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Valentina gave Tiber an assessing look before she turned back to the head chef and barked out orders about the evening’s meal. It had taken a while, but he’d finally hunted her down. An almost impossible feat in a castle that stayed busy all the time.

The chef simply nodded at Valentina, then turned to his staff and ordered them to join him.

Valentina motioned for Tiber to follow her. “Come. We can talk somewhere quieter.”

“It’s fine. I know you’re busy. Thank you for making time for me.” He could be diplomatic when he needed to be. He preferred battle and having a clear target, but there were times when he could put on a polite, civilized face for the world.

She gave him another one of those assessing looks. “There are no refunds on your art.”

“I know that. That is not why I’m here.” He would never return Mia’s art. They were his treasure. He was even sharing it with his guard so they could all see her talent. It went against his nature not to hoard it, but her work deserved to be displayed for everyone.

Valentina was still eyeing him, and he couldn’t get a read on her expression. “I saw you leave with Mia last night. If you insulted that sweet human—”

“Goddess,” he growled. “I had planned to be more subtle, but I guess I don’t need to be. Someone scared her last night.”

“Who?” Valentina’s entire demeanor changed, her dragon in her gaze as she turned to face him. As usual, she had blades strapped to her thighs and looked ready to cut someone’s heart out. It was one of the reasons he liked her.

“I don’t know. But something or someone scared her, and she ran out. She tried to cover it up, but her fear was thick. I simply followed and escorted her home.” He would have done more if she’d allowed him, but at the moment she barely tolerated his presence.

“Fear?”

“I think I know how to detect scents,” he said dryly. But it bothered his dragon that Mia had been scared.

She sniffed once, but her gaze was back to normal as she turned away from him and headed down a long corridor.

He kept pace with her through the maze of corridors until they were finally in her office.

“Why do you not have a larger space?” He paced the office in ten long strides, frowned as he took in the scant decor.

She had a lot of natural light and it was in a good location as it was close to the queen, the kitchen, and the main hub of activities, but someone of her station could ask for something more than this… closet.

“If I have a bigger space, it will encourage people to linger.” Her tone was dry as she rummaged through a set of files on her desk.

“And this is where I work, not my home,” she added as she pulled out a handful of papers.

She held them out to him. “This is a list of everyone who attended last night, including outsiders.”

“You’re just giving me this information?”

“You’re Starlena’s most trusted… I don’t actually know what your title is. But I know she trusts you, and that’s good enough for me.”

“What do you want me to do with this?”

She lifted an eyebrow. “You want instructions?”

“No. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

“If someone is threatening one of our own, handle it. I micromanage far too many people. You are not one I’m worried about. If there’s a problem, make it go away.”

Taking the papers, he left without another word. That had gone far easier than he’d expected. He’d thought he’d have to involve Starlena, despite that his ranking in the castle was likely as high as Valentina’s.

Though if someone had indeed threatened Mia, he would be handling it with or without anyone’s permission. He didn’t need any to take care of his future mate. But it would make things easier. He read over the names of the outsiders on the list as he made his way to the nearest exit.

He had to stop by the training arena first but after that, he would return to check on Mia and Cyprus. He’d chosen Cyprus to watch over Mia today and hoped the other male didn’t scare her too much.

The deadly warrior was known for his skill in beheading others in close quarters, not his friendly disposition. He also wasn’t a flirt, something that couldn’t be said for half of his guard.

***

“Oh sweet goddess, you’re ridiculous!” Mia laughed as Cyprus balanced his body weight on one hand, showing an impressive amount of strength.

“I think this is what your fans truly want. And I’m willing to pose for as long as it takes.”

She threw a blackberry at him and to her surprise, he jumped onto both feet and caught the fruit midair in one hand. Then he took a bow before he ate it.

She snickered as she continued organizing her paintbrushes. “I’m looking to paint a dragon—in shifted form. Not… whatever that was.”

“I think my scales might be too sensitive to paint.”

Blinking, she looked up at him and realized he was joking.

“Ha, ha. You know what I meant.” She eyed him for a moment as he grazed on the fruit plate she’d set out.

They’d returned to her studio about an hour ago and true to his word, he’d carried all her bags.

Now she was cleaning up her studio because she’d been so manic before the auction and hadn’t had time to put everything back in its place.

Not to mention she had to replace all the paint she’d gone through.

“I know you were joking, but are scales sensitive? I always thought they were like diamonds. Or rocks, I guess.” She paused.

“Is that rude to ask?” There were some unspoken rules in the supernatural world and she tried not to break any of them.

“Not rude at all. And no, they’re not sensitive. They’re like armor—” He straightened suddenly, his gaze shooting toward the entrance like a laser. His entire body was on alert.

She froze, wondering if she should be worried but then Tiber strode in, a scowl on his face. He glanced at her, his expression unreadable, then strode up to Cyprus where they did that warrior clasp.

