Chapter 41
Putting his life on hold for a year made for a series of events Ellery would have preferred to skip, but it was imperative he do the right thing no matter the situation. In this particular one, he had no clue what the correct thing was, so he was wading in and hoping he could hold his own. He looked over at the tall dragon at his side and smiled. Chrysander would always be there for him, and together along with their family, they could conquer anything—even meeting Ellery’s father. Blowing out a breath, Ellery adjusted his cloak and waited for their dukes to lead the way forward as soon as safety was assured.
“They’re waiting for us,” Damian said. “Elf, you ready?”
“As I will ever be. Yes.”
Chrysander gave his hand a squeeze and with his head held high, Ellery followed the dragons who protected them into a conference room. Inside were three men and a woman, which surprised Ellery as he thought it would be Harry alone. For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then Damian waded into the silence like the champion he was. “Mister Starndraconis, allow me to present Their Majesties, Emperor Chrysander and Emperor Ellery Draconis. I’m Imperial Duke Damian, and this is Ducblanc Zane, Ducblanc-mate Tiridythas D’Vaire, and Royal Duke Costas. Will you introduce us to your family?”
“Of course, Your Grace,” Harry Starndraconis said. “This is Debra, and these are our sons, Eldridge and Escott.”
Ellery’s experience trapped in his dragon had afforded him a great ability to read people’s faces. On Harry’s there was a complete lack of enthusiasm and an almost annoyed air about him. When he glanced over at Debra, she had her hands clasped in front of her, and there was pleading in her gaze. Ellery’s half brothers were eyeing him curiously. He was flabbergasted that he even had siblings at all. The Draconis dukes and Chrysander shook hands with the Starn family while Ellery and Tiri opted out. He might be half dragon, but Ellery refused to give up his elven preference for only the touch of the people he loved. Though his plan had once been to adapt to shifter practices, those days were long past.
“Shall we have a seat?” Chrysander invited. The four guests quickly found seats, and Ellery sat flanked by his mate and the Ducblanc.
“Your Majesties, thank you so much for meeting with us today,” Debra enthused. “It’s truly an honor to meet you both and Emperor Ellery, I must tell you I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you are. We were so sorry to hear about your plight with the potion, it’s wonderful to know you can finally return to your life.”
Ellery kept his gaze on Harry, and the shifter was staring intently at the table. He was searching for some of himself in his face, but he found no resemblance, not even to the man Ellery had been before his dragon altered his appearance.
“Thank you for your kind words, Ms. Starndraconis. I am grateful to be sitting here today as an elf. I adore being a dragon but prefer to choose when I shift.”
“Oh, you simply must call me Debra. We’re practically family.”
“Then I insist you call me Ellery,” he invited, though he didn’t feel a familial connection with any of the four guests. But perhaps that was asking too much after only a few minutes in a room together.
Debra elbowed Harry, who harrumphed. “Didn’t you have things to say to Ellery?”
Harry finally looked up, but he didn’t make eye contact. His gaze was about six inches too far to the left for that. “I’d like to apologize for abandoning you and your mother. When I found out Aynleth was pregnant, I couldn’t handle it. Hybrid children don’t survive, and I couldn’t watch my kid die like that.”
“You walked away, and I did not find out that no dragon hybrid had ever survived until I met my mate. I had less than two months to adjust to the knowledge before I had to give it a try.” Ellery kept his voice level, although he was growing angry at Harry’s words.
“Not that I want to interrupt or anything, but how did you do it?” Eldridge asked. Ellery gazed at him, and he noted that the man was still a drakeling himself.
“There was no magic involved. I simply believed in myself.”
“Not that everyone around him had the same belief,” Tiri grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.
“We’ll apologize until the end of time for that, Your Grace,” Chrysander intoned formally.
“I intend to see to it that you do,” Tiri retorted. Chrysander acknowledged the statement with a solemn bow of his head. Ellery had to pull his lips in, so he didn’t grin at his best friend taking Chrysander to task. Tiri didn’t forget, and he was certainly not one to let bygones be bygones.
“How’s your mother doing? Is she handling all this business, okay?” Harry inquired gruffly.
“My mother is dead.”
Harry’s brown gaze was shocked. “Dead? But she’s an elf. You’re all immortal.”
“Fate grants us an infinite lifespan, but there are injuries and diseases that can rob us of immortality.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Your Majesty. I—well, it never occurred to me she would be dead. Was it recent? I mean, was she able to raise you?”
“She did an incredible job of raising me on her own. No one in the Fen-Lynthi tribe was willing to help a woman who had dishonored herself by laying with a man who no one believed was her mate.”
“I may not have liked it, but she was my mate.”
“Elves do not lay with someone before exchanging blood, Mister Starndraconis. That is why no one believed her. She did not claim to be raped, so they assumed she had disgraced herself. Aynleth was shunned and I was ridiculed for being axiryti. That is Elvish for mongrel.”
“What else do you want me to say besides I’m sorry?” Harry demanded. “Fate paired us up, but you grew up with her. You know what Aynleth was like. Overly dramatic…given to fantasy—”
