Mate Test (6 page)

morning. Because of the difficulty of timing intergalactic

transmissions and the extravagant cost, each child only got

fifteen minutes.

His younger son, Mitel, got on the phone next.

"Hi, Papa."

"Good evening, Mitel." At the age of eight, Mitel

was a serious child who worked hard at his studies and

pleasing his father.

49

Mate Test

Amber Kell

"I mastered my first level of levitation," Mitel burst

out.

"Congratulations, son."

Tor felt a warming burst of pride. Mitel had the

ability to move things with his mind. He'd been trying to

move himself, with little success, since he'd learned to

walk. That he'd reached first level was a huge achievement.

"How are your other studies going?"

"Fine. The tutor you sent is amazing. I think he

likes mother," Mitel confided.

"Ahh." Tor wasn't surprised. The tutor, according to

Sally, was gorgeous. The more he thought of settling down,

the more he decided he needed to find someone for his

children's mother.

"Is she seeing anyone now?"

"She saw some guy named Lord Jessum for a few

weeks, but when he told Alexandra she was just imagining

her visions, mother sent him away."

"Good."

The pair discussed Mitel's fencing lessons and his

studies, then he exchanged places with his brother, Cadin.

"Good evening, Father," Cadin said cheerfully.

Where Mitel was serious and studious, Cadin was all jokes

and fun. The problem with Cadin was that it was hard for

50

Mate Test

Amber Kell

him to settle down. His talent was to manipulate fire, and

with that much energy burning through him it was difficult

for him to sit down for his studies. Tor had instructed their

new tutor to give Cadin most of his lessons orally, outside,

so he could walk and burn off some of his excess energy. It

was just short of torture to put his extremely active son at a

classroom table for hours on end.

"So who's the new guy?" Cadin asked abruptly.

"What new guy?" Sometimes he felt he'd missed a

completely separate conversation than the one he was

having.

"The one Alexandra saw in her visions."

"I think it's King Naron," Tor said. "But I can't be

sure. Your great uncle signed me up for a consort contest.

If I win, I'll be his consort."

Tor didn't hide his relationships with his children.

They were an essential part of his life even if he couldn't be

there physically.

"Would you like that?" Cadin asked, taking on a

serious note. "Do you like the king? How does Baroy feel

about that?" There was a bit of tension in Cadin's voice

when he mentioned Baroy. The children had mixed feelings

about the dragon because it prevented them from spending

time with their father.

51

Mate Test

Amber Kell

"He'll be fine. He never had any problem with

Larien." He avoided the question about Naron. He didn't

want to discuss his conflicted feelings about the king.

"That's true. Are you coming to visit soon?"

Tor could hear the little boy coming out from the

child who was trying so hard to be a man.

"I'll see if I can visit once this consort business is

finished."

"What if you win the consort position?"

Tor laughed. "It's not a prison. I can still come visit.

I'll just bring the king with me."

"Very well."

That must've settled the matter for Cadin because he

dropped the subject in order to discuss his studies, which

were more interesting now with the new tutor—the one that

liked mother—and the new neighbor's daughter, who was

apparently "cute".

After the children were done, he talked to Livia.

"So I hear there might be a new man in the works."

Her teasing tone made Tor blush. He could feel the redness

rushing to his cheeks. Since they'd been childhood friends,

there wasn't anything he wouldn't share with the only

woman he loved. His mother had died when he was very

young so Tor had no memory of her, and although he didn't

52

Mate Test

Amber Kell

hold romantic love towards the mother of his children, she

held a special place in his heart.

"The king. Uncle entered me into a consort

challenge."

"And how are you doing?" He could tell from her

teasing tone that she was enjoying this conversation a little

too much for Tor's comfort.

"I'm doing well enough, but I heard that you also

have an admirer."

"Those children talk too much," Livia said. Her tone

was disgruntled but held no anger.

"And how is your tutor?"

"He's very pleasant and quite handsome, which I'm

sure you found out before you sent him to me. What's up,

Torrance?"

"You've been alone too long, Liv. I want you to

have some happiness."

"And what about you? Aren't you entitled to

happiness? Despite what our little seer said, do you think

you'd enjoy being a consort? It would tie you down and you

do enjoy your trips."

"Like I told the kids, this isn't a life sentence. I can

always leave."

"Call me if you need anything. And I'll keep you

53

Mate Test

Amber Kell

updated on news of the tutor."

"It's a deal." Tor laughed and said goodnight.

After he hung up, he remembered.

"Blast! I forgot to play my violin for Lexy."

"You can play her the song tomorrow," Dillon

soothed. "Let's get you settled in for the night."

Tor allowed his servants to undress him and put him

in his silk pajama bottoms. He never wore a shirt to bed so

it was a quick change before he was tucked into bed.

As he drifted off to sleep, he heard his servants

singing an old courting song.

54

Mate Test

Amber Kell

Chapter Four

"Today we are going to identify minerals," Naron

announced to the room at large. There was a long table with

four seats and a covered mound placed on the table before

each chair. "Please be seated, gentlemen."

Lord Mell, Lord Gallywyn, and Sir Cant all sat,

while Sally, looking at Tor in adoration, held out the chair

for him.

Did the man not have any ugly servants? For a man

who was blind, Tor had stunningly beautiful servants.

