“You’re the best mate ever, not me.”
Tiri shook his head emphatically and released Zane so he could race back into his new workshop. “Oh, there’s material in here too. Zane, you’re simply too generous. And wonderful.”
Damian slapped a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “You did good. We might never get him out of there, but you did good.”
“He won’t ask for it, but I think he needs a workshop at home too,” Zane remarked quietly so Tiri couldn’t hear. If the sprite knew what he was planning, he would argue it wasn’t necessary. Tiri rarely accepted anything without a fight; he preferred the unrealistic expectations growing up in the Sprite Grove taught him. Zane believed in working for certain things, but he also reserved the right to spoil him when possible.
“I agree. We are going to have offices at home, and we can use that as an argument to convince him if necessary,” Ellery responded. Then the elf-dragon wandered over to where Tiri was still oohing and aahing to get a closer look at his new space.
A worker poked his head into the office and got Harley’s attention. “I’m going to leave you guys here to check out the space, just holler if you need anything else from me. Otherwise I’ll see you Thursday evening at your condo,” the leader of the griffins stated.
“Thanks for everything, Harley,” Chrysander said as Harley walked briskly out of the cavernous room.
“At least it won’t be long before we’re back in here and out of our temporary digs at Draconis Enterprises,” Damian commented as they surveyed the unfinished space.
“Wesley is already complaining about how little staff fits over here since our office is so large,” Chrysander remarked.
“I guess that’s just too damn bad for Wesley. We had a stupid amount of people over here, and you and Elf did a great job of only keeping essential personnel. I know Wesley and the remaining staff aren’t happy about the changes yet, but they’ll adjust in time,” Costas retorted. “The entire Council is already rejoicing since we slowed the pace of the bills that get passed through the Main Assembly Hall.”
“I know I appreciate the time to thoroughly read everything. I hated being forced to skim things or take the word of someone in our office whose name I didn’t even know to create notes for you to vote on,” Damian commented. “Now I can sleep at night and actually have a few damn minutes to unwind after a long day.”
“That’s another thing that’s better now. We only go to key events. I want time with Tiri instead of being dragged to every little party Wesley thought you should attend,” Zane added.
“I don’t think I even realized how much of what I attended was ridiculous until I examined my calendar more closely. I certainly won’t stand for giving up an evening I could spend with Ell to go to a cheese and wine reception with twenty people whose names I won’t remember. We have responsibilities as the royal family, but we have those to our mates and ourselves as well.”
“Meanwhile, you have a meeting in less than ten minutes,” Damian said. “Zane, you want to corral your sprite, so we can get going?”
Reluctantly Zane headed into the workshop where Tiri and Ellery were chatting. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Chrys and Elf have a meeting in ten minutes. Tiri, Costas can take you to Draconis Enterprises until we return?”
Tiri dashed over to Zane and hugged him. “I hate to leave, but I know I can come back and work here every day, thanks to you.”
Ellery winked at Zane as he left the two alone in the workshop.
“You deserve this and more. I’m so glad you like it,” Zane told his smiling other half.
“I just love everything. Almost as much as I love you. Now kiss me so I can go with Costas. I don’t want to make you guys late.”
“Yes, sir.” Zane leaned down and was planning on a simple peck, but he got a mouth full of Tiri’s crafty tongue. Then without a word, Tiri let him go and sprinted over to Costas’s side. Zane just stood there for a moment, wondering if he could have ever guessed how much a single person could upend his world. Tiri held his heart and made him whole. Their relationship was everything he would’ve denied he wanted, but he’d needed him desperately.
Zane angled his head toward the floor, so his family wouldn’t see his wide grin as he strolled over to escort his emperors. His life was full of gifts, and he would’ve described it as rich before he met Tiri. The truth was, he had absolutely no idea what he’d been missing without him. Now all he had to do was count down the hours until his workday was over, and he could shower Tiri with everything in his heart. And of course have his wicked way with the sexy sprite.
Chapter 3
Wesley Draconis was many things—efficient, hard-working, and dedicated. For centuries he oversaw the Emperor’s office with loyalty and a single-minded intensity. His life had been perfect until Fate brought along a horrid elf-dragon into his world. Chrysander’s damn mate was supposed to die. Instead, he’d shifted into a beast that everyone talked about. The gilt-dusted white scales were declared to be the most beautiful among their kind. Even Reverent Knight Conley Gylde-Kempe agreed, and he had a perfect dragon as golden as Emperor Chrysander’s former crown.
The new one was a monstrosity that had as much black and white as it did the color only their dragon court could use. Wesley wanted to knock it off Chrysander’s head and smash it into tiny pieces. He simply could not understand how Fate thought some elf mongrel was capable or worthy of ruling not only dragonkind but the Council of Sorcery and Shifters. There was no way he was going to allow this madness to continue.
Somehow there had to be a solution to get Ellery out of the way without killing him. The Order of the Fallen Knights would have his head on a pike if he murdered the man, and Chrysander was pitifully in love with the mutant. There was a real possibility that if Ellery somehow died, Chrysander would follow with heartsickness. Who knew what kind of person Fate would stick Wesley with if Emperor if Chrysander was no longer around?
When the idea of getting Ellery out of the way occurred to him, among the people he’d contacted were the three dragon kings who disrespected their emperor by joining the rival Consilium Veneficus. Not one of those traitors bothered to respond to Wesley’s request to speak with them. It didn’t deter Wesley, though he hated to go beyond his own kind to handle his problem. It was a good thing he’d already tracked down a wizard named Jael Giles.
Jael was the son of the former Arch Wizard Egidius—the very man who’d turned from the Council in disgust and founded the Consilium Veneficus. While he’d seemed helpful at first, Jael had yet to solve his issue, and Wesley was losing patience. Ellery was changing everything, and Wesley was the one who should be making those kinds of decisions.I get to plan Chrysander’s calendar and decorate his house, not some freak.
His hands fisted of their own accord, and Wesley was glad he was at home. It’d been an arduous day hiding his dislike for Chrysander’s mate, and he wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the façade. Frustrated and irritated, Wesley was glad when his disposable phone rang. Dragging him out of the endless loop of intolerance in his head was driving him insane. The number was blocked, but Wesley didn’t care. He hit Accept on the screen and held the phone to his ear.
“Hello.”
“Is this the dragon?”
