“Take my hand, Nadar.”
I took his hand, and he helped me to my feet. The courtiers paused in their activities to incline their heads to Jucai as we passed by. I kept my gaze forward, especially when we rounded the curve and passed through the lounging area. Jucai's hand tightened around mine, and I looked over to find him watching me.
Once we were outside, he stopped a slave and ordered that breakfast for two be brought to his garden. The further we got from the dining hall, the more my shoulders relaxed.
“I can't ask too much of them,” Jucai said.
“Too much from whom?”
“My dread.” He motioned us down a corridor.
I stiffened. “I didn't ask you to ask them anything.”
“You shouldn't have to ask.” Jucai led me out into the garden. “Which is why I'm explaining why I can't.”
The city towers shone their fake sunlight over Kansu. Beyond the halo of their light, the sea was dark, almost like a night sky. Night beyond the reach of day. It was strange and a little scary. As if my world had shrunk to the planet of Kansu, floating in the stars. I had to look away and focus on the garden.We walked the paths between an array of flowers, from tiny to massive. They perfumed the air with the scent of the surface. We rounded a corner and stopped before a stone bench hidden from the city by dangling wisteria.
As we sat down, Jucai said, “After seeing your court, I remembered how mine used to be.” He slid our clasped hands onto his lap. “Once, we were more proper than you Land Dragons are. When we wanted a bed slave, we seduced them. There was romance here. Excitement.” He looked at me. “We've lost that. You helped me remember how good it could be. But they're not ready. I can't ask them to change when it's so hard for them, but easy for me.”
“It's easy for you?” Although my body went still, my heart raced.
“I don't want anyone but you, and I don't want to share any part of you. So, I won't indulge in public. Simple. Easy. It won't be the same for them.”
“I see,” I whispered.
Jucai lifted my hand to kiss it. “I want you to be happy here, but I can't punish my people to make you comfortable. That would be a betrayal of their trust.”
“I understand. It's all right.”
“It's not. When we mate, this will become your home, and they will become your dread. You deserve to be happy here. I want you to be happy here.”
Whenwe mate. Not if we mate. Again with the certainty. It seemed that with every passing hour, his confidence in us grew. The opposite seemed true for me. I wanted him now. Iwanted him so much that I was terrified of losing him. Fear did not inspire confidence. And so, when Jucai spoke as if our mating was a foregone conclusion, I cringed. It felt like taunting the Gods, daring them to tear us apart.
It's so much easier when you don't care.
“They're good people, Nadar.”
“I know they are. I said as much ten minutes ago.”
“You said it, but I don't think you are certain of it. You know stories of our heroism, and you've had some pleasant interactions with my court, but you haven't seen their goodness. So, I'm asking that you believe me when I say they're good people. They just need a little more time.”
“It's your court, Jucai. You know better than I what they need. And I'll be all right. I'm a lusty guy myself. If I look at it as if I get a sex show with my dinner, it'll be easier.”
Jucai frowned. “Dear Gods, I don't even like the thought of you watching others copulate.”
“First, you attack your cousin for seeing me naked, and now you don't want me to see others have sex? My, how you've changed, Your Majesty.”
“I have indeed. Five days ago, I would have been proud to hear Shojan compliment your body because you were my lover. So, a compliment to you was a compliment to my prowess. Now that seems foolish. Why would I share your beauty with anyone just for a meaningless compliment? You're mine, and that means only I have the right to look upon your naked body.”
I chuckled. “I believe I was the one who said that first.”
Jucai grinned. “Yes, but now I understand it.”
“So, if you don't want anyone else, you don't need your harems.”
“Oh?” His lips twitched.
“Jucai!”
