The Passionate Queen (Dark Queens Book 2) (21 page)

The four of us gathered into a tight circle, three of them gazing at the servant who came gliding down the long staircase toward us. I, however, kept my eyes firmly on Lena. She’d not moved a muscle since the announcement, but I could see the strain of her thighs and the ramrod stiffness of her spine.

“I’ve almost got you now, my Lena.”

She turned her face to the side.

I grinned.

The sweet scent of dragonsnaps curled under my nose when the maiden finally stopped before us. Somehow Lena had cultivated my people’s flowers here on wonderland.

Druscella was fair, pretty (in a nondescript, banal sort of way), with thick curls of brown hair, and piercing, intelligent gray eyes. I could see immediately why Lena had chosen her as she had.

There was something about the human that made one want to inherently trust her, but there was also that feeling that this was a capable woman with something worth saying and listening to. I liked her immediately.

Icarus too seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he suddenly took a defensive stance between us and her.

“I am Druscella,” she began, “Queen Zelena’s personal handmaiden.” She inclined her head, accepting our returned greetings. “I’m here to give you the final rules of courting. Show your talents. If you’ve kept aught hidden from us or her, now is the time to bring them forth. The queen’s decision could literally be determined by something as minor as having a green thumb. Also, from this point on, the queen shall choose her final suitor.”

“How long until she chooses?” Midas asked, and I could scent the hubris leaking from every pore of his body.

Licking my lips, I imagined him roasted over a spitfire. I’d never actually eaten gold before; I wondered if he would taste sweet or metallic.

The fool smiled at me. If he only knew.

Druscella shrugged. “However long it takes.”

She’d sounded impatient, which had me wondering whether she saw through his façade. I’d have to learn about this particular handmaiden.

“What are the rules?” Icarus asked.

Again she shrugged. “The rules will be determined by the queen herself. We’ve set out one final group get-together for the day. After this the queen will have a week to decide. She can take the full week, or she can simply opt to choose immediately. My advice, be on your very best behavior, and understand that from here on out you really only have one opportunity left to impress her.”

He shrugged, scrubbing his sculpted jaw with his thumb and forefinger, looking contemplative and deep in thought. I really wanted to hate the bird. Damn my reformed ways.

“Why us?” I asked, morbidly curious as to the choosing of this final grouping.

Druscella turned her gimleted eyes on me, and I saw a far keener intellect shining through them then I’d even first imagined. “Icarus of Madrigar for his wings,” she said succinctly, “so that he can keep an eye on our skies. Midas of Menina for his gold, so that our coffers can remain ever full. Jonas of Aqualia for his ability with the cryptids. And you, Ragoth Nur of the royal house of Drakon, because there is none greater than that of a dragonborne.”

Immediately the three men took several steps away from me. Icarus glared at me, his gaze raking me with hostility, possibly even with a hint of curiosity. Midas had swallowed twice hard, but already I could scent the wheels of his devious mind turning as he realized who I was and just what I was capable of doing. A grin spread lazily across the contours of his pretty face. Jonas, however, couldn’t seem to stop from quivering like a sapling in a strong wind. The man had no spine.

He was hardly even a meal worthy of consideration.

I crossed my arms and grunted, spreading my feet wide and giving them all haughty stares. If the royal house of hearts no longer required my secrecy, then so be it. The standoff could have gone on indefinitely if it hadn’t been for a sudden loud note of trumpets.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

Zelena faced us, and lightning and thunder ripped through the square, surrounding her in a backdrop of primordial rage. I’d sensed a lessening of her magic and knew that whatever this was, it was not inherent to her. Nothing more than a sham meant to make it appear as though she’d created the storm. Understanding dawned a moment later.

Just as a dragon would, this show was for one thing only, to establish dominance and power over us. And it seemed, as I looked at the other men beside me, that only I was truly aware she did not do this.

They all looked upon her with a mixture of fear and awe.

She looked coldly beautiful as ever, with her porcelain fair skin gleaming like hottest flame. I wanted to yank her from the saddle, rip off the clothes that must have taken her hours to pick out, and ravish her thoroughly, mark her as mine in every way possible.

