Chapter Thirteen

I stood before my dressing mirror, staring down at the tunics I held. I was trying to decide not only which tunic to wear but also if I should attend dinner at all. After the King”s abrupt exit, I didn”t think his invitation to dine with him remained open. But it might. I had flustered him, not enraged him. So, did I go to dinner and risk shunning? And if I went, what should I wear?

A knock interrupted my dilemma.

I tossed the tunics on the dresser and went to answer the door. I had a standing order for dinner, and I”d forgotten to cancel it, so I expected it to be my meal. In which case, the decision would be made for me.

It was not my dinner.

“Gunrel?” I asked after I had the door open.

The Dragon knight pushed past me, shut the door, then stormed to the couch. As he sat down, he noticed my bare chest and frowned deeper. “Do you always answer your door in such a state?”

“Do you always barge into men”s rooms when they”re in such a state?” I shot back.

Gunrel grimaced. “Fair enough. Sit down, human.”

“Sebastian.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Sit down, Sebastian,” he amended and waved at a chair. “I need some answers.”

“You need some answers from me?” I was so baffled that I dropped my arms and sat down in the chair.

“Yes, concerning you and the King,” Gunrel said.

My eyes widened. “In what regard?”

“Regarding your relationship.”

“With the King?”

“Yes.”

“My relationship with King Shaleros?”

“Yes, human! What other king is there in Latur?”

“Sheesh, take a breath, Mr. Pushy. I”m just confused. What relationship are you talking about? Not an intimate one.”

“Yes, an intimate one. Has he fucked you yet?”

“Yet?” I lifted my brows. “You”re assuming he will?”

Gunrel grunted.

“You”re more confident than me,” I muttered.

“You made him smile,” Gunrel said. “Laugh. Do you have any idea how momentous that was?”

“A little. He told me it”s been over a century since he laughed.”

“It”s been one hundred fifty-seven years since I”ve seen the King smile. Laugh?” He shook his head. “I can”t remember when I last saw him laugh.”

“One hundred fifty-seven?” I asked. “That”s how long he”s been without his mate?”

“Yes.”

“He”s been celibate all that time, hasn”t he?”

“I assume so. No one has seen him take a lover.”

“That”s a long time to go without sex,” I whispered.

“Sex isn”t the issue.”

“No, it”s love. He told me that too.”

Gunrel went still. “He told you what exactly?”

“That he”s . . .” I trailed off. “You know what? I”m not sure if he”d want me to repeat it. It was spoken to me in confidence.”

Gunrel”s face twitched. “That”s both annoying and admirable.”

“Thanks.” I grinned.

“So, he hasn”t bedded you?”

“I thought you just said it wasn”t about the sex?”

“It”s not, but that would be an indicator.”

“He”s straight,” I said.

“It”s been a very long time.” Gunrel shrugged. “Men can change. Desires that were dormant can rise.”

I ignored the urge to make a joke about desires rising and asked, “Even Dragon men can change?”

He snorted. “Yes, I—”

Another knock came.

I sighed and stood up. “That”s my dinner.” I went to the door while Gunrel leaned on his forearms and scowled at the coffee table.

Once again, it wasn”t a food delivery.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. “You”re here. At my door. Why are you at my door?”

The Dragon King opened his mouth to reply, but then his gaze lowered. “Why are you half dressed?”

“Well, I—”

“Your Majesty?” Gunrel”s voice came from behind me, closer than it should have been.

I saw the immediate shift in the King”s expression. It went from amused to confused to furious.

“Hold on just one second.” I held a hand out to King Shaleros. “I—”

“I did not think you were the sort of man to proposition someone, then turn around and fuck someone else,” the King said.

“Didn”t I just say to hold on?” I growled.

Simultaneously, Gunrel said, “No, Sire. This isn”t what you think!”

But he wouldn”t listen to either of us. King Shaleros slashed his hand through the air as if wiping the situation—and me—from his mind, turned around, and walked away. “I don”t care.”

“Your Majesty!” I called after him. “There”s nothing going on here. Gunrel interrupted me in the middle of dressing!”

He kept going. Turned a corner.

“Sire!” Gunrel cried. “Son of a bitch.” He stepped past me. “This is exactly what I was trying to avoid by instructing the court to stay away from you.” He started after the King.

“Wait one second!” I grabbed his arm. “You told the court to stay away from me? That”s why I”ve been snubbed?”

“I couldn”t have any of them interfering,” Gunrel snarled. “Or you going after the wrong person.”

“Me going after the wrong person? But I just made him laugh a few days ago. The court has been shunning me from the start.”

“He reacted to you from the start. They were small reactions, maybe you didn”t notice, but I did. And to me, they were monumental.” He yanked his arm out of my grip. “Now, excuse me, but I have to go fix this.” He stormed off muttering, “You may be the only chance.”

“Chance at what?” I muttered to myself as I watched Gunrel break into a run.

Then I turned around and went back into my room. I was dazed again. That seemed to happen a lot there. But this time it wasn”t the King”s magnificence that had struck me dumb. It was another Dragon. And not his magnificence either.

Sitting down where Gunrel had been, I rubbed at my chin. Snippets of my first dinner at the castle came back to me. Suddenly, the looks people had given me were less hostile, more curious. Some had even been hopeful. But they had strict orders from the King”s knight to stay away from me. They wouldn”t even risk sharing a table with me.

“Huh,” I said and plopped back against the couch.

Another knock came.

I shot up, hoping it was the King or at least Gunrel come to tell me the King knew the truth. Throwing open the door, I startled the knocker, and they jerked back. Luckily, everything on the tray they held was covered so my dinner remained intact.

“Oh,” I said, disappointment flooding me. “Sorry. Um, here, I”ve got it.” I took the tray. “Thank you so much.”

“You”re welcome, Master Sebastian.”

I smiled at the man and stepped back. “Could you close the door for me?”

“Certainly. Have a good night.”

“You too,” I called as he shut the door.

I took my dinner tray back to the couch and set it on the low table before me. “At least I don”t have to put a tunic on.”