The Warrior Princess (Made For Each Other: The Dragon Shifters Book 3)

by Renee Carr

  “Your Highnesses,” the brothers chorused, dipping to bow only because they were in the company of the other guards. Normally, in private, they did not display such formalities to each other.

  “Why are you wearing blue?” Nathan asked Joshua, who smiled.

  “It makes my eyes pop,” he said and Leah snorted behind him. Nathan gave Leah a strange look, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he glanced at his watch.

  “How long?” he asked and Leah checked the official schedule.

  “Should be soon, my lord,” she said. “I’ll go and check.”

  “Well, I think you look nice,” Ivy said to Joshua. “Don’t listen to these traditionalists.”

  “Get all that language out now,” Nathan reminded her and Ivy opened her mouth to say a few more things that would not be well accepted in official duty. Cory grinned, about to join in, when the doors to the banquet hall opened. “Never mind. Time to go.”

  “See you guys on the other side,” Cory said, getting ready to enter first. On the other side of the doors, everyone in the banquet hall rose.

  “Prince Cory,” came the footman’s voice. “Last heir to the Dragon throne, Duke of Benice, and Count of Trance.”

  “Do you remember when you showed me all those titles for the first time?” Ivy asked Nathan. “The list was longer than my arm.”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I have a hard time remembering all of mine. And it seems as more of the title holders die without an heir, the longer our list grows.”

  “Is that because they revert back to the crown?” she asked and he nodded. “Well, it’s a good thing you have two brothers, then.”

  “Prince Joshua, heir to the Dragon throne, Duke of Terance, Count of Narbonne, Baron of the East Lands.”

  “I’m so going to the buffet first,” Joshua said as he brushed past his brothers. Leah was standing on the other side of the door, waiting until they were all in before she shut the doors.

  “One day, we have to go first,” Ivy said. “We never get the good things.”

  “The platters are passed to us first,” Nathan reminded her in disbelief.

  “Maybe I just miss McDonald’s,” she said and he gave her a little bump on the hip as their time came.

  “King Nathan and Queen Ivy, Rulers of the Dragon Kingdom, Duke and Duchess of...”

  The footman continued on for a full minute and Ivy knew that he didn’t even get into all the titles. She took Nathan’s arm and they entered the banquet room. Everyone bowed and stayed that way until they got to the head table and sat down.

  There were so many people swirling around that Ivy knew there was no hope in remembering any of their names. Instead, she sat beside her husband, smiling and shaking hands, and giving the occasional comment as people approached. She noted, however, that Joshua’s attention seemed a bit diverted.

  “Do you know who that is?” he leaned over to ask her at some point. Ivy followed his gaze to the young woman in question. Trailing behind a much older man, who Ivy assumed was the woman’s father, she was worth looking at. In a blue dress, with her hair piled on her head and her arms bare, it was clear she was more than the usual meek debutante. Her arms had muscles on them, and her legs seemed to go on for days. Her dress was taut against her stomach, and her eyes were sharp as she looked around. Her gaze eventually landed on Joshua’s face, and the prince couldn’t help but stare back.

  “I am literally the worst person to ask,” Ivy said. “But I don’t believe I’ve seen her before.”

  “Right,” Joshua said and took a sip of wine. “Maybe I’ll ask her to dance.”

  “Bold,” Ivy said with a grin. “Maybe she’ll reject you.”

  “Who rejects a prince?” Joshua grinned, standing up and going to cross the room. Ivy turned back to Nathan, who still had a full plate of food in front of him. She wasn’t going to ask him if he wanted to eat, because eating was an issue with Nathan at the best of times. He couldn’t control everything about the food, so he often left it. Instead, she distracted him.

  “Did it bother you that I didn’t fall all over you on our first date?” she asked. Nathan turned to her, surprised.

  “What an odd question,” he said and Ivy shook her head.

  “Joshua just said something that interested me,” she said. “He said that no one rejects a prince. But I basically rejected you.”

