Laughing, Ellery lifted his head to kiss Chrysander. “I am still waiting for you to return my heartfelt sentiment.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. I love you with all my heart.”
Snapping off the light, Ellery grinned into the darkness. From the moment he met Chrysander, he wanted a relationship filled with friendship and devotion. Though their ceremony was delayed by elven standards, it was worth the wait. Chrysander was a beacon in a life once considered ordinary, if not sad. While being Emperor was still an adjustment in the making, finding himself in love with Chrysander and being adored in return was his wildest dream come true.
Chapter 7
Oklin Mivorn had come through for Wesley. It took all of Wesley’s money and a ridiculous amount of blood, but eventually the wizard sent over a giant vial. He wouldn’t tell Wesley what to expect when Ellery drank it. Wesley had only the assurance that it wouldn’t kill him. Since Wesley had asked for Ellery to disappear out of his life, he assumed it would just make him vanish. The first afternoon back at work, potion in hand, Wesley had started dousing coffee mugs with one drop. The solution melded into the ceramic vessel within moments, making it undetectable.
The wizard was specific that it only took a single drop to do what he wanted and that he need not fear harming anyone else. It was designed for a dragon hybrid and would have no effect on full-blooded dragons. That echoed in Wesley’s mind and convinced him he was doing the right thing. Hybrids were vulnerable in so many ways, which was yet another reason why Ellery wasn’t fit to rule.
Because the potion evaporated quickly, Wesley had to dose the cups in the break room as often as he could. While it might be easier for Wesley to deliver the tainted beverage to Ellery, he was mindful that there was always the chance someone would find out he had orchestrated Ellery’s desertion. Wesley believed that when Ellery finally did get the potion, no one would understand where he’d gone.
There would be no choice but to guess that he’d simply walked away from his demanding job—perhaps unwilling or unable to deal with the pressure. It would take time for Chrysander to heal from the loss of his mate, but Wesley had every intention of reminding him that there was always hope. Just as Ellery had vanished, he might miss Chrysander so deeply that he returned. As far as the hybrid himself, would he simply be standing there alongside Chrysander, invisible?
It made Wesley laugh almost maniacally to think about Ellery as a ghost following Chrysander and wanting desperately to talk or touch, his hands passing right through the big shifter. There was no doubt about it, Wesley owed Oklin Mivorn and Jael Giles a huge debt for helping him deal with this mess. However, Wesley was growing impatient. For two weeks, Wesley had waited for Ellery to finally drink the damn stuff, but so far it hadn’t happened.
Wesley refused to believe the potion wasn’t going to work. He’d invested so much money, time, and emotion into it. Oklin’s creation simply had to be real. There was no plan B; Oklin had informed Wesley not to contact him again unless he had more money. Walking into the break room for yet another shot at ridding himself of Ellery, Wesley couldn’t contain his frustration. The new offices were done, and his staff had been ruthlessly slashed.
Now, construction was ongoing at the home of the Emperors, and Wesley had no say in the design. Ellery didn’t want events scheduled there any longer, but Wesley had been able to convince Chrysander to keep an option in mind for dinners or cocktails for the most important milestones. It was ridiculous that Wesley would have to wheedle his way into territory that had once been his, and he was sick of the games.
Grabbing the mugs from the cupboard, Wesley pulled the potion from his pocket and for a moment studied the solution. One drop was the strict instruction, but he was impatient. With a shrug, Wesley decided to quadruple the dosage. Perhaps that would give it long enough to get to Ellery before it evaporated. It wouldn’t do to add more; he couldn’t run out of it. There were only three cups to place it in. With the reduction in numbers in employees, there was no longer a need to have a plethora of them.
He’d done everything he could to encourage those that remained to bring in their own from home or mark the ones labeled Office of the Emperor so that no one took the one they preferred. Nothing about it had been overt—a comment dropped to one person nonchalantly or making it a point to buy a new one for himself and showing it off. It never left Wesley’s mind that he had to make every effort to avoid his plan being found out. Reminding himself of that now, Wesley quickly did his dirty work while keeping his mind calm to leave no echoes of memory for any fallen knight or sentinel to pick up after Ellery was poisoned, and poured some coffee for himself afterward.
Slipping the container back into his pocket, he strolled casually out of the break room as he sipped his beverage. He narrowed his eyes as he wondered if this afternoon would be the one where he finally got Ellery out of the way. Returning to his desk and getting to work, Wesley could only hope that it was. There was simply no way to know how long his fortitude for this nonsense of having an elf mongrel having a say in his life and in all dragons’ lives was going to last.
Though no one would ever know or perhaps approve of his methods, Wesley was doing this not only for all dragonkind but the entire Council of Sorcery and Shifters. With a small smile, he wondered just how many people would thank him if they were aware of his plan. There was no doubt in Wesley’s mind—that number would be in the hundreds of thousands.
* * *
“There’s plenty of support for this,” Zane said as he handed the bill to Ellery.
“Yes, I should have already presented it to the Council,” Ellery responded as he studied the pages in front of him. It hadn’t taken long for Zane and Costas to find plenty of Council leaders who agreed with Ellery about a new rule preventing the same bill being presented over and over with no limits on how often it happened.
Once it was clear Ellery’s thoughts were not in the minority, he’d worked carefully with Zane to craft an articulate bill to be voted upon. The only thing missing was the guts to add it to the schedule and preside over the forthcoming discussion and voting. Chrysander was patient and encouraging, but Ellery feared him growing weary of the delay. It was time to do his duty and obey the dictates of Fate. She’d made him an emperor, and he needed to act like one.
“You wanted to be sure it was coherent,” Zane remarked, bringing Ellery’s focus back to him.
Straightening his shoulders and feeling humbled by the kindness in Zane’s eyes, Ellery handed the pages to Zane. “It is time to add it to the schedule. The bill is not that thick. We should be able to move it forward at the beginning of next week.”
Zane smiled. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
There was fear in his belly, but Ellery had to overcome it. “What time is Chrysander going to return?”
After a quick glance at his watch, Zane replied, “His meeting should be over in about thirty minutes? Missing your mate?”
“You have been wistfully looking over at yours, and he is only in the next room, sewing.”
“I can’t help it, his face when he’s concentrating on that sewing machine is hilarious.”
“It is an odd mix of determination, fear, and disbelief.”
Zane chuckled. “He’s awfully cute. I’m going to go grab a cup of coffee, you want some?”
“I never turn down coffee.”
When the Ducblanc retreated to the break room, Ellery pulled up his email. He found himself staring at yet another message from a Council leader who wished to let him know they would back his bill. It was a lovely boost to his confidence, and he grinned as he sent back a carefully worded thank-you.
