53. Auslin

Chapter 53

Auslin

A s much as Auslin wanted to avoid breakfast, Kizoshi's hint that she might be there was enough to make him go. He had been prepared to see Mitsuki but not Nasume. The wolf shifter sat by Mitsuki's side, arrogantly acting as if he belonged at the family table.

Auslin's instincts demanded he flee, but he refused to give Nasume that satisfaction. He did his best to ignore the twin glares Mitsuki and Nasume were aiming his way. Kitaro's hand resting on his thigh in silent comfort was a small consolation. It disappointed him Kizoshi wasn't present.

Nasume broke the tense silence. "King Tatsuki?—"

Before he could finish, Kizoshi fluttered into the room. She wore a sparkling lavender dress that looked more appropriate for the previous night's celebratory banquet than a regular breakfast. "Prince Nasume, how unexpected to see you here." She gracefully took a seat next to Auslin.

It was a relief to have another ally at the table. Auslin glanced at her from the side, but her attention was solely focused on Nasume. She stared him down in silent intimidation.

"As I will be family soon, it seemed appropriate that I join you all for breakfast." Nasume smirked at Auslin.

Auslin clenched his hands into fists, but he wouldn't give Nasume the satisfaction of a reaction.

"In that case, I guess congratulations are in order, Mitsuki. I am pleased to see you finally settling down."

Mitsuki sneered at her. "Dearest sister, you are mistaken. How unusual. Perhaps it is too early for you."

"Why would you invite Prince Venrik to join us for breakfast if you had no intention of mating him?"

"As if I would ever settle for a man." Mitsuki scoffed with disgust.

Kizoshi put her elbow on the table to rest her chin in her palm. "Well, then what other reason do you have to invite this despicable waste of a life to breakfast?"

"That is no way to talk about your future brother-in-law," Nasume growled.

"We believe the bird shifter you have been engaged to would have some objections to that," Tatsuki said from the head of the table. His voice was calm, but the burning anger in his eyes made Nasume shrink back.

"I would rather die than mate that pigeon."

Kizoshi's smile was lethal. "The roads can be quite dangerous, so be careful what you wish for. Someone might just make your dream come true."

"Are we to understand you only proposed to our son to escape your current engagement?" Tatsuki gave a warning growl. "We will not stand for such insult to our clan."

"No! My intentions toward Kitaro are genuine," Nasume protested.

"You are fortunate that we were feeling generous enough last night not to humiliate you publicly by rejecting your foolish proposal. We will tell your father about your hijacking our celebratory event to do such an unseemly thing. He will be most displeased with you putting your engagement in danger, as are we."

Nasume blanched. "Fine, I retract my proposal for now."

"Forever," Tatsuki corrected him. Auslin's heart soared with joy. "Let us be crystal clear. We will never give our consent to you mating any member of our family. You are dismissed."

"Feel free to never come back," Kizoshi said in a honeyed tone. She mockingly waved goodbye, her glittery red nails sparkling in the light.

Left with no choice, Nasume angrily stormed off.

The fight was far from finished, though. Mitsuki was still riled up over the matter. "Really, Father? You would rather Nasume mate that Laylan princess to form a new alliance than strengthen your own?"

"We would rather he never step foot in our lands again, but our alliance regrettably prevents us from issuing such a ban." Tatsuki sniffed disdainfully. "We would never let such an unworthy person into our clan."

"And yet you let him in," Mitsuki snarled, pointing to Auslin. "He is more unworthy and a public embarrassment to our good name."

"You are obviously so upset about losing Nasume that you are unwisely choosing to insult Vanra." Kizoshi's tone was jovial, but her lightheartedness failed to reach her eyes. "Perhaps it would be best for you to go after him instead of making a further fool of yourself. You two deserve each other."

Mitsuki stood up with a loud scrape of his chair against the slate floor. "So good of you to stop by for a visit, sister," Mitsuki sarcastically spat.

"It is always my pleasure to ruin your day." Kizoshi blew him a kiss. After Mitsuki angrily left the room, Kizoshi turned to her father with a bright smile. "This is the part where you tell me to stop tormenting my older brother, is it not?"

"He is fortunate that is his only punishment for the time being." Tatsuki frowned with concern. "His behavior is becoming increasingly deplorable."

"I would happily stay longer and help with disciplining him. Uncle Jaega and I could come up with something suitable to give him a permanent attitude adjustment."

The way Kizoshi said, "suitable," made Auslin wonder what she wanted to do. He could only imagine the violence she was capable of based on what he knew of her as the War Power from his time.

"Brother, why did you say nothing in your own defense?" Kizoshi asked Kitaro.

Kitaro radiated amusement. "It has been some time since your last visit. I did not want to deny you your fun."

"You are always so good to me." Kizoshi looked at him with fondness. "I have dearly missed you. Perhaps I shall have to make it a point to visit more often now that I have even more reasons to come." Her gaze momentarily drifted over to Auslin.

Kitaro also turned his attention to him. "Are you well, Vanra? You were silent during the exchange."

Auslin shrugged. "I figured speaking up would only make things worse. I didn't want to cause any more problems."

"He was enjoying the show," Kizoshi stage-whispered behind her hand to Kitaro, making them all laugh. "What an enjoyable breakfast this has been. And the food has not even been served yet."

"Always the troublemaker," Tatsuki said, but there was no reproach in his tone. "We are unsure if that makes you more like us or your mother. "

"It is safe to say I am perfectly split down the middle," Kizoshi grinned. "After all, dragon shifters enjoy some fun mischief, and Powers are forever toying with people's lives. I am the best of both worlds."

"Yes, you are. But try not to start a civil war within this clan to practice for your future duties." The fondness in his eyes for his only daughter ruined Tatsuki's admonishment. Maybe there was something to Kisano's theory that Kizoshi was the favorite child after all.

She playfully pouted. "You so rarely let me get to have real fun."

"Perhaps if you visited more often, we would be more inclined." Tatsuki gestured for the servants to serve breakfast. "And speaking of real fun, how is your dear mother?"

"She is very satisfied with your victory in Galinor."

"Satisfied enough to pay us a visit?"

Kizoshi shrugged. "That is entirely up to her."

"Only because I cannot cross into the Divine Realm." Tatsuki continued eating. "But it is fine. We will bide our time until our next encounter."

Auslin tried not to panic at the thought of meeting Arenthia. He had heard the legends about her, and she sounded downright terrifying. But his fear lessened as he watched the father and daughter banter in such a jovial manner.

Their exchange shocked Auslin. He had always imagined Kizoshi as the ferocious War Power in his time, so seeing her playful interactions was surreal for Auslin. It was just as strange as seeing Tatsuki, the infamous and brutal warlord, looking at his daughter with such love and devotion. Auslin had only known the legends about them, so he was grateful for the privilege of getting to know them as people. It was a surprising upside to his unexpected adventure.