Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  In the hallway, a few doors down, a servant gasped at the sight of them and dropped her armful of bed linens on the floor.

  “Are you all right?” Silas picked up the bedsheets and handed them to the servant. “We didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  “I—I’m fine, Your Highness.” The young woman curtsied, then dashed away.

  Gwen shot him a wry look as she headed for the western wing. “I told you to button your shirt.”

  He snorted. “Are you saying my chest is scary?”

  “Not exactly,” she muttered.

  He followed her as he fastened the buttons. “I’ve been wondering how you were doing. Have you made any progress?”

  She explained how they were examining the queen’s jewelry and that so far, there was one ring they suspected was poisoned. “It was a gift from the king last summer.”

  “Petras gave it to her?”

  Gwen nodded. “Margosha said she would ask around to see where it came from.”

  “I’ll ask him.”

  Gwen gave him a worried look. “That could end badly if the king thinks we suspect him.”

  “He’ll cooperate. He wants rid of the curse more than anything. He believes his wife will improve if we—” Silas stopped when a pained look crossed Gwennore’s face.

  “I don’t think it’s possible for her to improve. She’s been poisoned for too long, and it’s affected all her internal organs.”

  Silas swallowed hard. He’d told Petras that he would help the queen. And if he failed, he would go along with Petras’s wish to do what Fafnir ordered. Invade Woodwyn and declare war on Tourin.

  “I’m sorry,” Gwennore whispered.

  “So am I.” Silas remained silent for a while as they walked, then something occurred to him. “The queen received the ring last summer, but she’s been ill for longer than that. And my mother suffered from madness, too.”

  Gwennore nodded. “That’s another reason why I suspect the jewelry. It’s the only thing that gets passed on from one queen to the next. Everything else changes.”

  When they reached the workroom, they found Annika, Margosha, and Olenka inside. They’d brought up several baskets of food and were arranging it on a table. Brody, in dog form, was wolfing down a plate of ham that had been placed on the floor.

  Annika saluted Silas then motioned to Brody. “We found this dog in the room. I don’t know where he came from.”

  “But he’s so cute.” Olenka patted Brody’s head, and he grinned at her.

  Gwen set the stack of clothes on the floor next to Brody. “We should leave the room for a few minutes.”

  “What?” Annika eyed the clothes. “Why?”

  “We were just about to eat,” Margosha protested. “Would you like to join us, my lord?”

  “In a moment,” Silas said. “First, I’d like to talk to Brody. So if you don’t mind…” He motioned to the door.

  “Brody?” Margosha looked confused. “You mean the dog?”

  Annika snorted. “You want to talk to a dog?”

  Gwennore picked up a plate of ham and cheese and headed for the door. “I’ll explain outside. Come on.”

  Margosha grabbed the bottle of wine, while Olenka and Annika gathered up some cups and a loaf of bread. Then they followed Gwen out the door.

  As soon as the door shut, Brody’s form wavered for a few seconds, then snapped into the shape of a man. He reached for the underpants. “I smelled death on you. What’s going on here?”

  Silas wandered about the room, studying Gwen’s experiment. “Lord Romak was murdered last night. I’ve been investigating the matter.”

  “Who is he?” Brody fastened the waist of the underpants.

  “The king’s personal secretary.” Silas explained how he’d discovered Romak’s spying activity. “I sent Aleksi to follow the priest, so we can figure out who was paying Romak. I suspect Lord Morris or one of his minions.”

  Brody pulled on the pair of breeches. “Is this Aleksi one of your dragons?”

  When Silas stiffened, Brody gave him a wry look. “I can smell a fellow shifter.”

  Silas clenched his fists. Dammit, he should have realized this, since he’d always been able to tell that Brody was a shifter. “Have you told anyone?”

  “No.” Brody smiled. “You can relax. I don’t intend to tell anyone. Shifters’ code of honor.”

  Silas flexed his hands. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “So someone killed the spy you arrested.” Brody buttoned the breeches. “Sounds like you may have more than one spy around here.”

