It’s…a dragon.Odessa closed her eyes and shook out her feathers.I must still be dreaming. I’m going to open my eyes, and this will all be gone.
She did so, only to find that the little dragon was still very much there. He sat, no larger than a kitten, with iridescent black scales covering his body and his tail curled around his legs. He tilted his head curiously at her, then stretched out his own pair of leathery wings, attempting to shake them out as she had done but falling forward onto his nose. He pushed himself back up with a disoriented shake of his head and sneezed, sending out a tiny ball of flame that landed harmlessly on the dirt and extinguished itself.
Odessa let out a honking laugh, which the dragon attempted to mimic. He sounded more like a distressed cockatiel than a swan, but at the proud light that filled his eyes, Odessa knew she was in love.
“Odessa.”
She jumped at the sound of Boris’s voice approaching and was momentarily frozen with panic.
The last thing he needs is a dragon. Who knows what kind of horrible things he would do to him? Orwithhim. But what do I do? He’s a baby; it’s not like I can just tell him to hide.
“Odessa!”
The crunch of boots on gravel grew louder, and she could see Boris’s tall, lean form approaching. Odessa made a swift, last-minute decision. She used her wings to sweep together the bits of golden evidence with the dragon, then sat on them, praying that the hatchling would cooperate.
Please don’t try to get out. Please just sit still. Boris can’t know you’re here.
Her belly and legs grew warm from the little hatchling’s heat, but he thankfully stayed still. Boris stopped a few feet away, crossing his arms as he looked down at her with a displeased frown creasing his forehead. For a moment, Odessa felt she was a little girl again, desperate to please her hero. Her father, charismatic and handsome, was liked by everyone, and she had once thought herself the luckiest girl in the world to be his daughter. She had been eager to earn his favor, craving a smile or word of praise. In her eyes, he could do no wrong…until she learned the awful truth.
“You didn’t finish cleaning the primate exhibit,” he said as a greeting. Gray streaks peppered the dark hair at his temples, the only sign of aging on his smooth, distinguished face. His dark eyes were bright with intelligence, the kind of genius that drove a man to either madness or social awkwardness.
And since Boris Rothchild navigated public gatherings with a comfortable ease, that left madness as the only other option.
“The nights are shorter in the summer,”Odessa directed her thoughts at him, coating the mental words with polite sarcasm.“A factor I’m sure someone of your intellect would have accounted for when deciding to bless me with wings between the hours of sunrise and sunset.”
If he was bothered by her comment, he didn’t let it show on his face. “See to it that it’s done tonight.”
The dragon shifted underneath her and hot air brushed her leg, cutting off the snarky response that she wanted to give.“Yes, sir.”
“Prince Dmitri is hosting a celebration for his birthday next month,” Boris continued. “I will want all the enclosures spotless, and the animals prepared for exhibitions and demonstrations. The queen has also requested use of the grounds to host a dinner and ball as part of the festivities, so we should begin planning accordingly.”
He’s what?
“This of course means that additional groundskeepers will be present over the coming weeks. You will need to ensure thatallthe animals are kept behind gates.” He looked at her pointedly. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened with the prince from Helyos.”
Odessa cringed inwardly. The first time Sonya had managed to escape her enclosure, she had nearly met an untimely end when she charged the campsite of a traveling prince. It was only due to Katrin’s swift thinking and intervention that the boar was still alive to make trouble.
“How long are his guests planning to stay?”
“I believe he hopes at least one will stay forever.” Boris snickered at his own joke. “As for the rest, the event is planned to span the course of at least a week.”
Ah. This must be his solution to his mother’s pressuring. He’s trying to orchestrate a situation where he can meet his future wife. It’s a little ambitious to think he’s going to convince her to love him in just a week, but I suppose royals approach marriage differently than the rest of us.
“I’m sure you understand how important it is for you to give Prince Dmitri and his guests plenty of space during their stay. I know you and the prince have a…friendly relationship, and I would hate for any potential matches to get the wrong idea.”
“I’m sure they often look at swans and feel romantically threatened,”she mentally drawled at him.
He leveled her with a look. “You know what I mean, Odessa. Don’t be difficult. It’s extremely important to Her Majesty that Prince Dmitri find a wife before his coronation.”
“Then she can take it up with him. I’m certainly not standing in his way.”
“See that it stays that way. It would truly be a shame if something were to happen to your animal friends due to your inability to listen.”
His threat was not lost on her, and Odessa shivered, causing the dragon underneath her to stir.
“I understand.”
His look softened into a smile, and despite knowing that it was false, Odessa couldn’t help the way her heart leaped at the sight. “I’m sure. You were always such a smart girl, Odessa. It truly pains me to see you this way, but consequences must be served. Keep showing me this kind of behavior, though, and I’m sure circumstances can change.”
