“Me, too.” Embarrassment emblazoned Gwenyth’s cheeks, but she straightened and thrust back her shoulders at the faint dare in his gaze while ignoring her instinct to glance at the guard. “No pressure.”
Leo offered her an encouraging smile and a nod of approval before he grasped her hand and led her toward the guarded doorway.
The dragon guard stiffened at their appearance, his hand going to the butt of his sword. His dark brown gaze roved them.
“Please tell my parents their youngest son Leonidas, Champion of the Skies, is here to see them,” Leo ordered, donning an arrogant facade.
The guard relaxed at Leo’s words, although his hand remained close to his sword.
Leo drew Gwenyth to a halt and appeared relaxed. His grip on her hand grew tighter, but she didn’t complain. From the little he’d told her about his parents, they sounded scary and heartless, and she wondered how Leo had grown up to be such a decent man.
Another man appeared in the doorway. A familiar one. Telus, the snooty butler. Surprise flitted across the butler’s face before cunning and haughtiness replaced his shock.
“Your parents are busy. They are preparing for your betrothed,” Telus said, his long nose twitching with distaste as his gaze skimmed Gwenyth. “What is your bit on the side doing here? The castle is no place for a human.”
“Telus, I would speak with my parents now,” Leo said in an implacable tone. “Not later. Not tomorrow. Now.”
Telus blinked, or at least she thought he did. His surprise faded beneath his concrete expression as he focused on Leo. “Your parents have enough to deal with at present. There is much to organize and contracts to complete. A betrothal is a delicate business and yours more so because of your parents’ standing.”
“Now, Telus.” Leo advanced half a step to underscore his determination.
The guard tensed.
Telus sniffed and nodded curtly at the guard. “Very well. I shall ask if they wish to see you. Wait here.” He marched away, his officious manner tickling Gwenyth’s funny bone, despite the situation.
“Is he always like that?” she whispered to Leo. “He behaves as if he has a stick up his arse.”
Leo snorted out a laugh. “His position holds significant prestige. He won the position coveted by eleven other dragons.”
“I see,” Gwenyth said, although that was an overstatement. This world of Leo’s was strange, and she’d felt far more comfortable with the minister and his wife.
She and Leo waited for a long five minutes.
“Do you think he’s coming back? He wouldn’t leave us here to make a point?”
“That’s his style,” Leo said. “Let’s go.”
He tugged her toward the open doorway. The soldier’s hand tightened on his sword hilt.
“Don’t,” Leo advised him. “These are my parents. I won’t harm them.”
“There are rumors of someone wanting to take over the castle. To steal from your parents,” the soldier, his voice full of thick gravel and bass.
“I have my property and have no intention of challenging for the castle. My older brothers are a different story, however. Watch them. Let us pass.” Leo’s implacable gaze bored into the dragon soldier, determination and strength emanating in a silent contest.
“Very well.” He raked them with his gaze. “But if you injure Tudoarreo or Qille, I will make it my mission to hunt you.”
“Fair enough,” Leo said. “Come, Gwenyth. Let us greet my parents.”
Gwenyth let Leo lead her into the room. Like the others they’d passed, this one was full of elegant statues, furnishings in luxurious silks of jeweled colors, and dozens of portraits and paintings hung on the walls.
One of a beautiful seascape drew her attention. The artist had captured a day of fun, but instead of humans, he or she had included dragons lounging on the sand, making the canvas appear whimsical to her eye.
Six chairs in a dramatic black-and-white formed a seating area around an enormous stone fireplace while drapes of a rich, lustrous ruby-red velvet framed floor-to-ceiling windows. A person could get lost in that fireplace. Gwenyth closed her gaping mouth.
“I told you to wait,” Telus’s voice boomed across the distance separating them.
“We don’t have all day.” Leo’s face remained impassive, but a muscle twitching in his jaw told Gwenyth of her husband’s fury.
