“He’s beautiful,” I say lightly, honestly.
“Yeah. A beautiful asshole.”
“He’s nice. Why don’t you like him?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “It’s just a vibe I get. And he’s a kiss-ass do-gooder. He’s probably beyond boring in bed. Please don’t put yourself through that.”
I catch a glimpse of his perfect black hair from across the room. His muscles strain through his dark green tunic, and his thighs are powerful and strong underneath those brown pants, I can tell. How could he be bad in bed?The mere sight of him gets me… frazzled. Not that I’d know a whole lot about such things.
“Ladies.” A voice snaps me out of my trance, and I whip my head toward the source. Standing above us is my newest dragon friend, who’s looking between me and where my gaze was with an unreadable expression. He looks rather disinterested, if anything. Beside him is his slightly less of an asshole friend, and a female. A very, very beautiful female. She has long, wavy black hair, fair skin, and vivid violet eyes. Like a dancing violet flame. Eyes that are boring into me with a look of pure malice. I try not to cower under her gaze and shift my eyes to the asshole in the middle who is clearly the leader of their gang. His hand resting lazily at the arch of her lower back doesn’t escape my notice.
“Good evening,” I say with little emotion.
“You two look like you’re the life of the party. May we have a seat?” He wears an arrogant look as he gestures to the few solo chairs dispersed across from us.
“Be our guest,” Meela says. Her tone holds most of her usual flatness, but I detect a small bit of curiosity there.
“I’m Elysande, this is Meela Soraya,” I gesture toward my friend. “And you are?” I did hear his friend use his name the first time I met them, but I’m not going to mention that.
His brow quirks. He’s looking at me with trepidation, and perhaps like he wants to murder me again. His lids are heavy over his dead eyes that still look like they’re lit from within, the arrogant look gone. I’m glad I don’t have to behold him in his dragon form. “I’m Daegan Vaelor, this is Raef Daelun, and Yara Raeli.”
Raef, with his red irises that should be scary but somehow aren’t, is the only one of the three with a polite smile. His skin is a medium bronze and his smile is bright and wide. It’s too bad that he’s friends with Daegan, because now that I have a chance to look into his eyes, which also hold that same bewildering appearance of being lit from within, he actually seems kind. Warm.
Yara, on the other hand, is shooting daggers at us as she sits with her knee touching Daegan’s, her body angled toward him.
I nod my head at them.
“So, where is the real party after this?” Raef asks with a grin. I study the intricate swirls of black ink that run down his neck and below his collar.
“Try some of the wine and you’ll find yourself having a good time,” Meela chimes in.
I shift my gaze to Daegan. He’s eyeing our drinks with a touch of curiosity, but mostly disgust. “I’m good.”
“Well, aren’t you fun,” Meela remarks.
He gives her a flat look.
“Which one would you recommend?” Raef asks.
“Depends on who you ask,” Meela says. She gestures toward me. “Princess here likes to laugh and pretend the world is full of fairies and a light we’ve never known. I prefer not to delude myself.” She holds up her glass. I decide to down the rest of mine as she speaks.
“Do you have any, like… regular wine? Or ale?” Raef with the red eyes asks.
“Yes.” Meela keeps it simple. She sounds unimpressed.
“Princess?” Daegan cuts in. “Is that a term of endearment?”
“Yes and no. She is one in the metaphorical sense… and the literal one.”
His gaze whips to mine, and his eyes darken even more. “Your father is the king?” he asks.
“Yes.”
He looks away. “Of course,” he mumbles.
Raef raises his eyebrows, eyes wide as he averts his gaze. Like he doesn’t want to be a part of this conversation anymore.
Yara still fixates on me. A long, awkward silence fills the space, until finally Meela speaks again. “Why don’t you paint a portrait of her? Then you can look at her forever.” She’s staring at the female dragon with menace and not a drip of fear in her eyes. I’m not sure it’s wise.