  “That you did,” he said with a smile. “And it didn’t bother me. It intrigued me.”

  “How can you ever know if you’re dancing with a person truly interested in you, then?” she asked. “If hardly any woman does it?”

  “What are you referring to?” he asked, and Ivy pointed across the room, where Joshua was approaching the young woman. “Ah. Well, I suppose... you don’t. You just have to trust that people are responding with genuine interest. You also can figure it out as time goes on. The longer you are around someone, the more you know what is truth and what is not.”

  “I suppose,” she took a drink of the sweet wine in front of her. “Maybe you aren’t truly attracted to me. Maybe you just have a thing for concert singers.”

  “If I didn’t before, I do now,” he smiled at her, and she winked. At the very least, she had a feeling that she had something to look forward to when the night was over. And from the look on Joshua’s face, he might as well.

  Chapter 3

  “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Joshua said as he approached the pair that he had spotted from the head table. “Prince Joshua, at your service.”

  “Ambassador Torentino,” said the man, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you at last, my prince. I’ve heard many things.”

  “All good things, I hope,” Joshua said and turned to the young woman beside him. “And you are...?”

  “This is my daughter, Christine,” the ambassador said. “I was thrilled for the post on Knorpp because she lives here these days.”

  “Do you?” Joshua said, smiling at Christine. “What do you think of the planet?”

  “I like it,” Christine said as she dipped low to greet the prince. “We come from a small planet, so it’s much more... exciting here.”

  “And do you like excitement?” Joshua asked. Her eyes sparkled.

  “I do,” she said. “And I’ve never been to the palace before. This is stunning.”

  “Perhaps you’d like to see more of the ballroom?” he asked, holding out his arm. She paused, confused. “Would you like to dance?”

  “Oh,” Christine said, and turned to her father. The ambassador laughed.

  “My darling daughter, you certainly don’t need my permission.”

  “I would love to,” Christine said, and took Joshua’s arm. “I’m not much of a singer, but I’m told I can be light on my feet.”

  “It’s okay,” he smiled reassuringly. “I’ll lead.”

  “Oh, I can lead,” Christine said, and Joshua was surprised by her strength as they got onto the dance floor. Her posture was straight and her grip was strong. She didn’t know the steps, but she was graceful, and her body flowed through the moves that she learned quickly.

  “Why did you move here?” he asked.

  “Work,” she said. “How do you not get lost in such a palace?”

  “Oh, I get lost all the time,” he admitted as they swirled through the other singers. He passed Leah and smiled, raising his eyebrows to ask her opinion. Leah shrugged slightly, watching the two of them. Her eyes had several questions and he made a note to fill her in as soon as the dance was over. If anything, Leah liked to know who the princes were talking to, just in case she had inside information on someone having ulterior motives.

  “Who’s that?” Christine asked as they danced.

  “Who?” he said, looking around at the many faces they passed.

  “The guard?” she asked. “There?”

  “Oh, that’s Leah,” he said. “She’s my deputy captain.”

  “So that’s Leah,” Christine replied. “I’ve heard such stories.”r />
  “Have you now?” he asked. “Like what?”

  “That she took down an entire pack of wolf shifters by herself in the Aramon Forests,” Christine said. “Or that she managed to track a lion through three planets without a break.”

  “That’s Leah,” Joshua said. “Although in the defense of the tales the bards tell, it was a small wolf pack.”

  “It’s impressive,” Christine said, and Joshua laughed.

  “Some days,” he said as the dance ended. “Thank you, that was wonderful. Perhaps we could do it again in a few minutes?”

  “Of course,” she said. “I shall be pleased at the chance to get to know you better.”

  “See you soon,” he said and she headed back to her father. He found Leah and crossed the dance floor, sneaking her a cookie as promised.

  “She’s the ambassador's daughter, that’s all,” Joshua said as Leah took the cookie gratefully. “Probably not a threat.”

