Page 41 of Spectacle

“It must be nice to be loved like that,” she murmured over our morning coffee as we waited on everyone, her eyes sliding to a group of guards who were waiting for their orders from her this morning. I learned that she was the equivalent of a general for the dragon clan much like Saxon is for the Vilaxians.

“I have no complaints,” I replied as I studied the group, noticing that two of them kept looking at her out of the corners of their eyes. They were all trying to be subtle, but it was glaringly obvious if anyone looked closely.

“Dragons are mostly monogamous, aren’t they?” I asked her, and she turned her attention back to me.

“Yes, it’s one of the things that sent a ripple through our society when they heard that Tirrian mated you and was not your only mate. Occasionally, there have been triads, but most matings only involve two people. There were a few who called for Tirrian to be replaced by one of us as Father’s heir because they claimed his focus wouldn’t be on the good of the dragon clan. Dad immediately shut that talk down, not to mention both of my brothers would run screaming if they thought they had to be responsible.”

I felt a pang of guilt but also a rush of gratitude that King Tysar was so supportive of everything. “It might not be a bad idea, but Tirrian has to be the one to make that decision, not anyone else, and I support him no matter what he chooses. And why does it have to be one of your brothers? Why can’t it be you?” I asked her, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Nothing says it can’t, but I am the youngest, so traditionally, it would be one of them first.”

“Yet you’re a general and your brothers are comedians.” I nodded at them. They were pretending not to listen, but I knew they were. The looks on their faces at my last comment proved it, and I chuckled. They flipped me off in unison.

“I really love your family. It’s awesome,” I told them all, and I meant it.

It’s comfortable, and I don’t feel like I have to be someone I’m not. I thought maybe royalty would make them aloof, but that’s not the case at all. Much like Xavier’s family, though maybe amongst their subjects, it’s different.

The mission got the green light, and we needed to move into place before we could continue that conversation. I hope she’s happy no matter what she decides to do, and I hope those two dragons grow a set of balls and take a chance on her. I’d like to see my new friend happy. I get the feeling most dragons avoid her because of her status, and she implied as much when she said that female dragons can be increasingly catty when they get to mating age.

It looks like nearly all of the guests have gathered as the venue seats are mostly filled, but a cry from the foyer has everyone turning to look. It doesn’t sound happy, and the man up front who threatened Silac waves a hand at one of the women seated in the crowd to go see what’s happening. Silac tries to follow, but the large basilisk clamps a hand down on his shoulder and growls at him not to move.

I decide to follow her and have a look myself. There is no chance of me being discovered if I stick to the walls and stay out of the way.

What I find in the foyer makes me livid. There’s a pretty dark-haired girl in a wedding dress, and she’s sobbing her eyes out. “Please don’t make me do this, please,” she begs the woman who had been dispatched to see what was wrong. She backhands the girl in the bridal dress, and her head snaps back. She gasps, clutching her cheek as she looks at the woman with shock, but it does stop her crying.

“Get yourself together. It’s a great honor for Father to choose you to do this. I wish he’d chosen me. Silac is filthy rich, not to mention handsome, so you could do much worse, and nagas have two cocks as well. Don’t be ungrateful.”

The man standing behind the bride clenches his fists and glares at the woman. I’m assuming he’s a bodyguard, since he has that kind of look to him.

“Well then why don’t you take my place? I’ll gladly swap. I’ll leave, and you will never have to see me again,” the girl pleads, the red handprint on her face doing nothing for her bridal look. Hell, if my sister slapped me like that, I would have punched her in her nose.

“I wish I could. I begged him to let me take your place, but he is insisting. He says it’s to teach you your place.” The sister looks from the bride to the bodyguard behind her, and he stiffens ever so slightly. The bride does the same thing. Oh, okay, I see how it is. Star-crossed lovers. Well hell, now not only do I want to help Silac, but I also want to help this woman too. “And you’ve always wanted children, so who cares if they are nagas or basilisks?”

“I don’t care at all, but I want them to have two parents who love each other. That is not me and Silac.”

“Shut up, Kinga. It’s a done deal. You just have to get your ass down the aisle before Dad comes out here and drags you down it by your hair. It will be so much worse if you disobey him,” the sister hisses, obviously tiring of the conversation. She whirls around and stalks back into the other room.

I feel someone behind me, and when I turn, Xavier has joined me. It’s all very dramatic, he says dryly, obviously having heard most of the conversation. He must have followed directly after me.

Isn’t it? How about we do something about it? I reply. I share with him the plan that hatched while I was watching the drama unfold, and his lips tick up with amusement.

Well, look at you being all devious. Silac’s going to be livid when we don’t stop the ceremony, and I thought you were over his hot and cold ways.

I sigh. I am, but the heart wants what the heart wants. I’m hoping if I take Kinga’s place and marry the guy, then he’s going to have to give in to whatever is between us. He wanted to set Kinga free anyway, and if he decides he doesn’t want it after it is all said and done, I can grant him a divorce. It’s not like we’re mating straight away.

Alright, you know I like a bit of mystery and intrigue, so let’s do this. Xavier waves a hand and freezes everyone inside the church, then he peels back the glamour on both of us, and the bride and her body guard startle at our sudden appearance.

“Who the fuck are you?” the burly bodyguard demands, pulling out a gun and pointing it at us.

“Whoa, calm down. I have a proposition for you.” I hold up my hands in a nonthreatening way and cross my toes that they will listen to my suggestion.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Silac

My heart races as I glare at the man standing next to my father, poised to tip him over. The warlocks aren’t here. They didn’t drag their statues along, but they aren’t frozen like my father is, so hopefully they will appear at any moment.

I was devastated to hear that my father has driven our company into the ground and been cheating on my mother. She is going to be heartbroken. I don’t want to be the one to tell her. She’s not here, and neither are my siblings, thank goodness. I also can’t believe Dad convinced all of us that a naga can’t bite an intended non-shifter mate to change them, saying that we were the last of our kind and marrying a basilisk was the only chance for naga children.

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