Page 91 of Wickedly Ever After
Alistair gave an annoyed hiss and covered his bare crotch. Amber scrambled to her feet, pulling the ragged edge of her oversized robe up over her shoulder.
Not lips coming together then. Ida blushed.
Amber folded her arms, blushing too. “Well, don’t say you are sorry for interrupting,” she said in an annoyed voice.
“I’m not going to,” Ida said, coming in. “You knew I’d want to talk to you.”
Alistair showed his teeth. They were sharp, and black in color, shiny as knives. “Amber is my mate. If she doesn’t want to answer your questions, she doesn’t have to.”
Now Ida could see what Alistair was making. A life-sized statue of a woman stood on a block of stone, carved from magma. Amber’s hair billowed around her shoulders in red and gold tendrils, her eyes blazed like those of a salamander from the smooth orange, blue, white, and red face. Hints of purple shown in her naked skin, and her breasts shimmered like golden opals. Clear to see a man had carved it, even if he was a dragon.
“I have no objection to you hearing what I say to your…to your princess,” she said, mindful of what Hector had said about dragons being possessive of their mates.
“Yes, sheismy princess,” Alistair said. “But she is also my mate, a mate after my own heart. I knew it from the day we met.”
Ida held up her hand. “I understand. That was my fault, and I take full responsibility for it—”
“You don’t understand a thing about it.” Amber gripped Alistair’s hand, pressing her nails into his scales. “You didn’t make this love. And you won’t take it away from us.”
“But Ididmake it.” Ida sighed. “None of this is real. There’s been a—mistake—with Happily-Ever-After. It’s not your fault at all, but it looks like you may have fallen in love with the wrong person. You were supposed to fall in love with the prince—and I’m very sorry about that too, long story—but the point is I’m here to make it all better. So if you’ll just pack your things—and Alistair’s too, because this certainly involves you, and I’m not forgetting that—we’ll all go back to the castle and get this sorted out. You don’t have to marry anyone you don’t want to, Amber. I’ll make sure of that.”
“But I am married,” Amber said. “To a prince. A prince of dragons. I’m a princess, don’t you remember?”
“By magic—and it was absolutely the wrong thing to do—”
“By marriage.” Alistair growled. “I have mated with her.”
The look that passed between them was laden with longing and hunger.
She needed to put an end to that right now. “Can I speak frankly to you, Alistair?” she said, folding her arms.
His face said no, but he said nothing and she didn’t see fire brewing in his throat, so she continued.
“You weren’t meant to be involved to this degree. All you were meant to do was kidnap the princess, deliver her to the mountain lair, and then let the prince discover her.”
“She is not my prisoner! I offered to set her down anywhere between the city and the mountains.”
“Repeatedly,” Amber said with a hint of a smile.
Ida held up her hand. “I’m using the word kidnap in termsof Happily-Ever-After. Amber was to be rescued by a prince, fall in love, and live with him in his palace. That was how the magic was written.”
“Alistairisa prince! He did rescue me, I’m in love with him, and I will live with him in his palace!”
“It’s not that simple,” Ida said. “Think about it, Amber. What did you tell me when we met? Your world was the forge, your family business, and that’s all you wanted to do with your life. You wouldn’t give them up for any man. I was foolish not to listen to you. I’m here to give that back to you. You didn’t want to marry a prince—any prince—but certainly not a dragon prince. In fact, you were willing to kill him to avoid that fate only a few days ago. And now you think you are in love with him? Is that logical?”
Amber said nothing.
“Alistair, Hector told me how you hesitated. You didn’t want a princess. You only came to the Happily-Ever-After because he reminded you of your duty. And now you want to marry this girl? A human girl? You aren’t a man. You can never love Amber as a man.”
Alistair’s heated breath warmed Ida’s face. “I love Amber more than she has ever been loved by anyone. It doesn’t matter that I’m not a man. Isn’t that the point of your ridiculous Happily-Ever-After?” He turned his back on Ida and walked to the large open window admitting the chill of the darkening mountains.
“The point of this ridiculous Happily-Ever-After was to preserve the peace,” Ida said. “Two people agree to an arranged marriage so everyone else can live happily ever after. Whether or not that’s right or wrong is beside the point right now—both of you are victims of a misplaced spell. That’s why you feel attracted sostrongly to Amber. She may even have feelings for her captor; that’s not uncommon—”
“First of all,” Amber said. “I’d appreciate if you’d stop callingmea victim. I said I’d be the princess when you gave me that spiel about duty and honor, didn’t I? I came of my own free will!”
Alistair turned and draped both his arms over Amber’s shoulders. “I too came of my own free will. Hector reminded me of all the sacrifices my dragon ancestors have made to keep our people safe. It’s not just humans who have given up their choice for Happily-Ever-After. Many dragons have died for your peace. I chose to honor that tradition in the end. How could I call myself a prince of dragons and not?”
He turned to Ida. “If Amber wants to go back to her home, I will take her myself. I’ve always been willing to. But I won’t stop loving her, no matter what kind of spell you throw at me. And if you think a potion might change my mind, you can ask Hector what happens when you give one to a dragon.”
