The Queen's Dance (Emerging Queens)

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “Consort? Of course.” He swept her into his arms, but as he went for the kiss she put her palm over his face.

  “No. Remy’s my consort.”

  “You can have two,” he said as she smooshed his face.

  “I need a protector. If you want the job, keep your tongue in your mouth.”

  Casimiro swept her back to her feet. “I would be honored.”

  “Good.” She tugged his head to her, turning his face to the side so she could whisper in his ear. She met Remy’s eyes over Casimiro’s shoulder and nodded at him. He glared at Casimiro’s back and nodded. “We need to get out of here. I think Esmeralda might be sponsoring Smythe with the Smooshie dolls.”

  To his credit, Casimiro blanched, but he didn’t make up any bullshit excuses to bail on her, like he did when she was human. “Where are we going?” he said.

  “I’ve got to get to Quebec. It was my last lead.”

  “How do you plan on doing that?” he asked.

  “Leave that to me.” Carolyn popped up from her seat.

  Margery cursed; she hadn’t meant for their conversation to be overheard. But if Arianna was pissed about Margery suspecting her mother of treachery, nothing showed on her perfect face.

  “You’re a sitting duck up here,” Carolyn said.

  Margery nodded. She’d told as much to Reed. And Remy agreed with her. She looked over, but he had a finger stuck in one ear, and he was bent down out of the wind.

  “This Smooshie business isn’t going to solve itself if Reed just sticks to the official procedures.” Carolyn made a jacking-off hand gesture.

  No arguments so far.

  “So if you want out of here, I can clear your exit with the sky guards and forbid them to tell Reed or anyone else.”

  “We can go tonight.” Finally. “Cas, can you fly me to Quebec?”

  He took her into his arms and dipped her low. “Querida, I can fly you to the moon.”

  “Canada will be fine,” Margery told him and smacked him on the arm until he let her up. “What about Remy?”

  Remy’s head came up. He put his hand over the phone. “What about me?”

  “Do you want to go back to Vermont tonight?”

  Relief creased his face, and he nodded.

  She gave him the thumbs-up. Finally, she was doing something right as a Queen.

  Carolyn smiled brightly and rubbed her hands together. “Excellent. So while you fly to Canada, Arianna will fly Champ back to Vermont. That should confuse anyone who is tracking you long enough for you to get what you need. You’re going to want to look through this.” Carolyn handed her the book she’d been reading. Only when it passed out of her hands, the dragon glamour wore off and it was a laptop. “New one. Battery’s fully charged. I put the plug into the backpack that Casimiro has for you. Along with a few necessities.”

  “Including the latest Lee Child book and a biography of Samuel Champlain,” Casimiro said, rolling his eyes.

  Carolyn nodded. “Necessities.”

  “Isn’t Reed going to be pissed?” Margery asked, biting her lip.

  “I’m counting on it.” Carolyn said. “Thinks he can talk to me like that? Any other Queen would have flayed him alive. I’m more modern than that. I’m going to kick him in the balls. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”

  “What’s in it for you?” Margery asked Arianna, who just smiled.

  The blond Queen assessed her with a look and held her gaze. An ancient intelligence stared back at Margery, even if Arianna seemed no older than the rest of the Queens Margery had met. “As much as I like putting my brother in his place, I do feel a little responsible for your situation. Carolyn and I got a little carried away with our fighting. We’ve made up.”

  “It’s not always going to be that easy,” Carolyn said.

  “Do you think getting the ARC of the novelization of the next Star Wars movie was easy? And it’s autographed by the actors.”

  Carolyn smiled. “I forgive you.”

  “I should hope so,” Arianna huffed.

  “What’s going to happen to you?” Margery asked Carolyn.

  “After you’re gone, I’m going to come back here and eat myself silly. If Reed hasn’t figured things out by then, he will eventually have to come look for me. He is my consort and protector, after all. But I think he’ll respect this area as yours and will only come back if invited. I’ll stall him as long as I can. But expect to be back on everyone’s radar by the morning.”

