Page 38 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

“Welcome home, Your Highness,” Luca greeted in mellow tones, falling into step with Shey so he and Tyche didn’t have to stop walking.

“Thank you, Luca. Where’s my mother?”

“She—” He stumbled for a second, as if his gaze had tripped on Tyche before jerking back to the prince. “She’s in her study awaiting your arrival.”

“Luca, this is Tyche. Tyche, this is my personal assistant, Luca Warner. He manages my affairs in the palace and keeps me abreast of things for meetings with diplomats and generals.” Shey looked over his shoulder at Tyche to see the god staring at the taller man with narrowed eyes, as if he were debating whether it was worth it to give him a burst of bad luck.

Luca nodded in Tyche’s direction with only a small wrinkle on his brow, as if he were trying to figure out how Tyche fit into the hierarchy of people in Shey’s life. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Tyche.”

“How long have you worked for the prince?” Shey had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from grinning like an idiot. There was no missing the hostile tone that infused that question. He was beginning to think that maybe Tyche had a jealous, possessive streak, and it was coming out more prominently now that they’d kissed.

Luca made the mistake of tipping his head up and puffing out his chest. “I have been Prince Shey’s personal assistant for five years now. I feel that His Highness and I have grown quite close during our time together, enabling me to anticipate all his needs.”

He’d barely finished speaking when Luca tripped, stumbled, and almost caught himself, tripped again, and landed flat on his face. The tablet and papers slid out, spreading almost fanlike across the thick midnight-blue carpet.

“Oh, my goodness! Your Highness! I’m so sorry! I can’t believe…I’ve never…” Luca stammered as he climbed to his knees and gathered up the papers.

Shey turned to glare at Tyche, who gasped and pressed both of his hands to his chest. “I didn’t do that.”

Shey lifted an eyebrow in deep doubt.

“Seriously! I didn’t. I thought about it. But I didn’t actually do it.”

“No! No! Mr. Tyche isn’t at fault. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking and tripped. Please forgive me.” At Luca’s words, Tyche’s expression grew smugger and more angelic, but Shey wasn’t buying it. Maybe Luca was distracted. The man was clumsy. It was just poor timing that he’d been unknowingly provoking the God of Luck, who was spending too much time with a possessive dragon who delighted in giving him wicked ideas.

“Behave yourself,” Shey growled before kneeling to help Luca pick up the scattered pieces of paper. He handed them to Luca, and they stood at the same time. “Luca, could you take Tyche to one of the guest rooms so he can get some rest and clean up from his journey? Also, see to it that he gets something to eat. I’ll go see Mother first. We can catch up afterward.”

“No.”

Both Shey and Luca stared, dumbfounded, at Tyche. The little devil never lost his grin.

“What do you mean, no?”

“I mean no. I’m going with you to meet with Queen Noemi.” Tyche took a step closer, tilting his head up so that he was teasing Shey with those pouty lips. “You will not tuck me away in some fancy room while you run off to save the world. I might not be all that handy with a sword or a gun, but you need me.”

Shey lifted a hand and gently grasped Tyche’s narrow jaw. “Yes, I do need you.” He ran his thumb along Tyche’s cheek, marveling at the determined glitter in his bright-green eyes. After a lifetime of being surrounded by shades of blue, he’d never realized that green had become his favorite color. “You won’t let me keep you safe, will you?”

Those precious eyes softened. “I’ve lived a very, very long time without your protection. I think I can manage without it a bit longer.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have me dragging you into danger either.”

Tyche shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Now, let’s go see Mommy.”

“Sadist.” Shey might have muttered it, but Tyche still heard him and cackled. He released Tyche’s jaw before he gave in to temptation to kiss the breath out of him. “Luca, let’s meet in my study after my chat with my mother.”

After snagging Tyche’s hand, he pulled the giggling god through the long halls. All thoughts of showing off the elegance of the palace were long gone. His primary concern was trying to keep Tyche out of trouble.

“Are you sure you’re not the God of Mischief?”

“Really, Shey, I didn’t do it. I might have wanted to, but I do have some self-restraint.”

They paused outside the double doors to his mother’s study and Shey turned to face Tyche, still holding his hand. “Well, try to use some of it with my mother. I doubt she’s likely to be amused by anything right now.”

Tyche’s playful expression smoothed out, and he became serious. “I will. I promise. No more fooling around.”

Shey leaned down and captured Tyche’s lips in what was supposed to be a quick kiss, but at that exact moment, the double doors opened, putting him and Tyche on full display for his mother, who sat behind her grand desk in the center of the room.

Fuck.