Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Gerard watched as Colette leaned far out over the balustrade.
Below, Prince Beau and Duke Albert swirled across the marble dance floor. The eyes of all the royals, nobles, dignitaries, and monks fixed on the two.
Except for Colette’s. She had no interest in the dancing couple at their betrothal ball.
“Careful, Colette.” Elias tugged on the back of her pale-green dress.
“Oh. There he is!” She pointed. “I’m going to go speak to him.” Colette didn’t wait for a response. She rushed off and headed towards the stairs that led to the lower floor of the ballroom.
Elias sighed and shook his head before looking at Gerard. “Well, she’s young and infatuated. What can you do?”
Tonight Elias wore a top made of layers of translucent violet fabric that matched his eyes. The top had a V-neck that went halfway down his torso. A black belt with amethyst buttons cinched the waist. He wore billowy black trousers.
As always, Elias was beyond stunning. Everyone kept casting admiring glances at Elias. But if Elias noticed, he didn’t act like it. Gerard had not seen him return a single look. Except for Gerard’s.
“Actually, can you tell me anything about this young Lord Wolf that my ward is so enamoured with?” Elias asked.
“I don’t know him personally. So I can’t say anything about his character. But he comes from a decent family. He is a dragon. But not battle tested. He was too young to fight in the war.”
“I see. Well, hopefully he doesn’t break Colette’s heart.” Something hard glinted in Elias’s eyes. “If he does, he and I will have words.”
Elias might be a weak lightning sorcerer, but Gerard didn’t doubt for a second that Elias could put Lord Wolf in his place. After all, he’d taken Albert down with startling skill and precision. He’d not needed any powers to do that.
“I can speak to him if you like,” Gerard offered.
“You could?”
Gerard nodded. “I could tell him that it is expected that he will treat her decently. As dragon warrior prince, my word holds weight in Draconia.”
“How useful.” Elias took a step towards him. “It’s a good thing to be betrothed to such an important dragon.” He smiled and reached out. He touched Gerard’s sleeve and tugged on the fabric.
Gerard’s chest tightened.
Below Colette wove her way towards Lord Wolf. The young man’s face lit up at the sight of her. It seemed he was as enamoured as she was. “So how did she end up your ward?”
Elias glanced down at her. “She is from my mother’s side of the family. A very distant cousin. They live in the country and mainly have chickens and sheep for neighbours. Since I don’t have many responsibilities, it was thought I could be made useful by teaching her about the ways of court.”
Elias tilted his head as he watched her. “I’m not really sure what I’m doing. I’ve never had a ward before.”
“I think you are doing a good job.”
Once again Elias smiled at him, and Gerard’s whole body tingled.
“Thank you for the vote of confidence.” Then Elias looked to the floor below, his eyes scanning the crowd.
Gerard noticed that Elias spent a great deal of time watching others.
“Oh, look. There is Warden Jade.” Elias leaned forward. “I haven’t seen her out since her father died.”
It seemed Elias wasn’t the only one to notice her. Everyone turned to stare. Heads leaned closer to one another as people whispered, clearly discussing her father’s betrayal and attempt to murder Onyx and Luther.
Gerard’s gut clenched. He knew what it was to be the focus of the hard stares and cruel whispers. Warden Jade paused. She glanced around. Then she turned and left.
“Poor girl,” Gerard muttered. Elias nodded.
They stood silently for several minutes, watching the crowds. Gerard examined the Draconian guards on duty. Were there enough at such an event? Because even though there were many warrior doves, he would not put his trust in them.
“Has Konrad’s betrothed been decided?”
Gerard had noticed that Elias also asked lots of questions.
“There is a good chance it will be Shadow Prince Wraith,” Gerard said. The shadow prince stood slightly back from a group from Necros. He wore a black dress with silver embellishments woven into it.
“Really? Poor Konrad. And poor Shadow Prince Wraith too.”
Gerard nodded. “Konrad is trying to get out of it by convincing Father that it is a terrible idea to have a peace treaty with the necromancers. But he won’t be successful. Honestly, I don’t know why he keeps trying.”
Elias glanced at Prince Beau and Albert. “This song goes on forever. It’s thrice the length of the song we danced to! And that’s saying something.” He shook his head. “But of course Empress Emmeline would choose a song that went on and on to give her son plenty of time in the spotlight.”
