by Delia Castel
“Come along, Marigold.” Matheson’s hand landed on her waist.
“Don’t call me that.” She snatched her gaze away from the bear shifters, who were pointing in her direction. Cringing, she guessed that they were identifying her as Merry Gold. “You told the High Sheriff my name was Goldilocks.”
He flicked his rust-colored hair out of his eyes. “As you wish. Uncle is coming over. Would you like to dance?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a figure dressed in pale blue, pushing his way through the couples waltzing on the dance floor. She clenched her teeth and took Matheson’s hand. Even though she disliked this particular brother, she would take him any day over Governor Hertz. He swept her on the dance floor, making the skirts of her gown swirl out like the tail of an ivory peacock.
The rhythmic sounds of the orchestra and her need to focus on the steps brought her out of a blind panic. They danced in formation with elegant couples. Some of the dragons wore red sashes that marked them as members of the royal family. The females—it was hard to tell which were human and which were she-dragons— wore gowns as beautiful as the one Nanny had provided. Marigold sighed. If only she had been invited to such an event in less life-threatening circumstances. The part of her who found romantic scrolls entertaining would have enjoyed this.
A tall figure sidled up to them. It was Governor Hertz, arms held out as though dancing with an imaginary partner. “Merry! How wonderful it is to finally make your acquaintance.”
She turned her head, pretending she hadn’t heard him.
“Bugger off, unless you want a dagger up the backside,” snarled Matheson.
“Such language.” Governor Hertz shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk! Your parents would be ashamed. Ashamed!”
Matheson’s hand tightened around Marigold’s waist. “I wager this is where you expect me to lose my temper, attack you, and get thrown out. Then you would swoop in and spirit away my mate.”
“One cannot blame a dragon for trying. Now, dear nephew…” He paused to twirl his invisible partner. “As scintillating as I find your profanity, I’m here to see Merry.”
Marigold cringed. She glanced around to find that many of the couples dancing nearby had their gazes fixed on them. She clenched her teeth, supposing that the higher echelons of Igneous were not immune to gossip and the prospect of a brawl.
“I don’t know anyone of that name.” Matheson’s voice was cold and imperious.
“Am I supposed to believe that this is not the fugitive from the wine cellar?”
“That one ran away in the dead of night,” said Matheson. “This is my mate, a she-dragon named Goldilocks.”
“She-dragon.” Hertz’ voice was flat. “How can you be sure of her claims?”
“There’s only one way a dragon as young as me can achieve an early transformation. I will leave the rest for you to fantasize. Goodbye.” Matheson twirled her around and tripped Governor Hertz, who bumped into one of the princes and his dance partner. The prince, a blue-haired dragon with a similar build to Polaris, shoved the Governor in the chest.
Marigold’s shoulders relaxed, and as she danced, she kept an eye on Governor Hertz. A red-haired prince stepped in, attempting to diffuse the situation, and a small crowd gathered around the trio and their dance partners. She turned to Matheson. “Do you think anyone will ask for proof?”
“Doing so would breach etiquette.” He raised a shoulder. “Besides, some like to wait until they get their blessing before consummating the union. Everyone assumes that a dragon lucky enough to attract a mate will mount her as soon as she will allow.”
There was an intensity in his eyes that made her stomach flip. She ignored the unpleasant sensation and continued dancing in silence. Moments later, the music stopped, and everyone gave the orchestra a round of applause. Governor Hertz slunk back to his corner where Lady Brimstone stood with Lord Arctos and Martha the brothel keeper. Marigold clenched her teeth. How in the name of Igneous did those two get allowed into a royal ball?
Just as the orchestra restarted, the blue-haired dragon Prince swaggered through the crowd. With the shallowest of bows, he held out his hand. “My lady, would you care to dance?”
Marigold forced a smile. “No, thank you.”
Matheson snorted. “Bad luck, Indigo. The lady wants me.”
“That remains to be seen.” He wrinkled his nose. “Perhaps another time.”
As the next dance started, and she moved around the dance floor, she asked, “Don’t you like him?”
“Not particularly.”
She glanced over her shoulder to see the blue-haired dragon glaring at their backs. “Haven’t you just made a very powerful enemy?”
“He’s a drinking companion.”
Marigold chewed her bottom lip. She couldn’t imagine a Prince getting drunk on distilled wormwood. However, Matheson’s casual way of addressing him indicated they knew each other well. Although she hated the thought of attracting negative attention from a dragon so much higher in status than her, she couldn’t separate herself from Matheson.
As they passed the musicians’ podium, Lord Arctos stepped forward, blocking their path. His tightly cropped beard covered most of his face but did nothing to hide the heat of his anger. He breathed hard, barrel chest straining against the white waistcoat he wore over a tight, burgundy jacket. “May I cut in?”
“You may not.” Matheson swirled her around the large bear shifter.
Lord Arctos jogged alongside them. “But you see, this young lady is a former employee who failed to negotiate her severance pay.”
Matheson stopped dancing and pulled Marigold around his back. He lifted his chin and said through his teeth, “May I remind you of your place? The last bear shifters who attacked my mate were immolated on the lawn. I don’t know how you treat your females up in Boreas, but we dragons protect ours with fire. Leave, before I singe that stinking mass of pubic hair off your face.”
