Chapter 4
Romilly
Romilly still couldn’t believe it.
He’d found his mate. When he awoke the next morning, it didn’t seem possible for his life to have changed so abruptly, so suddenly. When everything had felt as if it had been dragging for eons, he was elated of course. Thrilled to finally have found the missing part of himself.
But he was also nervous beyond measure.
A human? What did he know about taking care of a human? They were mortal. They would die.
He would have to look at the scrolls in the archives to see what history had said. Surely someone else had bonded with a human along the way. There had to be answers somewhere. He couldn’t be going around blindly.
He’d left Archer the night before after making sure he had enough to eat and was comfortable in bed.
While Romilly had wanted to stay and watch over his little human, he knew it would come across oddly.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t precautious. He had kept his bedroom door cracked and listened intently for any sign of the little one’s distress.
A small whimper or even a moan of pain would have sent him rushing to the room.
But there had been nothing. Not a single noise other than light snores coming from down the hall.
Having grown up around his family, he knew it wasn’t any of them.
Romilly smiled to himself as he drifted in and out of sleep, waking himself up repeatedly, wanting to check on the little human.
But morning came and so did his duties as king. As much as he wanted to fight to stay by his mate’s side, he knew he had to do some of his work. The less they had to hunt him down and demand more, the better. It was a compromise. And if there was one thing Romilly was good at, it was compromise.
After getting dressed in the least fancy clothes he owned, he took off downstairs to see his family and to retrieve breakfast for the human in his care.
His mother and father, Mira and Silas Saint, were at the heads of the table, while his brothers Hadrian and Eden were seated across from each other.
There was room for Romilly, but also for Soren, their other sibling who was out on a mission with the Fae.
It was somewhat ironic that the Fae had come to their aid as a healer when there was so much dispute amongst their kind.
Romilly didn’t begrudge the Fae, nor did he judge any of the other shifters.
Wolves were a tough crowd because there were quite a few who were feral and volatile.
They were a problem. Not the organized wolves who could shift in and out of human form.
As for the Fae, their infighting was their biggest issue.
They couldn’t decide who would lead them, so they had separated themselves into factions in an attempt to maintain some sense of order.
That made it more difficult for Romilly to work with them.
It was part of the reason Soren was going, because they could in turn convince pretty much anyone to do the right thing.
It was part of their gift, the gift of their dragon.
Romilly went to his seat at the table, grabbed his plate, and then moved to Soren’s to get one for upstairs as well. “Good morning to you, son,” his mother said.
“Yes, do join us,” his father added.
“I can’t. I need to feed the human upstairs. I don’t believe anyone has taken him food yet, and morning is here.”
His parents didn’t say anything. They were watching him, though. Their gazes held caution and a touch of curiosity.
Of course, that didn’t mean his other siblings would take note quietly.
Hadrian hummed while shoving food in his mouth, and Eden, being the family’s prankster, decided at that moment to make a loud fart noise and then burst into laughter.
Romilly smirked and shook his head. If there was one thing Eden loved, it was a good fart joke.
He’d spent enough time around humans growing up that he’d picked up the habit, and it just never left him.
It could also be because his brother was a Little.
It was an understood trait in the family.
Romilly and Soren were both dominant, while Hadrian and Eden were more submissive and liked to follow others’ lead.
Though often, Eden convinced Hadrian to get up to no good, so he wasn’t sure that “following” was the correct term.
“Enough with your noises,” Romilly said. “I must feed my mate.”
That got Eden to choke on the bite of food he’d just eaten. Hadrian smacked him on the back roughly. “Hey now, no dying at the table,” he said blandly, while using his other hand to scoop more eggs into his mouth.
As one of the larger dragons in the family, second to Romilly, of course, Hadrian was always hungry.
It was somewhat of a running joke in the family that there needed to be snacks in every room in case Hadrian happened to be there.
Honestly though, Romilly knew he carried a fanny pack of food on him often enough he didn’t have to worry about food being in each room.
