Page 1 of Dragon Fight

1

“You married the big, handsome dark-haired fellow, then?” Nadia asked me, not long after we arrived at my family estate.

We’d come for my honeymoon with Brom, or at least that was what we had told everyone. But had any other couple ever brought three of their closest friends on such a trip? We had, and for quite different reasons than we could safely divulge. My staff had rushed out at the sight of dragons, fussed over Glimmer until she retreated up on my shoulder, watching her admirers warily, and then Cook had announced everybody needed to hop to and gather ingredients for a feast. One of the footmen had carried my bags up to my father’s old room and, after I’d set them on the bed, Nadia had landed beside them in a flurry of skirts, leaning over to pick up my hand and inspect the ring on my finger.

“Which one?” I’d asked her, as I moved to set Glimmer down on the bed. She eyed the two of us then before nestling down on the bedspread to sleep.

“Well, it couldn’t be the drill sergeant,” she said, consideringly. “He’s a man in his thirties and much too old…” She paused then, to look at me sheepishly. “It’s not him, is it?”

“No, Soren is not my husband,” I told her confidently, even though I still felt his hands on my skin, heard his huskily whispered words of encouragement as he schooled me yet again, this time in the art of taking four men together as my lovers. “It’s Brom, the wing commander.”

“So tall and muscular.” I smiled at the swoony tone of her voice, watching her sigh and then flop back onto the bed. “An officer as well.”

“And a good man,” I told her, knowing that to be true in my heart.

“Do you love him?” Nadia’s tone was rising with her excitement as she flipped to lean on her elbow and look at me. “Was it love at first sight when you saw him here? Were you sneaking around when that bloody prince arrived? And what happened tohim?! Why aren’t you queen-in-waiting anymore?”

I wanted to answer her honestly, I really did. Nadia was as close to a sister as I’d ever had, so holding back information from her felt wrong. But as I opened my mouth, Glimmer cracked open one eye and stared at me.

You are a dragon queen in a world that has forgotten what that means, she told me.You cannot share these details, not until people are willing to accept them.

“That’s a very long story, or a short one,” I said with a rueful smile. “The queen rejected Glimmer and therefore me. I was told to join the royal dragon riders and a husband was found for me.”

“So it’s not a love match?”

I watched all the light drain from Nadia’s eyes, but I shook my head slowly.

“Love?”

I found myself looking within then, reaching for what I felt about Brom and feeling unsure of what I found there. Affection, need, desire, gratitude, frustration, anger had all raged within me at some point in response to my husband, but now… My thighs clamped together as my last memory of him arose. Standing over me, cock in hand, working it hard and fast right before he… I shook my head.

“I’m not sure if we’re there right now,” I replied, “but there is real affection between us. It’s no hardship, being married to Brom.” What would’ve been perfect was if the priest had allowed me to marry all four men. Tied to each other in the eyes of the gods, we could’ve explored things at our own pace, fanning the flames of desire and tenderness that burned between all of us. “If we aren’t in love right now, I think we will come to be.” I smiled. “I will, anyway.”

I thought about that,later that evening as all five of us came to sit down to eat the sumptuous feast Cook had prepared. I’d changed out of my riding leathers and back into one of Father’s suits, but each rider stood by his chair, bowing low when I arrived. It was the customary sign of respect shown to a lady in her seat of power but, still, I was not dressed in the ordinary manner of a lady. Flynn’s eyes danced as he bowed with a flourish, then his gaze turned hungry, making me wonder what was to come once night fell. Soren nudged him when he wouldn’t stop staring. Ged went to pull out a chair for me beside him but Brom moved to the head of the table, pulling out the seat of honour, and then pushing it in beneath me as I sat down. His hands landed on my shoulders for just a second, squeezing them before moving to take his own seat.

“This all looks delicious,” Ged said, eyeing the spread before us.

“And you’ll wait your turn before digging in,” Soren growled. He nodded to me, his expression instantly softening. “Our queens serve themselves first.”

Glimmer crawled down from her perch on my shoulders. She was now getting too heavy to stay there for long. Once she was on the table, she sniffed experimentally at the dishes before turning to me.

They’ve ruined perfectly good meat by cooking it and dressing it in all these damned sauces, she grumbled.

“Cook sent me in with this, milady.” A maid I didn’t recognise rushed into the room then stopped herself, eyeing Glimmer before bobbing a curtsey. “Just in case the little queen… I mean, dragon didn’t find any of the dishes to her liking.”

“Thank you…” I paused, not knowing her name.

“Lettie,” she said, flushing and glancing around the table. “I’m Lettie. I just recently started my service here. I…” She plonked the bowl down in front of Glimmer and then sketched another curtsey before rushing out.

“Must’ve seen your face,” Ged told Flynn, with an evil smirk.

“Why? Because it’s a helluva lot prettier than your horse’s—”

“Enough.” Brom’s tone was even, but definite. “I want to make a toast to our queens.”

I felt suddenly shy and dropped my gaze as they all looked at me, a ridiculous reaction considering what the five of us had been up to, only a night ago, during Zafira’s heat. We’d been as intimate as any people could be. Even so, I had to force myself to lift my head and look each of them in the eyes, and I couldn’t hold the gaze of any of them for long. Would I always feel this way? My cheeks flushed despite myself, the attention feeling exactly what I needed but too much, all at the same time. Whatever had happened at the ruins, it’d unlocked something inside me, something naked, vulnerable and wanting, and that’s how I felt when I stared finally at Brom as he gave the toast.

“To my wife.”

---