"It's important that my mate can identify the

minerals from my kingdom. As part of your responsibilities

you must be able to trade with monarchs from other nations

and ambassadors from other worlds and know what you're

talking about. This is a skill that can be taught, but it's

important to know if you have a feel for the minerals. I

want each of you to close your eyes, pull off your cloth,

grab a sample from the pile, open your eyes and tell me

what it is and how much it is worth on the open market."

"Lord Mell, you start first."

Mell pulled off his cloth and blindly picked up a

stone. He opened his eyes and announced. "A Callin

sapphire." He held up the blue stone so onlookers could see

55

Mate Test

Amber Kell

it. "Without a proper microscope, I would say it's worth

about thirty-two credits."

"It is a Phaseis sapphire, and it is worth three

thousand credits," Naron said. He was careful to keep all

emotion out of his voice, but he saw Tor's faint grin. A rush

of adoration filled him.

There was a burst of chatter through the audience

and a few outright smirks.

"Fear not, Lord Mell, you will have two other

chances. Lord Cant?"

The nervous lord closed his eyes, pulled off his

cloth and picked up a green rock. "Lystone, worth about

fifty credits," he said upon opening his eyes.

"Excellent," Naron said, surprised.

Lord Cant beamed with pride, nodding at the crowd

as they applauded. Naron noted that few supported Lord

Mell as consort. He added that in the rapidly building

negative column for the man. Good public image was

important for any consort.

"Lord Gallywyn."

The slim brunet gave him a shy smile before

looking over the rock in his hand. "Jaspit diamond," he

said, regarding a particularly ugly stone in the rough.

"Worth about five thousand when cut properly."

56

Mate Test

Amber Kell

"Excellent." Naron mentally crossed his fingers as

he turned to Tor. He hoped the duke had something he

could do to pass the test.

"Now, Tor, because you are blind, you may have

your shifter friend help you. I believe you said he studied

minerals."

"I don't need anyone to assist me with stones," Tor

said with a scowl. "They sing to me."

Naron bit his lower lip to hold back his shout of

glee. It was a rare ability to be an earth whisperer. If Tor

did indeed have that skill, it would explain why a space

dragon bonded so easily with him.

Dragons were tied to the songs of minerals. Even

space dragons were called to celestial bodies. Tor's ability

would make him an especially valuable consort. Naron had

to work hard to keep a wide smile from spreading across

his lips.

Damn, the man
was
perfect.

Tor picked a smoky gray stone from the pile and

held in his hand. He let out a low hum before announcing

his findings.

"Quartz from the Freely region. It would be worth a

great deal, but it has a flaw running down the middle,

making it essentially worthless."

57

Mate Test

Amber Kell

"What?!" Naron marched forward and snatched the

stone from Tor. He held it up to the light but didn't see

anything in its smoky layers. "Bring me an eye."

A page scurried off and returned with a round piece

of glass designed for jewelers to identify flaws in any rock.

Naron placed the eye next to the rock and examined it

closely. By the dragon goddess, Tor was right. There was a

fine crack running right down the middle of it.

"He's right," Naron said, not bothering to hide his

astonishment. He flashed a glare at Finnel, his chief

procurer. He would have a talk with Finnel later. Who

knew how many other stones were flawed?

"With those results, I declare Tor the winner of this

contest." There was no point in continuing. It wasn't a fair

contest with a stone singer in the mix.

There was polite applause even as a disgruntled

expression crossed Tor's face.

* * * *

King Naron was reviewing some papers when there

was a knock at his door.

"Come in."

He was surprised when Sir Cant came through the

58

Mate Test

Amber Kell

doorway.

The man was obviously uncomfortable. He could

barely meet Naron's eyes.

"I've come to withdraw from the consort contest,"

Sir Cant blurted out.

Naron set his papers down and gave the other man

his complete attention. "Why do you want to withdraw?"

The younger man came forward. "May I be

honest?"

"Of course. Would you like to sit down?"

"N-no," he stammered. "I mean no thank you. I just

want to get this over with. As much as I respect you as a

king, I don't think I would make a very good consort.

You're looking for someone like Lord Mell, who has a

strong personality, or Lord Gallywyn, who is pretty, or

perhaps the duke, who is both. I don't want to be a consort.

I'm only here because my father said he would disown me

if I didn't try. Being away from home made me realize how

much I miss Timothy."

"Timothy?"

Cant blushed. "He's the miller's son back home."

The shy young man straightened his back. "Watching his

grace get through a day and talking to the people about him

made me realize I've been a coward all this time. If the

59

Mate Test

Amber Kell

duke can be a diplomat and deal with a space dragon

without his sight, I can stand up to my father and tell him

I'm going after the man I love."

"What if he disowns you?"

Sir Cant straightened his back and stood tall. "Then

I learn how to help out my husband in the mill."

"Good for you." Naron stood and slapped the

younger man on the back. "If your father disowns you, let

me know and I'll see what I can do about finding you a

position with the assessor's office. You have a good eye for

rocks."

The young man flushed from the praise. "Thank

you, Your Highness, and good luck with your consort

contest. I look forward to seeing his grace the next time I

visit."

The younger man was gone before Naron had a

chance to realize what he'd said.

"I guess I'm not as subtle as I thought." Cant's

words had Naron thinking. He called for his page.