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Oh yes, this was about to get interesting.
Chapter 8
Vishana was a striking woman—well, all dragons were striking when in their human form. But that was simply an illusion. The dragon behind the human form seeped through. Seven feet tall in human form, Vishana was pale to the point of being an ice sheet in the frozen north. Her eyes were the color of gunmetal, and her hair flowed down past her ass, silver with a sheen of blue sparkling through. Her tresses—like Smoky’s—writhed on their own, shifting as if with her moods. She was wearing a long white dress, elegant with silver embroidery, and a cloak as blue as the early dawn.
As Smoky’s mother settled back into the recliner, Lash looked up from her position on the floor. Vishana gazed down at her.
“We don’t often meet our shadowy kin, be they half- or full-blood. I knew that one of Camille’s sisters was engaged to half-blood black dragon. I assume you”—here she nodded at Shade—“are the gentleman in question?”
Shade laughed. “If gentleman be the correct word to describe me.” He gave her a short, but respectful, bow. “Lady Vishana, be welcome. May I present my sister, Lash? She is visiting with us for a while. She came—”
“I assume she came to get to know her future sister-in-law? For if I were your mother, I would send in a spy to scope out who was going to be marrying my son.” She flashed a brilliant grin at both dragons. “In fact, I did this, although Iampaatar did not know.”
Smoky started to protest but Vishana held up her hand. “Quiet. It is long past and you do not need to know all my secrets.” She turned to Lash. “As for you, girl. Stand. I am not the Empress, and while I am above your station, I am not one who demands supplication.”
And with those words, I began to get a clearer picture of the hierarchy of the dragon world. Camille didn’t talk much about it, and Smoky seldom mentioned his home, not surprising given what his father had done to Camille. But Vishana, she was elegance embodied in form, and now I saw that while she definitely was dragon through and through, she was also gracious.
Lash stood, smoothing the front of her gown. She hesitantly raised her head to look at Vishana. “Thank you.”
“Are you clutchmates with your brother?”
Lash shook her head. “No, I was in the second clutch. We are part Stradolan, so the clutches were small.”
Vishana nodded. “The shadow walkers are the only species who can interbreed with black dragons, so yes, I know of your other heritage. Which side holds more sway with you?”
Delilah shifted, and her gaze latched on to the interaction. I realized that she knew very little about her lover’s heritage. Dragons were cagey, even with their mates. Had she known anything we were hearing now, Camille and I would have already been privy to the information.
Lash swallowed, glancing at Shade. He nodded for her to answer.
“Unlike my brother, who followed more in the footsteps of our mother, I identify with the shadow walker part of myself. I work with my father. I’ve trained with him since I was little.”
Delilah glanced at Shade, then interrupted. “What does your father do?”
Lash tilted her head. “Hasn’t my brother told you? Our father is a judge. He sits on the Jury of the Damned.”
Camille and Delilah stared at her. I was right there with them.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Camille’s voice cut through the silence with a resounding trill.
“I’d like to know that myself.” Delilah stood and moved toward Shade. “You’ve never told me anything about your family.”
“Dragons are tight-lipped, my dear werecat.” Vishana leaned forward, leisurely resting her elbow on the arm of the recliner, and her chin on her hand. “I doubt if Iampaatar has told Camille as much as he perhaps should have.”
Lash looked crestfallen. “I didn’t realize…”
“This is not a problem.” Shade let out a sigh. “The only reason I haven’t said anything, Lash, is that I hate what Father does. You know this.”
Lash let out an exasperated sigh. “This again? Are you going to forever carry a grudge against him because of what he chooses to do?”
“What he does is what he is.” Shade’s normally tranquil expression took a leap south and he turned away. “Delilah, I think we have rounds to make on the property. Lady Vishana, Honorable Wing Liege, please grant me leave?”
Vishana stared at him thoughtfully, then nodded. “You are excused.”
Shade practically dragged Delilah out of the room. Lash watched them go, then turned back to us, flustered.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to air any family laundry.”
“What’s the Jury of the Damned?” I got tired of standing and took a seat on one of the ottomans, crossing my legs.