  “Reed won’t hurt you, will he?”

  Carolyn burst out laughing. “No. He might break a blood vessel in his face trying not to scream at me. But I’m actually just hoping for some really great makeup sex in that bed over there.”

  “All right, then.” Margery patted her on the back. TMI. But she felt a little jealous. She would have liked to try that bed out with Remy.

  “Can you fly?” Casimiro asked, holding out his arm to Margery.

  Margery shook her head. “I don’t dare try. I might pass out.”

  He bowed. “Then I will carry you until we reach Quebec.”

  “I want to start at the warehouse and try to see if anyone will talk to us.”

  “We will leave at your command.”

  Remy finished up his phone call and came back over to them. The lines in his face were more pronounced, and she could see how exhausted he was. “It’s settled,” he said.

  “Carolyn is going to cover for us while we escape.”

  “Thank you.” Remy bowed in Carolyn’s direction. “I just spoke with the contractors, and they’ll be starting on your castle on Isle La Motte right away. But for tonight, I’ve hired a team of dragon mercenaries that I’ve worked with in the past to put up a perimeter by my house.”

  “Good,” Margery said. “While I’m in Quebec, you can research who’s been using your boat without your knowledge.”

  Remy blinked. “Wait. You’re not going to Quebec. You’re building up your defenses in Vermont.”

  Margery shook her head. “Casimiro is flying me to Quebec tonight, and Arianna is flying you home.”

  She took a step back from the rage in his eyes. “You’re dismissing me?” he ground out.

  “Just for tonight.” This wasn’t going as planned.

  “As my Queen commands.” He swigged down the contents of his drink and tossed the bottle into the trash can, where it shattered loudly.

  The other three dragons stared at them in avid fascination.

  “Walk with me.” Margery didn’t give him a choice and dragged him over to the pool area. She grazed the buffet table, taking a plate of cocktail franks wrapped in puff pastry. After handing him one, she made herself another. She needed the protein to keep up her energy. “It’s just for tonight. I’m going to need you tomorrow. Especially if things do get out of hand.”

  “I know when I’m out of my league and depth.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and she noticed how tired he looked. His skin was dried and flaky, and she would bet money he needed to be back in the water sooner rather than later. She contemplated trying to toss him in the pool, but the chlorinated water probably wasn’t the same as being in his lake. He scarfed down the hors d’oeuvres and chucked the plate off the building.

  “I don’t know why we can’t all go back to Vermont and tackle this together. Tomorrow. Or next month.” He hit his fist on the railing, cracking it. “I hate feeling weak.”

  “You’re not weak,” she said. “We have a ticking clock. By checking out these two avenues separately, it saves us time in the long run. I can’t wait until the castle is built. Don’t you see that?”

  He touched her cheek. “You are the first Queen that’s ever even deigned to speak with me. I almost lost you once. I don’t want to risk you again.”

  “I believe in you,” she said.

  “Why? No one else does.”

  Margery put down her empty plate. “You’ve never given them the chance to. You’ve just hidden up in your lodge and pretended to be a human.”<
br />
  Remy laughed without humor. “I might as well be. No arms or wings in dragon form.”

  “But utterly lethal in the water and on the ground. You saved me from a bomb. At the risk of your own life. Don’t think I can’t see how wounded you still are from protecting me from the blast.”

  “It’s my job.” Remy shrugged, but some of the tension eased out of his shoulders.

  “Is it that I’m going with Casimiro? You suggested him,” Margery pointed out.

  “I don’t like Casimiro.” Remy’s hands balled up into fists. “But you need him to get out of here. The bad guys—whoever they are—know how to get to you.” He sighed. “I can’t take you away from them fast enough. But he can.” Remy gestured to Casimiro with his chin. “He can do everything that I can’t.”

  Margery touched his arm. “It’s you that I want.”

  “I can’t fly. I can’t make love to you without you collapsing unconscious on me. What if that’s what you need to be able to shift again?”

  “Do you want me to sky dance with Casimiro?” she asked.

