Page 2 of The Dragon of her Dreams

Dad huffed and pushed his food around on his plate for a minute more, then finally he spoke. “I think Anselm will be bringing his family back a little earlier than expected.”

My mother and I waited, expecting something more. That wasn’t exactly distressing news. They were family and coming back for the party in a few days anyway.

“And?” Mom prompted, reaching out to grab Dad’s hand.

“Well,” Dad began again. “Cass just called me, and she’s in a bit of a... well, she’s having a tantrum, basically.”

I lifted my glass to take a sip of my drink and chuckled directly into my orange juice, careful not to accidentally snort the bittersweet, pulpy beverage. I’d done that once before, and the sting of citrus up my sinuses wasnotsomething I wanted to repeat.

“Ah... more information please?” Mom said, grabbing her teacup. At this rate, we’d be waiting until lunch for the problematic part of the story.

Dad took a sip of his coffee, savoring the strong flavor as he mulled over his words. “Okay... so, to cut a long story short, a man has come forward, from the outer township, and claims to be Damon’s son.”

My jaw dropped at the scandal Dad had just revealed. “Seriously? How old is he?” I pressed, because surely, that was the most important thing to know.

If he’s younger than twenty-eight years old, Aunt Cass is going to have a fit!

“He’s older than you,” Dad said, a begrudging acceptance on his face. “Thirty-two or three, I think.”

Mom sighed heavily. “Well, if it is true, then at least he wasn’t conceived after Damon met Cass. That would be an absolute tragedy and a disaster for their marriage.”

“No, it was from years before ever he met Cass, and Damon readily admits to having slept with the boy’s mother. But there’s something else that is much more serious than Cass’s potentially wounded ego.”

“What could be worse than that?” Mom asked, sounding offended on my aunt’s behalf.

“Proof that he is without question Damon’s son. And why is that an issue, you ask?” Dad cut in before Mom could answer. “The line of succession is now in serious jeopardy.”

“What proof?” I asked, and suddenly the dragon king tattoo flashed in my mind, the image seared into my brain like a blazing brand. It was from my dream. “No...” I gasped.

“No what?” Dad asked, his brow furrowing and my unexpected outburst.

“It’s the tattoo, isn’t it?” I gulped. “He bears the royal tattoo.”

Dad nodded. “Yes, he does, as does Damon’s oldest son with Cass, so it could be either of them that make a claim to the throne when the time comes.”

“Oh, thatisa pickle,” Mom said. “Poor Cass.” My parents continued to chatter about the royal bloodlines in hushed tones, but they shouldn’t have bothered to try and conceal their conversation.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying anyway over the sound of blood roaring in my ears, lost in my own thoughts. Fear and excitement shot through me in equal measures, making me shiver so hard I had to get up and walk over to the fire to calm myself.

Could Dad really be talking about the man I’d dreamed of last night? And every other night for the past week. He had long dark hair, bright, intense blue eyes, an incredible body, and the infamous tattoo of the dragon kings on his chest. I knew every dragon king and prince in our realm, and I hadn’t recognized his face the first time I’d dreamed of him. And he still wasn’t familiar. I’d assumed that meant he wasn’t real, and merely a figment of my lonely and overactive imagination.

But what if he wasn’t just a dream, after all, but a real man? An illegitimate prince of the North? My stomach tightened, and an unfamiliar heat blazed between my thighs, making my cheeks flush pink.

Holy crap. What do you do when dreams become reality?

Chapter 2

Jaegar

THE HEAT OF THE FLAMESwarmed my back as I stood by the fireplace, ready for the fight that was coming. I faced a group of people I never thought to meet, not by choice, at least. The reigning royal family, including a prince from Bravadok.

“So, Jaeeegarrrr...” the queen said, drawing my name out like she hadn’t heard it said before.

“Jaegar,” the king said quickly, his ice-blue eyes sliding to me, then back to his wife. “It’s not a name you would have heard in the South.”

I forced myself to stare straight ahead. I was named after a King of the North, three generations back, and I was pretty sure the current king, Damon, knew that.

“Yes, Your Highness?” I said, raising an eyebrow at Queen Cass. “You were about to ask a question of me?”

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