Page 28 of The Soul of the Dragon

"That's hilarious that you think you've captured me. And as for the missing imp, I think it’s a guarantee that she’ll be trouble. They always are. It’s a matter of how careful you are in what you say or do with them as to how much trouble. So keep that in mind and with any luck she’ll help us through and we won’t get dead. But I’d advise not threatening her anymore. An angry little imp is the most dangerous kind.”

“Well, if she gives us too much trouble, I could always barbecue her myself or eat her.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, maybe you could refrain from either of those. Might want to keep that dragon put away too.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Yes, I’ll get right on that.”

Her eyes filled with alarm. “Are you saying you don’t have control?”

My laughter died and I snarled. “I’ve got control just fine. But the dragon is an intrinsic part of me. It’s not just something I turn off and on like magic. It’s not that simple. He can take the upper hand if necessary, as can I.”

“That sounds exhausting. I think I’ll take magic any day over an inner animal.”

“You’d say that until you experienced the exhilarating freedom that comes with flight. Or the sheer strength of a two-ton dragon in a fight. And no one can take the dragon away from me.”

She cringed.“It's not gone. It's just bound. Besides, I don’t need brute strength to get by. And it’s not nearly as important or effective as a magical power.”

Aha.“So you do have magic, then. Care to explain how it's been bound?"

She sniffed, that sour expression on her face again. "I'll explain nothing to the likes of you. You're almost as bad as an imp with your tricks. Or a fae. At least now I know for sure I can't ever trust you."

"Trust is a fallacy. But knowledge is key, and at some point we are going to have to work together to find this amulet. Otherwise you might as well roll over and accept whatever the King wants from you." Not that I would ever let the King touch her again. A fact I would keep to myself for now. "As for the other,we’ll see. Until then, how about we get some food, make a plan, and then get a good night’s sleep.”

We stepped through the copse of trees in front of us and emerged on the other side and directly into the small village I’d seen during my quick flight.

“I’m all for the creatures of comfort, but I’d prefer to keep moving. We are still technically in King Aegrond’s realm. If he or any of his foot soldiers are pursuing us, it wouldn’t take long for word to get back to him of our location.”

“Which is why you will keep out of sight while I talk to the proprietor of the inn and procure us somewhere a little more comfortable to sleep than the forest floor.”

“Your obsession with your comfort is a bit much. How are we going to get anything done from a room at the inn?”

“Do you have another suggestion? Our mission isn’t to get as far away from your father as we can, Princess. It’s to find that amulet. And to do that, we need a direction to search. So we’ll stay here until we either hear from your little sprite, or we find someone else who might help us. There must be someone here with the kind of magic we can use to locate a missing item.”

Her shoulders sagged as she nodded. “I’m not familiar with this village, but there aren’t many that don’t have at least one seer. Go do what you need to. I’ll have a look around.”

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her against my side. “Nice try, Princess. But I did not kid about keeping you close and at my side until the amulet is found.”

“I’m not going to run away.”

She spoke the words, and yet, I didn’t believe a single one of them. “Either way. We stick together.” To emphasize my words, I encircled her wrist with a tighter grip and pulled her closer. “Until this is resolved, we are in this together.”

Her demeanor seemed to relax, but I didn’t believe she accepted my decision. Every instinct told me she was simply biding her time. But I was done reminding her of her role here. I turned onto a busy street with her in tow. With a little more effort we would simply look like another newlywed couple. Another thought that gave me pause.

I leaned down and placed my lips by her ear. “How do fae mate?”

She reared back. “Excuse me?”

The horror that suddenly crossed her face made me smile. I was beginning to really enjoy knocking her off balance.

“Relax, Princess. I’m not talking about fucking you. I’m talking about something a little more official and hypothetically only. I’m not proposing marriage. But if I’m going to convince an inn keeper that the two of us are a real couple, I’d like to make sure I’m using the appropriate words.

“We have mates, but they are extremely rare. That magical, rare bond between fae is so unlikely hardly anyone ever even mentions it anymore. Instead we join for power. Without that bond, I would be your concubine. Not your mate.”

“Hmmm.” I contemplated her information. “I don’t believe the word concubine means the same thing here as it does in the human realm. But I can work with that.”

“You can’t go around and tell people I am your concubine. Word will get back to the King.”

“Isn’t that what you basically want? For him to think you’ve given yourself to another? And if you've rarely left the castle, will these people even recognize you?”

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