“He’s the kind of man that even the noble dragon women swoon over,” one maid replied, though she said it softly, as if afraid to be overheard. “I’ve heard them whispering about what they would do if they were alone with him.”
That set the other maids to giggling again.
Ashley knew that most women would never get the opportunity to do exactly what they wanted with a man they were attracted to, but she didn’t say anything.
“I heard that he was in the countryside nearby just the other day,” the maid carried on. Ashley wanted to hear more of what the maids were saying so she moved closer to the woman.
The maid was a plain woman, though the red in her cheeks almost made her pretty. She was the sort of person who blended into every situation. But still, something about the way that she was talking about this Diamond King made Ashley just the slightest bit nervous. And she hated to admit it, but she was feeling slightly jealous of it. She didn’t even know who this man was or why she should care about him. The fact that the maid carried on, however, was a relief.
“You know they say that these higher dragons can just sense it,” the maid proclaimed, not even trying to hide her interest.Ashley could see envy in the woman’s face, knew that she wished that whatever it was that this man was coming for, it was her. And then, like she knew that Ashley herself was listening at that very moment, she chose to disclose the one piece of information that made Ashley just about have a heart attack.
“Higher Dragons can tell exactly where the person with the other half of their wing mark is,” the maid revealed with a knowing look.
That meant that if she did have a mate out there, just for her, then she could be found. Even if she somehow managed to escape this castle and find her way back to her own world, she could be dragged back to this one. Suddenly, having a mate didn’t seem so romantic after all.
Ashley backed away from the maids, going around a corner to hide. She sank against the wall, breathing a sigh of relief. But it wasn’t a wall she sank against, it was a firm male chest that was far too warm. His arms came around her, holding her in place as she tried to turn away.
“Careful now, darling, I would hate for you to draw attention to yourself. We all know how cruel they can be to the new maids here,” the man spoke in her ear, keeping his voice as low as possible and sounding casual and almost polite in the process. It took Ashley a moment to understand what he was saying. What kind of man was her brother to allow cruelty, when he’d explicitly said the servants were respected and taken care of here?
Still, Ashley wasn’t exactly sure if she could trust the man who was standing behind her. She pulled away from him and turned to face him, blinking as she came face to face with a man who was, to put things lightly, devastatingly handsome at best, and confusingly disarming at worst. She’d never seen a man who had looked half as good as he did, and even though he wore a butler’s uniform and was very obviously a part of the servantclass, she couldn’t help but feel like she was drawn to him. Something about him made her want to stand a little closer to him.
That was why, even though she knew she should be paying attention to Elliot, she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. A fact that, judging by the soft chuckle that escaped his lips, he knew the effect he had on her and thought it was just the slightest bit entertaining.
“I…” Ashley began far too quickly but realized that she didn’t exactly know what to say. She was too dazzled, momentarily stunned by the reality of the man and his perfect features.
“It’s alright, you can take your time,” the man rumbled with a flirtatious lilt to his voice.
He stood there patiently while Ashley looked at him, obviously at a loss for words and even common sense. Despite herself, and the common sense screaming at her to run away, she stepped daringly closer to him, unable to deny the somewhat magnetic sensation that she felt at that moment.
“You’re new here,” he said after a moment with a dazzlingly beautiful smile, and all Ashley could do was nod in response.
“I can show you around if you’d like,” he offered.
Though Ashley knew that there would likely be consequences to a butler being found with the princess of all things, she couldn’t help but agree to his offer. She decided that she would go wherever he did and obediently followed him as he turned on his heel.
Of course, he didn’t quite move with the same familiarity that she had seen in many of the other butler’s steps, but Ashley was certain that he had to be new as well and simply happy that he was able to help another newbie. Or at least that’s what she told herself as she slowly followed behind him and disappeared down the hallways to go on her second tour of the Opal Castle. Now, if only he’d tell her his name.
Chapter
Nine
“Iam Alexander,” he informed her after a few paces, almost like he knew exactly what she was thinking as she followed him through the halls.
“Alexander,” Ashley repeated and was sure to memorize it. Later, when he found out who she really was, he might be angry with her, but for now, he was the closest thing she had to a friend. At least he smiled at her. “I’m, um, I’m Ana.”
Which was only partly a lie, really. One of the names Valys had rattled off was Anastasia, wasn’t it? A pretty name, but far too grand for her. Ana would work.
“The Opal Castle is tucked away in the mountains just outside of Bucharest, Romania,” Alexander began, his voice taking on a kind, friendly tone as he began to explain more about the place. At least he gave her information that she could understand, unlike Valys. “Founded six centuries ago, it has remained in the Tannagen family for generations, ever since the first Tannagen settled the Opal Dragon Clan and claimed the area as their homeland. Just a few miles short of here is the village that the majority of the Opal Clan lives in, which unfortunately lacks electricity and other modern conveniences,but they’ve never had it, and you can’t miss what you’ve never had, can you? The Opal family is one of immense power, obviously, but unfortunately, wealth has always evaded them. Everything you see in the castle has been bought using taxes from the dragon Clan. Each member pays a toll and a portion of their earnings towards the ruling family to continue to benefit from their protection and support, as it is for just about every dragon Clan.”
Alexander paused to make sure she was keeping up, both physically and mentally. When he saw she was about to trip down a step she hadn’t noticed he took her hand to help her down. She smiled at him, but felt her cheeks turning red.
“The Opal Castle has eight different ballrooms, each with its own color palette and theme. Each, also, has a different dress code,” Alexander revealed, but Ashley didn’t care to memorize any of them or know too much about them.
When Alexander began to explain the different dress codes associated with each ballroom, she quickly checked out, deciding that she didn’t need to know exactly what to wear in each ballroom because she could hardly dance, to begin with. If you didn’t count a single square dance that she learned in elementary school, and the obligatory twerk that it seemed like just about everyone knew how to do in the late 2010s.
The fact that said ballrooms had been purchased using tax money that may or may not have been taken from the locals made her feel sick, and Ashley couldn’t help but wonder what protections her brother was offering at that moment that would warrant enough money to maintain a castle with eight ballrooms.
But Alexander didn’t seem to care how the Opal Clan came by their money as he continued to talk.
