“So. About this ride. Is there anything specific I should know about the Moroccan Dragons before I meet them today?” Layla asked as she sipped her coffee, then tucked in quickly. “I missed my meeting with Adam where he was supposed to answer my questions about the clan.”
“Regrettable, but it can’t be helped.” Dusk answered as he sipped his own coffee, then snapped a napkin out in his lap and began to eat also. “And yes, there are a few things about the Moroccan clan you need to know before we see them today. You already know Adam, the Clan Second. Even though he’s a pain in the ass sometimes, he is actually quite supportive of Adrian, though he’s also probably the clan’s most outspoken member.”
“Obviously.” Layla snorted with a smile as she dug into her eggs. “Who else?”
“Clan Third is Adrian’s great-aunt Rachida Rhakvir, Adam’s foster-mother,” Dusk smiled as he continued, sipping his coffee. “She is Adrian’s grandfather’s sister. Rachida is judgemental, and her judgement of you, good or bad, will influence the clan. But the only thing you can do about it is be truthful. She appreciates honesty but she’s also feisty, so use your usual wit and you’ll be fine.”
“Anyone else significantly high-up to be aware of?” Layla asked, chewing her bacon.
“Emir Tousk is Adrian’s Battle-Lord, as he was for Adrian’s mother.” Dusk continued with a frown. “He’s a hard man but decent, and his opinion carries weight. The rest you don’t need to know right now. There are some powerful rivals for Adrian’s throne – though most of those aren’t here at the Hotel. Adrian has had a number of dominance-battles to get where he is. Fortunately, both Rachida and Emir have never wanted the clan leader position. If they ever did, Adrian would be in for the fight of his life.”
“Will Adrian be there?” Layla’s heart leapt to her throat and clenched at the same time.
“Yes.” Dusk gave her a look. “And for all that’s holy, donotlet him touch you today.”
“Have you briefed him on the plan?” Layla grumped, taking another bite of eggs. “He was the one who kissed my neck at the Dragon party, not the other way around.”
Dusk’s smile tried to not be amused and failed. “Adrian has been slapped up one side and down the other by Rikyava and the Madame for that, not to mention Rachida and Emir. He’ll likely behave himself today.”
“Why does he have so little control around me? Rikyava said she thinks it’s the Bind.” Layla lifted her left wrist, the silver Moroccan cuff in place on her arm.
Dusk sobered, wiping his lips with his napkin, then gave a hard sigh as he pushed his finished plate away. “Royal Dragons are temperamental in the extreme, Layla. Adrian’s not come into his full power yet, or the control that comes with it. At 150 years, he’s still technically young. And though he’s calculating in the arts of power, Adrian has had a reckless streak since we were kids. He’s learned to be calculating because of what it gets him, but his recklessness is more natural. Though, he got cold for a long time, empty in some deep part of his heart. Until—”
But Dusk cut off suddenly, eyeing Layla.
“Until what?” Layla prompted.
“Until he saw you again. At Mimi’s funeral.” Dusk spoke quietly. “And when that Bind between you two happened in the art gallery, I believe it caused you both to resonate with each other’s magics. It’s destabilizing Adrian’s control over his Dragon.”
“What?” Layla blinked, worrying for the first time that the Bind between her and Adrian was actually hurting him, destabilizing him in a way she’d never considered before. Suddenly, the conversation he’d hinted at, that she was somehow dangerous to him like Superman’s kryptonite, made a lot more sense. “What do you mean?”
“Finish up and I’ll tell you as we walk.”
Dusk was already rising, downing his coffee. His fit frame looked excellent today in a dove-grey riding jacket and breeches that was part sleek Victorian, part modern, a fox-fur collar on his jacket and a white cravat pinned at his throat. Marching to the apartment doors in his black riding boots, he raised his eyebrows and Layla downed her coffee. With a smile, Dusk opened one door and Layla joined him, moving out into the hall and down a stairwell. They exited the Hotel to the gardens, moving past burbling fountains and bare topiaries, the heavy sky churning above. Rounding a row of hedges, they marched past the crystal cathedral where the Dragon party had been. Skirting the bower of willows where Dusk had saved her life, they entered the woods, golden leaves of alder and oak swirling down all around.
“So you were saying about Adrian?” Layla prompted as they took a gravel path through the forest to the far stables. The Hotel had more parkland than the human Palace of Versailles, with miles of trails for riding and dense forests, which was where the hunt would be today.
“Yes. Right.” Dusk blinked as he surfaced from deep thoughts. “Based on what I’ve observed, I have a theory on why Adrian’s been so volcanic lately.”
“Because of the Bind. What have you noticed?” Layla asked, curious.
“Since you two were bound together by that cuff,” Dusk nodded at the talisman on Layla’s wrist, “I’ve sensed a change in Adrian’s resonance. It’s as if his energy is… vibrating along a similar frequency as yours now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Dusk glanced at her, “that since you both have hot-tempered, sand-funnel Desert Dragon passions that are easily triggered, it’s like you’re constantly spinning each other up when you’re around each other. Ever see the video of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse?”
“Sure. Everyone in Seattle knows about that.” Layla smiled.
“Well, that’s what I think your energy is doing to Adrian’s and vice versa, ever since you two were bound.” Dusk glanced at her again, his handsome features sober. “Like the both of you are producing some kind of harmonic resonance, it causes you to vibrate too fast when you’re around each other – producing skyrocketing tempers and passion. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Adrian lose control like he did the night of the Dragon party. I’m beginning to wonder if this Bind is not entirely good for him.”
“Or me.” Layla read between the lines as they stepped out from the trees onto a greensward lined by Victorian-style gas lamps. The day was so grey that the lamps were lit, even though it was full morning. As they rounded a hedge, a pavilion of crimson and white silk erected in a tumbled stone ruin near the woods came into view. The Hotel’s stables sprawled to their left, and Layla heard a whinny of horses being prepared for their pheasant-hunt.
Layla’s heart was in her throat as they moved toward the pavilion, realizing that she could feel Adrian already. Like a press of heat through her body, the closer she came, the more she felt him. As they neared, Layla’s pulse was pounding, a cold sweat on her hands. Dusk glanced over, then reached out to touch Layla’s fingers, pouring a bolstering vibration through her. It steadied her and she smiled. He nodded as they continued toward the elegant silk structure snapping in the breeze, the sky now burgeoning with impending rain.
As they mounted the stone steps, Layla heard laughter and the clinking of glassware. Arriving at the top, she finally saw inside the open-sided pavilion, noting fifteen people lounging in chaises and rattan chairs around brightly tiled Moroccan tables set with a decimated breakfast spread, coffee urns, and alcoholic mixers. Adrian held court in a rattan chair to the left, chatting with Adam in the seat next to him. Dressed in riding attire and breeches, Adrian’s long legs were stretched out, his russet riding boots crossed at the ankles. Swirling an Old Fashioned with three cherries and a curl of orange peel, his piercing aqua eyes found Layla as she moved up the steps.
Adrian’s aqua eyes held far more green today, stormy like the sky. Wearing a crisp white shirt, a pinstriped charcoal waistcoat and a cobalt ascot, Adrian was slender deliciousness in his charcoal breeches. As Layla arrived, she felt their magics connect, swirling around each other though the reaction was quieter today. Whether it was because they’d already had an explosive moment four nights ago, or because Adrian was controlling himself, she felt only a brief brush of scales and heat over her skin, giving her a shiver before it passed away.
