Page 9 of Immortal Bonds

"How did you have that ready?" he asked. "Magic?"

His fingers itched to perform some of his own.

Belinda shook her head as she extended the plate to him. "No, not quite. Your voice carries from the dining room. Since no one else is in there, I was able to hear that you needed breakfast, and voila! I had it ready. These are just leftovers from this morning, reheated. Don't think that I somehow concocted an entire meal in a matter of seconds. I do not have that skill."

Thalric acknowledged what she said and what she didn't say. She confirmed that she was human, and that she didn't have any power to overtake him or to be a threat. He liked that there was subtlety to her affirming what his brother-in-law had said.

He eased onto a stool at the counter and dug in as Silas spoke with Belinda about the menu for the day. He didn't hear anything or pay attention to them. The food was all-consuming. With every ounce of his being, he had to force himself from moaning and groaning out loud like some type of scandalous movie star.

It was that damn good.

He finished quickly and eased his fork down, pushing the plate away from him. "Thank you so much, Belinda. I’m stuffed and amazed. It's so good."

She took his plate and her lips kicked up to one side. "I know. And you're welcome." She turned away from the pair as if dismissing them.

Silas must have thought the same, because he took Thalric by the elbow and led him out of the kitchen. "Do you have plans today?" Silas asked him.

Thalric shook his head, pulling his elbow free and shoving his hands into his pockets. His plans had been to see Romilly and Archer, to meet them and hold a conversation, maybe see if they needed help with anything, since he was still waiting for a moment when the council would convene.

There had been some holdups and currently candidates were coming forward wanting to be selected to be voted on by the horde, according to the gossip he’d caught wind of. It was much more tedious than Thalric thought it would be. Granted, he'd been out of the royal sphere for a while, and this particular horde was very diplomatic, so he should have known better.

"I don't have anything else on the agenda," Thalric told Silas. "My plans are derailed, and I truly considered just walking around town for a while, at least until dinner. Do you have something you need me to do?"

Silas mirrored Thalric's pose, putting his hands in his own pockets, though he rocked back and forth on his heels as he did it. "I have nothing, not for you, and I think it would be good if you did some exploring. Maybe see some places you used to visit, see some familiar faces and realize this is where you're meant to be."

Thalric could have argued with Silas, reminding him that he hadn't decided to stay and nothing was official. Maybe explained to the them that all the old places he visited were probably long gone and taken over. Before he could, a feminine voice echoed down the hall.

"Your Majesty."

Silas turned, and a figure was striding towards him, a stack of papers in hand. "Ah, that’s Shae — Romilly's assistant and somewhat of an advisor. I should go see what she needs. My gut tells me it's a moment I'll need to pretend I'm king again. Oh, what fun!" He shook his shoulders slightly and left Thalric standing in the hallway, watching his retreating form.

When the two figures connected, they immediately turned and went in the direction the woman had come from, their heads bent together, talking about whatever was on the papers she held.

Thalric wasn't offended in the slightest. He knew how tough it was for his brother-in-law and sister. He'd only lived a fraction of what they went through trying to control all the hordes, as well as managing their own. He'd merely been a vessel to maintain some order.

With nothing left, he took off for town. He wandered as he said he would and was doing a pretty good job of blending in. But then someone from his past — a schoolmate — saw him and shouted out his name.

The moment people heard the name that Mira formerly went by, they understood they were in the presence of someone connected to the royal family. He flipped the switch, his mask in place, and began to dazzle everyone around him with stories and magic sprouting from his hands.

At one point, his dragon stood up excitedly, wagging its tail as if it were some type of dog or something. The excitement nearly made him freeze, but he was too practiced at keeping things together when his other side wanted to take over.

What has you distracted? he asked the beast.

The reply was clipped. Good smell. Close. Need.

His dragon picking up on a favorable scent was rare, though not impossible. It could be anything from a person who is friendly and happy or a delicious meal being cooked nearby. Odds were on the food.

Several more minutes of entertaining the people had him exhausted. Thankfully, they all begged off, saying they needed to get to work or back home to their families. He didn't let his guard down just yet, even if he wanted to. Taking off, he let his dragon lead him — the direction unclear. It took a couple of blocks and one direction change into a café for his dragon to sigh in relief.

Thalric took a deep breath and with it, he suddenly understood.

Mate.

His dragon whispered the word reverently and with hesitation. They could tell that the scent was old, not recent enough that he would suspect the person still there. And within the scent, there were notes of other things — things he wasn't familiar with. Who was it? Who had it been?

He didn't have long to think about it before a young barista was waving him over. "What can I get you, sir?" He hadn't even thought about the fact that he'd walked into a café with no intentions of buying anything.

Instead, he glanced up at the menu to see what they had. His eyes widened a bit, realizing they had something for everyone, literally. There were options to add in blood and more protein, things that would enhance magic, and even a varied line of teas meant to cure ailments.