  Silas nodded. “Someone made sure Romak couldn’t talk. Romak had planned to kill me and frame Gwennore for it.”

  “What?”

  “She was given a poisoned dagger—”

  “Is she all right?”

  “Yes.” Silas motioned toward the door. “You saw her. She’s fine.”

  Brody frowned as he put on the shirt. “So any idea who killed this Romak?”

  With a grimace, Silas ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not making any sense. The two guards said their captain ordered them to stay by the dungeon entrance all night. And they saw him go inside with a knife, the same knife that is now protruding from Romak’s chest.”

  “Then he’s your man.” Brody buttoned the shirt.

  Silas shook his head. “Karlan swears it wasn’t him. And I checked with the other soldiers. He was in the barracks with them all night.”

  “Then the two guards are lying.”

  Silas sighed. “They swear they’re telling the truth. And even Karlan says they are trustworthy. He’s completely baffled. Hell, we all are.”

  Brody paused in the middle of fastening a button. “The murderer looked like the captain, but he wasn’t him?”

  Silas nodded. “Right.”

  “You still have the body?”

  “In the dungeon, yes.”

  “Take me there.” Brody finished buttoning his shirt. “If it was the Chameleon, I might be able to pick up his scent.”

  “The Chameleon?”

  Brody nodded. “I’ll explain on the way.”

  “No need. I’ve heard of him.” The Chameleon had tried to steal the throne in Eberon and Tourin. Silas headed for the door. “You think the Chameleon is here? Making a play for Norveshka?”

  “Could be.” Brody followed him out the door.

  Gwennore was sitting with the other women in the hallway, enjoying a meal. “Brody!” She jumped to her feet and hugged him.

  Annika looked him over curiously. “He was the dog?”

  “Gwennie.” Brody took hold of her shoulders. “I heard you were poisoned. Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. How are my sisters? You came early. Is something wrong?”

  Brody smiled as he gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Everything’s fine. They were just worried about you.”

  Silas cleared his throat. “Are you going to hug each other all day? We need to be going.”

  Brody released her. “I’ll be back soon.” He followed Silas to the stairwell.

  “What’s going on?” Gwen ran after them.

  “Stay in the workroom for now,” Silas called back to her. “I’ll send some guards to watch over you.”

  “Why do we need guards?” Annika yelled.

  “Just to be safe.” Silas bounded down the stairs.

  Brody kept up with him. “Do they know about the murder?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Has Gwennie made any progress with figuring out the curse?”

  “Maybe.”

  Brody snorted. “You’re not very forthcoming.”

  “Neither are you.” Silas glanced at the shifter as they reached the ground floor. “Why did you come early?”

  Brody shrugged. “Leo and Luciana wanted to make sure Gwennore was safe.”

  “Why?” Silas opened the door to the courtyard. “Has something happened?”

  Brody squinted as they stepped out into the sunlight. “A spec
ial envoy from Woodwyn came to the Eberoni camp.”

  Silas halted. The elves never sent envoys. They were the most reclusive people on the planet. “What did he want?” When Brody hesitated, a lump of dread caught in Silas’s throat. “They want Gwennore.”

  Brody nodded. “The royal family is requesting her return.”

  Silas fisted his hands as his heart started to pound. “Why? Is she a member of the royal family?”

  “They wouldn’t say. They just demanded her back.”

  Silas scoffed. “They rejected her as a baby, and now they think they can simply demand her back?”

  “Leo and Luciana are as suspicious as you are. They were actually relieved that she’s here, since it gave them a good excuse to turn the elves down.”

  Silas strode toward the dungeon. “We can’t let her go, not when we don’t know what they plan to do with her.”

  “I agree.” Brody walked barefoot beside him. “That’s why I came here to make sure she was all right. Leo thought the elves might have a spy here.”

  Romak? Silas wondered. Could Romak have been spying for Woodwyn?

  “I did some spying, myself, around the envoy and his secretary,” Brody continued. “People don’t watch what they say in front of a dog.”

  “What did you learn?”

