As soon as they exchange customary greetings, Julien raises a glass and says, “I can’t believe Audric and Kazia almost got betrothed once.”
Lucien and Corin whip around.
“Excuse me?” Corin asks.
Lucien points. “What he said.”
Audric grabs two glasses of wine and passes one to his husband. “Julien exaggerates. No offense intended, Kazia, but my mother never considered the offer.”
Kazia shrugs. “It wasn’t a genuine offer—Imrik was just fucking with her. He never would have let me move out of Ostomar.” Kazia ignores Lucien’s wince. Right, that’s one of those things that sounds normal until Kazia says it out loud. “Imrik sent similar proposals to Patha and Fellrin’s princes, too.”
The information appears to mollify Corin. He’s a short, slight man, with strawberry-blonde hair braided into a crown of flowers. Motes of light sparkle between the blossoms and around his wrists in lieu of jewelry.
He’s focused intently on Kazia. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” Corin says. “Lucien helped introduce me and Audric, and we’re so thrilled he’s found someone.”
“Thrilled,” Audric echoes. “Lucien, we should catch up soon.”
Corin is still staring, and Kazia’s skin is starting to crawl. “Is there something on my face?”
“Oh, sorry!” Corin steps closer to be heard above the celebration. “I just love your hair, and I didn’t expect you to be shorter than me.” He sounds delighted with the fact.
“That’s not fair,” Kazia protests. “You’re wearing heels.”
Corin tilts his head, considering. The lights waver in his hair. “I think I’m still taller without them.”
Lucien looks between the two with a showy frown. “It’s hard to tell, but there’s one way to find out.”
“Don’t be disgusting,” Kazia says. He’s not taking his fucking shoes off at a party.
“We’re all thrilled to meet you.” Julien’s grin widens. “Lucien was getting bored with only a few dragons to manage.”
Before Kazia can tell whether that was an insult, and just who was being insulted, Whisper pulls him aside. “I wanted to thank you for the information about my parents.”
The celebration suddenly feels quieter, muffled by the dust of memories.
“Was it them?” Kazia asks.
Whisper nods. “I know my parents’ names now, and the name they called me. Could you thank Bretka for me, too?”
Kazia knows how important names can be. His own name was once a shackle, but it’s always been his. “Should I still call you Whisper?”
“Of course. That’s who I am.” Whisper glances away. A pleased embarrassment colors his face. “Pardon me, Julien is calling. Likely for nothing good.”
As Julien and Whisper head towards a side door, Kazia returns to Lucien’s side. They next find Prince Bellamy and dragonrider Rakos Tem talking to Herald Hyda. The resemblance between the cousins is noticeable, even with Rakos’s hair dyed to match his green and teal dragon.
Kazia supposes it’s nice to see a family reunion.
“Thanks for lifting the price on my head, Your Majesty,” Rakos says. “I never thought I would step foot in Draskora again.”
Kazia began his reign with a lot of pardons. Removing Rakos’s bounty and exile was the least he could do, considering his own actions accidentally led to Rakos’s banishment. With a few intervening steps along the way.
“You’re welcome,” Kazia says. “Feel free to rejoin our dragon corps whenever you want.”
Bellamy’s eyes narrow, then soften into a wicked smile. He’s shorter than his brothers, but has an impressive presence, from his wyrmskin boots to the blue streaks in his hair. “We’d be happy to trade. You take back Rakos, we take back Lucien.”
Kazia bristles.
Lucien steps between them. “Okay, okay, we literally just ended a war. Let’s not start a new one.”