Before Romilly could take the food upstairs, his advisor, Shea, came into the room. “Your Majesty,” she said, dipping her head. “You have a surprise visit from the Council.”
Romilly’s eyes dropped to the plates. He needed to eat. He also wanted to feed his mate. Duty called though. He looked to his mother. “Would you mind?” he asked, holding up his mate’s plate.
While Hadrian, Eden, or even Silas could have taken the food up, he didn’t want them involved quite yet.
His father was indifferent — loyal and kind, but a bit blunt.
Hadrian would likely eat the food before his little mate could enjoy anything.
And Eden, well, he would be so fascinated to have a human amongst them that he would forget himself.
Once his mother wiped her mouth and took the plate from him to go upstairs, Romilly turned to face Shea.
“Take me to the meeting, I suppose.” He carried his plate with him, eating as they walked, and handed it over to Shea before he went into the space, so as not to look unprofessional.
Not eating wasn’t an option, though. His dragon was ravenous, both for food and their mate.
Since he was making the beast wait on one, he had to provide the other. It was only fair.
Inside the meeting chamber, the Council stood in a huddle, chatting amongst themselves.
Romilly picked up a few words here and there about the wolves and time.
There was also some hint at disruption in the other shifter communities.
He didn’t want to deal with these problems. It was the same thing all the time, constantly repeating itself, like people couldn’t learn their lessons.
Romilly took his seat upon his throne and crossed his legs.
Shea took his plate and handed it over to one of the helpers who worked throughout the castle.
They no longer called them servants, since Romilly found the phrase distasteful.
They were helpful people who made sure everything was in its place, and he preferred the positive term.
Romilly cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the room. “You all needed to speak with me? This must be urgent for you to interrupt breakfast.”
A few of them had the decency to look ashamed of themselves.
They dipped their heads and mumbled apologies.
A couple were silent, as if they didn’t want to apologize but also didn’t take pride in what they’d done.
One in particular smirked, and Romilly catalogued it as the man he absolutely loathed.
Nicholas Harbour was a dragon who needed to be put down.
He’d been on the Council for as long as Romilly could remember, even back when his parents were ruling.
Nicholas always had a chip on his shoulder.
Any time a vote needed to be had or there were policies in need of reform, he would fight tooth and nail before things could be approved.
It was like he got a kick out of delaying everything and making himself the most important person in the room.
It frustrated Romilly, mostly because there was nothing he could do to remove the man. The term on the Council lasted until someone chose to step down or until they died. While Romilly did think the man should die, he wasn’t going to speed up the process. That was tempting Fate in the worst way.
Treason was the only other exception, though there had to be absolute proof. If Nicholas were dumb enough to betray the horde, he’d likely not leave a trail. His dragon rumbled at the possibility, even if only a hypothetical.
Of course it was Nicholas who decided to speak up first. “Your Majesty, we think the wolf problem should be addressed right away. We are concerned the young members of the horde will stumble upon one of the feral beasts and lose themselves. We don’t want any of the children harmed, not with how few are born each year. ”
“I am well aware of our birth rates, Nicholas,” Romilly said. “That is not anything you have to explain to me. And as for the wolves, I will be taking care of this matter myself from here on out.”
The members appeared shocked. They didn’t expect him to say that. Even Nicholas, who had been smug a moment ago, frowned and asked, “May I ask why you are suddenly in favor of this? When we brought it up before, you said it wasn’t time.”
Romilly’s fists tightened on the sides of the chair as the image of his mate, beaten and bleeding, filled his mind. His dragon rose to the surface, painting his eyes gold as his teeth elongated.
Nicholas mistook his anger for being directed at him and raised his hands in surrender. “My apologies, Your Majesty,” he rushed out.
Romilly shook his head to clear away his dragon’s ire. “It is not you. It is another reason. I have found my mate, and he has been attacked by the wolves. Therefore, they cannot stand. If the wolves themselves will not hunt down their feral beasts, we will. It is a risk too great now.”