Marigold gulped. No one had ever threatened Lord Arctos, let alone with such rude condescension. Marigold had seen the bear shifter punch a footman across the room for an imagined slight. Her stomach clenched, and she patted her hair, ready to pull out her rondel daggers, when bear’s rage inevitably flared.
The brawny shifter’s face blanked, but his amber eyes burned with anger. He inclined his head. “My apologies, Lord Dragon. I will take my leave.”
A gust of relieved breath slid out from Marigold’s lungs. “I’ve never seen a bear shifter act like that.”
“That’s the way things are in Igneous.” He placed his hand on her waist and held out his arm. “Surely you learned that during your life as a human?”
“Never like this.” She made sure that Lord Arctos lumbered back to his corner before taking Matheson’s hand. They stood together, waiting for the music to restart. “Life is a she-dragon is so much better.”
He was about to reply, when a dragon around the age of Governor Hertz, with hair as red as Matheson’s, approached. His kind, blue eyes reminded her somewhat of Berrin, and she couldn’t help but smile. She hoped he wasn’t a friend of the Governor’s, because he seemed like the type of dragon she would probably want as a father.
“Matheson, may I dance with your delightful new mate?”
His eyes widened, and he swept into a low bow. “Nothing would give me greater honor, Your Majesty.”
A bolt of shock struck Marigold in the stomach, and she dipped into a low curtsy. “Your Majesty!”
He chuckled and gestured for her to stand. “There is no need to fret, my dear. I don’t bite unless I’ve transformed.”
Marigold smiled and took the King’s hand. The orchestra started, and she gazed into his smiling, sapphire-blue eyes. “Were they waiting for you, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed they were.” His face turned serious. “I hope you understand the great commitment you are making. The King’s Blessing is a form of irreversible magic that binds two dragons for life. Should young Matheson prove to be an
unsuitable mate, you will never form a mating bond with another dragon.”
Marigold gulped. She already had a bond with Berrin and after that intense session of lovemaking in the afternoon, she was sure she had bonded with Polaris. “Yes, Sire.”
“Then why are your pretty features marred with worry?”
She bit her lip. “If you don’t mind me saying…”
“Go ahead, my dear. Think of me as a friendly patriarch.”
“That’s the thing… I’ve never danced with royalty before.”
He roared with laughter, and Marigold gave a nervous titter. They danced around the ballroom, and she noticed that many couples had moved to the edges of the room to watch them dance. It made her wonder if King Vulcan rarely danced with his subjects.
“Tell me, how much do you love your mate?”
Her mind immediately went to Berrin, and warmth exploded in her chest, making her beam. “He’s more than I could ever have dreamed for myself!”
“And would you still desire him if he had no fortune?”
“Well, Governor Hertz has already taken their parents’ inheritance for himself, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about him. Whether he’s rich or poor, I’ll still love him, and he’ll still be my mate.”
The King’s face broke into a wide smile. “How rare it is to see a she-dragon make a match of pure love! With the shortage of pure-bloodied females, the balance of power does not favor us males.”
She nodded, not knowing what else to say. There were a hundred reasons why she loved Berrin, and the money wasn’t one of them. She wasn’t even sure that he had much of his own, since he’d just left the Academy. Although financial security was nice, she’d learned from the nuns that it was something to be worked towards, not to gain by marriage.
“I must say, I’m delighted that you have brought happiness to the Auburn household. A love like yours will chase away the tragedy that befell their parents.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll try my best.”
“What I can’t fathom is why young Polaris didn’t join as your consort.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Consort, Sire? I’m not sure what that means.”
“Did your parents not teach you of our ways?”
Her heart exploded in her chest. While the King was nice, she didn’t know how he would react if he knew she’d been brought up as a human. Telling him the truth might make him question her heritage. That could lead to two things she needed to hide: mating with Berrin, and the bracelet that might reveal that she was a descendent of a house marked for death. At this stage, it would be foolish to risk her neck by telling him the truth.
She lowered her gaze to the epaulettes on his red jacket. “My past is troubled, Sire. I grew up in Habilis and my parents—”
“Speak no more, my dear. I know of the atrocities the humans committed against dragons. It is fortunate that you made it here to our shores.”
“Thank you.”
By the time the music stopped, Marigold and King Vulcan stood alone on the dance floor. Matheson stepped forward and stood by her side.
The King placed his hand on the small of her back. “After having interviewed this delightful, young she-dragon, it gives me great pleasure to bless her mating with Matheson Auburn.” He turned to them. “Please kneel.”
As they knelt, a round of applause broke out, and a servant scurried forward, holding in his spread hands a sword encased in a leather sheath. He knelt before King Vulcan, who slashed his hand with a claw before pulling it out. He let the blood pool in his bleeding hand and coated it on the curved edge of the sword.
Marigold tilted her head to the side. It looked just like the sword on display opposite the desk in the study. Instead of steel, this one consisted of the same kind of gold as her bracelet. Next to her, Matheson sucked in a breath through his teeth.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
Sweat broke out on his brow, and his face had turned the color of milk. “It’s nothing.”
