by Zoe Chant
The queen glanced at the glint of gold showing through Lucas’s fingers. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
One morning Journey woke to find Lucas’s bed empty and the shower running. She sat bolt upright, her heart lifting. It was the first time since been poisoned that he’d been strong enough to do more than walk the few paces to and from the bathroom, leaning heavily on someone’s arm.
The sound of the shower stopped. A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened. Lucas stepped out, his hair wet and his gold chains gleaming, walking by himself for the first time in a week.
“Lucas,” Journey began. Her voice caught, and she was unable to go on.
“I was tired of sponge baths,” he said.
She ran up and threw her arms around him. He bent down and kissed her. His lips were hot again, the touch of his skin like a midsummer day. She hadn’t cried once in the entire time he’d been so ill. She’d wanted to be strong for him. But as if his heat had melted something in her, she abruptly dissolved into a flood of tears. He held her tight, standing steady as a pillar of steel, while she sobbed on his shoulder.
“I was so afraid you’d die,” she gasped. “And it was because of me. You let yourself be poisoned to protect me. I wish it had been me instead.”
“Journey...” Lucas stroked her back and shoulders. “You must not feel guilty about that. I am glad it happened as it did. If it had been you who had come so close to death, I could not have borne it. I think this time has been harder for you than it has been for me.”
Journey wiped her face, trying to get control of herself. “I don’t know about that.”
“I have the benefit of not recalling much of it,” Lucas admitted, then hastily added, “And you needn’t recount it for me. From what I do remember, I would be embarrassed. Though I am very curious how I seem to have acquired the prize nugget from my aunt’s hoard.”
“You were in pain and you couldn’t sleep,” Journey said. “She gave it to you to make you feel better.”
Lucas stared at her. “Dragons don’t do that. A small item, perhaps. A diamond they are not fond of. But not their best gold nugget!”
“I think she felt guilty over mistreating you when you were a boy.”
He still looked baffled. “She never mistreated me.”
“She let your great-uncle be cruel to you.”
“None of us thought of it as cruelty at the time.” Lucas’s gaze strayed to his bed, where a glint of gold was visible from under the pillow. “Well, that was very kind of her. It’s an exceptionally fine nugget.”
“Are you going to give it back?” Journey inquired mischievously.
He looked appalled. “I slept on it.”
Journey laughed.
After that, Lucas recovered quickly. Once he could eat again, the palace cooks sent a non-stop stream of delicacies to his room, and he rapidly regained the weight he had lost. Soon he was walking around the palace, and then the gardens, and finally the city.
Journey took him to meet the Florescus, who were delighted to see Journey again— and be visited by a prince.
“Come see me in America,” Journey suggested.
“In Lummox?” Stefania asked doubtfully.
Lucas shook his head. “In Santa Martina. It’s a big city in California, between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I have an apartment there.”
“Oooh,” Stefania squealed. “And Journey will be sharing it!”
“That’s right.” It was one of the things she and Lucas had decided while he’d been recovering.
“Can I go?” Stefania started to turn to her parents, then exclaimed, “Ha! I’m an adult now! I don’t need to ask. I’ll take my backpack by myself, just like Journey. And Doru will go with me!”
Her mother smiled. “Of course you may go to America. But you needn’t take a backpack.”
“Now that those awful treaties with Viorel have been cancelled, I’m not worried about money,” Mr. Florescu added. “We can all visit America!”
After they left the Florescus, Lucas said thoughtfully, “I wish I’d paid more attention to what ordinary people thought of those treaties. I was so convinced that it would sully my honor to break the engagement, I didn’t give any thought as to whether it would even be good for Brandusa. I suppose it goes to show that I never was meant to be a king.”
Journey put her arm around his waist. “Looking forward to going home?”
“Yes. Very much. But before we go, I want to get you something.”
He strode along the cobblestones, making her hurry to keep up. His body was once again hot against hers, his stride energetic, his amber eyes bright and clear.
She was beyond glad that he was well again. And she’d never forget that he’d willingly endured agony to protect her.