It was an exercise in restraint to stand back and allow the idiots to ogle her as they did. I prided myself on the fact that where most would have picked off the humans for a bedtime snack one by one, I merely mocked them in my head.

But even as I thought this, I caught Icarus glancing at me from the corner of his eye. I sniffed, sensing his agitation in the bitter scent wafting from him. He didn’t know what to think of me.

Good. I grinned.

Her eyes snared mine, and I drowned in their depths. I was a dragon, free and powerful. The world and all its treasures were mine to possess. But not her. As much as I’d wanted it to be so, I was weak when it came to Zelena. She held me enthralled, hypnotized, and she always had. I could study her for a lifetime and never reach the depth of just who she was. She was a multi-faceted jewel, one so rare and precious that the thought of losing her again made me want to claw at my chest and roar with fury.

As though she knew, sensed the pain I felt now, her features softened just a little, and the smile she wore, it was mine alone.

And those with us ceased to be; I only saw her. There was no one else here, nothing else that mattered. I’d made such a mess of things when I’d returned; I was desperate to make it right.

“Please,” I whispered so low I knew she could not hear it, and yet the tension that’d held her stiff vanished, and she was like a shy sprite rose blossoming slowly open to me.

Her cheeks pinkened as she glanced down at her stirrups.

The mood was spoiled when Midas cleared his throat. Loudly. Reminding us both we weren’t alone.

Shifting on the balls of my feet, I tried to hide the growing evidence of my desire for her, for once grateful that Midas had planted himself at the head of the group to catch her eye quickest.

Druscella curtsied to her queen, spread her arms wide, and whispered, “My queen, may the goddess bless you in the choosing of your future mate.”

And with those words, the maiden turned, vanishing behind what’d been a hidden doorway covered in shrubbery.

As though I were her perform, Lena transformed before my eyes. Gone was the softness, replaced by the implacable hardness of the queen she now was.

“So you are my choices, are you?” She sounded bored.

I knew what this was. What she was doing. She was nervous and unsure, and so my sweet Lena was disappearing behind the authoritative, prickly mask that was most comfortable and familiar to her.

Pushing my way through the men, I reached her side, took her hand, and planted a warm kiss on her jeweled fingers. “Good morning, my queen. I hope all is well.”

She inhaled sharply, and though I wondered if she meant to snatch her hand back, she instead squeezed me tight, and I gave her whatever strength I could. Holding onto her until she’d regained herself.

Lashes fluttering like feathers against the tops of her cheeks, she gifted me with a grateful smile and said, “Yes, beast, it is now.”

I wanted to kiss her again, hug her, but I knew that I’d be crossing a boundary of decorum if I did. It was all I could do to let her go and step back.

The moment I did, the other men pressed forward.

Midas was next, fawning and petting over her wrist while he uttered complete nonsense. Like that he’d never seen another near as lovely, or that she’d awoken a fierceness of need and hunger in him like none before. The fact that all those statements would have been true had they come from me made me despise him just a little bit more. From him they were pretty little lies he thought would make her quiver and melt and make her slave to him.

“Oh, I doubt that very much.” She snatched her hand from his lecherous grasp.

His smile slipped for but a moment, and I could read his thoughts much too easily. She was not one for petty words; he’d find another point of attack. Determination fixed firmly back in place yet again, he bowed deeply. “My queen,” he murmured deeply.

Jonas took his time, practically slobbering over her fingers until even I cringed in response, embarrassed for the poor fellow’s attempt at flirtation.

“My beautiful, lovely, beautiful queen Zelena,” he murmured, and I curled my nose, wondering how she was able to keep such a straight face.

“Jonas.” She nodded.

Then her eyes turned toward the bird.

Icarus never reached for her. He simply inclined his head. “Good morning, fair queen.”

He said the words in such a way that I could not doubt their sincerity. Lena apparently felt the same, as I saw a genuine smile cross her face.

“Good day to you, Icarus. It is truly good to see you again.”

