The way the man stood, it was clear he was some kind of bodyguard or a soldier or something. He was also, I was pretty sure, a dragon.
I stared at the other person, the first one who’d spoken to me, taking them in. They may’ve been beautiful, but they were also pretty muscular. They looked familiar… so I stared for a long moment, and when recognition hit—I recognized them from the news articles—I wanted to smack my forehead for not realizing it sooner. They were the king’s child. Royal Oakley Von Stein.
Which meant the man with them was a king’s guard.
Oh holy shitballs.
“I-I’m sorry. I just… I… I…”
The royal stepped forward. “Hey, it’s okay. Ignore him. He’s an ass and doesn’t know how to talk to people.”
“Real nice, Oak,” the guard muttered.
They waved him off. “Seriously, ignore him. I’m Oakley, by the way. And that’s Roman.”
I nodded. “Lanche Rudolphus.”
Their eyes widened. “The artist? My dad was just talking about you! I saw your sculpture. It’s awesome.”
Holy Ice Goddess. How were all these royals so nice? I nodded my head—crap, should I have bowed to them? “Thank you, Your Highness.” I started to bow, but they waved me off.
“Oh, Mother of Scales, please don’t bow. There’s no need.”
I stood, and I knew my eyes were wide and probably filled with my anxiety—or fear.
Oakley Von Stein offered me a smile. “Anyway, what’s going on? We can help.”
“I… I just… my… my viramore just… I felt him, and I… I need to get to him.”
They took me in for a moment and whispered, “You’re a snow yeti, right?”
I nodded.
“Oh. Your icicle?”
I nodded again.
“Oh my Mother of Scales. Okay. Um… let’s get you to him. Where is he?”
I blinked. “You don’t have to—”
“Nonsense. You can’t drive when your magic’s going haywire. Can we drive your car to him? Rome and I can fly back.” Right. Because they were both dragons.
I really shouldn’t be driving like this, and if I couldn’t trust my royals and their guards, then who in the hell could I possibly trust? Right?
They seemed… nice. And trustworthy.
My magic flared, and I knew I needed to do whatever it took to get to Dain.
Right. Now.
I asked, “Um… are you sure?”
They smiled, lighting up their whole face. “Absolutely.”
“I… um… thank you. So much.”
They waved me off this time. “No problem. Come on. Get in the car and give me your keys.”
