The Dragon Prince's Consort

Forty-Eight

No one moved. No one breathed. Beneath the thousand or so feet standing in the room the mountain shivered slightly and went still, as if in apology for the poor timing. Valen's eyes slid towards his father at the bottom of the stairs and he was met with a sharp look that quickly firmed into resignation. The Dragon Emperor blinked once, then gave a slight somber nod – there was nothing he could do, now that millions had witnessed. So it is. Valen's hearts restarted their normal rhythm and he dared to look at his brother. Tias stared goggle-eyed, ears laid flat against his skull and his hands fisted in his robes as if they were the only things keeping him from evaporating on the spot. Valen caught his eyes and spoke loudly in his mind as if he were Nuani: Now I've truly won. Even if you break your word to never bother Fang, I have the whole Empire behind me. Tias looked away, beaten at last.

Fractions of a moment later, the Golden Hall erupted into noise and confusion. Some Drass began to shout, lifting their drinks above their heads and crying well-wishes to the newly-minted Lady Consort, "Eyah! Long live the Lady Consort! Long live the Little Prince!" Others milled and buzzed and tapped flurried messages on their tablets to any of the tens of thousands of message-boards relaying the news mere seconds after the live broadcast; soon the messages would overtake the networks, the time delay to the farthest reaches of the Empire meaningless when confronted with the Drass love of gossip. Clicks and flashes punctuated the capturing of thousands of images, ignoring the rest of the Imperial Family in favor of the Little Drassian and his now-elevated companion. "Your Grace! This way! Lady Consort, give us a smile, please!"

Fang squeezed his hand, the many rings she wore grinding against his scales as she hustled to keep up. Valen squeezed back, looking to her in triumph. Her fair skin looked paler than usual, and where her curling golden horns sat Valen saw a light sheen of sweat threatening to break. "Excuse us," he said to the Drass in garish orange robes shoving a microphone in his face. To Fang, he tucked her hand under his arm and nodded to their seats at the table on the dais. "Let's go sit down." Won't do any good to have her fainting in front of everyone. He followed his father and brothers to their seats; Fang all but collapsed into the wide chair provided to her, her grip threatening to disable his remaining good hand. Valen kept her from crashing, taking his seat beside her in time to find Yena bearing down on him from the other side with huge yellow eyes. "What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't realize we'd be expanding the family by two tonight."

"Two?" Valen frowned, and leaned forward to peer around Yena, Aeden, Shisa and Morden at Lady Aisana and her newborn. "But Oden's already been introduced–"

"Not him, shorthorns." Yena poked him hard with her elbow, then shared a crafty, pleased smile with Aeden; the Minister of Finance lifted his chin, his ears parallel to his horns. Yena laid her hand across her lower belly and tapped one of her ring-covered fingers, small jewels flashing. "Me."

Valen's brain made an audible click and he took a sharp breath. "Eyah! That was quick, congratulations."

"Yes, well," Yena giggled, "not so much 'quick' as 'frequent' and 'determined'." From Yena's far side, Aeden coughed politely to cover a smug – if slightly embarrassed – chortle. The Drass looked quite pleased with himself, and his Lady.

"What's happening?" Fang nudged Valen's hand, and he turned to whisper close to her ear: "Yen's pregnant." Fang pressed her deep red lips together and made a quiet noise of excitement, but in the same moment the Golden Hall quieted again as the Dragon Emperor raised his hands and rose from his gilded bench.

"People of the Empire," Matias began, smoothing his robes and straightening some of the golden chains looped around his neck and hanging over his broad chest. "Loyal citizens, merchants of our people's wealth and prosperity, industrious workers and loving families, it is my great honor to witness this occasion. For years I have worked with the Federation, encouraging trade and business to the benefit of both, and while there have been stumbles and pauses it pleases me to observe the growth of a strong bond between our people – though I have to admit I didn't expect it to hit so close to home." He shot a look at Valen, and Valen's ears folded back in chagrin. The gathered Drass chuckled softly, and Matias waited for the kerfuffle to die back down.