Lucas escorted her into the fanciest jewelry shop in the city. Journey had seen it before and even wistfully stared into the windows, but had never had the nerve to go inside. It looked like the sort of place that wouldn’t welcome broke backpackers.
“Pr— Er— Welcome!” The jeweler stammered, obviously uncertain what to call Lucas. “May I show you something?”
Everyone who encountered Lucas had that awkward moment. Brandusan royalty had no surnames. (To Journey’s amusement, he had told her that a confused DMV person had issued his American driver’s license to “Lucas Blank.”) Prince Lucas was no longer correct, but Lucas by itself was far too intimate for strangers. In Brandusa, only friends and relatives addressed each other by their first names alone.
“We would like to see everything,” Lucas replied. “Please open the cases.”
As they began to inspect the jewelry, Journey suggested, “You should give yourself a surname. What about Gold?”
Lucas shook his head. “Too American. It would feel false.”
“I know what you mean,” Journey replied. “I’m never going to like Lummox, but it’s still a part of me. If I’d grown up somewhere more interesting, maybe I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to get out and see the world.”
“I could be Dragomir, perhaps,” Lucas said, after a moment. “I believe I have some long-lost distant relatives of that name.”
“I like that.”
He lifted a necklace from the case in front of her. “This? Or the name?”
“Both.” She ran her fingers over the pendant dangling from a delicate gold chain. It was small but beautifully detailed, depicting a dragon in flight. Now that she had seen dragons, she knew it was also completely accurate.
“Choose as many pieces as you wish,” Lucas said. “You should have something to wear for all occasions. But I would like you to have one that you wear always. Like a wedding ring. But it needn’t be a ring. It could be any shape, so long as it’s gold.”
The more she looked at the pendant, the more she liked it. “Would this do?”
“Perfectly.” Lucas took it from her hand and pressed it to his lips. Then he lifted her hair to clasp it around her neck. It was still warm from his touch, and settled into the hollow of her throat as if it had been made for her.
They selected several more pieces: a wrap-around gold chain bracelet similar to his but with smaller links, a pair of teardrop emerald earrings, an elegant choker of diamonds and aquamarines, a silver ring shaped like a fish holding a pearl in its mouth, and an exquisite star sapphire ring. But her favorite was the dragon pendant that meant as much to Lucas as a wedding ring.
“Enough,” she said at last. “I won’t be able to walk!”
“You needn’t wear them all at once,” Lucas replied, though she was certain he would like it if she did. Gold and jewels meant far more to a dragon than their monetary worth.
“You can buy me more in America,” she suggested.
That promise extracted him from of the shop. Outside, she stood in the sunlight wearing the jewelry he’d bought her, enjoying his heated gaze on her.
“I could wear it all to bed,” she suggested. “And nothing else.”
�
��Yes,” Lucas said, his voice lowering to a purr. “You should do that.”
They returned to the castle and said their farewells. Lucas packed his hoard, possessively fingering the queen’s gold nugget before he tucked it away and tied the pouch around his waist. Journey hefted her old backpack, which she’d retrieved from the Florescus’ home.
On her way out, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and laughed. “A king’s ransom in gold and jewels, and a beat-up backpack that’s been rained on in half the countries in Europe.”
“Cherish that backpack,” said Lucas. “It’s been a good friend to you.”
“It has.” As they walked up the stairs, she asked, “Is there anything like that for you? I mean, other than your hoard?”
“While I was at Protection, Inc., I did become attached to my car and my gun.” Lucas frowned. “Unfortunately, I gave them away. It would be ungentlemanly to attempt to take them back. I could buy new ones, but...”
He’d told her the story of his break with Protection, Inc. and how bad he felt about it, and confessed that he didn’t know how they’d react when he returned.
“But that particular car and gun were special,” she finished. “You know, Lucas, I think you’re worrying too much about those guys. It sounded to me like they were pissed off because they care about you and you were shutting them out.”
“Perhaps.” He sounded doubtful.
