Page 42 of Don't Fae With Dragons

Cory rolls his eyes with a smirk. “You two are so sentimental.”

“It’s true though, isn’t it?” Port replies softly. “There’s just something in the air here that’s so ... different from where we’refrom. Softer, warmer, maybe more open, too. It’s beautiful. That’s only in the volcano, too, we haven’t even visited the actual town, yet.”

My breath catches in my throat and I fidget with my empty glass, suddenly wishing I was sober enough for this conversation. I stare down at the table intently, and Port leans down to catch my gaze. I glance up at him and force a quick smile.

“Yes?”

“Mili,” he starts, pursing his lips. “What is it like?”

“What’swhatlike?” I ask, praying for him to leave it alone. I can’t tear my gaze away from his earnest eyes, though, and I feel my heart starting to swell with guilt and yearning.

He shrugs at me. “Ethelinda, I suppose.”

“Port–” Cory starts.

“Let her speak, Cory,” Max interjects. Cory doesn’t so much as look at him, though; he’s too fixated on me.He still thinks I’m scared,I realize,still thinks I’m weak.

I tear my gaze away from Port’s warm eyes and stare straight at Cory. He sits up a little straighter as I fix my eyes on his, and a small frown twists his lips down. I realize that I’m nearly scowling, that my pulse is pounding not with sorrow, or fear, but withanger.

Cory’s been too busy parading me around the volcano, wooing me with gifts and delicious food and good company, he’s conveniently forgotten why I’m here in the first place. I’m not here for romance, or even for friendship: I’m here to save my people.I’m here for Ethelinda,I want to scream,not for you.

It’s all the worse that I’d almost forgotten what I was here for, too.

Instead of screaming or crying, I set my wine glass down softly and push it away from myself. I hear my heartbeat thumping in my ears, so I’m sure the shifters have all noticed something is wrong, too –that’s one of the downsides of their keen senses: it’s impossible to lie that everything’s fine when your body betrays the truth.

I take a deep breath in, then let it out. I tap on the table once, twice, three times with my fingers, and I think of what to say.

“Ethelinda,” I finally start, “is everything.”

CHAPTER 29: CORY

“It’s beautiful beyond belief,” Mili continues, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest. I can’t believe how calm she sounds, even though I’m sure she knows we can hear her pulse racing, feel her rage churning just beneath her skin. It’s as if we weren’t even here, as if she were talking to an empty room, practicing a speech or a poem recitation.

“Of course, though, that’s not what’s so valuable about it. It’s the people who are. The faeries, the wizards, the gnomes and pixies on the outskirts of town, the spirit of my grandmother in the sugar maple up North –all of them are what keep the spirit of the town alive. Our energy trickles into the energy of the whole Realm, bringing it life and joy and beauty.”

I finally let my breath out as she breaks eye contact with me and turns to address Port and Max. She’s tapping on the table again as she speaks, and I lose track of what she’s saying as I watch her delicate fingers dance along the hardwood’s ridges. I shake my head to refocus myself and glance back up to see her glaring at me.

“Am I boring you?” she hisses. I know, Iknowshe’s mad, and she has a right to be, but I’m unfortunately very aroused by how beautiful she looks with her face flushed with anger and her fingers tap-tap-tapping viciously on the table. She’d be agood ruler, I realize. Vicious, caring, and clever. Ok, maybe not vicious.

“You’re not,” I reply, coating my tone with apathy.

Her jaw clenches and she cocks her head, sizing me up somehow, and she stands slowly, slowly from her seat. At this point, I’m getting annoyed with her irrational anger, so I rub one of my temples with my thumb. She scowls at my nonchalance, and I smile to myself –I’m winning.

“What’s the meaning of this tantrum, Milica?” I ask, tone cool. Max whips around to stare at me, incredulous at my sudden chilly demeanor, but I don’t budge. Leaders – dragons, especially –have to be the bad guy sometimes.

This is one of those times.

I realized what Mili was upset about as soon as Port asked her about Ethelinda and her heart started pounding. It must have hit her that we’ve been so busy training and drinking and (Realm save me) flirting, we haven’t had that much-needed discussion about her plans to actuallysavethe town.

It’s perfectly understandable that she’s angry we’ve wasted time, since we sort of have. It’s even fair that she blames me, at least, to some extent. The problem is, Mili doesn’t thrive on anger; she thrives on peace. As long as she’s like this, riled up and unreasonable, I can’t have that conversation with her. Better to stomp her fire out than let her burn the whole place down with her. Although could she do that? Wait, that sounds more like something I would do.

I sigh aloud at the thought of that. My parents would kill me if they could see me now, letting a faery wander around the volcano, doing whatever she wanted with me and charming allthe guardians. My father would mock me relentlessly;oh, letting a woman rule the roost are you? What a fool you’ve turned out to be.

That’s not entirely fair of me though, and it wouldn’t be fair of my parents to say that, either. After all, it isn’t her fault that she’s here. I could have turned her away, or offered to meet her on neutral ground.

No, it isn’t her fault at all that I wanted her here. Ineededher. I can’t punish her for that, not when I welcomed her in on my own.

“Tantrum?” Mili replies, suddenly matching my quiet, icy tone. “Who’s yelling?”

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