  “Didn’t think she was,” Leah said. “I’ve just never seen her before. Also...”

  She was about to say something when suddenly, she choked. Joshua thought she had just failed to chew properly, and turned to her. However, he could see right away that she wasn’t choking. Her eyes were wide and watering and her lips were swelling up.

  “Leah?” he asked in alarm. She put her hands to her throat and choked again, panicked. She had never had a problem with anything. Leah’s metabolism was fast, and she ate everything and anything in order to keep her body full of power. Joshua was certain that she out ate him most days. She certainly didn’t suffer from any allergies. “Leah, are you okay?”

  She shook her head, and he could see the color fading from her face.

  “Help!” he cried as his knees buckled. He reached to catch her, as she continued to choke. Her airway was clearly closing and there was nothing he could do by himself. “Help! A doctor! Help!”

  The palace medical bay was not far, and he saw someone run out the door in order to get help. Joshua took the glass of water that someone shoved in his hand, and tried to get Leah to drink something. At this point, her entire face was swelling and she was barely making any noise.

  “HELP!” he shouted again, feeling completely useless.

  Cory and Nathan rushed over, their faces pale.

  “What’s happening?” Cory asked.

  “If I knew that, I’d be able to help her,” Joshua cried frantically. “I just gave her a cookie and this happened.”

  A doctor rushed in then with a handful of supplies. He pushed through the crowd to see the situation and then dropped to his knees beside Joshua and Leah.

  “Hold her down,” he said to Joshua. Before the prince could speak, the doctor jabbed a giant syringe into Leah’s thigh. It caused a lot of blood to appear and Leah’s body jerked twice as he pulled it out. And then, to Joshua’s relief, she choked and began to gasp, her airways clearly open again.

  “Oh, thank Creator,” Joshua breathed, shifting so that Leah could lie in his arms. “Thank Creator.”

  “What is she allergic to?” the doctor asked and Joshua shook his head.

  “Nothing, as far as I know,” he said as a stretcher arrived. “It’s okay, Leah. It’s okay. Everything is going to be alright.”

  “I’m sorry,” the deputy captain managed and Joshua shook his head.

  “Don’t be sorry,” he said. “You livened up the party.”

  “Go with her,” Ivy said to Joshua. The prince turned to his Alpha, who nodded.

  “Of course,” Nathan said. The princes were supposed to be a constant presence at a banquet like this, but he wasn’t about to disallow Joshua to be with his best friend in the med bay.

  “Charles, Steven,” Joshua snapped his fingers at the two guards who were standing close by. “You’re in charge. Alert me in the med bay if there are any other incidences.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison. Joshua then put a hand on Leah’s leg and followed the stretcher out.

  “Well, that was exciting,” Ivy said to Nathan .

  “That’s one word for it,” Nathan said. “I hope she’ll be alright. Joshua will be lost without her.”

  “She’ll be alright,” Ivy said. “I know women like Leah, and they are fierce. Although she might never eat cookies again.”

  Meanwhile, in the medical bay, Joshua was trying not to panic. Leah’s airways were closing again and all they could do was give her another shot, and then prepare to intubate her if it got worse. They stuck on IV in her arm and then got her a room, making it clear that she wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon. They were just as baffled as Joshua was that she was having a reaction to something with no prior history of any reactions. It was quite confusing, and Leah looked more annoyed than frightened once the medication got into her system.

  “I don’t want to stay,” she muttered to Joshua, who was sitting by her bedside. The entire med bay was ablaze with whispers that the prince was there. Joshua offered to have her transferred to a private room, but Leah wouldn’t hear of it. She often rejected the luxury that being close to him could offer, and he admired her for it. Leah was the one thing in his life that seemed to be truthful and consistent. Everything else seemed to be smoke and mirrors.

  “I don’t think that’s generally up to you,” he said. “You put life into a party that was desperately trying. You are entitled to some relaxation time.”

  “Tell me more about that girl you were dancing with,” she said and Joshua chuckled.