She reached out and held his hand. He couldn’t be scared of the King’s Blessing. It would kill anyone who wasn’t a dragon, so Matheson had nothing to worry about. His hand, which trembled and was damp with sweat, clutched hers so hard, she winced.
King Vulcan recited some words in an ancient tongue and placed the tip of the blade on each of their shoulders. A rush of heat suffused her body, swirling around her belly fast enough to make her queasy. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it exploded in a roar, reaching every nerve ending. She turned to Matheson, whose eyes bulged.
Another round of applause broke out, but King Vulcan raised his palm in a gesture for silence. “The Auburn family is particularly special to me. Not just because of the service of Cornelius and Hestia, great friends who departed from this coil too soon, but because I have betrothed their eldest, Polaris, to my wayward daughter, Snowdrop.”
Marigold’s stomach dropped, and her gasp was drowned out by exclamations of surprise ringing out across the ballroom. She could barely pick up the noises of her surroundings, because her body had numbed with shock. Perhaps she had misheard, because Polaris couldn’t be in a relationship with someone else.
“Yes, yes,” snapped a loud, female voice. Marigold turned to find a statuesque, blonde female with eyes that glinted like amethysts. She wore a body-hugging, floor-length gown almost as pale as her hair. “Polaris has agreed to find and redeem Princess Snowdrop. We hope that with his guidance, we can restore her to a loyal member of the royal court.”
Frost lined Marigold’s chest, tightening her ribs and shrinking her heart. She gulped lungfuls of air, struggling to process the King and Queen’s announcement. She’d made love with Polaris mere hours ago. The kiss they had shared at the bottom of the grand staircase had held the promise of more… Or perhaps it had been a kiss of goodbye. He had told her that he wasn’t in the position to mate anyone, and she’d assumed it was because of his role in the King’s Regiment. Blinking away a tear, she gathered her feelings and scrunched them into a tight ball and pushed it to the back of her mind. Now that she had the King’s Blessing, she needed to leave without getting herself captured.
Matheson helped her to stand. They were about to dance when the Queen grabbed their joined hands. “My husband has had the pleasure of waltzing with your mate, and now, I will dance with yours.”
Marigold froze. She still hadn’t recovered from that announcement about Polaris. Before she could respond, King Vulcan pulled her aside. “Perhaps I can steal you away while my wife is dancing with Matheson.”
The music started, and a beaming King Vulcan swept her across the dance floor. They made small talk, and he told her how he was looking forward to Polaris mating with his daughter. He spoke of how Princess Snowdrop might borrow the power of her mates in times of peril and wondered out loud if he should mate the Princess with another General or with Berrin. Marigold’s stomach churned at the thought of losing another of her dragons.
When the music stopped, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder. Stiffening, she turned around. It was the blue-haired Prince. “Father, I’ve been meaning to dance with this delightful young lady all evening, but Matheson’s being selfish. May I cut in?”
King Vulcan chuckled and stepped back. “Of course you may!”
The blue-haired Prince grinned, and he swept her around the ballroom. Other couples joined, crowding her view of Matheson and the Queen. Her stomach twisted. She hoped he would find her when the music stopped. King Vulcan danced with a slender, blonde woman who wore a rose-pink mask to match her gown. Marigold searched over the Prince’s shoulder for Matheson, but he was nowhere to be found.
“My name is Indigo, Prince Indigo.” He paused as though waiting for a reaction. “I expect that old Matty has told you all about me.”
“Not really.” As they passed the punch station, she scanned the people queuing for drinks. He wasn’t there.
Prince Indigo launched into a monologue about how he had known Matheson since the
y were fledgelings, but Marigold couldn’t absorb much. Rising panic pounded at her eardrums, shaking loose Polaris’ betrayal. Just like the cellmates who told stories of being charmed, used, and discarded by noblemen, she had fallen for the trap of thinking herself different. She’d thought Polaris shared Berrin’s open heart, but she had been mistaken, as he’d had sex with her not informing her he would be mating with someone else.
“In a way, Matheson and I are brothers-in-arms,” the Prince murmured into her ear.
She cringed, noticing they were now dancing very close. “What?”
“Brothers share everything.”
“What are you talking about?”
His hand slipped from her waist to her hip. “Matheson and I once fucked a wench together. She loved it so much, she refused to take our money. Wouldn’t you like the same?”
She drew back, nearly bumping into the Queen, who was dancing with the High Sheriff. “Absolutely not!”
“It was a joke,” he snapped. “I wouldn’t dream falling afoul of the anti-cuckold laws, anyway. Even a Prince could have his wings clipped for messing with another dragon’s mate. There’s no need to be such a prude!”
Marigold clenched her teeth and scowled. She had come across this type hundreds of times. It was funny how they always made the women who rejected them sound like they didn’t have a sense of humor. As she didn’t want to make an enemy of the Prince, and she was worried about Matheson’s whereabouts, she held her tongue.
Governor Hertz hovered over Prince Indigo’s shoulder, licking his lips. His eyes gleamed. “Your Highness,” he said, panting hard, “May I cut in?”
Marigold’s anger spiked. “No—”