Verin grunted dismissively. “I don't need a crown.”
Chapter Seven
With that dragon diadem on my head and my hand on Verin's arm, I strode through the corridors and common rooms of his palace and got every ounce of respect he'd wanted for me. He showed me the glass-fronted sitting rooms with their stunning views and took me below the palace to where massive machines pulled air out of seawater, converted seawater to fresh (setting the salt aside for culinary uses), and harvested geothermal energy to power the entire city. Lóng dressed in courtier robes—most finer than what Verin wore—were introduced to me while those in simpler garments bowed as we passed by. It hardly mattered; I wouldn't remember many names. The faces blurred together—assisted by a common coloring of dark hair and eyes—and only a few managed to stand out. There were a couple of men who seemed genuinely pleased to meet me and more than a couple of women who were decidedly not pleased. One, in particular, I wouldn't forget: Meilen.
Meilen had been with a group of women who had approached Verin and me in the library. The library—a room at least three-stories tall—was lined in the requisite bookshelves. Not a single paperback dared to disgrace those stately soaring shelves or the freestanding units lined up to one side of the room. All of the books were either cloth or leather-bound and had the look of age to them. Several were unusually large and housed on special shelves or displayed on lecterns. But it wasn't the books that had caught my attention. The center of the vast, carpeted space was dominated by a statue of a blue dragon.
“Oh, look,” I drawled sarcastically, “it'sanotherstatue of you. That makes five that we've come across so far.”
“You are mistaken.” Verin smirked.
I looked at it again. “Blue scales, flaming orange whiskers, red fins, and white horns—that's you, babe. I saw you like this only a few hours ago; I'm certain it's you.”
Verin chuckled. “Read the plaque.”
“The Blue Dragon,” I started smugly, then grimaced, “King Neimar the First. How many blue dragons have there been?”
“I am the third on Earth.”
“And who was this guy?”
“My grandfather.”
“So, Neimar the Second was your father?”
Verin grunted and looked away.
Yeah, his dad was a sore topic. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, I was saved from a verbal retreat by the aforementioned ladies. They glided over in their trailing silk gowns, hints of the Far East in the designs. The women themselves may have looked as if they had some Asian blood in them to the unknown observer, but I could now recognize the Lóng features. Their faces were too slim to be Asian, their features too sharp to be human, and although their exotic eyes were almond-shaped, they also had slit pupils.
“Your Majesty,” the ladies said as one and bowed—bowed, not curtsied—to Verin.
Verin grunted, nodded, and introduced us. As I mentioned before, I only recall one name: Meilen. She stared at my diadem first, her expression shocked and envious, then her gaze dropped to my face. She looked as if she wanted to claw my eyes out and her long, red nails confirmed that she was capable of that very thing. She didn't say much, just nodded to me when Verin spoke her name, but she didn't have to. She even glared at me as she left.
“How many ex-girlfriends do you have here?” I casually asked after the women had moved on. “Just so I can prepare myself for the venomous looks.”
Verin scowled and glanced after the women. “A few. But they will not dare to disrespect you.”
“Yeah, I get it, Mr. Badass—everyone knows not to cross you.”
“Why do you sound scornful?” He growled.
“Not scornful,doubtful,” I corrected. “When it comes to matters of the heart, women will risk a lot. Especiallyscornedwomen. Or haven't you heard the saying about hell?”
“Meilen and I ended things many years ago,” Verin said, still frowning. “She has made no romantic overtures since.”
“Have you had a girlfriend since her?”
Verin grunted irritably.
“I'll take that as a no,” I muttered.
“I haven't had the time.”
“So, it's been years since you had sex?” I lifted my brows.
“You asked about girlfriends. That term denotes a certain amount of commitment.”
“Oh!” I laughed. “I see. So, you were just being a playa?”
