He pulls me in close, resting his chin on top of my hair. “I hate to say it, Buttercup, but those princes have it bad for you. And if I were to make a smart guess, you have it bad for them too. I don’t know if it’s the whole dragon-human connection, but your life might get a hell of a lot easier if you just accept it.”
“What if you’re wrong? How do I know for sure?”
He pulls me back from him, grinning, his eyes sparkling in that way that means trouble. “We can test it.”
“Test it?”
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight there’s another ball,” I tell him, thinking about my unpredictable schedule.
“Perfect. I’ll go with you to the ball tonight, and I’ll make sure you know one hundred percent for sure how the princes feel about you.”
“How are you going to do that?” I ask, staring at him in confusion.
That smile of his turns wicked. “Trust me.”
10
Harper
Arthurand I head down the stairs, looking forward to finally hanging out in my room and catching up a bit more. I want to know all about Pennyvale. I want to know if the baker finally figured out who was stealing his pies. I was to know if the Harrison twins were both proposed to by their boyfriends, or if it was only one of them, crushing their plans to marry in a joint ceremony. Basically, I miss my small town and want to hear all the good gossip.
A servant nearly runs into me when I reach the bottom of the stairs.
“My lady,” she greets me, curtseying. “You’re wanted in the training yard.”
Uh oh.
She scurries off, and I turn to Arthur. His brows rise. “What does this mean?”
“Trouble, probably,” I tell him grumpily.
He follows me to the practice yard, and I try to take a deep breath and relax. Maybe this doesn’t mean trouble. Maybeeverything is going to be just fine. But as much as I tell myself comforting things, I don’t believe a word of it. Everywhere I go I seem to cause problems.
When I reach the training yard, to my surprise, the king is there, along with his advisor and the three princes. The king has a bright smile on his face, and he looks handsome in his kingly robes. Despite the slight bulge of his stomach and the gray at his temples, the king remains the handsome man who has stolen the hearts of far too many ladies. I can see him in his sons.
Beside him, standing at complete odds with him, is his advisor, who is dressed in his long blue robes. Everything about the man is long. His ears. His face. It stretches down, reminding me just a bit of a horse’s face. And while his robes are fine and expensive-looking, there’s something unkept about his wild white hair and his bushy mustache and thin beard. When he looks at me, there’s nothing friendly or welcoming in his gaze. If anything, I get the sense that he doesn’t like me very much.
“Harper!” the king greets warmly.
I smile and do my best to curtsy in front of him, even though it feels awkward. Beside me, Arthur bows, but the king only gives a nod of acknowledgement in his direction. It seems to me he has something to talk to me about, and whatever it is, he’s excited about it.
“Your Highness,” I say as I come closer.
“I wondered if you could do me the honor of introducing me to Ebron this fine afternoon,” the king asks. He really doesn’t have to ask… He’s the king. But I like that he pretends I have a say in the matter.
“I can ask him.”
“Askhim?” the king repeats, looking at his sons in confusion.
Prince Lucien flashes an unkind smile. “She doesn’t order her dragon to do anything. She asks him to do things. Like they’re partners.”
“Partners?” The king sounds baffled.
“I guess it’s just what happens when you take a peasant, with absolutely no training and no understanding of how to be a dragon rider, and give her a massive male dragon,” Prince Lucien mutters coldly.
“Interesting,” the king says, before turning back to me, a flicker of concern in his dark eyes. “Well, Harper, do you think you can… ask him to come talk to us?”
