AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jesper chokes on his drink, his eyes watering as they meet mine. “Excuse me? Did you just say–”
“You heard me,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice down.
There’s a seriousness that falls over Jesper’s face, one I’m not used to seeing. “Did you sleep with her or did yousleep with her?I wasn’t sure if I caught sight of some sneaky nonsense about to go down or concluding. A man can never be sure with just a glimpse. Vik’s body was in the way.”
My eyes narrow, and he holds up his hands in surrender.
“Fine, keep your secrets. I’ll find out sooner or later from Vik when she makes her rounds.”
I can’t honestly say what would’ve happened had Vik not come in. The moment Calamity kissed me, the consequences felt more like inconveniences than anything else.
“I’m not sure if it makes you feel any better, but I wish you would. Maybe it would convince you to take one for the team and mark her, and that would work well for me right now. Vik and Faelor do it all the time. It can’t be that hard to refrain, right?”
“A week of discomfort is a lot easier than months of temptation, waiting for the mark to wear off. Better yet, a lifetime of being mated to someone you don’t want.”
Jesper cocks a brow. “You telling me you don’t want her? Anyone with eyeballs can see that’s a lie. Your dragon has already made it known. Claim her, and he shuts up. It’s a win-win for all parties involved.” He shakes his head as if it’s unfathomable.
“She’s Megara’s daughter,” I blurt, desperate to change the direction this conversation is going.
The color drains from his face, then he turns a tight circle, a hand dragging over his jaw. “I mean, I guess I can see it… Are you sure?”
“She could be a spitting image of the queen.” I start ticking off fingers. “Same eyes, same hair–”
“There are plenty of people with black hair. Golden eyes… Sure, they’re rare, but it doesn’t mean she’s the queen’s daughter, or that she’s a dragon. What made you think that? Was it something she said?”
“I entered her dream–”
“You didwhat?”He frowns, making his disappointment known. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“It was an accident, but every inch of wall space in her cell was covered in paintings of the dragon realm. And when her dream started to become a nightmare, I tried to show her how to control it, told her to think about someone she wanted to see andthe queen showed up. Calamity threw herself at her in tears. The resemblance was fucking uncanny.”
“Alright… That’s…” He blows up his cheeks. “If that’s true, then we almost sold the heir to the dragon throne to a godsdamn elf. This changes everything.” Jesper threads his fingers through his long dark hair, pushing it back out of his face. “Furies are supposed to be triplets, right? We've got one little monster, but where are the other two?”
“I don't know. There wasn't anything in her dream suggesting she has sisters. If there were three, they all would've been locked up. Not just Calamity. The king would've wanted to study them all.”
Jesper gives a curt nod. “True, but how do we know the queen isn't still there? And Calamity could’ve been locked up for being defiant. The other two could be in the castle.”
“I don't have the answers. All I know is what I saw.” I can hardly bring myself to look at him from beneath my lashes. “Regardless, the dragon throne is her birth right. She can’t shift yet, and even if she could, she can’t just show up there on her own.”
“Well, we’re all banished, so… We might be able to fly with her up there, but if we step foot on any of the three moons, our wings are toast, and then so are we.”
I don’t say anything, pursing my lips.
Jesper nods, as if the pieces are slowly coming together in his mind.“Fuck,alright. How does this work then? If she’s crowned, she might pardon us. Then, as long as we show up with proof in hand that she's the rightful heir, maybe they’ll be grateful. So, how do we prove it?”
“Her dragon in its shifted form should be enough.”
“Then we’ll teach her to shift, then take her up, drop her off, and come back. Easy peasy.”
“I can’t just toss her out to the wolves. She’s never been there. Someone needs to stay with her. Faelor won’t leave Vik, and Vik won’t leave Ellie. And I doubt Brenn and Mira would have interest in going back up to the moons, so that leaves you and me. I’m not going to ask you to risk your life, so…” I trail off, letting him finish the thought on his own.
“Then they all stay down here and that’s their choice. They can continue to guard the Luminaries while we take Calamity to the dragon realm. Once things are good, we come back down–or stay.”
“You’d really want to go back?” I arch a brow.
“Maybe. It’s not like I have anything tying me here or calling me there, but I won't let you do it alone.”
A door clicks shut. I can feel Jesper’s eyes on me as I glance over my shoulder, seeing Calamity leave the room. Her dark hair is brushed, braided down one side, her dress and corset fixed. A part of me misses that nightgown, though… how comfortable she looked in it. The way her body moved. With the corset on, it’s like she’s stiffer now, more poised. She gives me a closed lip smile, then heads toward the store room, likely looking for something to eat.
