Page 42 of Dance with the Dragon Duke

“Allow me,” Dark said, taking the cigar from the earl. He dug his nail briefly into the palm of his hand, just enough to break the skin. With his mixed heritage, Dark wasn’t much of a blood mage, but this he could easily manage. He blew on the end of the cigar, and smoke escaped his nostrils. His breath grew so hot the cigar lit with a spark. The sweet earthy scent of tobacco filled his lungs.

Bjorn took his cigar back with a grateful bow of his head. “Bravo, Darko. Thank you.” He puffed on the end, blowing gray smoke out his nostrils. “I hope you can forgive an old man his greedy curiosities, but you and Miss Easton appeared well-acquainted at the fae feast the other morning. Should I be expecting a special announcement in the papers soon?”

“She’s my mate,” he said honestly. “I do plan to propose. Though, I haven’t yet picked the venue for such an important display. I’m a guest of this court and not from this province. Perhaps you could help me by offering a suggestion.”

“Ah.” The earl’s face brightened. “Well, that would depend on what sort of hurry you’re in. There are lots of romantic venues in River Row.”

“Dragons are as possessive as the rumors suggest,” Dark said, his tone light. “Sooner is better than later.”

Bjorn grinned around his cigar. “In that case, the king and queen are hosting a winter ball in four days’ time. Admittedly, the food isn’t my favorite, but if Miss Easton enjoys dancing, it can’t be beaten. The music is always a treat, and they employ mages for decorations that are as elaborate as they are magical.”

A cloudy smog gathered above them as they enjoyed their cigars. Dark listened for voices and approaching steps in the hall.

The earl made a contented sound in his throat. His hazel eyes had gone unexpectedly glossy. “I should warn you, I’m a bit of a sentimental man. Young love always reminds me of my bride, may she walk the stars in peace. Yours especially so, you see, because my Alice was mortal with only distant fae ancestry. So little I barely recognized her as a mate when we met.”

“No forgiveness necessary,” Dark said, surprised by the show of emotion from the nobleman. It didn’t bother him, per se, it just wasn’t done amongst the Unseelie. “Tomorrow is immortal, thankfully, but I can see why she reminds you of one. So much of her is human, and like you and your Alice, we are of two worlds.”

“Quite right you are.” The earl gazed off into the distance, eyes going unfocused. Smoke billowed lightly around his angular face. “Concerned family tried to warn me off the match. They told me we’d never be able to grow our bond into a true mate pairing because she didn’t have magical instincts. She couldn’t feel the blooming bond pull. They worried that I would outlive her and never be able to nurture our bond into that rare and coveted soul link, but neither detail deterred me.”

“Now you’ll have to forgive me for my curiosity,” Dark said, snuffing out his cigar stump in a glass ashtray. “Were they right about true mating?”

“They were.” Bjorn smiled, and the lines near his eyes crinkled. “But I was also right when I said it didn’t matter. I never missed it. There are things more important than that soul-tie that the fae romanticize excessively. And really, I have no desire to share my thoughts with anyone. I’d like those to remain my own most of the time. Gods, the trouble I would have gotten myself into if I’d accidentally sent her my thoughts during an argument.” The earl chuckled at that, and Dark joined him.

“It’s supposed to be peaceful, true bonding to a mate,” Dark noted.

“I found peace in my mate without a completed bond. Most immortals don’t understand that, and they lose out on so much because of it. There are so manyotherways to connect to a person. Even now, there are other matches, other mates that I come across from time to time. Still, I have no desire to replace the mate I had because no magical binding will ever beatlove.”

“Our mate bond is as one-sided as yours was. I won’t miss true mating either,” Dark said, and as he spoke the words, he was absolutely certain they were sincere. In Tomorrow he could have what he really needed: peace and tenderness. To hell with the rest.

He’d just have to convince her that was all she needed too.

As though their conversation had summoned her, Tomorrow entered the library, cheeks rosy with recent laughter. A ruddy-colored runt of a dragon perched on her shoulder—another ferocious thing that appeared to already be taken with her.

“I wish I could keep her,” she told Dark, stroking the dragon’s neck. The little creature leaned into her petting.

Frances trailed them inside. “Iso is a lovely companion,” she said, “so long as you stay out of her hoard. She has some bad kidnapping habits.”

Tomorrow’s gaze met with Dark’s, and the corners of her copper eyes crinkled.

“It’s the woman of the hour,” the earl said warmly. “Please sit with us.” He vacated his chair, pulling over a highbacked wooden one so that Tomorrow could be near the duke.

The dragon took to the air as Tomorrow made herself comfortable.

“We’ll leave you to it, then,” Frances said, and Iso swooped around her head. “It was very nice seeing you again, Tomorrow.”

Witch and familiar departed together.

“Here you are,” Bjorn said, fishing folded parchment from an inner pocket of his brocade jacket. “I had this put together foryou. A quick summary of the Easton duchy finances. The liquid assets. The properties, farmlands, tenants, and a summary of costs vs. rents and assorted income.”

Tomorrow accepted the paper. She held it in both hands for a moment without unfolding it. As though she were gathering herself, she rested it on her lap. “Before I get into all that, there was something I wanted to ask you, Lord Aaberg.”

“Bjorn, please,” the earl said kindly. “You may speak freely, my dear.”

Tomorrow chewed her cheek a moment.

Dark watched her, wishing he could think of something to say that might bolster her.

“You know,” Bjorn said, filling the silence, “I was shocked when your father named me, of all people, as his executor. We’d been rivals all our lives, I’d thought. We went to all the same events, battled over the best staff members, chased after all the same lovers. I wouldn’t have called him an enemy, but I certainly wouldn’t have called him a friend.”

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