Page 4 of Earth Dragon
She scoffed softly, but to which part of his speech he couldn’t tell.
“But I only wish the best for you,” she said. “For you to have what you want.”
“This is what I want,” he said without hesitation, thinking that he still did not know if this was the truth or not. He only knew that Leon’s betrayal of his father had cemented his aversion for any action that might be considered the same. He would accept the crown and if he had to face his first and last trial to get it, then so be it. At least that way he would know that Rogoros was safe. He couldn’t secure it if he hid himself away on a farm and tended to the land for the rest of his life.
It might burn under his feet, suffer floods and drought. If the balance of the elemental magics was not upheld, then there was no telling what suffering would be rendered upon each of the four kingdoms.
He had felt it in that hall, as Malcolm tapped into every side to the elemental magics and had them flow through him. Ewan had felt connected to them all then, but it had been through Malcolm, and once that connection ended, Ewan had felt numb.
He still felt numb, but most days he pretended well enough that he forgot about it. He always smiled and forced himself to take interest in the mundane ongoings around him, and he told himself he was happy. There was nothing missing. He was content.
Lady Shannon’s voice was like honey when she asked, “Are you certain this is all you want?”
All? This was everything.
“Are you certain this is allyouwant?” he shot back.
She cocked an eyebrow again, turning her gaze to his. She was truly beautiful, that much was plain as day. Her dark eyes watched him as though he was a puzzle she wished to solve. That sort of attention was difficult to resist. He felt the very center of her universe.
“Unlike you, I have no choice in the matter,” she replied. “There is no more wanting to be done for me. There is only this.”
For some reason the thought made his hearts beat harder in his chest. It indicated that all there was for her was his every day, his hallways, his citadel. He wanted her to suffer, yet it felt strange to wish that suffering should come from her confinement to the parts of the world he held most dear. But he did wish it. He did not want her to be comfortable, yet he quietly thrilled at the idea that she was stuck forever.
It made him feel empowered.
It made him feel in control.
Then his brow creased in a frown as her words from earlier sank in with all their proper implications. “Did you say you were changing for dinner?”
“Yes,” she said airily. “Your father insisted.”
Ewan gnashed his teeth but didn’t say anything else. She was to sit at their table and eat their food and chat? Was it merely on this night of arrival, or did his father mean to include her at every meal?
Insufferable prospect.
Ewan would have to have a word.
He bowed, excused himself and left the room to go in search of his father. He would not think about the curve of her back or the dripping of water from her locks into the bowl or the way the robe had hugged itself around her. He would not think of how she had made him laugh and how he had thought himself capable of making her smile with sincere warmth back in Fawha. He would only remember the fact that she was a fanatic who had used him and who, clearly, held the same sentiments in her hearts as fervently as ever.
She is dangerous, he reminded himself, disliking the way his stomach swooped at the mere insinuation.
She was a beautiful beast, and he would not underestimate her again.
Chapter 2 - Shannon
She had been a proficient liar since she was ten. She had learned to smile as though nothing was bothering her and move as though there was only air beneath her feet and speak in a cajoling tone at all times. As a child it had been to appease, as a young dragon it had been to flatter, and now… She had done what she always did when she felt threatened—she had slipped into the role she had played for as long as she could remember. A tilt of the head, a blithe smile, an invitation. It was usually all it took to have any man take her side.
She should have known better than to slip into old habits around him.
Why was she so stupid?
She dressed herself. There were no hands to help her. It wasn’t necessary with the plain grey dress her father had provided her. All it had were laces up its front, keeping it in place. Its bell-shaped sleeves didn’t drag on the floor, the way finer gowns might, but it was comfortable enough.
She told herself she didn’t miss the green.
At least seeing Ewan again hadn’t been as difficult as she’d expected. She had thought she would feel the same guilt that had racked her back in Fawha, but his presumptions about her had drained that guilt right out of her. She had hoped he would remember the hours they had spent together, that he would have held some faith that there might be more to her than this scheme she’d been dragged into, but no. He only saw her as a traitor, same as everyone else.
Should she have told him, with a trembling lip, that she wished she could take it all back? Should she have shown herself vulnerable?
