Okay. Maybe Riley shouldn’t have unloaded his small fortune like that in front of the interesting jeweler recommended by his father.

But forgive him for not realizing that the lump of shale he casually thought was mostly calcite was apparently valuable enough to make Mr. Winston consider closing the store for the day.

To be fair, none of this guesswork and stunned silence was supposed to happen today. Originally, the goal had simply been to commission wedding bands for him and his mate.

As someone who had received something as overwhelming as the Dravaryn family heirloom, Riley wouldn’t have been able to sleep peacefully if he didn’t come up with something for his golden dragon in return.

Not that he had zero knowledge about precious gems—especially those used as artifacts and those with historical significance—but in this case, he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about rich people’s stones, so he asked his parents for advice. He even received help sorting through the jewelry he had inherited from his biological family.

And clearly, the Iltherans hadn’t planned to shortchange him.

There were gems in that collection that would fetch astronomical prices. Riley could have chosen any one of them, and Kael would have been fine with it.

Actually, it likely wouldn’t have mattered if he handed him a simple string. Even if the dragon scoffed at it, he’d probably still preserve the damn thing with magic. People said dragons were picky, but Riley had learned it mostly depended on the messenger.

Still, he couldn’t just pick any random gem.

Not only was this already belated, but something like this deserved a lot of thought.

But then he ended up joking about it.

"Mom, I mean, this is one hell of a diamond. If we sell this thing, we could probably fund the next five generations comfortably. Not only does it look gorgeous, but you said there’s a lot of mana in it."

He stared at the diamond again. It could’ve held its own jewelry exhibition.

"But what’s this supposed to mean for Kael and me?"

He frowned slightly.

"If anything, I think Kael would’ve preferred to receive the eggshells he carefully polished day in and day out over this."

"At least that’s—"

He stiffened.

His head snapped toward his mother.

She smiled knowingly. "Sentimental."

"!!!"

It felt like divine revelation.

From that moment on, Riley took it upon himself to secretly design wedding bands that would feature those very shells. The same ones that had practically bound them together from the beginning.

Then came the harder part. Finding a jeweler trustworthy enough for something like that.

There were countless popular designers, and Riley could’ve simply approached any one of them. In fact, if he announced that he needed someone to make rings for the dragon lord, then he would’ve had volunteers lining up.

But Riley couldn’t just leave those shells with anyone. Not unless he wanted his identity exposed.

So originally, the rightfully paranoid ex-mortal had planned to take lessons and make the rings himself.

Yes. Really.

As one might imagine, that would’ve been an overreach. It might honestly take him less time to increase the size of their family than to not only learn the craft, but also become proficient enough to produce something worthy.

Thankfully, his father stepped in with the perfect solution.

Mr. Winston.

A half-human, half-dwarven jeweler whom his father had once helped during his time at the MBE.

According to his dad, securing that man’s assistance would be more than worthwhile. Not only would Riley benefit from commissioning someone capable of crafting artifacts, but he’d also avoid unnecessary complications because of the man’s unique condition.

To be completely honest, Riley had wondered how his father could trust someone so thoroughly, given how cautious he usually was.

But once it was explained, Riley understood immediately.

A nullifier.

How unexpectedly rare. With such a condition, no wonder Mr. Winston couldn’t really stay around other magical beings, as he just couldn’t stop nullifying artifacts around him.

No wonder his father sounded pretty darned sure about the jeweler.

While his ability didn’t exactly nullify magical beings themselves, it absolutely messed with their things. So how was he supposed to live among dwarves whose magical tools were basically extensions of their bodies?

He couldn’t.

Not that he hadn’t tried. He lived and trained with them for as long as possible. But as his core and abilities strengthened over the years, the occasional nullification became inevitable. Eventually, it became impossible to hide.

"Unfortunately for the man, his problems didn’t stop with being chased out of his community for unintentionally disrupting every workshop in the vicinity," Lawrence had explained calmly. "He was also hunted by those who wanted to exploit his condition."

After all, who wouldn’t want to make use of someone who could disable defensive artifacts just by existing?

"!!!"

"But Dad," Riley had asked, stunned, "if that’s the case, how would he even be able to make an artifact?"

