The Dragon Prince's Consort

Four

"And at what point did they ask you to sign yourself over to my son?"

"They didn't, they never said anything other than it was their friend's birthday, and that I couldn't tell anyone."

Matias picked up the deed and looked at it. "You are Lienfang Shan, and this is your signature, is it not?"

Valen watched, helpless as Fang's face turned red. "Yes, it is, but... Your Majesty, I can't read Drass."

The Dragon Emperor blinked at her, a piece of fruit speared on the end of his tongs. "You mean to tell me that you signed a document without knowing what it is, what it means?" He made a rough sound, like rocks in a gem tumbler.

"Father, Tias tricked her," Valen explained, coming forward. "He lied to her, told her it was a letter – he even asked if she could read Drass before he gave it to her so he knew she wouldn't know." His ears had risen until they flared out from the sides of his head; his tail lashed angrily behind him.

"And what have you done to mitigate this, hngh?" Matias set down his utensils again and set his hands to either side of his plate. "When you came upon this woman for the first time, did you ask her where she came from or did you leap straight into bed? This deed is dated yesterday, I am assuming you have already made use of her services – I am well aware of your reputation concerning paid women, Valen Drassian, and I have already seen the receipts from last night's spree." 

At this, Valen's flared ears sank back down and his tail curled under, tucking between his legs like a scolded manyu. Before Valen could defend himself, though, his Warden returned with a familiar Drass in tow. 

Tias Drassian was, unfortunately, exactly as Valen remembered from breakfast: enormous, well-dressed, and condescending towards everyone except the Dragon Emperor. "A pleasure to see you so early this morning, Father," he bowed, then gave Fang a look of such contrived surprise that Valen clenched his fists against the sudden powerful desire to claw his brother's eyes out. "Eyah, what's this? I didn't know we were expecting com-"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Tias?" Matias said in a surprisingly calm, even voice, but its restraint held a hidden edge like a sheet of metal. Valen shivered at the coldness behind his father's level delivery, spoken as mildly as if he had just asked if Tias was wearing a new robe. His father retrieved the deed and held it up. "Did you honestly think you could pull something like this under my nose and that I wouldn't notice? I had no idea that the son I have raised for forty-one years as my heir was a complete and utter fucking idiot." He punctuated this by slamming his hand on the marble desk, rattling his tray and splashing coffee; a hairline crack formed on the front of the desk, snaking down and around the carved Drassian Seal where the rampant beast's eyes glowed red in chips of ruby. Matias stood, rising monolithically slowly to his full height of seven feet, eight inches. "I'm going to give you one chance – which is frankly more than you deserve – to explain just what this is," he held the deed out like a blade. "And do not lie to me, I have the means to find out exactly what happened and who is responsible for this."

Tias – the condescending prick – scoffed and rolled his eyes with a hateful glance at Valen. He didn't even spare a sneer at Fang. "Eyah, it's just a joke, just a birthday prank!" He shook his huge square head, the chains in his horns tinkling. "It's nothing!"

"You think that is nothing? Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Matias roared, now holding the deed over his head.

Tias blinked at his father, apparently nonplussed, then spread his hands and shrugged. "So undo it. You're the Dragon Emperor, you can do that–"

"Undo it? You think this is something I can wave my hands over and make disappear? That woman," Matias pointed at Fang, "is a citizen of a foreign government, one that we are barely on friendly terms with, and your idea of a prank is to give her in concubinage to your brother? Do you not think before you do things? Firemother's ashes, Tias, this... stunt... has the potential to cause a war, all because you wanted to play a prank on your brother!"