On the roof, she watched him become a dragon. Like the necklace he’d given her or Lucas himself, it was something that never ceased to bring her joy. When the sparks faded, she climbed on his back and they launched into the blue.
The trip took several days, for they stopped to spend the night in hotels in various countries. Though they’d never gotten engaged, much less married, Journey felt like they were on their honeymoon.
At last they flew into Santa Martina. Journey had never been there before, and it had been a year since she’d been anywhere in America. She wondered if she’d settle in as if she’d never left or if she’d feel like a foreign traveler in her own country.
Lucas landed on a rooftop. Journey slid off and watched him transform in a whirlwind of gold.
“Is this your apartment?” she asked doubtfully. It was in a business district and looked like an office building.
“No, it’s—” Lucas broke off. “My apologies. I was thinking of going home. It seems my dragon had his own idea about where that was. This is Protection, Inc. I could fly you to my apartment now, though. I’m sure you’d prefer to shower and change your clothes before you see anyone.”
Journey nudged him in the ribs. “You mean, you’d prefer to shower and change.”
And put off seeing them, she thought. Though he appeared as cool and collected as ever, she knew how tense he had to be.
His amber gaze met hers, and she knew that he had guessed her thought. “Then come meet my team.”
He led her down a flight of stairs and into a sleek lobby. Journey set her backpack on the floor and went to get a better look at the framed photos on the walls. They were all of wild animals— a grizzly bear, a snow leopard, a wolf, a tiger, a panther, a pride of lions, and...
“It’s you!” She pointed to a photo of the palace at Brandusa, the white marble bathed in a sunlit glow, with a golden dragon circling overhead.
Lucas was eyeing it as if he’d never seen it before. “Hal never took it down. I told him I wouldn’t come back. I never called to say otherwise. But I’m still here with the rest of the team.”
A deep voice rumbled behind them, “That’s because you are part of the team.”
“You idiot,” a woman’s voice added.
Journey turned to see a tall, burly man with hazel eyes and a short, curvy black woman standing in the doorway. She recognized them from Lucas’s descriptions as Hal Brennan, the leader of Protection, Inc., and Destiny Ford. More people crowded in behind them.
“What’ve you been doing all this time?” demanded a young man with tattooed arms and intense green eyes. He had to be Nick Mackenzie, the guy whose nose Lucas had broken. When she looked closely, she could see a tiny bump on its bridge.
“I’ve been teaching a horse to fly,” Lucas replied.
Nick stared at him. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Journey almost jumped out of her skin when a tall man with black hair and ice-blue eyes appeared beside Lucas. She’d somehow failed to notice him in the crowd. He handed Lucas a gold-plated gun. “Best pistol I’ve ever fired. Thanks for the loan.”
An elegant blonde woman snatched the gun from Lucas’s hands. “I don’t think so, Shane. Lucas left without saying good-bye. He doesn’t deserve nice things like Desert Eagles.”
“I let Fiona borrow it,” Shane informed Lucas. “She liked it too. Now you’ll never get it back.”
Destiny put her hands on her hips. “I’m definitely not giving back the Porsche Carrera. That’s your punishment for disappearing on us!”
A handsome Latino man remarked, “I don’t mind returning your apartment, but I don’t know if you’ll want it back. I’ve completely redecorated. I put a mirror on the ceiling over the bed... Installed a hot tub... Hung some red velvet drapes for atmosphere... Oh, and the bed vibrates now. But you might like that.”
Lucas looked briefly horrified, then laughed. “I’ll have it all delivered to your apartment, Rafa. Shall I throw in a box of extra-small condoms?”
Rafa put on an exaggeratedly wounded look. Destiny licked her finger, then snatched it back. “Burn!”
Hal strode forward and clapped Lucas on the back. “Welcome home.”
Lucas’s eyes shone, but with a clear light rather than a hot one. Journey had never seen him cry, but she suspected that he was holding back tears. When he spoke, his voice was suspiciously choked-up. “Thank you, Hal. Everyone... I am sorry about how I left. And I am glad to be back.”
