Page 42 of Beautiful Beast

She frowned, but didn’t protest further. It was the last thing I had of both my grandmother and my previous life. I wouldn’t part with it.

Soza circled me, assessing with a sharp eye. “I’m going to adjust it. Do not be alarmed.”

I didn’t have a chance to thank her for the warning. The dress shrank around my hips where it was loose, and the straps tightened. They fit better, but also managed to show off more of me as they lifted my breasts skyward.

“If you’re sure they won’t be scandalized.”

Laughter surrounded me, and the violet-eyed female pulled me closer to the window where the sun was setting and turning the peaks of the Bowl as gold as the dress I wore. “I think they’d be more scandalized if you were to wear the dress you were wearing before. Here.”

She ran her hands over the skin of my arms and hands. Magic tingled against my skin. Almost like the sensation of walking through a warm mist. As it touched me, swirling gold lines appeared on the backs of my fingers and circled my wrists before crawling and growing in their filigree design up to my elbows. So similar to the bridal markings I recently wore. Was this where the humans had taken the tradition from? Dragon fashion?

My arms appeared covered in gloves without wearing them.

“Humans have a similar custom for marriage,” I said, holding out my arms.

“Is that so?” she asked. “Interesting.”

It didn’t sound like she was actually interested.

“It shall take you some time to climb the stairs,” Soza winced. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to get you sooner.”

I looked around and found them all smiling. Smiling back, I asked. “Is there something I might wear from here to there? Like a cloak?”

“Why?” Soza asked, frowning.

I went to speak and changed my mind. I didn’t want to offend them. I was here in their territory. These were their customs. I needed to follow them. It might be the only time they met me, and I didn’t want to sway their opinions on humans.

“It’s nothing,” I finally said. “Thank you for helping me.”

“You’ll return to where you met them earlier,” she said.

“Thank you.”

There, at least, I could get to. All the way to the top. My legs groaned at the thought, but I would make it. There were worse things. And if climbing the stairs in an admittedly beautiful dress kept me alive a bit longer, I was all for it.

Their eyes were on me as I left. I’d only ever showed this much skin to Helena. Even last night when Endre had me pinned against the wall, the shift hadn’t been quite this revealing. It revealed my arms and shoulders, but it wasn’t sheer. It didn’t display me.

I began walking up the stairs, needing to gather the skirt in my hands so I did not trip over it.

As I walked, others stared at me. They stopped as I passed, watching me until they could crane their necks no further. Some of them turned to watch me still, and I did my best to ignore them and the shock which was so clearly on their faces.

As a princess, I had a lot practice pretending to ignore people. But I couldn’t say I’d ever had to do it while wondering which part of my body the onlookers were staring at.

For a brief moment I thought about stopping to get Varí, but he was exhausted. I would let him sleep. How much sleep did dragons need? The tales were unclear. Some said that dragons did not sleep, and even when their eyes were closed they could see through their lids to make sure no one robbed their hoards. Some said they slept in seasons, fading into deep slumber for months or years at a time before rising.

If I were to guess, I would say that neither was the truth.

Three spirals from the top, I stopped to catch my breath. What I wouldn’t give to have wings right now. I had yet to see any dragons in that form inside the city, but that didn’t mean much. I wasn’t allowed everywhere. There very well might be places in Skalisméra exclusive to dragon forms.

Still, being able to fly at a moment’s notice sounded like a blessing.

The barest sheen of sweat covered my skin when I reached the top and approached their doors. At least with all the shining and glittering gold I wore, my skin shining wouldn’t be out of place.

I knocked, and a pulse ran through me. Magic, and an unspoken command to enter. So that was what Erryn had felt earlier this afternoon.

The door swung open easily under my hands. The couches around the fire were empty now, and that same invisible command guided me deeper into their apartments. To the right and down a long, open hallway. At the end I spied a room with a long, formal table, bathed in the orange light of sunset from the windows.

I stepped into the room to a cloud of thick silence. The Heirs stood around the table, with a fourth dragon I did not recognize. Each of their gazes landed on me, heavy. Tangible. So much more than it had been earlier.

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