Page 34 of Accounting for Drakes

“Thank you. Presumptuous, but thank you.” She lifted her spoon and glanced at him. “Are you sure? It’s really good.”

“I don’t consume food that frequently. It would be lost on me.”

She grinned and went for her third dessert. He watched her with a soft smile that turned into a grin when she sat back and looked around as if scanning for more. When she realized what she was doing, she put her hands on her lap and sat quietly.

Rikion chuckled. “It seems that you live up to your reputation for appetite.”

“Not a great thing to say to a lady, but yes. Once I started consuming, the hunger grew, no matter which form I was in.” She shrugged.

Orwon smiled. “Would you like to go for that walk to settle yourself and interrogate me?”

“Sure. I know a nice path by some cliffs. I hope you have a good sense of balance.”

She smiled brightly. She nodded to Yorath. “With your permission, Your Imperial Highness?”

“Please. Go hike. Just remain in condition to dance at the wedding tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? I thought it was three days from now.” She scowled.

“Well, as the important guests are already here and preparations are underway, tomorrow it will be so that I may have time with my empress as soon as possible.”

Nanny smiled at the startled Abil. “That sounds excellent. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

Yorath chuckled. “Take the dark star for a walk and keep him from scaring the locals.”

“I can do that.” She started to rise, but Orwon moved behind her, held her chair as she stood up, and then offered his arm to her.

She swallowed and slid her hand under his elbow to hold him, and she saw it. They were the same frequency. Of course.

Orwon cocked his head. “You look startled and resigned at the same time. It is an interesting combination.”

She snorted as they left the room, and she winked slowly at Abil as they passed, making her giggle. It always worked.

When they were out of the dining room and pacing down the hall toward the entry to the palace, Orwon asked, “What was with the wink?”

She smiled. “When Abil was little and I was in the form with my broken wings, she would silently ask me how I was feeling, and I would answer with a slow wink. It made her smile every time, and I used it sparingly or when she needed reassurance. Here, I used it for recognition as she would not recognize my main form and certainly not my biped forms.”

“She never saw it?”

“No. The form I was using at the time was the only one small enough to be considered appropriate for contact with others. I regretted it as soon as the meteors struck, and I was unable to cover the vessel, but Mbrak had told me to use it so that I wouldn’t scare the family.”

“Understandable.”

“I failed as a guardian to them.”

They were walking out of the entryway and into the evening air.

“You kept her alive and nurtured her instincts even if it wasn’t the socially acceptable set. Her drake is very prepared for space and had no issue in navigating her way to her mate.”

“But her parents...”

“How large was the meteor shower?”

“It pelted the ground for a week. I kept my body between the rocks and the shuttle during every fall.”

“The parents should have navigated around the storm. Most would. As they were headed here, was there any reason for them to go through it?”

She sighed. “It saved them two days of travel with a toddler.”

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