“Looking a little cold this morning, wench, or is that your version of saying good morning?”
My mouth dropped open in horror as I glanced down and saw my pebbled nipples poking up into the material. “Get off of me!” I screamed, bringing my knees up and against his chest to try to give me better leverage for forcing him away.
Lacking my full strength still, I failed, and in a fit of rage went with the go-to. A crack echoed through the chambers as the palm of my hand stung with the contact to his too-perfectly-chiseled cheekbone.
His tongue ran along his top lip before he smacked them together, and his dragon eye flared with magic like it had before he’d turned my arm to an icicle. “Careful, wench, the fight is intriguing my dragon, and I don’t think you want to fight him.”
A split second later his body was gone and the chill of the room quickly settled into me in its stead. I quickly scrambled to pull the closest fur pelt to cover me and sat up, clutching it to my chest.
He strode over to the balcony, stepping out of the pants he’d slept in as he pushed the doors open, giving me a clear view of his firmly muscled ass. I did my best to picture a wall of ice around my mind, preventing him from seeing inside. The last thing I needed was him hearing that I didn’t actually find him entirely disgusting. His back flexed as he twisted to glance over his shoulder at me, and I snapped my eyes up from his ass to meet his own.
“Can you make your way down the hall alone to your chambers to bathe and dress?”
I nodded instantly, unsure if I actually could, but wanting the chance to do something independently.
He stepped out onto the balcony and called out, “Stay there and I’ll come get you to bring you down to eat breakfast shortly. Keep that mental wall up.”
I only had a split second to revel in my victory of constructing a mental barrier before fascination overwhelmed me. I watched with rapt attention as his muscles elongated and more silver scales began to appear and cover every stretch of his exposed skin. Webbed wings began to grow, and thick legs bunched to launch into the sky as the full shift overcame him.
My mouth fell open as I quickly scrambled to my feet, using the bed to help push myself up. Gingerly, I walked over to the open doors and looked out into the beautiful blue sky dusted with a gentle snowfall.
His dragon soared through the air, cutting sharply as he banked to his right, flying up in the mountain range. As he turned and the sun hit his body, he was one giant ball of reflection, and it hit me how amazing of a defensive technique that would be, especially on a cloudy day.
My feet were glued to the spot despite the frigid temperature of the floor and the brisk air floating around me, pebbling every inch of my skin. I watched him soaring through the sky in a mixture of fascination and fear–that was the same person I’d just laid across from. It was one thing to know it, but an entirely different case to see it so clearly for the first time.
As he disappeared from sight behind the castle, I shook my head and turned back to his chambers. I gave the fireplace another glance, wishing I’d still had the clothes he’d burned, seeing as they were the only remaining tie to my home. Dwelling on it served me no good, though, and I walked slowly to the doorand yanked it open, prepared to find my own chambers. Despite this being his castle, the concept of having my own chambers was appealing. A place that was mine to hide away in and not have to keep my mask in place.
I was a strong, fierce woman, and I wouldn’t cower, but I also needed a safe place to mourn the life and people that had been ripped away from me with no time to process it. Both could be true at once.
Crossing the frigidly cold stone floor to the long black rug that stretched the expanse of the hall before me, I breathed a small sigh of relief at the minor buffer against my skin. I took my time scanning the large murals lining the hall and took in each name placard beneath them. Each previous ruling king and queen filled the space, and I noted the same white hair passed down from king to king, but as I reached the most recent, the image that had to be his parents, I noted that his navy eyes and sharp features had been handed down by his mother.
I found myself glued to the spot as I took in his parents, the king seated on a throne of ice and his mother standing behind him with a hand atop his shoulder. If Theo was the king, it meant his father had passed, but was his mother gone as well?
Despite it being a painting, there was a gentle and easy aura that radiated from his mother’s soft smile and the wrinkled edges of her eyes that spoke of time and wisdom. I was drawn to her and marveled at the cold juxtaposition of the king’s obsidian eyes that dared the viewer to oppose him. His closely cut hair gave him a much sharper appearance than Theo’s, but I noted the waves from his mother’s blonde hair matched his own. He was a seamless blend of them both.
“She was beautiful, wasn’t she?” a voice asked, causing me to jump at the intrusion.
I covered my chest with my arms instinctively and took a step back as a young man came into view from the corridor just pastthe murals. His upbeat tone jogged a memory, and as I took in his large, broad build, it hit me.
“You’re the other person who was there last night,” I mused, recalling his words and smiling at it. “You chastised Theo for having one job in taking care of me. And failing spectacularly at it.”
His dark hair fell forward over his shoulders as he took a deep bow at the waist before standing rigidly straight once more. His black tunic held the crest of a silver dragon on the breast, the same one that hung on the banners in the hall around us. “Lucius, Your Highness. Pleased to formally meet you.”
His dimples broke through the shadow of a beard coming in, and his smile was disarming, matching his open energy as he regarded me with true respect. A part of me felt a trickle of guilt for branding all dragons as my enemies, when here one was, being as nice and polite as could be to me.
“Do you need assistance to your chambers?” he asked, tilting his head as he took me in.
I was surprised at the ease I felt around him already. It was easy to see his assessment of me was clinical, eyes never lingering for long in any one spot. “I was surprised to not see either of you in the dining hall this morning, as Theo normally rises before the sun. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t taken a turn for the worse overnight.”
Despite the comfort I felt, I shifted awkwardly on my feet as the cold still wrapped around my bare legs. “I appreciate your concern, Lucius, and it's lovely to meet you as well. My name is Siyana, but you may call me Sia.”
He seemed to sense my discomfort as his mouth widened at the same time his silver eyes did. It was a testament to either my ability to quickly adapt, or my denseness, that I noted the pale blue scales running along his forehead last.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you in such a state,” he apologized as his eyes lowered to the ground. “Do you want me to wait for you to get ready and show you to the dining hall?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that Theo said he would be back to do exactly that, but the rebellious part of my brain shoved that fact down. I didn’t need to cower away and wait like the ever-dutiful wife.
“Yes, that would be amazing. Give me time to acquaint myself with the room and hopefully take a bath to freshen up after the journey yesterday.”