  “They called Gwennore a princess.”

  Silas stopped again. Had he fallen in love with an elfin princess?

  “They had another name for her.” Brody winced. “But they said it with such disdain, it made me worry that if she did go to Woodwyn, she would be mistreated. She’s already endured enough prejudice. So I told Leo and Luciana that I didn’t think she should ever go.”

  Silas frowned. “What did they call her?”

  “Half-breed.”

  Silas blinked. “Half…?

  Brody nodded. “Obviously, she’s half elf. But the other … we have no idea.”

  Half-breed. Silas resumed his walk across the courtyard. Romak had known who her parents were, but he’d died before he could talk. Did that mean her parents were important? Powerful enough to silence a prisoner in another country?

  When Silas reached the group of soldiers at the entrance to the dungeon, he asked two of them to guard the workroom. As they dashed off, he led Brody inside.

  Half-breed. Silas had never heard of any elf coming across the border to have a child. And Gwennore had been born in Woodwyn. That meant someone, who was not an elf, had traveled to Woodwyn. And since Gwennore was a princess, that someone had had an affair with a member of the royal family.

  “You’re back,” Dimitri said as Silas approached with Brody. His eyes narrowed. “You brought the shifter.”

  Brody snorted. “Takes one to know one.”

  Dimitri stiffened.

  “It’s all right.” Silas motioned to last cell. “The body’s in there.”

  Brody slipped into the cell.

  “What’s he doing?” Dimitri whispered.

  “Seeing if he can detect the smell of the Chameleon,” Silas said. “It would explain why the murderer looked like Karlan but wasn’t Karlan.”

  Dimitri nodded, then leaned close. “Can we trust the shifter?”

  “I believe so.” Silas’s breath caught as a sudden thought occurred to him. “Dimitri, when did your uncle go to Woodwyn as an envoy? How long ago, exactly?”

  Dimitri tilted his head, considering. “It must be twenty-two years. Why do you ask?”

  Silas swallowed hard. The timing was right. Was Gwennore the daughter of Lord Tolenko? If so, she was Dimitri’s cousin and a member of one of the Three Cursed Clans. The daughter of a dragon shifter. Shit. That would explain why she could hear the dragons. Somehow, she’d inherited the gift from her father.

  “What is it?” Dimitri watched him with a worried look.

  “I—I need to be sure before I…” Silas took a deep breath. If his theory was right, then Gwennore belonged in Norveshka just as much as she did in Woodwyn. By the Light, he wasn’t giving her up.

  “It’s a good thing I’m here,” Brody said as he exited the cell. “I can tell you for sure who the murderer is.”

  Silas grew tense. “The Chameleon? He’s here in Norveshka?”

  Brody nodded. “I’ll help you find the bastard.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “The Chameleon is here?” Petras asked with an incredulous look. “In the castle?”

  “It’s possible,” Silas admitted.

  He’d asked for a private word with his brother, and Petras had taken him to his suite of rooms next door to the queen’s bedchamber. The king couldn’t bear to be separated from his ailing wife for very long.

  “Dimitri is taking the shifter, Brody, through the castle right now,” Silas reported. “If the Chameleon is still here, Brody will be able detect his scent.”

  “You can detect shifters, why don’t you do it?” Petras asked.

  “I’ve never met the Chameleon before, so I’m not familiar with his scent.”

  Petras frowned. “I don’t want that Brody staying here for long. He’s a spy for King Leofric.”

  Silas didn’t want to admit that Brody already knew their biggest secret, that some of the men from the Three Cursed Clans were dragons. “No one knows what the Chameleon actually looks like. Brody is our best bet at finding him.”

  “All right.” Petras paced nervously about his sitting room. “Do you think Romak was working for the Chameleon?”

  “Possibly, since the Chameleon killed him to keep him from talking. But there may be more people involved in this. The priest who paid Romak is currently headed south. Aleksi is following him to see who he reports to.”

  Petras slowed to a stop. “I was afraid something like this would happen. There could be a group of people trying to take over our country.”

