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“When will our human forms return?” he asks Thelise, though his eyes never swerve from mine.
“Fuck if I know,” she says.
“Give me an estimate.”
“Might be another ten or twelve hours? Things are still settling. But like I said, take short flights, stay low when you can, and if you feel a strange buzzing sensation, land immediately.”
“I’ll be back in six hours, Princess,” says Kyreagan. “Be ready for me.”
Those last four words carry a significance and meaning that sends a chill up my spine. He agreed with my impulsive plan, that we should use each other physically when he’s in human form. I get the feeling he’s looking forward to it.
Kyreagan heads for the entrance of the cave, throwing an order over his shoulder. “Ashvelon, you’re with me.”
Ashvelon heaves himself up off the floor of the cave. He dips his head to Thelise, then to me, before flying away with the dragon prince.
“He really likes you.” I elbow Thelise lightly.
She laughs. “He’s a good boy. Does what he’s told, for the most part. Though I rather like it when he decides to assert himself.”
“Is that what he was doing when we arrived?”
A shadow crosses her face, and she turns away. “Shall we investigate the contents of these bags? Ashvelon and Fortunix didn’t think it worth distributing the goods to the women since they were going be transformed so soon. Now that the captives are staying human, much of this will be given to them. But as the Crown Princess, it’s only right that you should have first pick. You can take all the best things.”
There’s a faint edge to her tone, and I get the sense that this isn’t just kindness or friendliness—it’s a test. She wants to see if I’m a greedy, spoiled bitch. I intend to prove I’m not.
We take our time going through the bags, organizing the supplies into piles—clothing, blankets, cosmetics, jewelry, perfume, wine, and various herbs and salts.
“You had all this readily available?” I ask.
“Oh no.” She laughs. “When the dragons came to get me and said they needed supplies for other captives, I made them wait in the stables while I sent a messenger to buy the rest of the things at the market. I tried to think of everything a civilized person might miss if they were being housed in a dragon’s cave.”
“Back up a moment. You made two dragons wait in the stables?”
“I bound them there. With magic.”
“Then… you could have overcome them both and escaped.”
She wraps a flamboyant scarf around her neck. “Of course.”
“So why did you let them take you?”
She looks at me soberly for the first time. “Days before my father’s last act, he sent me a letter describing what he planned to do. I didn’t believe he’d go through with it, so I did nothing. I told no one.”
“You came here because you felt guilty?”
“Not guilty, exactly. I don’t believe in guilt. But I suppose I felt some responsibility. The dragons didn’t specify what spell they needed, but I figured I should go along and see what I could do to mitigate the situation.”
“And you weren’t afraid you might make it worse?” I wince. “Forgive me, but I heard that your spells don’t always go as planned.”
“You heard I’m a terrible enchantress. Powerful, but unpredictable and careless.”
“Well… yes.”
Thelise smirks. “That’s the beauty of gossip, darling. I have never performed a spell that didn’t turn out exactly as I intended. But I did perform several that produced very strange results, whereupon I pretended to be shocked and embarrassed. You see, if you’re powerful and skilled, people never stop bothering you to do magic for them. But all you have to do is deliberately mess up a few times, and they leave you alone.”
“You’re brilliant.” I sip the wine, cradling its smooth richness on my tongue.
“Best mistake I ever made on purpose was when a man came to me, asking for a larger dick. And I made an extra dick sprout out of his head.”
