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Bradwick also laughed. “Say it was like a pet and you could tell it what to do.”

“I would ride it and tell it to take me to the sky,” Charlotte giggled, putting the arm not connected to the king out. It slammed against Cecily’s stomach, and she winced upon the hard impact. “I would tell it to take me all over the world.”

It appeared Cecily didn’t care that she’d been hit.Where is her retaliation?After her words the previous eve, he expected more.

“I think that is everyone’s answer,” laughed Savannah, for the first time agreeing with the younger female.

“It is not mine,” Wyetta interjected, causing his brow to raise.This one is thoughtful, like Cecily. I wonder what she would do.

“Well, do not leave us in suspense, Lady Wyetta,” Bradwick said, waving his hand in a circle to get her to continue.

“I would try to kill it.” This made them all pause, turning their heads to her. She gave a laugh while shaking hers. “I doubt I would be able to, but the glory of winning a battle against such a formidable creature is something I would value very dearly.”

“You would like to be called Wyetta the DragonKiller?” Bradwick’s eyes lit up further, invested in this conversation now that it was getting interesting. “Perhaps you would have to fight me first at the cave entrance, since I would want such a title for myself.”

“Your Highness, I would fear crossing a sword with you more than the Dragon themself.”

Bradwick threw his head back in a loud, bellowing laugh. He reached over and patted her arm wrapped around his, almost causing Charlotte to lose her death grip.

“My dear, I would not let the Dragons overhear such a statement. I am sure they would be infuriated.”

She gave a coy smile, while Charlotte and Savannah narrowed their eyes.

“We have yet to hear what you would do, and I am rather curious about it,” Bradwick said to Cecily, who was facing forward, walking gracefully with her arm wrapped around Charlotte’s.

“I thought I already had – I would scream at its fangs.”

“No, no.” He shook his head. “We have already determined that it is your pet and will obey you.”

She turned her head to the king, and it allowed Geryon to see her face. Her lips were twitching, as if trying to suppress the urge to smile in humour.

“Although I highly doubt a Dragon would allow themselves to be a pet, I do believe Wyetta’s answer is the most intriguing.” There was a long silence. It must have taken her a moment to realise she was upsetting the king by not answering. “I would speak to it.”

“You are in the presence of a Dragon that would obey you, and you would do nothing more than converse with it?”

“I have read that they live almost eight hundred years.” She looked at the king from the corner of her eye. “Can you imagine how knowledgeable they must be? To be able to speak freely with a creature who would have seen and learned so much would be exhilarating.”

“What if the Dragon is a brute rather than an intellectual?”

“With such a long length of life, obtaining incidental knowledge is possible.”

“Well, if I ever meet a Dragon, I will send it your way for you to converse with.” Then he turned his head to Wyetta. “I will tell it to stay away from you if you hold a sword, though.”

Geryon focused on trailing his eyes over the exposed, slender neck of Cecily, feeling a remarkable urge to bite that pale flesh after her words.

I very much like her answer.He hadn’t expected it. Not only did she understand a Dragon would be something to be feared, not to be controlled by someone like her, she also complimented their obvious mindfulness.

There is a depth to her that I can see,and he knew the others didn’t.

She wasn’t some spoiled, brainless noblewoman.

For most of the stroll, he had thought her boring because she had barely spoken. He realised he had been mistaken.

He had a question, though. If she held such thoughts, why wasn’t she trying to use them to get the king to like her, to make the others appear imbecilic in comparison to her?

“Now, what of the gods?” Bradwick asked the ladies, directing them through the main hallways.

There were many areas the king would laze about when he wasn’t required to act in his role. He often had moments of ease where he could party and socialise.He does not have to do much to run the kingdom.