I went still. Those words meant so much more now. I was glad he hadn't given them to me right away. Making me work for them made it momentous. We had taken another step. And that's when it hit me. I was in a carriage with the Dragon King,off to a private dinner with him. A real date. I had a chance with him.
I whispered, “Thank you. Apology accepted.”
He smiled at me. I smiled back.
Then I asked, “So, where are you taking me on our first date?”
“For once, just be still and enjoy what's coming.”
I grimaced. “Do I strike you as that sort of man?”
The King laughed. “No. You are rarely still. Thus, the addition of 'for once.'”
I stuck my tongue out at him again.
“If you keep sticking that at me, I will put it to better use,” he said.
My face went slack.
The Dragon King burst out laughing. He laughed until he fell forward with it. Then he saw my grimace and laughed some more.
“You certainly have gotten the hang of it quickly,” I muttered.
The King finally ceased laughing and asked, “The hang of what?”
I felt my stare go tender. Fuck, my whole being melted. “Life, Your Majesty. Welcome back to it.”
Chapter Seventeen
The King's demeanor brightened even more as we rolled through the streets of Enleran. He smiled at me a lot but also stared out the window as if he had never seen the world outside the castle gates. Maybe he hadn't, not in a hundred and fifty years. That's enough time to not only turn a garden into a wilderness but to also change the face of a city.
I didn't speak, proving that I could indeed be still and silent. But I had the motivation to remain quiet. The King. His reactions. I loved watching him. He looked enchanted. And through him, my first look at the night version of the crown city of Enleran was just as magical as seeing it from above. Whenever the King's eyes widened or his lips parted, I eagerly searched for whatever had delighted him, and it always delighted me too. It was like experiencing the city with a fellow traveler, someone as new to it as I was. But this was its king.
I didn't want to ruin that with words.
So, I waited until we had stopped before a grand building, right at an extension that covered part of the walkway, going up to the street. The underbelly of the extension's roof was bowed upward and gilded. I stared up at it as the King escorted me tothe building. Up ahead of us, two men waited at a pair of heavily carved doors. They opened the doors for us and bowed.
One of the Dragon knights stepped in ahead of us, and the other behind. They didn't say a word, just focused on scanning the restaurant as we entered it. The knight in the lead immediately strode past the host and did a circle around the room while the other waited beside us, watching the door.
The host's eyes went wide, he made some stuttering sounds, then dropped into a deep bow. “Welcome, Your Majesty! We are so honored to serve you.”
“My knights speak highly of this place,” the King said. “They enjoy your food.”
“Oh, how wonderful!” the man, an Eljaffna, flushed with pleasure and smiled wide enough to show off his sharp fangs. “We will do our best not to disappoint you, Sire. Please, follow me. I have the perfect table for you.”
“Somewhere private if possible,” the King said as his knight rejoined us.
“Oh, yes! Very private. It's our special table in the courtyard garden.”
“A garden?” The King lifted a brow at me.
“Well, that is perfect,” I said.
The Eljaffna blinked—the only indication that he was surprised by the Dragon King's choice of a dining companion. Then he scooped up two leather folders from a shelf beneath his lectern and waved us past a low wall adorned with potted plants and brass statuary. Elephants featured almost as much in the décor there as they did at the castle. There were marbleelephants holding planters on their backs, fabric elephants adorned with glass jewels, and brass elephants proudly bearing statues of dragons on their backs. The walls were draped with bright lengths of silk woven with gold thread, colorful lanterns hung from the ceiling, and all the dining tables were as low as the ones in the castle. People lounged on short chairs and couches, dining languidly, some even reclined. But they all straightened, then shot to their feet when they saw the King. They bowed as we passed them. The King nodded.
Then we were leaving the main room through an elaborate archway. The scent of green things hit me, and I breathed in deeply. Lanterns came on and a tiny paradise was revealed. Marble columns bordered the space, sandstone slabs covered the ground, and far above us, a glass ceiling arched. I smiled at that. Someone wanted to protect this place. It was probably for the customers, but it also maintained the garden.
Holes in the sandstone erupted with sprays of green, brown, and rust-red foliage. Tropical plants from all over the world gathered there, many with blooms that refused to close at night. Their beauty never slept. So amid the neutral colors were slashes of crimson, orange, turquoise, yellow, and bright pink. In the center of it all was a gazebo, its domed roof cut through with designs and its low walls similarly adorned. The host led us through the gazebo's doorway and to the table within. It was round, near the ground, and surrounded by a circular bench, the gazebo walls serving as the bench's back. A yellow glass lantern hung from the apex of the domed and gilded gazebo roof, its light magnified by the gold.