  “No,” he growled, pulling her into his arms. “I mean, I should. But no. I don’t want him touching you.”

  “I wish I’d met you when I was human,” Margery whispered.

  “Chérie, you’d still be in my bed if you had.”

  She laid her head on his chest. “I want to kiss you. Maybe we just have to ease into sex? Go farther each time?”

  “I’m not risking you fainting again. Not in front of them, anyway.”

  She reached up and brought his head down to hers. The kiss started out light but grew in intensity. When the blackness started to tinge her consciousness, Margery pushed him away. They were both breathing heavily.

  “I’m getting the hang of this,” she said. It was worth the light-headedness to feel those delicious tingles.

  “You make my head spin.” He cupped the back of her head and brushed his lips over hers briefly.

  “The feeling is mutual.” Margery backed away before she threw him in the pool to do wild things to his body.

  He smiled, and she swooned at the desire in his eyes. It was as if he was still stroking her back and kissing her senseless. “If Arianna touches you inappropriately, I’ll rip her hair out,” she warned.

  “I will remain true to you. Even if it means my death.”

  Margery flinched at the stab in her heart that his promise caused. “Don’t die.”

  “I’m not planning on it. In fact, I’ll see you in a few hours. If you need me, go toward the waterfront. Stay with that idiot. Let him take a bullet for you. And if you need to escape, go into the water. I will find you before you drown.”

  “You’ll be hundreds of miles away.”

  “Trust me.”

  “I do.” She blew him a kiss. “I’m ready now,” she called back, and Casimiro shifted.

  “I still don’t like this,” Remy said.

  “I’m a reporter. I report on bad things and save people’s lives. That’s what I am. Being a Queen won’t change that. This is my chance to break out of the pack and have people read my articles. My pen is mightier than my claw—get it?”

  Remy shook his head. “If it’s fame you want, you have it. You’re a dragon Queen. If you want to have your stories on the front page of a newspaper, we’ll buy you one.”

  Margery shook her head. “You can’t buy all of them.”

  “We can try.”

  “The world needs to know about dragons. I’m going to be their go-between.”

  “You’re going to be dead.”

  “Not a chance.” She gave him a brief kiss. “I’ve got you protecting me.”

  Remy snorted and ran his hand over his face.

  “After this story, there will be another and another. I’m not going to stop reporting the news. Do you have a problem with that?” She raised her chin at him.

  “Hell, yes,” he said. “But I’ll figure out a way to keep you safe.”

  “I might be more trouble than I’m worth.” Margery sighed. That’s what her stepfather had said. Maybe he was right, but Remy was already shaking his head.

  “You are a Queen. My Queen. Just remember, go to water if you’re in trouble.”

  “I will.” She squeezed his hand and returned to Casimiro.

  “If you were stronger, I’d have you on my back,” Casimiro said as his long body unwound. He was a big snakelike creature, a deep emerald green. “But I’m afraid if we’re chased, you would fall.”

  “You’re really going to carry me in your mouth?” She touched a sharp tooth and raised her eyebrow.

  “It’s not like I have hands in this form. I promise you will not be damaged. I can’t promise that if I go into a dive and you slide off.” Casimiro opened his mouth wide.

  “This is so weird,” she said and stepped into the jaws of a Chinese dragon. “Don’t swallow.”

  “Said no man ever,” Carolyn said, coming over to wave good-bye.

  “Keep her safe,” Remy ordered, winking at her as she tried to get comfortable sitting on Casimiro’s tongue, looking through his teeth like they were prison bars.

  She had to grab on to them when Casimiro shot into the air, but she was able to keep an eye on Remy until he was just a speck.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Remy was still expecting a double cross, but at least Margery was safe with Casimiro. He didn’t like the smarmy bastard, but the Chinese dragon would protect her with his life.

  “Are you ready?” Arianna purred.

  He wasn’t. “No time like the present.”

  Arianna shifted into an emerald Celtic dragon. Just as beautiful in this form, she was as deadly as Reed. Remy forced himself not to flinch from the gigantic clawed hand that clutched him.

