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I nearly choke on the wine, but I manage to swallow it. “You did not.”
“Oh yes. Nearly got myself run out of town. But I pacified everyone and I paid for a number of very fine hats so the man could hide his new… protuberance. You should have seen it—this big soft cock just flopping around on top of his head…”
I’m laughing so hard I nearly spill the wine. “God, the dragons are lucky you didn’t do something similar to them.”
“I considered it. But my aim here is to bring peace and harmony, not foment more anger.”
My smile fades. “You made them beautiful so we would want them.”
“Yes. Does that make me a monster?”
I’m not sure how to answer, so I bite my lip and pick through the assortment of soaps. Finally I select a bar that smells like fresh oranges.
“I understand what you’re doing,” I tell her. “But I’m not sure it will work. The dragons are so different from us. And most of the women are terrified. They just want to go home.”
Thelise snorts. “Do they? Or are they simply pretending they do? What about adventure? What about romance? What about birthing a new race?”
“I don’t want to birth any new fucking race.”
“Yes, well…” She rises, straightening her skirts. “You’ll have a choice, of course. The dragons’ human side should soften the effects of the mating frenzy a bit. But I’m sure they will be very insistent and persuasive nonetheless. You may find yourself yielding against your better judgment.”
“Do you have any contraceptive herbs?”
She purses her lips. “I do. Not enough for everyone.”
“I want some.”
“I can spare enough for two doses. Beyond that, I must reserve the rest for others.”
Perhaps she expects me to argue, but I don’t. I take the paper packet of herbs that she gives me, along with soap, a comb, a tin of salt, some new underthings, and an orange dress that precisely matches the color of Kyreagan’s fire.
“I have some men’s clothing, too,” offers Thelise. “I didn’t know the prisoners were all female. It’s mostly castoffs from ex-lovers of mine. This one is rather princely, don’t you think?” She holds up a black cloak with dramatic epaulets. “Might suit Kyreagan in his human form. There are boots too, somewhere in these bags. Everything got jumbled together.”
Eventually we locate the boots, as well as a pair of black pants and two shirts, one black and one ivory. I find a second dress as well—a pink one with sleeves down to my elbows and a ruffled neckline. It looks like something a farm girl might wear on a special day.
Thelise brings over an old bedsheet from one of the bags, and she helps me create a bundle containing the cloak, the clothes, and the other supplies. Then we recline on her throne-like chair together, sipping wine and talking of the women we have known, the men we have kissed, and the dragons who have claimed our future.
17
“There is nothing we can do!” I repeat, for the hundredth time, to the group of male dragons. They cluster around a jutting rock on which Varex and I have perched, with Ashvelon and Fortunix flanking us. “The spell is permanent.”
“We should kill the enchantress!” bellows Saevel, a dragon with green scales. “She has ruined us and doomed our race!”
A growl rips from Ashvelon’s throat. Fuck, he’s enamored with that woman. I don’t understand it.
“Ashvelon has claimed the enchantress as his life-mate,” I announce. “I bound them myself. Therefore she is under the protection of the clan and may not be harmed. He accepts full responsibility for her future actions.”
“Including any other damaging spells she may do?” shouts Hinarax.
Fuck—I hadn’t thought of that. What’s to stop Thelise from continuing to meddle in our lives with her magic?
“I accept full responsibility for everything pertaining to her,” says Ashvelon. “If any dragon wishes to challenge me, he may do so.”
“He is a daunting opponent,” I add. “I would not challenge him lightly.”
The other dragons rumble their discontent.
Varex steps forward, his claws scraping the rock. “My brothers, let us calm ourselves and give each other time to adjust to this new reality. We should talk together, share our experiences in our human bodies, and think of the benefits that might accompany this shift in form.”
