Elizabeth studied the scroll, skimming the coven’s flowery language.
“They’ve finally admitted I’m right,” she said. “After all that fuss about inappropriate solutions and overstepping boundaries.”
They’re simply clever enough to let you do their uncomfortable work for them,Grimble said.Marrying your granddaughters off to monster kings lets them claim diplomatic victories without risking their own bloodlines.
“My granddaughters are perfect diplomatic ambassadors. And they deserve wonderful matches, not boring local wizards with more magical theory than practical skill. If the Thornwick sisters were building a house, Adele would design the climate control, Cyrene would choose the decor that makes it feel like a home.”
Ah. You’re right,Grimble said.Sasha would lay the foundation and structural beams to keep it from falling, and Victoria would be in the kitchen brewing recipes that give the house its unique and inviting scent.
“Exactly.” Elizabeth returned to her pot, adding three dried wraithbell pods and a pinch of silverdust. The brew turned a deep indigo, releasing steam that formed shapes above the bubbling surface, wispy fragments of possibilities.
“Now, which granddaughter should be next?” Elizabethasked, though they both knew she’d already decided. “Sasha’s too stern for the fae king yet. She needs more time to soften. Victoria…” She shook her head. “She isn’t ready to leave her experiments.”
Which leaves Adele.Grimble jumped down from his divan to circle the cauldron.Our absent-minded weather witch.
“Precisely.” Elizabeth sprinkled powdered dragonscale, acquired at considerable expense from a traveling merchant, into the mixture. “She has a brilliant mind, but terrible focus. Did you know she accidentally frosted the entire library last week while reading about arctic wind patterns?”
The books survived, I hope.
“I cast protective wards on them years ago,” Elizabeth said. “This isn’t the first time her weather magic has leaked while she’s concentrating.”
The steam thickened, coalescing into mountainous shapes. Elizabeth leaned forward, her eyes reflecting the brew’s glow.
“Show me who will balance my Adele,” she whispered.
The steam twisted into the silhouette of a tall, broad-shouldered figure with regal bearing. As Elizabeth watched, the figure shifted, momentarily revealing massive wings and a scaled form before returning to his humanoid appearance.
“Raoul Emberforge,” she said. “Just as I suspected.”
The dragon king’s fortress materialized in the steam, a breathtaking structure built into a mountain peak, with crystalline spires catching the sunlight. Below the fortress, extensive caverns stretched through the mountain range, glittering with natural gems and heated pools.
Dramatic architectural choice,Grimble said.Though I suppose wings make the heights less inconvenient.
“Look deeper.” Elizabeth stirred counterclockwise three times.
The vision shifted inward, revealing meticulously organized rooms where servants moved around. Raoul stood at the center of a large bedroom, his dark auburn hair swept back from a face that rarely smiled. He moved with grace, his amber eyes missing nothing. Every item in his private chambers lay in perfect alignment, from books arranged by both size and subject to jewels categorized by color and significance.
“Too much order,” Elizabeth said. “Too much control.”
The steam then showed Raoul alone on a balcony, staring out at the distant horizon, his shoulders bearing the weight of the responsibility he’d taken on after his parents died. Though surrounded by advisors and attendants, no one stood close enough to touch him. No one dared breach the careful distance he maintained.
Cold and precise,Grimble said.Like a perfectly cut gemstone.
“In need of warmth,” she said. “In need of Adele’s particular chaos, actually. Her heat will melt his frost, and his structure will give form to her wild ideas.” She nodded pertly. “They’ll create storms together before finding their balance, but the magic they’ll generate will strengthen the boundaries considerably.”
She reached for a fresh parchment and quill she’d brought outside for this purpose. “I’ll send the marriage proposal tonight. The dragon lands are far more traditional than the vampire territories. They still appreciate proper courtship rituals.”
You mean arranged marriages without the participant’s input,Grimble said with a low laugh.
Elizabeth sniffed. “It worked for Cyrene, didn’t it?”
Eventually.
“The best matches take time.” Elizabeth began to compose the formal proposal. “Besides, this is different. Adele has no lost love haunting her heart. She’ll approach this pragmatically.”
As she wrote, detailing the benefits of a dragon-witch alliance, the air around the cauldron steam began to shift. A warm breeze swirled through the garden, followed almost immediately by a cool draft. The conflicting temperatures created miniature cloud formations above the brew that hadn’t been there before.
“Oh my,” Elizabeth whispered, watching as tiny lightning sparked between the clouds.
