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mused. His stomach hurt from trying to swallow
his rage. This was the man who’d shattered centuries of peace and begun a
campaign to conquer the world. Decades of war had bathed Aiyana in blood, from
her deserts to the mountains, all because of one man’s obsession with ruling. To
him I am not a person. I am a slave. A nonentity.
    “Did you not expect me to enjoy myself, Father?” Ryuu
asked languidly, sipping his drink again, almost contemptuously, it seemed to
Drakon. Some dark part of him approved of the prince’s little rebellion against
Emperor Midian’s arrogance, but another, saner, part wished Ryuu would not play
the hedonist so blatantly. It must be the
bond, he thought, disturbed. I’m
worried about him. He bit his lip. I’d
heard that bonding happened almost immediately, but I thought it an
exaggeration.
    The emperor waved his hand. “You refuse to give me an
heir of your body. I care not what you do with your slave at this point.” He
pinned his son with a glare. “However, I do care what you do with your loyalty
and time. You will attend me within the half hour. We have a new campaign that
must be completed today.”
    Ryuu abruptly lost his relaxed pose. “Another battle? I thought you’d decided to keep the borders
stable for the next few months.” He carefully put his water on the table, then shoved it until the glass slid across the smooth
surface and fell over the far side. It shattered against the floor. No one even
flinched.
    The emperor laughed. “That was when I was hoping for
you to take a concubine. I’d intended on giving you some time to relax with her
and get her with child.” His face hardened. “That time is no longer necessary,
is it, my son? You’ve chosen to squander your seed into the dirt.”
    Ryuu clenched his fists behind his back. Drakon could
see his struggle for control, but to the emperor and his guards he would look
strong and unconcerned. “Why is my seed so important to you?” Ryuu asked.
    The emperor’s eyes flashed. “It belongs to me! Do you
have any idea of what I had to do to claim your mother? Her
bloodline? I bought the right to that seed with my warriors’ blood and
unfair bargaining, and you refuse to cooperate!” He took a deep breath and
calmed slightly. “Since you are so stubborn, you will be in charge of capturing
your lovely cousins for me. It seems I will need a new queen sooner rather than
later, and I refuse to let that bloodline go to waste. You have fifteen minutes
to present yourself to me.” With those words, he pivoted and strode out of the chambers.
    “Bastard!” Ryuu burst out once the doors shut behind him.
    “What is he talking about, Sire?” Zinan asked, slowly
relaxing from his rigid stance.
    Ryuu tore off his robe and flung it to the ground. “My
mother bought her people’s freedom with her body. She agreed to marry my father
only if he left them alone.” He violently shoved his legs into black leather
pants. “The Mirai had to become subject to my father’s authority, of course,
but he let them live peacefully, at the foot of the Western Sea. But now she is
dying, as everyone knows. You would think that when we conquered the stars
between planets, we would also have conquered cancer, but no.”
    “What does he hope to gain from her people?” Svana
asked, walking over and helping him buckle his armor across his torso.
    “He thinks that some of her people can shift into
dragon form.” Ryuu made a disgusted sound. “It’s stupid, of course. There is no
such creature.” He twisted his shoulders and settled his weapons across his
chest. “But he wants a pet, don’t you see? He wants a pet dragon who he can
command to do his will.” He sighed and grabbed his sidearm. “Sometimes I think
the blood he’s spilled has infected his mind with insanity.”
    Drakon stared as Ryuu stomped into his boots. The
emperor wanted his son to capture his cousins to serve as sex slaves? The
hatred he thought could grow no worse