  “It’ll be a short trip,” she said.

  He resisted the urge to whoop in joy as they sailed over the trees and mountains. Remy never felt slighted that he couldn’t fly. He had the water, which was just as vast as the sky, but it was a treat to glide over the land. How would it feel to have sex in the air?

  Probably a hell of a lot nicer if he had wings. Remy wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep it up as he plummeted a thousand feet toward the earth, though. But maybe with the right dragon… His mind wandered to Margery and that damned reverse cowgirl position of hers. He much preferred the other way, with her facing him—he could look into her beautiful eyes and play with her nipples while she bounced on his cock.

  He let out a breath and thought about his baseball team’s season to calm his raging hormones. He didn’t want to give Arianna ideas.

  Speaking of ideas, Remy wondered if Casimiro was going to behave himself. Unlike him, Casimiro had wings and would be able fly along with Margery once she recovered. Remy closed his eyes to banish the image. Well, at least that got rid of his hard-on.

  He didn’t like that Casimiro had been her lover. He especially didn’t like that the singer had treated her like shit because she was human. Margery deserved someone who loved her for her beautiful self. Not just because she was a Queen.

  But what if after spending tonight with Casimiro, she realized what Remy was lacking? Well, he’d go back to his lake. Where he belonged. It was a small comfort that she would make her home near his. Hopefully, Casimiro would be on tour most of the time, so he wouldn’t feel the need to smash that arrogant look off his face.

  Maybe Margery would even allow him consort privileges when Casimiro was gone. Remy would like to think he was too proud to be second best, but he wanted Margery too much to care. After all, no Queen in over a millennium had been allowed a monogamous relationship. Still, Remy was pretty sure that Margery was still human enough to want one. He held on to hope that in the end, she would choose him over Casimiro, even with all of his faults.

  True to Arianna’s word, they were in Vermont before his morbid thoughts could go any farther.

  “Just fly low enough that I don’t break my back when I hit the water, and you can let go of me ov
er the lake,” he called up to Arianna.

  She skimmed the water and released him. Blowing him a kiss, she winged back up into the air and took off with her squadron of goons behind her. It was bliss to relax into his true form as his coils unraveled and soaked up the lake’s healing water. Remy hadn’t wanted to bring attention to the fact that he had been severely dehydrated. The last thing he needed was to give Reed an edge or Casimiro something else to needle him about.

  Remy’s eyes drifted closed. He needed a break to recharge. Being in the presence of four Queens at the same time had almost broken him. Thankfully, all of them were too new to administer discipline for failing to abide by protocols, otherwise, he would have had his ass beaten five ways to Sunday. It was going to take a lot of getting used to, having all these Queens in the world. Dragon life would change. He worried what the three elder Queens would do because they were outnumbered and rapidly losing power. It could get deadly before things settled. Remy blew out a breath. Hopefully his mother would continue to stay out of the politics until the new Queens were in power. He just wished he knew if she was all right.

  It had shocked him to learn Esmeralda had taken Carolyn prisoner to do her breeding work for her. What if his mother was similarly imprisoned? Fury blinded him, and he roared her name, which would rattle around the waterways and echo into the earth. She hadn’t responded before, but maybe now she would. He waited, but as always, he didn’t get a response.

  He hoped his father was with her. Two lake dragons who’d gotten tired of the humans and didn’t want to be found, even by their son.

  With that depressing thought, he pushed himself out of the water. It was too soon, but he needed to check on the mercenaries he’d hired to guard his home. When Margery came back to Vermont after the investigation, he was going to make damned sure what happened at Reed’s complex would not happen here. Grim determination settled into him. He’d handle it. He was a protector and a consort, like his father had been.

  He couldn’t help but worry about Margery, though. Casimiro wasn’t known for his martial skills—what was he going to do against a pack of drakes? Sing them to sleep? Remy snorted. He wished he could call her, but he didn’t want to distract her if she was in the middle of something important. Like fighting off assassins. Or dodging bullets.