“You don’t get on well with your stepmother. What about your half-brother?” Gerard asked.
“I don’t get along with any of my half-siblings. They take after their mother in that sense.” Then Elias gestured to the two dancing. “And did you know that these two aren’t getting along so well at the moment?” A smile tugged at his lips.
“Why’s that?”
“Beau did not like the duke praising my beauty and saying I was meant to marry him at the Tournament of Dragons. So it’s been rather tense between the two of them.”
Gerard chuckled. “That’s understandable.” It seemed his cousin had pissed off quite a few individuals that day.
Elias rolled his eyes. “My stepmother blames me, of course.”
“Why?”
“She says that I have been trying to seduce Duke Albert and take his attention away from Beau.”
“What?” Gerard frowned.
“Apparently I am jealous of Beau for some reason or other and so am trying to ruin his marriage.” Elias scoffed. “It’s all ridiculous. But she has this way of twisting words. She can be quite convincing. However, I suppose some tension is expected when you join two families from warring kingdoms.”
“Voltaria and Zephyrias have been combined for what, twenty years now? Are there still issues between the kingdoms?” Most of the reports Gerard received on Voltaria and Zephyrias suggested that the kingdoms ran smoothly.
A servant came past, carrying wine on a tray. Gerard grabbed two and handed one to Elias.
Elias took the goblet. “Well, you have to remember, Zephyrias and Voltaria have a very extensive and complicated history.”
He sipped his wine. “At times, we’ve been one kingdom. Other times, we’ve split. We’ve been at war, on and off. Where the border lies has been fought over. Voltarian rulers have tried to take over Zephyrias and vice versa. There have been periods of peace throughout. But it never lasts.”
Elias lifted a slender shoulder. “You can’t erase all that history in just twenty years.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Gerard rested his hand on the balustrade. “I’m surprised you made peace at all if that’s the case.”
Elias laughed. “Well, that’s what happens when a more hated enemy invades you both. You put aside hundreds of years of history to fight the terrible dragons.”
Gerard wasn’t sure if he should apologise for his grandmother invading Voltaria and Zephyrias. But right now, Elias smiled, and he didn’t seem all that fazed about the dragons flying in and trying to take their land.
When they’d first met, he wouldn’t have been sure if Elias knew the history of his own kingdom. He’d seemed so ridiculously naive. But not now.
Gerard couldn’t quite make sense of it. The Elias he’d met on that first day seemed so at odds with the man beside him now.
“Did you know that I almost married my stepbrother, Prince Matteo?” Elias asked.
Gerard stilled. “I didn’t know that.”
“It was discussed early on when we first made peace. Our parents would marry and consolidate the peace treaty between Zephyrias and Voltaria. Then we, too, would marry, further consolidating it.”
Elias tucked a white strand of hair behind his ear. He’d worn his long white hair up tonight, showing off his long, slender neck. But still a few strands hung loose.
“Would you have wanted that?” Gerard had never met the heir to Voltaria and Zephyrias. But the dossier Draconia had on him suggested he was competent and hard-working. Hopefully that would continue when he became ruler of the combined kingdoms.
“What I wanted never really came into it,” Elias said. “But he is decent. And he doesn’t despise me like his mother.” He paused. “I think it could have been a tolerable match.”
But then his eyes turned from the dance floor and landed on Gerard. He reached out and touched the patch of skin that was not covered by Gerard’s sleeve. “But I’m pretty pleased with how it has all turned out in the end.”
Gerard could feel his cheeks heat. He still couldn’t comprehend that Elias not only seemed to not mind marrying him but perhaps even wanted to marry him.
In the previous few days, they’d continued to make love and get to know each other. Elias never looked at him with disgust or pity. He made Gerard feel like the powerful dragon warrior. He made Gerard feel liked he’d used to, before the lightning attack.
Elias slunk forward, movements fluid and graceful as he pressed in close. “Do I make you blush, oh mighty Dragon Warrior?”
Gerard huffed a laugh. Then Elias’s hand rested on his chest. He toyed with the buttons of Gerard’s coat.
Elias threw a glance towards the dance floor. Finally, the betrothed couple had parted and left. Others now twirled below. “I’m bored.”
“Do you want to dance?” Gerard asked.
Elias’s gaze met Gerard’s. “No. I want to find somewhere private. I want to make you blush all over.”