Pursing my lips with impatience and disgust, I flicked at an imaginary bit of lint on my shirt and decided then and there that Icarus might be a real problem for me.

Sighing, Lena adjusted her riding breeches and nodded toward the portcullis. “Mount your steeds, or prepare to sail as you so choose; we leave now to the enchanted forest.”

Icarus withdrew his wings, and Jonas slipped two fingers into his mouth and let loose a piercing whistle. Midas, who could neither fly nor call an animal to him, stood off to the side, glowering at the lot of us.

And I, smiling broadly, called the fire to me. All the men scattered; even Lena’s well-trained royal steed grew skittish when I stepped out of my flames into a form as true to me as the man I was for her.

I could not help but give them all a snaggletoothed grin. “Lead on, my queen,” I hissed in dragonish.

In this form, I was far more sensitive to smells and sights, and I wanted to roar to the skies with satisfaction when I saw her body visibly lean toward mine. No matter the words that spilled from her lips, or how much she might even like the bird, Lena still loved me. I tasted the dewy essence of her yearning perfume the air between us.

And I couldn’t help but smile softly to note the sunshine and wildflowers of her still remained. When humans aged and matured sometimes their smells did too. I’d feared Lena’s would alter. That the heavy mantle of her queenship would kill off that innocence in her, but it hadn’t. If anything, it’d only grown stronger. I inhaled heavily, wishing to take her deeper into my body, into the very soul of me.

Jonas, who up until now had been little more than background noise, suddenly snapped, “Dragon, will you please get into your skies? My mount refuses to enter the gates with you near.”

Blasting a jet of flame through my pearlescent nostrils in response, I chuckled when he shrieked and sidestepped, as my blast barely missed the toe of his boot. Unfurling my brightly jeweled and heavy wings, I shot into the sky, causing a heavy downdraft that scattered a few of the pins in Lena’s hair, so that curls of her sleek, golden tendrils draped heavily across her shoulders.

I chuckled deeply. I’d promised to be a good dragon; I hadn’t promised to stop having fun altogether.

Moments later I spied the glowing silvery coat of a unicorn come trotting through the gates. The majestic creature took my breath away. Unicorns, no matter which lands they hailed from, were awe-inspiring creatures that demanded respect and attention.

Even from this height, I could hear Lena cooing to it. The filly tossed her pastel-colored mane, and her silver horn gleamed brightly in the noonday sun.

“Score one for the imbecile,” I grumped to no one.

I sensed movement to the right of me but paid it no attention until I realized the disturbance came from Icarus.

“I do believe that may have been a checkmate,” he mumbled.

Turning my eyes to the bird, I snorted. “I do believe you are right.”

We didn’t speak for a moment, as we waited for Jonas to attain permission for both he and Midas to mount the magnificent creature.

“You knew the queen before, didn’t you?” he asked me in such a way that I was almost certain this was less of a question and more of a statement.

I could deny it, but I didn’t feel like pretending. So instead I asked another question.

“I thought you were supposed to be a fool, Icarus.”

He tossed his head back, causing the sun to glint off the blond curls of his hair, making him appear as an angel surrounded by a halo of light. “I could say the same to you, dragonborne.”

I snorted out a jet of steam. Possibly in his direction. And possibly on purpose. He shot quickly to the left and gave me a withering glare before deciding anger wasn’t worth the energy spent and chuckled beneath his breath.

“Try as I might, I cannot fathom what she sees in you,” he said, crossing his broad arms across his equally massive chest.

There was something about the man I trusted, despite my need to hate him. I simply couldn’t find it in me. Of all the men left, I knew Icarus to be a true threat to Lena’s heart, but at the same time, I found myself curious to learn more about him.

“I knew her long before she became the woman you see today. As she knew me. Lena and I, we are kindred souls and always have been.”

“Why now then?” he asked with a shrug. “Why do you pursue her now and not before? You’re royalty; you could have had her easily, could you not?”

Mine and Lena’s history was long and complicated and not one I wished to reveal to him. Not many in wonderland knew of her morphling heritage, and I would never be the one to share it. Nor did I wish to expound on why it was she had to be noble before I could have her.