Twiceborn Endgame (The Proving Book 3)
Page 26
“Good. Then all that remains is to decide which queen takes which domain. When you have had time to bury your queens you may send a delegation to me, and we will discuss the most suitable distribution of domains.”
My sisters eyed me, some speculatively, others with a more resentful gleam in their eye, but no one questioned my right to dispose the dragon empires of the world as I saw fit. Sometimes it was good to be the queen.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Morning sun slanted through the gap under the half-closed blind and fell on the clothes abandoned on the floor, making a trail from the door to the bed. I grinned and snuggled down under the sheet. My partner grunted sleepily and flung a muscled arm around me, pulling me closer.
Last night had been my reward for all the crap I’d had to put up with in the last couple of months. Last night and the night before that and the night before that … Obviously I needed a lot of rewarding.
I’d thought the negotiations over the division of Oceania had been bad, but they were nothing compared with the bickering over which sister got which of the vacant thrones. Between the jostling for prime real estate from my sisters, and the manoeuvrings of the interested parties in each domain, it had been enough to try the patience of a saint. And clearly I was never going to be a candidate for canonisation.
We’d managed to settle some of the disputes early, which had fooled me into thinking this might be simpler than I’d feared. Valiant had laid claim to South America straight away. She said she’d always been fascinated by that part of the world. Of course it didn’t hurt that Spain was part of the package. Charity, rather surprisingly, had gotten quite chummy with two male dragons from Africa, and her decision to take the African throne seemed to make all parties happy.
The problem was Europe, Celeste’s old domain. Head and shoulders above the others in terms of riches, it was the most fiercely contested. At one stage Hope and Prudence almost came to blows, and in the end it was only settled when I threatened to pull names out of a hat if they couldn’t come to an agreement another way. The European male dragons and some of the higher shifters eventually chose Prudence over Hope, which I can’t say broke my heart.
I annexed Japan into Oceania, which made sense geographically. Japan had always been a tiny domain, and it only existed separately for historical reasons, which were hardly relevant any more considering the Japanese line had died out years ago.
I rolled over and burrowed my face into the crook of Garth’s neck. He smelled of wolf and wind and blood, as he always did, that wild scent that was part of his nature, but he also smelled of sex and hard-earned sweat. I took a deep breath of him. I could wake up next to that smell every day.
“Whassa time?” he grunted.
“It’s still early. Go back to sleep.”
For answer his arm tightened around me, and the other hand buried itself in my hair. Yes, it had been an interesting few weeks. It was a wonder we’d found any time for ourselves amid the madness. Our revelations about Taskforce Jaeger had almost brought down the government, and had forced a change in prime minister. He’d stepped down with bad grace, then watched, scowling, from the back bench as his successor rescinded his controversial anti-shifter legislation. The new guy was a vast improvement. He’d invited me to become the official representative of the shifters, and I’d given my first official press conference last week.
Luce had helped me write my speech, which was still being replayed all around the world.
“We have always lived among you,” I’d said, doing my best to hide my nerves. This was a big deal, and first impressions were so important. I’d worn a simple shift dress in a dark green that complimented my eyes and set off my auburn hair. Nice, but not too dressy. I wanted to look like an ordinary person. “We always will. Nothing has changed except that now you know about us. We are you. Your child’s kindergarten teacher, your dentist, that helpful mechanic at the local garage. Were you scared of the woman on the checkout at the supermarket before? Of course not. There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
I was quite proud of that speech, and I thought Roosevelt wouldn’t mind if I appropriated one of his best lines. It seemed to fit the circumstances so well.
Of course things weren’t going to be as easy as all that. There was still a large and vocal number of people who thought we should all be burnt at the stake. You didn’t have to look too far to find some nutter calling down God’s wrath on the unholy, but an encouraging number of people seemed to be coming around to the idea of peaceful coexistence with the monsters.
The fashion industry was in mourning for Maria. The fact that she’d been a dragon didn’t stop the tributes from pouring in, and the many heads of fashion houses talking about the great loss to the world of haute couture. In fact, it didn’t seem to bother them at all that she’d been a dragon. It seemed only secondary to the consideration of her talent as a designer.
I pulled back from Garth, giving myself room to admire his hard body. His sculpted chest was thick with hair, as were his arms and legs. Werewolves always had a lot of body hair. Just as well pretty smooth-skinned boys weren’t my thing.
His eyes opened, and his aura blazed with orange fire as he dragged himself fully from sleep. Like a wild animal, he seemed to have a sixth sense that told him when someone was staring at him.
“What?” His tone was gruff, but his lips curved in a welcoming smile. Those lips were full and oh-so-kissable, I was discovering.
“Nothing. Just admiring the view.”
“View, my arse.”
“I’m happy to look at that too. You might have to roll over, though.”
He growled, but he was still smiling. He looked ten years younger when he smiled, and he was smiling a lot these days. It was as if the goblins had stolen grumpy Garth and left this grinning changeling in his place.
“I was thinking about Jason,” I said.
He cocked one eyebrow. “Why? You fancy a threesome?”
“Get your mind out of the gutter.” I swatted at him, but he caught my hand and started trailing kisses up my arm. “I made sure to tell the girls all about him.” It had been a full and satisfying account of all my ex’s many character flaws. “There’s no way any of them could take him in, is there?”
“You asking me or trying to convince yourself?” His grey eyes sparkled down at me as he paused in his kiss trail.
“Bit of both. I can’t imagine that he’d manage to fool one of them, but you know what Jason’s like. He can be very charming when it suits him.”
“Forget him. He’ll probably go into real estate in some pokey little town and fleece rich divorcees out of their money.”
