“Have apparently taken you to the opposite end of the country from where I stationed you,” the Knight-Commander interrupted him, his tone sharpening. “You are the Walker-Above-Wave, the enactor of my will on th
e land, and yet I find you gallivanting off on your own affairs. Is this how you uphold the honor of the Pearl Empire?”
John felt like a hapless novice again in the face of his superior’s obvious displeasure. It had not crossed his mind that he should inform the Knight-Commander of his visit to Scotland; he had, after all, travelled around many other parts of the British Isles without any objection from his superior. Clearly, however, he had been in grave error.
And if my lord is this disappointed in me just because I failed to properly report my movements…how is he going to react when I reveal what else I have done?
John swallowed the nervous melodies of trepidation rising in his throat. “I can only repeat my apology, sir.”
“You may apologize by performing your duties better in future,” the Knight-Commander said, his tone making it clear the discussion was over. “You are to return to Atlantis immediately. I have need of you here.”
“Sir.” It was so wrong to refuse a direct order that John very nearly said Yes, at once, out of sheer reflex. “Sir, I cannot.”
“Are you being physically imprisoned?”
“No, sir. I…I am honor-bound by a higher duty, sir.”
“Walker-Above-Wave, Emissary to the Land from the Pearl Throne, Knight-Poet of the First Water, Sworn Seeker of the Emperor-in-Absence, and Firefighter for the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.” Every syllable of his name was enunciated with razor-sharp clarity. It took all of John’s discipline not to flinch. “I am the Knight-Commander of the Order of the First Water, Right Hand of the Pearl Throne, the Voice of the Empire-in-Absence, Foremost of the Council of Sea Shifters, and First-Ranked Seer of the Ocean’s Eye. What possible higher duty could cause you to defy my order?”
John forced himself to meet his Commander’s blazing gaze head-on. “My duty to the Pearl Throne, sir. To the Empress.”
The Knight-Commander went utterly still.
When his superior still did not speak, John took a deep breath. “Sir, I have completed the quest you laid upon me. With the deepest sorrow, I must report that the Emperor rests in the sea’s heart. But he has not left us bereft. The Emperor had a mate, a human mate. He forsook the Throne in order to be with her on the land, and raise their daughter in secret. Now she is returned to us at last, our new Empress-in-Waiting.“
“You have met her,” the Knight-Commander said, so softly John barely caught his words. “And you consider her to be the true heir to the Pearl Throne.”
“There can be no doubt. She is as much a sea dragon as you or I, sir. I can personally swear to that fact.”
The Knight-Commander’s gauntleted hand came up to rub at his chin. “You have seen her shift?”
John hesitated. “No, sir. She…this is all very new to her, and she has not been properly educated. It will take her time to learn both our ways and our form. But I swear on my honor, she is a dragon in soul. I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
“How?”
John braced himself. “Because she is my mate, sir.”
“Your what?”
“The Empress is my mate.” If he hadn’t already been on his knees, he would have fallen to them. “Sir, Knight-Commander, forgive me. I had no way of knowing that she was on land when I was searching the sea. I took my vows in good faith. I did not intend this.”
The Knight-Commander was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed. “You are not the first, Knight-Poet. They are not spoken of in our official histories, but…mistakes have occasionally occurred. This does not invalidate your oaths. You are still a member of the Order of the First Water.”
John let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. “Sir.”
The Knight-Commander raised a warning finger. “But. You are sworn to the Pearl Throne. You cannot have a mate. It is easier to do so if one does not exist, but your unfortunate circumstance does not grant-“
The Knight-Commander stopped abruptly, mid-sentence. John had bowed his head, deeply, unable to look at his superior at all.
“You said you knew she was a dragon in soul,” the Knight-Commander said slowly.
John stared at the ripples washing over the pebbles.
The Knight-Commander hissed a lashing, bitter melody of dismay. “You have already mated her?”
It took every ounce of courage he possessed to raise his face. “Sir. She ordered—that is, she requested that I do everything in my power to assist her in her attempt to shift. I could not refuse my Empress.”
“There is no Empress!” The Knight-Commander’s roar shook the surface of the water, momentarily blurring his image. “A half-human whelp can never sit on the Pearl Throne!”