The newly married black dragon kept on trying to imagine how the jeweler could make pieces that doubled as artifacts when he practically nullified everything around him without discrimination.

Lawrence Hale had smiled slightly. "You’d be surprised."

Well.

His father hadn’t been kidding.

Even Lady Cirila, an ancient golden dragon who could sense the faintest fluctuation of mana, had been pleasantly surprised.

Because Mr. Winston didn’t just detect mana.

He could actually see it.

Forget about seeing the physical manifestation of mana once used. No. That was something beings who could wield mana could do, but in Mr. Winston’s case, it was more like being able to see the pathways that mana could take, even in mere objects.

Yes. Objects.

And while that didn’t sound impressive when put that way, it was important to understand the distinction. Most beings detected mana where it already existed. Mr. Winston could see the potential routes mana could take, even where none had flowed yet.

Imagine being able to tell that if something were cut at a particular angle and then joined together, the pathways of two separate materials could align in a way that allowed for smoother circulation.

Forget trial and error. He’d be able to do it with certainty.

Well, almost.

Since Mr. Winston was a nullifier, he couldn’t personally test the artifacts he made. So pieces that required intense mana calibration would definitely involve risk. For someone like him, that was his form of gambling.

But Riley didn’t need someone to calibrate artifacts for refined use.

He needed someone who could craft rings that would adjust as they expanded into much larger forms, like the heirloom currently sitting on his finger.

That would honestly do. But it also wouldn’t hurt if he could maybe commission something that was a bit more fire-resistant.

But none of those were as important as the other requirements.

Riley needed someone discreet.

Someone who wouldn’t immediately associate the mana signature of the eggshell fragments with a black dragon.

And someone who wouldn’t steal the materials he was providing.

In that regard, Mr. Winston was perfect.

Riley couldn’t help but feel ridiculously lucky. But he hadn’t expected that luck to stretch even further.

They were seated in a private consultation room tucked behind the main showroom. The walls were lined with dark wood shelves holding velvet trays and half-finished settings. A single warm lamp hung low over the worktable, casting a focused golden glow over the materials laid out between them. The faint scent of polished metal and stone dust lingered in the air.

Mr. Winston adjusted his spectacles and examined the eggshell fragments with steady hands.

"I already like the material you’ve shown me," he said thoughtfully. "But I must ask. Do you intend to add a center stone? Or any additional setting?"

Riley blinked.

The jeweler continued calmly, "Once the rings are finalized, I won’t be able to make alterations. Realignment later could damage the structural integrity of the piece."

It was a fair warning.

It wasn’t that Riley didn’t want a gem. He just hadn’t found one that felt right for both him and Kael.

It was probably a long shot, but instead of giving up, he thought about maybe trying to check again. What if something stood out to him this time around?

So in a bid to maybe see things in a new light, he placed several gems from his inheritance onto the table.

Mr. Winston, surprisingly agile for someone his age, nearly jumped.

"Good heavens."

He leaned closer, clearly enamored with the extravagant stones.

But then, unexpectedly, he stopped Riley from laying out more.

Instead, his gaze drifted to the lump of black shale Riley hadn’t bothered presenting.

"May I?"

Riley frowned slightly. "That? It’s just shale."

Mr. Winston carefully lifted one of the dark pieces. His expression shifted.

"Sir. If this is what I believe it to be, then I must inform you that I haven’t seen a more interesting find in at least a century."

Riley instinctively looked at Lady Cirila.

Technically, Renee had already checked the stones for mana, and like her, the draconic lady hadn’t really felt anything unusual about the shale.

So imagine their collective surprise when Mr. Winston declared he wouldn’t be accepting additional clients for the remainder of the day.

Because from within that unassuming block of black sedimentary rock, he carefully revealed what had to be the finest emerald he had ever encountered.

The Dravaryns were floored.

Though in truth, one impatient golden dragon lord would have insisted that no emerald in existence could rival his mate’s eyes.

He would’ve said it without hesitation.

Even if Riley’s knees nearly gave out when he saw the gem that had been hidden inside what he’d casually dismissed as common rock.