“Many put it in place,” I muttered, my cheeks actually heating. “It was scheduled to begin soon. I merely issued the orders to fire it up today.” Along with a strict command to treat Taron as any other citizen of our land. And they followed that without a grumble. Hmm, maybe I should have also issued instructions not to stare at the man.
“Thank you for sharing this part of your world with me.” A long while passed as he looked from me to the dancers, the dancers to me. When the beat slowed, he linked his fingers with mine and pulled me into an isolated spot in the courtyard. And against him. Resisting proved impossible. This was not about sex. Nein, this was worse. I wound my arms around him and held on for dear life.
His gaze remained hot on me. “I want you, Lyssa, and I don’t want to fightit anymore.”
The words lashed me, ripping up layers of scars and leaving raw wounds. “This isn’t wise. I meant what I said. I can’t do temporary with you.” Tremors rocked me against him. I looked away, unable to bear the intensity of his attention. He didn’t yet understand. “It’s not simple desire for me. Not anymore. I need to burn you,” I croaked.
“Maybe…” A guttural curse exploded from him on a whispered breath. He cupped my cheeks and rested his brow upon mine. We breathed one for the other. “Maybe,” he repeated, just as rough. He said nothing else.
But then, he didn’t have to. He was considering it. Actually contemplating welcoming my flames. And I couldn’t let him. Wouldn’t risk him. Better that we part and never know.
As I pulled from his embrace, a young messenger sprinted to my side, his face pale. “My queen,” he rushed out. “There’s a problem at the north border. Your presence has been requested. Urgently.”
Of course there was. “Stay,” I told Taron. “Enjoy the festival.”
He didn’t offer to accompany me, didn’t protest, and I was glad. We needed the time apart.
Unfurling my smokewings, I launched into the air, eager to mitigate the problem at the border, whatever it was, since I couldn’t seem to mitigate the problem growing in me—or the one waiting for me when I returned.
Chapter
Seventeen
The heart is your greatest strength or weakness. You choose.
-Humaning for Beginners: A Dragon’s Tale of Human Management
DAY FOUR
Iworked alongside my army through the day and night, dismantling the cruel ingenuity of traps laced throughout the outer defenses of the forest surrounding my palace. Some bore my father’s dark craftsmanship: pendulum blades swinging silently from trees, pits lined with poisoned spikes and jagged steel snares hidden beneath leaves, ready to tear flesh from bone if triggered.
Though I approached those with patience, using a twig to activate the spring mechanism, then carefully bending the teeth outward so no one would stumble into them later.
Lorik added an extra layer of evil, employing holograms cast by well-planted projectors to mimic safe paths,intending to lure even the most experienced warrior into a fatal misstep.
Those, Taron found, after he found me. I was gone so long, he came looking.
Nyla’s cruelty was subtler, but no less deadly. Nets that constricted like a living thing.
Commander Granger crouched over each, calculating the weight and pressure of the tripwires, then slowly disarming or rerouting them.
Every snap, hiss and glimmer of malicious intent felt personal. Most were designed to inflict maximum pain before death, but all were a message:We’re here, and we’re not going away without a fight.
When we finally returned to the palace, dirt-streaked and exhausted, Taron headed for my bedroom, but I headed toward the kitchen, needing a break from his presence. Cowardly? Maybe. But deciding what snack to devour for breakfast was infinitely easier than facing the man whose scent lingered on my sheets.
He must have agreed, because he didn’t protest the separation.
Councilwoman Bauer caught up to me along the way. “Majesty, a formal challenge for your crown has been issued.”
Because of course it had. “Who issued it?”
“That, I don’t know. The message was passed with me, and I raced off to find you before hearing the name. My apologies.”
Wasn’t like it mattered. Whoever it was, the end would be the same. “Sound the trumpets,” I ordered, biting back a sigh. “The battle begins in an hour.” Better to handle this particular disruption swiftly.
“I’ll alert the masses, Your Majesty.” She almost sounded proud.
I strode off to prepare. Adelaide stood in the armory when I arrived, already selecting my favorite weapons. She didn’t say a word, just handed me my dual flame-forged blades, and an axe wielded by King Cedric in his prime.