  “That’s certainly possible, but don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “I have to worry! It’s my crown!” Petras slapped his chest, then fisted his hand. “The nobles are restless. I can hear them whispering about me. And my wife. They think I’m too distracted to rule. They think Freya’s going to die.”

  Silas groaned inwardly, recalling Gwen’s warning that the queen would not last much longer. “I hate to tell you this, Petras, but the queen—”

  “She’ll get better!” Petras shouted. “We just have to get rid of the curse. And then she’ll be healthy again, and we’ll have children. All the families will be able to have children.”

  “We’re working on it.”

  “You have to succeed!” Petras resumed his pacing. “The curse has made our entire country sick. It’s causing the madness, causing the plague, and it won’t stop until we’re all mad or dead!”

  Silas winced at the frantic gleam in his brother’s eyes. “Petras—”

  “Summer is coming soon.” Petras paced even faster. “That means the plague will come back. More people will die. And they’ll blame me for it. They’ll want my head!”

  “Petras!” Silas grabbed him by the shoulders. “It will be all right.”

  Petras’s eyes glimmered with tears as he clutched Silas’s shirt. “You’re the only heir I have. Don’t let them assassinate you.”

  Silas squeezed his brother’s shoulders. “I won’t.”

  “You should get married. Right away. Have some children. That will stop the nobles from conspiring behind our backs.”

  Marriage? An instant picture of Gwen popped into Silas’s mind and he stepped back, releasing his brother. Marry Gwennore?

  Why not? He didn’t want to let her go. Wasn’t marriage the best way to keep her by his side? Forever.

  He stood still, waiting for some sort of uneasy feeling to swamp him. After all, this would be a commitment for life.

  Gwen forever. Yes. A calmness spread through him, a peaceful feeling that he’d found his home, his strength, his refuge from any storm. Gwennore. Who could heal his heart and soothe his soul like her?

  “You’re smiling
.” Petras studied him closely. “You must have someone in mind.”

  “Yes. Lady Gwennore.”

  Petras stiffened with a jerk. “No! Anyone but her.”

  Silas gritted his teeth. “There is nothing wrong with her.”

  “The nobles will never accept an elf for their queen. You’ll cause a rebellion!”

  “On the contrary, I believe she could bring peace between our country and Woodwyn. The Norveshki people will appreciate not losing their loved ones to war.”

  “The elves will never want peace!” Petras hissed. “Look what they did to our last envoy. They killed him!”

  Silas shook his head. “We don’t know that for a fact. Lord Tolenko might be living quite happily in Woodwyn. I have reason to believe that he and an elfin princess are Gwennore’s parents.”

  “What?”

  “Lady Gwennore is only half elf. I believe the other half is Norveshki. She belongs here just as much as—”

  “That’s all speculation.” Petras waved a dismissive hand. “What proof do you have?”

  “She can hear the dragons. No elf can do that. She must have inherited the gift from Lord Tolenko. That makes her the daughter of a dragon shifter.”

  Petras frowned. “Then she’s too closely related to us.”

  Silas snorted. “It would mean that Gwen and I have ancestors who were brothers five hundred years ago. None of your objections will deter me, Petras. She’s the one I want. I love her.”

  “No one will accept her!”

  “They will.” Silas gave his brother a pleading look. “You married for love. Allow me to do the same.”

  Petras glanced at the door that led to his wife’s room. “What will you do when you see the woman you love succumbing to madness just like our mother did?”

  Silas swallowed hard. He and Gwennore had to succeed. The Light help him, if he had to watch Gwen grow sick and lose their children, he would go mad with despair.

  Was that why Petras had become so paranoid?

  Petras shook his head. “You can’t marry her. It will cause trouble.”

  “Give me some time. When Gwennore and I get rid of the curse, you’ll think differently.”

  Petras started pacing again. “That’s the problem. This damned curse. All our troubles go back to the curse.” He halted, giving Silas a pointed look. “If you fail, I’m going to do what Fafnir tells me to do.”