  “She was quite good on her feet for someone who claimed that she didn’t know how to dance.”

  “Maybe she’s a spy,” Leah said, and then shifted, looking at the arm her IV was in. “Ow. Ow.”

  The alarm went off and Joshua panicked, standing up to call for help.

  “Okay, we’re going to move you,” a nurse said, when she rushed in. “We’re going to get you to transform, Leah. That should give you a bit of relief and also let us take your blood in dragon form.”

  “I’d rather not, when we are inside,” Leah protested, but Joshua didn’t really care. He helped the nurses move her into a large room in the hospital that was kept just for that purpose. Pushing a dragon’s transformation facilitated rapid healing and it also allowed them to have a deeper look at what was going on inside the body.

  Leah was a medium-sized dragon, strong and full of muscle. Joshua had flown beside her a hundred times, and he could tell as soon as she transformed that she would be alright. Her color was stronger and she stood tall and proud as she managed to expand her wings and give them a flap. She didn’t blink when they took some blood and then transformed back, like an expert.

  “Better?” he asked and she nodded.

  “Of course,” she said. “Being a dragon makes everything better.”

  “That’s not necessarily true,” said the doctor who was attending her. “But in this case, I think it has. I’ll spin your blood and see what turns up, but I suspect this could be a one-time occurrence.”

  “Of course,” Leah said. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” Joshua shook the doctor’s hand. “I need my deputy back and quickly.”

  “I think you can have her back tomorrow,” the doctor said. “Rest up tonight, Leah, and if it doesn’t happen again, you can be free in the morning.”

  “Not soon enough,” Leah grinned but agreed to obey the rules. She turned to Joshua, who was standing close to her in case she collapsed. “Want to work, then?”

  “Sure,” he said with a shrug. The paperwork that the two of them had to fill out couldn’t be too tiresome. “Let me just go tell the others that you’re alright, and then I’ll be back.”

  “I’ll get started without you,” she said and Joshua laughed.

  “You always do,” he said, and headed back to the palace.

  Chapter 4

  “You’re still going?” Nathan asked in surprise when Joshua reminded him that he and Leah were headed off to view the new recruits in an hour. “Wasn’t she jus
t in the med bay?”

  “She’s fine and she’s been out of the med bay for two days now,” Joshua said with a shrug. “They don’t know why it happened, but they are pretty sure that it isn’t going to happen again.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Nathan said. “What if it does?”

  “Well, we are viewing new recruits, not going straight into battle,” Joshua replied. “So I think it’s fine.”

  “As long as you are sure,” Nathan said. “I hope that you come back with several new recruits.”

  “Several?” Joshua said. “Do you doubt my ability to do my job?”

  “No, not at all,” Nathan answered. “I just think that we are all going to get old one day.”

  “One day,” Joshua said.

  “But that day is not this day,” Nathan stated. “Have fun.”

  “Always do,” Joshua said and headed to the hanger.

  Leah was already there and he was relieved to see that she looked much better than she had even the day before.

  “It was an adventure,” she said with a shrug. “But I doubt that it will happen again. I’m tough.”

  “I know,” Joshua agreed as they boarded the ship. They had briefly considered flying themselves, but if they actually did find some recruits, then they would have to fly back with them, and flying with a pack they didn’t know was difficult. Leah and Joshua enjoyed swooping and diving, dangerous moves that came with years of practice. “But sometimes, we are all mortal.”

  “Are you talking about John?” she asked as they took their seats. Joshua very rarely talked about John. Leah knew that his oldest brother’s death had affected him deeply, but Nathan had been the closest to John. It sometimes seemed like Nathan was the only one who felt entitled to grief.

  “All of us,” Joshua said with a shrug. “And sometimes it’s expected and sometimes it’s not.”

  “Joshua,” Leah gave him a look. “I’m not going to die.”

  “Well, hopefully not anytime soon,” Joshua said as the ship swept through the sky. “We have so much to do in the next few days.”