Page 29 of A Matter of Dragons

Mad Scarlett tilted her head to the side and regarded me with unblinking yellow eyes. “You threaten?” she asked.

“No,” I said, quickly. “It’s just— You lit the whole sky on fire. Right next to a human town.” My human town, I thought but did not say. “And you know how humans are. They’re going to want you gone. There’s going to be trouble.”

Her lips peeled back, revealing the white ridges of her many dagger-shaped teeth. That was never a good sign in dragon negotiations.

“You said Cairncliff was your town,” she rumbled. “So, you make the trouble go away.”

Shit. I frowned, trying desperately to imagine what my mother would say under these circumstances. She’d say something profound. She’d make some sort of promise that would give everyone what they wanted without sacrificing too much. Perhaps I could offer some type of assistance that would seem heartfelt but wouldn’t actually put too much on the line. Like—

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden rush of wind as Mad Scarlett unfurled her wings. Without so much as a backward glance, she leaped into the air, her powerful wingbeats tossing dust and pine needles in my face. I watched as the flames on the ridge painted her underside gold and vermillion. She climbed just high enough to be seen clearly by every single human, elf, and dwarf in Cairncliff and then dropped back to the mountainside above me. To her cave.

Clearly not leaving.

“Well, shit,” I said.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rayne

“How could you have slept through it?” I demanded. “There was a dragon! In the sky! Shooting fire! Didn’t you hear all the screaming?”

Eadberh shrugged sheepishly. We were sitting in a corner in the Master and Mistress’ main room as Eadberh nursed a large mug of black tea and what appeared to be quite the hangover.

“Well, I’ve always been a heavy sleeper,” the blond musician cheerfully offered as he put more jam on yet another biscuit from the basket in the center of the table. He was impeccably dressed in a white blouse with puffy sleeves and a long, vibrant blue cape that gave no indication at all he’d spent last night with a man he’d just met. Next to him, Eadberh looked especially bedraggled in his open-necked, sleeveless tunic.

I scowled at the musician. Vil, Eadberh had called him. It bothered me that I knew his name, just like it bothered me that he’d still been in the room last night, and it really fucking bothered me that he’d somehow wormed his way into breakfast with us this morning. Seriously, what was wrong with Eadberh? Couldn’t he just kick this guy to the curb?

“I guess we were just exhausted,” Vil said. He winked suggestively at Eadberh before shoving the jam-coated biscuit into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes and wiped my fingers on a napkin, only remembering at the last minute not to drag my sticky hands across the second of my three elegant, lady-like dresses. This one was a bright scarlet which, when paired with my red curls, made me look especially sallow and anemic. But I hadn’t chosen my clothes; these dresses had been given to me from the armory, just like any other assignment. I’d tried to counteract the effects of the dress by pinning my curls into a knot on the top of my head, but that would probably be short-lived. My hair had a mind of its own.

“You got back late,” Vil offered around his mouthful of biscuit. “What on earth were you doing in the Elven District last night?”

I squeezed my right hand into a fist under the table. This Vil guy had an extremely punchable face.

“That’s enough,” Eadberh growled.

He wrapped his massive hand around Vil’s wrist and their eyes met. The intimacy of that little gesture left me feeling oddly hollow. Eadberh turned toward me and I scowled, trying to silently convey my disappointment at his poor life decisions. This Vil guy was supposed to be a one-night stand. Not a breakfast companion.

“Vil has something to show us,” Eadberh said.

Eadberh raised his mug to his lips, letting it go at that. I stared at Vil, desperately trying not to be the first one to ask questions. Vil finished his biscuit, took a sip of his tea, and then very delicately wiped his face with his cloth napkin. I tapped my fingers against my thigh in annoyance. Come on.

“So,” Vil began, leaning forward and glancing conspiratorially between me and Eadberh. “I have just the thing for you.”

Eadberh smiled at Vil. I wasn’t used to seeing Eadberh smile like that at anyone outside our little circle of military misfits. The fact that he was smiling at this dumb blond musician pissed me off, and the fact that I was acting like a jealous child pissed me off even more. I took an angry bite out of a biscuit before I could make some snarky comment that I’d regret later.

“You’re looking for information about dragons,” Vil continued.

“You told him?” I snapped at Eadberh, spitting biscuit crumbs all over the table.

“Shush.” Eadberh waved his hand dismissively at me.

“Don’t shush me,” I growled. Now I wanted to punch both of them.

“Well,” Vil said, continuing as if nothing at all had just happened. “I know a dragon.”

“What?” I said.