The thought was cheering. Not for the rich divorcees, of course, but the idea of Jason reduced to a salesman to make ends meet held definite appeal.
Garth had kissed his way to my shoulder, where he was distracted by my hair, drawing strands of it across his face, nuzzling into it.
“I’ve always had a thing for redheads, you know. Can’t believe I’m waking up next to one in my bed every day.”
I smirked up at him. “My bed.”
He gave me a challenging stare, then laughed, a sound of mingled joy and disbelief. “Our bed.”
“Yes.” I liked the sound of that. “Our bed.”
Our bed. Our lives, together now. I felt at ease with him in a way I’d never experienced with Ben. Garth not only accepted me for who I was—dragon and all—but rejoiced in it. The fierce pride and love I saw in his eyes when I took trueshape was a reflection of my own when I saw his wolf. Ben had never accepted me as a dragon, but with Garth there were no reservations. We were two predators together, glorying in each other’s strength and ferocity. Right for each other.
If only he’d been a dragon. Wolves lived no longer than humans did. Neither did half-breeds, who always inherited their human parent’s genetics, so Lachie was fully human. Whereas dragons … I pushed the thought away. It was unbearable that I would outlive both Garth and L
achie, probably by centuries. That future would destroy me.
Live in the now. I reminded myself of that every day, seeing Lachie off to his new school. Live for today. So many joyful moments. My mother’s face when she realised her own daughter was the infamous queen of Sydney, oh, and by the way, her grandson wasn’t dead either. Meals around the kitchen table with the crew. Nights with Garth. The present is all we have.
And the present was pretty damn hot, even if it had a shocking tendency to argue. I met those warm grey eyes and smiled. To think I’d ever found this man frightening. He was my joy, from his greying buzz-cut hair right down to his toes.
“I could eat you,” I whispered into his ear, then gave his earlobe a playful nip.
“I’d like to see you try.” He threw me onto my back, pinning me down with his naked body.
“Hold that thought.” I wriggled out from under him, feeling the loss of his warmth as I slipped out of the bed. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
He lay back, arms behind his head, and watched me as I crossed the carpet to the en suite. I shut the door and hurried through using the facilities, eager to return to him. As I washed my hands I leaned forward, checking myself in the mirror. I looked tired, which was hardly surprising given the events of the last few weeks. The delicate skin under my eyes was so grey it looked bruised. I needed to get some more sleep.
I couldn’t help grin at my own reflection. More sleep? What I was doing instead of sleeping was way more fun.
And then I saw something else … Surely it couldn’t be—? I leaned closer to the mirror, eyes widening in shock.
“Oh, my God!”
My shriek brought Garth slamming into the bathroom, stark naked but ready to do battle on my behalf.
“What’s wrong?” His gaze darted around the small room, as if he expected to find an assassin lurking in the bathtub.
With a sharp tug, I had it in my hand. My eyes filled with tears, but they were tears of relief, and I was still smiling as the tears welled over and rolled down my cheeks.
“I found a grey hair.”
“So?” He took the hair from me and dropped it on the floor, then enclosed my hands in his big ones. “I know I said I liked redheads, but really I don’t care what colour your hair is.”
A single grey hair. Such a small thing, but such a momentous meaning. He wasn’t seeing it, but I knew what it meant, and my heart filled with joy.
“Dragons don’t get grey hairs. Not until they’re centuries old. But humans do, even twenty-nine-year-old humans.”
He frowned at me, still confused.
“I’m unique among dragons, in that I have a human body. Sure, now it’s stronger and faster and has enhanced senses, blah, blah, blah, but it’s still basically human. That means—” My voice shook, and I had to swallow hard. “That means I’m only going to have a human lifespan.”
It was so enormous, I felt as if I’d just been handed the world’s greatest gift. I beamed at him through the tears, but Garth stared as if I’d lost the plot entirely.
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Of course it is! I’m not going to outlive you and Lachie!”
“Okaaay. Most people would be kind of happy to have the lifespan of a dragon.”
“Would they? Really? Sure, it sounds good on paper, but imagine seeing everyone around you die, while you go on and on into the centuries alone.”
“Well, I can see this causing a few problems with your sisters down the line. Another domain to fight over.” He shrugged. “But if it makes you happy …”
He was right, there could be problems when it came time to pass my domain on. But I had big plans, and hopefully by then my sisters—and the whole shifter world—would be used to a different style of rule. I meant to introduce a council to share my rule, with representatives from the main shifter groups. In time I hoped to persuade my sisters to do the same. Lessening the stranglehold the queens had on power would go a long way towards reducing the general resentment toward dragonkind.
Yes, big plans, and only a human lifespan to implement them. But I had a good team at my side, starting with this man.
“It does.” I threw my arms around him. “It makes me very happy indeed.”
“Then if you’re finished in here, come back to bed and make me happy.”
I scrubbed the tears from my cheeks. “You can’t boss me around, I’m your queen.”
“Yeah, you’re the boss. Whatever. So you can be on top.”
THE END
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If you enjoyed this trilogy, don’t miss the prequel, coming soon. You’ll find out how Garth became a werewolf, and what he did to get himself exiled from his pack. Sign up to my newsletter for updates on this and other new releases, plus $0.99 deals and book news.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks once again to my beta readers: Mal and Mal, Peter, Geoff, Chris, Pauline and Christine. Your feedback helped make this a better book and I’m very grateful to all of you. Thanks also to Lachie for his advice on airports.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marina Finlayson is a reformed wedding organist who now writes fantasy. She is married and shares her Sydney home with three kids, a large collection of dragon statues and one very stupid dog with a death wish.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR