“Gaithnos has been stripped of his title as elder and has been labeled rogue,” King Leortis Vermilion told Councilman Regales Colearian. The dragon king sighed as he shook his head. “I apologize it took nearly six months to make it happen.” Leortis smiled ruefully. “I may be king, but I still have to deal with the damn diplomacy of placating the elder dragons.”

“Diplomacy does suck sometimes.” Regales winced before clearing his expression. A curious gleam entered the grizzly shifter’s dark eyes. “How much power do the elder dragons really have? Are they elders like the gargoyles’ Circle of Elders? Or is that just a title?”

Vicar Rhomes barely resisted allowing his eyes to widen in surprise at the blunt questions. The inner workings of dragon royalty and culture were a closely guarded secret. No royal dragon wanted to admit that, on occasion, their hands could be tied by a bunch of overbearing, aging dragons.

Sitting in the opulent lounge, with nearly a dozen people in the room, Vicar wondered how King Leortis would respond.

As head honor guard to King Leortis, Vicar had the duty and honor of escorting his king just about every time he left the palace. He’d been offered the post by Leortis when he took over as dragon king from his own sire over two hundred years before. Vicar took great pride in his duties.

To that end, Vicar stood behind and to the left of where King Leortis sat in the large lounge. Besides Leortis and Regales, there were four other councilmen in the room. Guard Warzer—a fellow dragon who also acted as his driver—stood near the door behind them. There was also one shifter guard for each councilman present in the room.

Way too many people to be privy to dragon secrets.

“The dragon elders are any dragon who’s over two thousand years old and wishes to sit in on certain meetings,” King Leortis explained, surprising Vicar with his candid reply. “For the most part, dragons that age are solitary, so most don’t bother.” With a shrug, the king added, “And the only way they could overturn some edict I’ve passed is if they are unanimous.”

Behind Vicar, Warzer bit back a snort.

Leortis smirked as he peered over his shoulder at the green dragon, who looked like a blond bruiser in human form.

When Leortis turned back around, Councilman Vincentius Goldstein arched a dark brow. “I’m guessing that doesn’t happen very often,” the lion shifter quipped.

“Uh, no,” King Leortis confirmed. Letting out a soft chuckle of his own, he told them, “Dragons really are notorious for arguing just for the sake of it.”

Vicar mentally winced.

Yeah, dragons can really be opinionated elitists.

“Anyway, if any of your people hear anything about Gaithnos’s whereabouts, please pass it on to us as swiftly as possible,” Leortis continued, returning to the original subject. “We’ve had a few leads, but so far, nothing has panned out.”

“Absolutely. We’ll get the word out and have our people keep their eyes open. It’s about time our people have come together more,” Councilman Lorian Bakerman agreed with a dip of his bearded chin. The buffalo shifter’s deep brown eyes twinkled as he continued, “And speaking of coming together, let’s move on to a much happier subject.” With a grin, Lorian finished, “Charon’s impending birth.”

That was the second reason for King Leortis’s trip to the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.

Charon was a young omega dragon who’d recently found his fated mate in a Komodo dragon shifter—Dakota Drudeson. Due to former elder Gaithnos having a spell cast upon Charon, the pair had been in the vicinity of each other for years before they’d realized they were mates. Their exuberance at finally discovering each other had resulted in Charon getting knocked up first thing.

Fortunately, both men were looking forward to the addition to their family, and Dakota had two brothers who were mated and would be there by their sides to help.

With only one of the pair being a dragon, however, that left the small problem of hatching the egg. It required the flames—or ice—of two dragons to hatch it. That meant the pair needed help, and Charon had no acknowledged family.

“I’m truly honored to step in and assist Charon during this momentous occasion,” Leortis stated with a grin. “I haven’t taken part in a dragon birth in over a century. Not since my heir was born, Leonidas.”

“And we’ve never seen it,” Councilman Nigel Granis admitted with a wry smile. The tiger shifter relaxed in his seat, resting his left ankle on his right thigh. “It’ll be an honor to be part of the ceremony.”

Unable to help himself, Vicar blurted, “You’re going?”

Nigel nodded, a smirk slowly curving his lips. “Since he started joining our barbeques, a number of us councilmen have gotten to know Charon.” He waved his hand to indicate the other smiling and nodding men in the room. “Charon is a wonderful man.” Leveling his gaze on Leortis, Nigel commented, “I understand you raised him as a ward. His parents left him with you?”

Leortis grimaced even as he nodded in confirmation. “While omegas have been a part of our culture from the beginning, there are still a few narrow-minded dragons who think they’re weak or unnatural.” The king sighed heavily, sadness filling his countenance. “He was left at our gate as a toddler. From what I understand, Charon has very few memories of his sire.” With a very unkingly roll of his eyes, Leortis added, “Well, aside from words of caution to always be careful what he promises to people.”

Vicar barely managed to hide his surprise upon hearing Leortis’s thoughtless words. The fact that an omega’s word was damn near his bond was a carefully kept secret. After all, that knowledge in the wrong hands could cause trouble for omegas everywhere.