The knights looked at him again, and he scowled. "Yes, I am going to shift. You have a problem with that?"
"You didn't fuck him hard enough to get rid of that attitude, little sister," Avallach said with a snort. "Maybe give it another go."
"I will." Yelena smiled serenely. "But I like his attitude just the way it is."
Valentine did blush then. Fuck. He couldn't act like a defensive asshole in the face of her happiness. "I will be careful when I shift. Yelena is going to help me. There will be no rampage this time."
"I rather liked the rampage last time. I've never seen Owain and Emyr look so shocked," Avallach said, and some of the tension went out of Valentine's spine. "You are a scary-looking dragon, but that's no bad thing. We might need you a bit scarier if Midir doesn't calm the fuck down."
"Any luck finding the spies in the city?" Valentine asked. Someone had leaked Yelena's location, and he wasn't going to stop until he found out who was responsible.
"No, but the lords are all invited to this meeting. It will give us a chance to see who is twitchy. They were the only other people who knew where we were going," Avallach replied and cracked his knuckles. "They won't remain hidden for long."
Valentine nodded before looking at Yelena. "I need to go and get some clothes. Come by and get me when you are ready to go," he said.
The other knights were leering at him, so he didn't do anything like kiss her goodbye, only slipped out into the corridors. He pulled a glamor around him, one Yelena had taught him through their letters, and hoped that no one in the palace could see through it.
23
Valentine's luck held until he got to Taranis's private wing. He dropped the glamor and stepped inside only to find Taranis, Quinn, Reeve, and Charlotte were all hanging out and chatting over a late brunch. Conversation died, and they all stared.
"Well, well, well, walk of shame, is it, sweetie?" Quinn piped up.
Valentine only smiled. "I have no shame."
"Interesting look you are rocking there, bro," Reeve said, his coffee halfway to his mouth. "What happened to your pants?"
"Trying something new," Valentine replied.
Taranis looked like he was about to explode with laughter. "I'm sure it's good to give everything an airing out sometimes."
Valentine only smiled wider. "Save me some breakfast," he said and tried not to run into his rooms. He could hear them cackling like a bunch of gossiping hens.
Only Charlotte didn't look surprised or interested in his state of undress. She tended to stay out of the drama, and that was one of the things Valentine liked about her.
Valentine changed his clothes and tried to get some of his usual composure back. He looked at himself in the mirror and the few delicious marks left by Yelena. He grinned at them, and it was wild and happy. His eyes were still red, but the dragon seemed to be content to slumber.
Thank the gods because Valentine didn't need any extra commentary in his head to make his anxiety worse. They would all ask him about what was going on with Yelena, and he had no clue how to answer. He had no idea either.
Thankfully, Yelena had joined the others at breakfast by the time Valentine made it out. She was dressed in shades of gray, and even though it suited her coloring, it annoyed Valentine that she had muted herself down. He knew it was her defense, but he hated that she felt compelled to resort to it.
"Come and eat, Valentine. Here, next to me," Taranis said, pushing out a chair on his left side. "I want to talk to you about the hand you made for Yelena."
Valentine took the hint and didn't argue. He poured himself a coffee. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. It's a beautiful bit of craftsmanship," Taranis replied.
Valentine was half expecting some threatening whispers about Yelena, but Taranis seemed more interested in the hand.
"You know, I'm sure Mananan still has old Nuada's hand in his vault. It wasn't as fine as yours, though. I can't pretend to understand the magic you both used to get it connected, but it seems to be working beautifully," Taranis said, once Valentine was done.
Valentine looked down the table where Yelena was chatting with Charlotte. "We are going to leave the city today to run some magical tests on it all the same."
"You're going to shift? Can I watch?" Reeve asked, interrupting them. "I can hear my dragon, but maybe if I see how you do it, I will be able to understand the process better."
"There's no process. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, " Taranis said with a sigh. "You human magicians want to overthink everything. I thought you were the laid-back one, Reeve."
"I have to know what the rules are before I break them," Reeve argued.