Everyone immediately began talking amongst themselves. Journey could see they were giving Lucas space to recover his composure. She appreciated that right up to the point where they started talking to her.
“Hey, Red. Are you that fucking foreign princess he had to marry?” Nick demanded.
“Nope,” Journey said. “I’m a backpacker from Lummox.”
“Where the fuck is Lummox?”
“It’s in the middle of fucking nowhere, North Dakota,” Journey replied. “And by the way, Lummox doesn’t have much but it does have the fucking f-word. You’re going to have to try harder if you want to shock me.”
The exchange had gone by so quickly that Lucas hadn’t had a chance to say anything. But in the pause that followed, he stepped forward, his eyes burning hot. “Nick, you will not speak like that to my mate!”
Nick gave Lucas and Journey an unrepentant grin. “We’re cool. Just wanted to make sure.”
“Make sure of what?” Lucas inquired icily.
Make sure I’m good enough for you, Journey thought. She grinned back at Nick, suddenly liking him.
Nick rolled his eyes at Lucas. “Make sure she’s not the fucking foreign princess they were trying to stick you with. Duh.”
Fiona’s sharp gaze raked over Journey’s necklace and rings. “I see that you appreciate fine jewelry. I don’t imagine there’s much of that in Lummox.”
Journey bristled at the implication of gold-digging. Her hand went protectively to her dragon pendant.
Lucas turned to the blonde woman. Journey expected him to be angry, but his voice was unexpectedly gentle. “Fiona. That is unworthy of you. Journey risked her life to save mine. She fought by my side. She took care of me day and night when I was poisoned—”
“Poisoned!” Destiny grabbed him by the arm, her soft brown eyes wide with concern. “Lucas, my God! Are you all right?”
“I am now. Thanks to my mate.”
“Really.” Shane’s cold eyes fixed on Journey.
He did nothing but look at her, but she knew in her gut that she was in terrible danger. He was going to kill her, right there
and then. Not even Lucas could save her. Desperately, knowing it was a useless gesture, she snatched up her backpack and flung it at him.
“What the—” Rafa exclaimed.
“Shane!” Lucas yelled. “How dare you!”
Journey stared, bewildered, as Lucas slammed Shane into the wall.
Shane didn’t fight or even blink, though his ribs had have been bruised at the very least. Instead, he addressed Journey over Lucas’s shoulder. “You’re a fighter. That’s good. I could teach you some actual techniques some time, if you like.”
The sense of danger vanished as if it had never been. Her fear gave way to curiosity. “How did you do that?” Hopefully, she asked, “Magic?”
Shane’s cool blue gaze met hers, full of mysteries she was never going to solve. “Just a thing I do.”
“Lucas, let go of him,” Hal ordered.
Reluctantly, Lucas released his grip on Shane’s shoulders. Then he turned to address the entire room. “Journey is my mate and I love her. If you must doubt someone’s worthiness, doubt mine.”
His amber gaze caught and held each team member in turn until they nodded their acceptance.
Destiny broke the silence. “Sorry about the hazing. The testosterone can get pretty thick around here.”
“Speak for yourself,” retorted Fiona. But she turned to Journey and said, “My apologies. I just—”
“You just had to be sure,” Journey said resignedly.
Hal cleared his throat. “Journey, Protection, Inc. would like to invite you to lunch to make up for being a bunch of macho idiots. Right, guys?”
A hasty chorus of assent rose. The next thing Journey knew, she and Lucas were sitting down with the rest of Protection, Inc., eating some of the best order-in sandwiches she’d had in her life.
Hal called his mate, Ellie, and she joined them halfway through. To Journey’s relief, either Ellie didn’t haze or Hal had warned her not to, because she was nothing but sweet to Journey. But so was everyone else. The hazing had been nerve-rattling, but she wasn’t angry at them. They’d only been trying to look out for Lucas.
After lunch, the team said their good-byes and left. On their way out, Fiona gave Lucas his gold pistol, Destiny gave him his car keys, and Rafa gave him his apartment keys and a wink. Finally, they were left alone.