“Are you all right, Fern?” The crown princess looked back over her shoulder to watch Kael saunter away. I found myself doing the exact same thing, though I was willing to bet the other woman didn’t still feel the burn of his thumb on her lips. She turned back to me with a look of concern. “Be aware that no matter how large a man’s dragon is, no woman is ever coerced into a situation against her will while she resides within the keep.”
“Coerced…?” I blinked and then shook my head, feeling like I’d awoken from some kind of strange dream. Perhaps because my world had been turned upside down so utterly I couldn’t tell up from down. “Oh no, it’s nothing like that.”
“So you are considering letting this Kael court you?”
Cora seemed a little surprised by that, but she covered it well, her expression open and interested.
“Oh,” I said again with completely different emphasis. “It’s definitely nothing like that.”
“No?” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “So Ididn’t see him spin you around the dance floor, after rejecting Seraphina?”
“She had a face like a smacked arse, she had.” We both turned to see Sparrow staggering towards us, her arms laden down with food. The teetering pile had us rushing forward, relieving her of her perilously stacked burdens. With a sigh, Sparrow grinned at us. “Raided the kitchens. They just toss what’s left of the desserts at the end of the night, or portion them out to give to staff. I snuck in and grabbed a few things for us.”
“A few things…?” I said, looking at the many tubs and containers of food.
“All right then, maybe more than a few things.” She swept into the suite. “I figured we could put the kettle on, have some tea, just before you tell me exactly what happened. One minute I was dancing with Mr. Frederick Carlton, who was a total bore. Was blathering on and on about his father’s emerald mine, or something. Thank the gods the lieutenant livened things up. I made up some excuse when I heard Lance cursing a blue streak.”
Sparrow’s words washed over me, the feeling of unreality deepening further.
“He shoved himself away from those friends of his.” Her eyes danced as she grabbed the copper kettle and filled it from the pump in the bathroom, then set it over the fire. A few logs were tossed into the fireplace, kindling stacked neatly on top of it before she used the flint to set it alight. “Looked fit to tie.” Sparrow’s hand waved around her face. “He got all red and flushed looking.”
“We were concerned.” Cora shot me an apologetic look. “Fights do break out between cadets, but not normally at the first feast. It was quite a surprise. Lance is always such an easy-going fellow.”
But he wasn’t when he cut in. I hadn’t intended to dance at all, so having to navigate a change in partner had my headspinning. Lance had taken control instantly, pressing his body against mine, replacing the warmth of Kael’s with his. His hands remained at my waist, not trying to take liberties, and then we were off. Smooth as silk, we whirled around and around.
And I barely felt any of it.
Lance’s eyes burned into mine. His lips moving, going to say something, only to fall silent again. The music did more than fill the silence. It seemed to create a space all of our own, one I mourned the loss of when the song ended.
“I haven’t seen Lance get so hot under the collar about any woman.” Cora tapped at her lips thoughtfully. “Not since…”
She looked at Sparrow, not me, and that made clear I wouldn’t like what she had to say. That felt impossible. Dancing with Kael was a chore that quickly transmuted into something else, then Lance interrupting? It was like something from the pages of my books. My mouth curved into a smile because I couldn’t seem to hold it back.
Only for Sparrow to bring me back to earth.
“Since Pippin?” she said.
“Pippin…?”
I didn’t want to ask that question, didn’t want to know the answer. Surely I could just wallow in this glorious feeling for a few moments more? The sound of the water boiling in the kettle, the crackle of the fire matched the tension growing inside me.
Cora shot Sparrow a meaningful look then turned to me. “He seemed quite taken with you, Fern.” Her brow creased. “As did this Kael.”
“And the other two.” Sparrow retrieved the kettle, procuring cups and a tea pot, then setting the brew to steep. “Couldn’t take their eyes off you, Fernie.” She bumped her hip into mine as she passed by, slicing up cake and other treats beforepiling them onto a plate and handing one to each of us. “There might be duels at dawn, the survivor earning the right to ask for your hand.”
“No duels,” Cora said firmly, then took a tea cup when it was passed her way. “But this conversation reminds me why I had you room with us, Fern.” My fingers hardly felt the saucer as I took my tea from Sparrow. “Admitting female cadets has been a process for both the Royal Riders and the men and women of the keep, but none more than women that become dragon riders. As a fellow gold dragon rider, you need to know…”
It was in the pauses in conversations that the real information was communicated. Cora’s slow sip, the way she stared at me across the rim of her cup, it all told me the conversation was about to take a sensitive turn.
“Your mother no doubt spoke of your duty to… attend to your husband’s needs when you marry?”
With a snort, I shook my head.
“I was brought up on a country estate, Highness,” I replied. “I got an explicit lesson about the birds and bees every time I walked past the fields.”
“Thank the gods,” the princess sighed. “The general has decided it falls to me to break the news to any female rider, and some mothers keep their daughters criminally ignorant about the ways of men and women. When a queen dragon rises to mate, the adult population of Wyrmpeak feels… her throes.” She set the cup back on its saucer. “None more than her rider and?—”
“The fellas riding the dragons your queen decides to mate with.” Sparrow seemed inordinately amused by all of this. “Any dragon your beast takes a shine too? His rider will feel like he’s going into rut. Not an impulse he can ride out with a willing serving girl nor his hand. If you’re not careful, Fern, you could end up with each one of those silver dragon riders and Lance as well. They won’t be fighting anyone except the need to get closer to you.”
