Page 68 of Dance with the Dragon Duke

Ruby flew out to them, her cream dress streaked in red. She smiled brightly, needle-sharp teeth pink with blood.

“You did good, Ruby,” Tomorrow said, hugging her tight, smearing her own gown in crimson.

Dark couldn’t always make sense of the girl’s chatter, but he was quite certain she’d responded with, “Of course I did.”

Tomorrow leaned against his scaled chest and sighed. “I stabbed Glen in the thigh with a rusty letter opener for you.”

“So fierce,” he purred.

* * *

Dark

A day later, the duke sat at a wax-wood table in the hoard of his sister, Queen Sora. A decanter of clear liquor and three egg-shaped glasses rested between them.

Masha, the familiar, drank from one of the glasses with a forked tongue.

“You didwhatto a Lunar magistrate?” Sora exclaimed, leaning forward in her chair. Up until that part of the story, she’d been quiet and contemplative, nodding her head with understanding as he recounted the events of the day before. Now she was cross.

“He was a corrupt man,” Dark said. “He took a bribe and signed my mate’s name by force to—”

“A corrupt man you first attempted to bribe yourself,” Sora scolded.

Dark shrugged his broad shoulders. “We were in a hurry, and no one needs to know that part now.”

“The wicked cousin is no matter. He was hurting your mate. No one will bat an eye at that, but the magistrate posed no real threat to you or her. His false contract could have been dealt with, but you burned the man to ash,” she shouted, shaking a fist at him, “and now you want me to smooth things over for you with Rain. She’s the Bloody Queen of Night, for the divines’ sakes. They don’t call her that just because it’s catchy.”

Dark rubbed at the back of his neck. “She scares me a little.”

“She scares mea lot,” Sora snapped.

That was saying something. His sister wasn’t the type to be intimidated by anyone.

“Will you help me?” he pleaded.

Her stormy glare softened. “This mate of yours had better be worth it.”

“She brings me peace,” Dark said. The peace he’d sought and finally found in her, only after he’d stopped trying to redeem himself. “She’s worth it.”

A growl rolled out of Sora, and the hut grumbled with her. The fire spat in the hearth, and the floorboards groaned. “Yes, I’ll help. Not like I have any choice. How would it look if Ilet my brother get himself ripped apart and nailed to a door somewhere? Or worse.”

Dark’s throat bobbed. “Worse? Gods—don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“You really don’t.” Sora poured herself another glass of the clear liquor. It had no smell and tasted of tart fruits. She drank it down in one swift gulp. “I’d better get on with it, then, before she discovers the news herself and has time to stew on it. You definitely don’t want that little fire-breather to stew.”

“Before you go,” Dark said, and the corner of his mouth curved upward. “I thought you might like to meet someone.”

Sora’s golden brows lifted. She resettled in her chair. “You brought your mate with you?”

“She’s in the corridor waiting, just in case you were too angry for a visit.”

Sora hummed in her throat, then she waved at the doorway. “Well, what are you waiting for? I’d like to meet the woman whose love made you ignite a magistrate like he was a birthday bonfire. Bring her in.”

Dark left the table and jogged to the side door. He pulled it open, and Tomorrow clamored through the threshold, pink-cheeked. Her smirk was as bright as sunlight. Ruby sat on her shoulder, painted talons dangling in front of her.

Sora rose to her feet to greet them. As his mate drew near, the Unseelie queen extended her hand, but Tomorrow ignored the gesture, throwing her arms around Sora’s middle and hugging the dragon tight instead. Ruby joined in on the affection, nestling between them.

“Oh?” Sora exclaimed.

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