“No issues, sir.” Cyprus’s words were clipped, his tone neutral. So unlike the relaxed male who’d been with her today.

Tiber simply nodded. “You can leave.”

She stepped forward, frowning at Tiber. “Cyprus has been wonderful today.” And he deserved a thank you. She looked at the other dragon. “Thank you for keeping me company.”

“Of course.” He gave her a short bow, then said, “It was my pleasure. And I know what I said before, but it would be my honor to pose for you in the future.”

“Thank you. I would love that.”

Tiber clapped Cyprus on the shoulder and the other dragon bowed again before leaving.

“You were kind of rude to him,” she said to Tiber once they were alone.

Tiber stared down at her, blinked. “I was rude?”

“He was with me all day on your orders, and you didn’t even thank him.”

Another blink. “He’s one of my men. He was following my orders.”

“So… he doesn’t need thanks?”

“No.”

She frowned and turned away from him to return to her brushes.

They were in complete disarray. “So why did you have him watch me all day? I mean, I think I know, but we need to talk about this.” He’d just made decisions without consulting her, which fine, was fair considering her ex. But still, she wanted some input.

“What is there to talk about? Someone scared you enough that I could scent it out of all the other scents in that gallery last night. That’s not simply being worried about something.

You are afraid and until I know why, you will have someone with you at all times.

” His words were hard, leaving no room for any discussion.

“Just like that?” She looked up from her brushes to find him looking around in curiosity.

Her space wasn’t huge, but it was tall with windows everywhere and so much natural light, creating the perfect place for her to work. Once it was tidy and organized again, she could function.

“Yes.” He cleared his throat and looked at her again. And this time she definitely saw the dragon peering back at her. “And if you want to paint a dragon, you can paint me, not Cyprus.”

She barely resisted the urge to let her mouth fall open. “I will keep that in mind.” It was the most diplomatic thing to say to him.

Of course, she wanted to paint him—despite what he’d said about humans.

She’d seen his dragon last night and he was gorgeous, all sleek, golden power.

He’d looked magnificent simply curled up in the grass.

She could only imagine how gorgeous he would be in flight, the sun at his back.

And fine, she was also intrigued at the idea of painting this male that people talked about in whispers.

He didn’t seem to like her answer, but then said, “I have a list of everyone who was at the auction last night, including some individuals from your realm.”

“Oh.” Dread curled tight inside her, but she ignored it.

“If you tell me who scared you, I can make them go away.” He said the words patiently.

“Go away?” She wanted to make sure she understood him correctly. And that he didn’t mean murder.

But he paused far too long before answering. “I will make them leave the realm.” His tone made it sound a lot like “bury them in a deep pit.”

“Are you lying to me?”

She could see a battle going on in his amber eyes as he weighed his words. “I can’t fully answer without knowing how bad this threat is.”

“There is no threat,” she murmured. Nothing that she could prove, anyway. Just a gut feeling that her ex had meant her harm. But he’d never physically hurt her, something she kept reminding herself of. But she swore he’d burned down her sister’s garden and greenhouse, even if she couldn’t prove it.

Tiber closed his eyes for a long moment. “Fine. What time would you like to leave this evening?”

“For what?”

“The festival. Xenia told me that you would be attending tonight.”

“You spoke to Xenia?”

He nodded.

“Ah, I had planned on leaving in an hour or so. I still need to shower and get ready though.”

“I’ll escort you back to your place then.”

“You don’t have to do that.” But she knew he wasn’t listening at all.

“You’ll love the street vendors,” he said instead. “They have all the food you can imagine and then some.”

There was real pleasure on his face as he spoke about the food and now, she was quite sure she’d pegged him wrong.

Not totally, but there was more to this male than she’d originally assumed.

Maybe she was a little biased since discovering he was a fan of her art and had actually purchased some pieces, but he was still here, trying to keep her safe. “You like the festivals?”

He shrugged and walked out with her into the waning sunlight. “I attend some years.”

“What’s your favorite type of art medium?” She might have her opinions about this big male, but he was worried about her safety simply because he’d smelled her fear, even though he disliked humans. And that counted for a lot. Maybe it was because of Starlena, but he still wanted to keep her safe.

She was so used to worrying about her family, her sister, and at one point, her mother. She’d always been the caretaker and now that someone was looking out for her, she wasn’t sure how to react. But she wanted to get to know him better. To give him a chance.

“Ah, paintings.”

Hmm. Why did he have to look so… striking? Everything about him was dark and dangerous and fine, gorgeous. He would make a perfect subject to paint. “Were you serious about posing for me? For a painting?”

He cleared his throat. “If you wish.”

“I think I do wish.” And she wouldn’t be selling any paintings of him. Nope, those would be for her eyes only.