“Yes, you’d be co-ruler. We dragons do not believe in having a dominant head. Co-ruling often works better, we’ve discovered. You’d have much the same responsibilities as he does although you’ll likely divide duties, play to your individual strengths.”
“So…what you’re saying is, if I match Alric’s leadership style, I’d be fine?”
Lisette shrugged eloquently. “I believe you would be. And even if you make mistakes in the beginning, Alric will be right there with you. Teaching you. We’re not going to throw you off the deep end and then watch you drown, Cameron.”
A weight slowly rolled off his shoulders and Cameron took in a deep breath. “Yeah. Okay, yeah, I feel better hearing that. Um…so…obvious question, but does everyone basically know where this is going?”
“I’m not sure if we know much at all. Alric is being very taciturn in regards to you. But we hope dearly that he chooses you. That you choose him. You’re incredibly good for him, Cameron. I’ve never seen him laugh with such open joy, not in five hundred years. And you have this knack for disarming him. Alric is normally as patient as the day is long, but when he does lose his temper, it burns hot. We’re not always sure how to calm him again. You seem to have figured out a method.”
Should he explain to her about the angry sex? Nah. “Yeah, that’s kind of still a work in progress.”
“Your work in progress is more effective than anything we’ve tried. We want our king happy and healthy. We’ve all tried for centuries to make that happen, to return some of the service he gives us on a daily basis. You seem to be the lynchpin to his happiness.” Leaning forward, she put a hand over his, tone sincere. “Please don’t let the uncertainties scare you away.”
Alric might still need to reassure him about all of this. Cameron really didn’t want to make any assumptions or put his big feet where they didn’t belong. But that wasn’t something Lisette could help him with. “Okay. I’ll try. I do think—”
The door opened, and Alric’s head came around it as he leaned into the room. “Everything alright?”
Cameron stared back at him, perplexed. How the hell did Alric know he’d just had a mini meltdown mixed in with an anxiety attack?
Oh. Oh, don’t tell him….
Cassie started cackling. “He felt a disturbance in the Force!”
Cameron shot her the bird. “Shut it, you. Uh, come in, Alric. We’re discussing something that kind of involves you. And our sex life.”
Alric took a good look around the room with a dubious expression. “That sounds like a conversation I’d rather avoid.”
“Me too, trust me, but come here anyway.”
Now more worried than before, Alric stepped in and crossed to him readily. Cameron shifted in the chair to give him room, which Alric used, squeezing them in. With him settled, he looked Cameron over carefully, blue eyes taking in every facet of his expression. “What has happened?”
Lisette cleared her throat. “First, Alric, tell me why you came. Did you feel something?”
“It was an odd sensation,” Alric admitted, still watching Cameron carefully. He tapped a finger over his heart. “A slight tug and pull, a sense of unease. I felt that Cameron was disturbed by something, although I didn’t have any ready explanation for why. It was persistent enough that I finally came down here to check. To allay my suspicions, or so I thought until I saw the two of you sitting here. Cassie, what did you mean by disturbance in the force?”
His sister grinned rather smugly. “Turns out you’ve been oversharing, Alric.”
Alric blinked at her. “I’m sorry?”
Lisette shot her pupil an exasperated glare. “Wards, Cassie.”
“Teasing them is more fun,” she responded, wrinkling her nose. But she turned her back on them and returned to building wards.
“Alric.” Lisette waited until the king was facing her once more before continuing. “As it turns out, you’ve opened yourself so much to Cameron that his magic has, in turn, opened up to you and absorbed some of your power. We noticed it just now in the ward he built.”
Alric went abruptly still, so still that he wasn’t even breathing for a moment.
Cameron eyed him sideways, also holding his breath, as he wasn’t sure how Alric would take this.
“Not a bond,” Alric stated, although it lilted up at the end like a question.
“No,” Cameron agreed with a tiny shake of the head. “More like a conduit? My magic is aware that you’re a powerful source. And you’re open with me—there’s no guard up there. So it absorbs power from you whenever we, um, interact.”
“And this disturbs you?”
Cameron ran a hand over his face, hiding his expression for a second. Then he blew out a breath. “Kinda feel like an energy vampire, not going to lie.”
“You are not.” Alric turned his head, resting their foreheads together in a sweet tilt of the head. Against his mouth, Alric murmured, “All that I have is yours. I do not begrudge you anything, Liebling.”