Page 19 of Bride of the Black Dragon
The man is up there right now, at the entrance to the staircase that leads down to Xaren’s rooms. If I tried to sneak past him, I know he’d go straight to the Queen.
The Dark Prince glares down at me for a moment more, then sighs and grudgingly opens the door wide enough for me to come in.
“Fine,” he says. “Take your side of the bed and don’t bother me.”
I feel hurt all over again.
“I’m sorry to be invading your privacy,” I say stiffly as I come into his bedchamber, lit once again only by the witch flame. “I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t forced to.”
“I can well believe that,” he snaps. “After the way you acted last night.”
“What about the way you acted?” I demand. “You scared me half to death!”
He gives me a look.
“You lied to me. Tried to pretend you wanted me to take you. I don’t like being lied to, little dove.”
“What am I supposed to say?” I nearly shout at him. “Yes, I lied. Your mother told me to offer myself to you. Because apparently, I’m supposed to pretend I’m excited for my first time! But how can I be? I know it’s going to hurt—that’s scary!” I have my hands on my hips as I glare up at him. I wish he wasn’t so tall!
“Scary, is it?” he growls.
“Yes—it is.” I flounce over to his bed and get into “my side.” I’m elaborately careful to keep to the edge and not go anywhere near the middle. Why does everything have to be a fight with him? Why can’t he be kind to me, like he was earlier today when he saved me and defended me at the stables?
Xaren gets in on the other side and turns his back to me. I think we’re both just going to lie there in icy silence—and I do mean icy because, just like last night, it’s freezing in his rooms. I shiver quietly until I hear his deep voice floating over the void between us.
“So you didn’t want me to take you just because you were frightened of your first time?” he asks and there’s a tone in his voice I don’t quiet recognize.
“Exactly.” I turn over to face him and see that he’s done the same. “And then you nearly choked me to death and shouted at me and made things even scarier!”
A look of shame passes over the side of his face that I can see.
“I never would have hurt you on purpose. I thought you were an intruder—maybe an assassin. Though I had no idea how you got past the warding at my door.”
“The warding? What warding?” I ask, frowning.
He sighs.
“It’s a spell that keeps anyone who means to do me harm out. That’s why I don’t usually lock my door—I have no need to.”
“You locked it tonight,” I point out.
“Yes, I did,” he says, not offering any explanation.
Since he’s not offering, I’m not asking.
“Look, I know this is a bad situation,” I say. “I know you don’t want me here. But I can’t disobey the Queen.” I shiver. “She…scares me.”
“It seems like a lot of things scare you, little dove.” His deep voice is gently mocking.
“Maybe so,” I admit. “But I think I have good reason to be scared.” I sit up in bed and start ticking off my reasons on my fingers. “I’m in a new place where most people don’t like me. My maid is my only friend but even she doesn’t know that I’m still a virgin—which I shouldn’t be by now. Your mother, the Queen, has told me that I must get pregnant with a Drake heir but neither of the men I married wants anything to do with me and I know that eventually she’ll find out. Also, someone tried to get me either killed or injured—as you pointed out yourself—today in the stables. So yes—I’m scared.”
I stare at him defiantly, daring him to refute anything I’ve said. He just looks at me, his head still on the pillow. The black sheets are pooled around his waist and his dark tan skin looks golden against them. His hair is spread like midnight silk on the pillowcase, though it still covers the scarred side of his face.
“I see,” he says at last. I wait for him to say more, but that seems to be it. He just lays there, studying me, his golden eye gleaming through the silky cloud of his hair.
I’ve said my piece and since he’s not responding, I decide I’m done for the night. I turn my back on him again and settle down in bed. Shivering, I curl into a ball and wait for sleep to take me. I wish I could stop wearing the damn lace nightgown, it’s so drafty and cold—maybe I should. Would the Queen really know if I wore something else instead? But then again, Xaren said she has spies everywhere…
I’m still wondering as I finally fall asleep…and for some reason I’m dreaming of dragons again. No, I’m dreaming that I’m a dragon. I have long, pearly white and silver wings and I’m cold, flying up in the sky. Then I see a black dragon, far away, breathing fire. I should be frightened of him, but I’m not. I fly closer, knowing that his fire will warm me up…
