Since I’d done the basic shape with a chainsaw yesterday, I was doing the fine details with my chisel today. Being a snow yeti myself, I was able to manipulate the ice and snow to a certain extent, but I enjoyed using my chisel and embedding it with my magic, rather than trying to create the entire sculpture in one go with magic alone.
People did it that way all the time, but it never quite took on the finer details. It was very easy for me, for any artist really, to tell the difference between a magicked-up piece and a handmade one.
I took pride in my work, so handmade it was.
Letting myself fall into my artwork was the perfect distraction I needed today.
Before I knew it, hours had passed, and my ice sculpture was nearly finished.
I stepped back to take a look and see what else needed fixing. The yeti itself was life-size, which meant it was taller than me in my human form. I wasn’t really sure where my mass went when I was shaped this way, but in my yeti form, I was twice as wide and nearly eight feet tall. Many shifters didn’t change mass the way yetis—and dragons—did, so the only conclusion I could come up with was… magic.
Which was probably a lame reason, but how else could one explain it?
The swirl of snow, filled with detailed snowflakes, wrapped around the eight-foot-tall yeti, and with its hands open and moving with the swirl, it really made it look like it was controlling the magic.
I leaned in and fixed a small bump on one of the tiny snowflakes, then stepped back and assessed my work again.
It actually looked… pretty damn good, if I did say so myself.
With a smile on my face from a job well done, I cleaned up all my tools and left the courtyard, making my way to the front desk.
As I approached, the receptionist asked, “Are you all finished?”
“I sure am.”
She smiled widely. “Wonderful. I can’t wait to take a look after my shift. I’ve seen your work before, and it’s always so detailed and beautiful.”
Well, I hadn’t been expecting that at all. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
She smiled widely at me and gestured to the waiting area off to the side. “You can have a seat while you wait.”
My brow furrowed. “Wait for what?”
“The king and agusha, of course.”
My eyes widened. “T-the king? The king is coming down here?”
“Yes. He and Tan—” She cleared her throat. “Excuse me, their majesties have been coming to see every finished piece and thank the artists personally. When you informed me yesterday that you’d be done today, I let them know so they could plan to come down.”
“Uh… um… okay… um… thank you.”
She nodded and gestured to the waiting area again. “You can have a seat. They’ll be down in about ten minutes or so.”
I nodded my thanks and headed for the closest seat as my palms became sweaty, and I felt a drop of sweat roll down my back. Holy crapola. Was I seriously about to meet the king of Sedoba? I needed my ass in a chair before I passed out. My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest.
The king and his viramore—his soulmate—were coming down here to look at my artwork and meet me.
What the actual hell?
I rubbed my sweaty palms on my thighs, hoping they didn’t want to shake my hand or anything like that.Yikes. The longer I waited, the sweatier I became. I was going to look like I’d taken a dip in a pool if they took any longer.
Closing my eyes, I tried to calm my breathing, but by the time the king arrived on the first floor, I was a mess and felt like I might pass out.
Garrick Von Stein, the dragon shifter king, and Tanyl Helegolor, his viramore and the king consort, came off their private elevator, both smiling widely—and for some strange reason, there was an orange cat on top of the king consort’s head. It took me a moment to remember that he had a cat familiar. Why she was riding on top of his head, I had no idea.
A cat hat.Ha!
The king laughed at something his mate said, and other than Dain himself, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen anything more beautiful. The king was a big man—being a dragon, that made sense. He was broad-shouldered and muscular with golden hair and golden eyes that looked light and happy when he looked at his mate. He looked at peace. Content.
