some for human money to allow Elouan to live comfortably. He didn’t know how, only that human banks held a lot of money in his name. The rest of his hoard remained secure back home. Ah, what power the mage wielded, allowing his efforts to ensure Elouan’s comfort in either realm. It made the idea of Gwythyr having even more power a terrifying thing.
Not for the first time Elouan worried about Urien’s lapdog one day showing up in Terra.
Elouan sighed, shifting his gaze over his dreary room. He’d slept in a pile of furs on the floor back home, with plenty of space to stretch out, though not to shift. There were caves nearby where he could spend the night in dragon form. His trunks back in the castle held far fewer clothes than the crowded closet and dressers in his human-realm room, due to so much time spent as a dragon. There, he often wore scales, not fabric, and many of the outfits back home were for formal occasions, suitable for Elouan’s position as crown prince.
Hisformerposition. Here, he had a bed nearly too small for a proper stretch, two dressers, and a chair. The book hoard he’d accumulated after arriving sat in a place of honor on the dresser.
While he didn’t have the hoard he’d worked his whole life for with him, he’d started a new one, containing leather-bound books found at antique stores, as well as vintage jewelry made of silver, gold, or platinum. The stones weren’t the biggest draw for him; the metal was. He’d also acquired tablespoons,teaspoons, knives, forks, and serving utensils, all silver, with no repeating patterns. Elouan sometimes spent days off combing through antique stores, thrift shops, or yard sales in search of new additions. His collection in Adrakus contained many silver and gold items, though they were much more elaborate. Here, he needed a small collection to avoid too much attention. The apartment wasn’t big enough for all the books he wanted, and outside storage units were too easy for others to break into. No one stole from Elouan’s hoard.
