As usual, Wesley turned his attention to Chrysander, wondering if he needed any help, then sauntered out when he was told His Majesty was fine.
Chrysander leaned down and kissed Ellery. “What are you going to do?” he asked as he returned to his seat.
“Call her, I guess.” After lifting the receiver, Ellery dutifully punched in the correct sequence of numbers and listened to the ringing.
“Hello.”
“Good afternoon. I am looking for Debra Starndraconis.”
“I’m Debra, who is this and how can I help you?”
Still completely unused to introducing himself with his grand title, Ellery let out a breath. “I am Emperor Ellery Draconis. I was told you left a message for me regarding a personal matter.”
“Oh, Your Majesty, thank you so much for calling me back. Do you have a moment to speak?”
Ellery’s gaze swept the room and found four dragons along with a sprite staring at him with curious eyes. “I do. How can I help you, Ms. Starndraconis?”
“Please call me Debra, Your Majesty. I’m not quite sure how to begin. You see, I haven’t met my mate. I’m over fifteen hundred years old, and I got tired of waiting for children. About a century ago, I met a man named Harold. He goes by Harry. We’ve been together since and a few weeks ago, he confessed he had a secret to tell me. I—well, um…are you familiar with anyone named Harry?”
The blood in his veins was ice, making his voice come out flat. “I was told my father’s name was Harry, but I never met him. He abandoned my mother as soon as he learned she was pregnant.” Chrysander stood again and walked behind Ellery to rub his shoulders. The comfort Chrysander always provided him made Ellery infinitely grateful to have him close by.
“Your Majesty, Harry watched your shift on the news some weeks past, and it was then that he told me he’d fathered a hybrid child. He was so scared of losing his unborn son or daughter that he abandoned the woman he was with. Harry believes you’re that child.”
As anger surged through him, Ellery reminded himself that Debra was an innocent messenger. She wasn’t the one who’d left Aynleth alone and driven her mad with lies. He wondered if it had made her vulnerable to the sickness that tore at her mind and led to her death. “This must have come as quite a shock to you, Debra. I am afraid since I have never met my father, it would take more than the word of a man with the same name to verify your partner’s story.”
“I understand, Your Majesty. I wanted Harry to make this call, but he was too afraid he’d never get the chance to speak with you directly. Well, how do you know if you don’t try? So I picked up the phone. I believe Harry would be willing to take a DNA test. Is that a possibility?”
Ellery closed his eyes for a moment to center himself. “Yes. The Spectra Wizardry already has a sample of my blood. They previously matched it with the few dragons they have in their database. My mate and I plan to work on convincing all dragons that they need to participate in the Spectra Wizardry’s ongoing project to collect DNA from every race. It will help them develop better medicines and potions to improve our lives.”
“Your Majesty, does Harry need approval from King George before he can supply it?”
“The Office of the Emperor will call His Highness on Harry’s behalf. I can have the Prism Wizard contact you directly to arrange for the blood to be drawn. I assume this is the number you wish for us to call?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m afraid this whole thing has been quite an ordeal for Harry. He hasn’t been himself since your shift and his revelation.”
Ellery didn’t have it in his heart to care what Harry was feeling. The man certainly hadn’t considered his mother’s feelings or Ellery’s when he dumped them. “Thank you for calling, Debra. Someone will be in touch.”
“Your Majesty, I’m sure this phone call has been a shock to you, and I very much appreciate you being so kind. No one should ever abandon a child, and I never believed Harry was the kind of man to do so. And your poor mother, is she well?”
Debra was nice, and Ellery didn’t want to get into the details of his mother’s death, so he decided the phone call needed to end. “I apologize, Debra, but I really do have to get back to work. I appreciate your call.”
Ellery barely gave her the chance to mutter a good-bye before he hung up. He turned to Chrysander. “Debra has been with my father for nearly a century.”
“Which means she met him shortly after he left your mother. How are you feeling?”
“Like I should have expected a man who abandoned his mate and child would not have the guts to call me directly. He never told a soul about me or Aynleth until I survived my shift.”
“Let’s make sure it’s really him. We’ve sent out feelers for a man named Harry, and perhaps he heard that and decided fame would suit him,” Damian said. “I’ll call King George.”
“I’ll take care of the Prism Wizard,” Zane remarked.
Ellery relayed the entire conversation with Debra to them, so they were privy to the details he’d learned.
“Debra said she wanted to have children and she met Harry. Did she say if they ever had any?” Tiri asked.
“No, and I did not think to ask. I do have a gut feeling that she is right, and this is the Harry who left my mother. I cannot explain it, and I have no idea what I am going to do about this.”
“You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to,” Chrysander told him. His black eyes with the golden rings around the pupils were full of concern and love. Ellery was extremely grateful to have such a man in his life. “No one is going to think less of you if you simply confirm this man is your father and walk away.”
