Page 12 of Her Dragon Defender

TWELVE

Three men clustered around the first table Eden approached, clutching their glasses in both hands as they devoured her with desperate eyes.

If they knew she wasn't some rich princess and just a scholarship student, they'd go back to staring into their beers, she was sure of it. Best she strike before they found out, then.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she began with her best winning smile. "Have you heard about the Hea Wildlife Sanctuary?"

When three heads shook, she allowed herself a tiny frown. "Are you sure? My roommate Diana said it was the talk of the masked ball here a few months back. Maybe you remember her? She wore an emerald green dress, with her hair all piled up like Marie Antoinette."

Blank looks and shaking heads were all the response she got. Maybe they hadn't been at the ball, either.

"Well, let me tell you about the sanctuary. Its primary mission is to return injured animals to the wild..."

Diana had been right, like she always was. This trio was only too happy to sign over a small donation from their weekly allowance (which was more money than Eden had owned in her entire life) for the animals. They all wanted to shake her hand, too, to wish her well in her rewilding endeavours, though they all seemed disappointed, somehow. Like they'd expected her to throw herself at them, or at least ask one of them to dance.

But there were more tables to visit, filled with men who were all too eager to talk to her, and shake her hand.

The more the sanctuary's account balance grew, the more dissatisfied she became. Parting men from their money was mere child's play, but getting information about Diana from them proved impossible. No one seemed to remember her, which couldn't be right. She was the sort of person you didn't forget.

And all this money she was raising would be for nothing if she didn't find Diana, because the sanctuary would be useless without its qualified veterinarian.

Eden began to believe that none of these men could have been present at the masked ball where Diana disappeared, which meant she needed to find someone who had. The only man she was certain had been there was Craig Tremotino, the host, who was probably too ensnared in Candace's web to even notice any other woman. Least of all a plain scholarship girl who wanted to ask him questions instead of sucking whatever he kept under his codpiece.

A polite tap on Eden's shoulder stopped her in her tracks. "Excuse me, princess, but might I have a word?"

She turned to tell the guy he'd made a mistake, only to find he was one of the castle's liveried waitstaff, all decked out with gold braid and more fancy buttons than any coat needed.

"Prince Charming wishes to meet Rapunzel in the tower, for a private tete-a-tete," the butler (or whatever he was) said.

"All right," Eden began, not sure if she should refuse or go along with this. "Are you going to tell me who Prince Charming is?"

"If you wish to find out, princess, I suggest you meet him in the tower," the servant said.

Eden sighed. Well, she'd spoken to most of the men here already, and her hand ached from so many firm handshakes. Maybe this prince had information about Diana that he hadn't felt comfortable sharing in front of his friends. That alone was worth meeting him in private.

"Where's the tower?" she asked.

The servant bowed. "Allow me to show you the way, princess."

THIRTEEN

Blaze did three laps of the room, growing more desperate with each one, until he finally had to admit his gut was right: Diana had disappeared, and he had no idea how to find her.

But he knew someone who did.

Blaze pulled out his phone and flipped through the messages from Diana. There it was – the picture of her and her fated mate, who was also a student at Mirror Academy. She'd know where Diana was – that was how the mate bond worked, or so the stories said.

Blaze blinked. The girl in the photo had short, dark hair, but if he imagined her in a bushy blonde wig...shit, no wonder she'd looked familiar.

He should have grabbed her then and asked her where Diana was. Now...she was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe she'd left the ballroom and gone deeper into the castle. He'd search the whole place for her, then.

"The bathrooms are that way, sir," said a liveried servant at the base of the staircase, pointing down the corridor.

"What's upstairs?" Blaze asked.

"The family's private chambers, sir. No access to the public."

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