Page 25 of Court of Rivals (Their Dragon Rider #1)

H arper

The past few days of training have gone by in a blur.

The princes continue to try to put me in my place, and I continue to try to ignore them.

It’s strange though, as hard as the men are working to make me miserable, the female dragons are working to make Ebron happy.

They’ve been bringing him meat, cows and other livestock they’ve found.

They’ve been showing off for him in practice.

And he? He’s loving every second of it, the bastard.

“I guess some of us just get lucky,” I mutter as I stare at my wardrobe.

Tonight, there’s some kind of big event at the palace that we’re all expected to be at.

Roland warned me that it’ll be all the wealthiest people in the area, and that they like to be entertained by the dragon riders.

He said some people consider these parties the best part of their job, and others the worst. He explained that often the men go home with beautiful women, but he’s not sure what the party will look like for me.

There’s a knock at my bedroom door.

Going to it, I open the door and see three servants, all women, waiting. “Hello,” I greet them.

They curtsey, then the oldest of the three says, “We’re here to dress you for the party.”

I’ve never had people dress me before, but I was in over my head, so I’m glad for their help. “That would be wonderful.”

“Do you know which dress you’d like to wear?” The older one asks, combing her hands through her short, dark hair.

I smile. “I have no idea which one would look best for tonight. I don’t even know which one is appropriate for the party.”

She smiles. “We can help.”

They seat me at my vanity, brush out my long hair, and braid it into a crown atop my head, with a single braid trailing down my back over the rest of my thick hair.

I’m still trying to figure out how the hell they did that when they start applying make-up to cover up the bruising on my face, perfume, and a shimmering substance.

When they’re done, they’re all smiling. They help me out of my clothes, which isn’t as awkward as I imagined it’d be, and they help me into a dress.

The dress itself is greenish-blue, much like the color of my hazel eyes, and is made of the softest material I’ve ever touched.

A beautiful black corset goes over the dress, and then they place slippers that match my dress on my feet.

“What do you think?” I ask.

They stare, smiling, but it’s the oldest that speaks again. “You look like a princess, my lady.”

I move over to the full-length mirror, then stop and stare.

My mouth falls open, and it’s like my brain stops working.

Is that… is that me? I’ve spent my whole life in hand-me-down clothes from my brothers, and a couple new things made out of leather by my mother, made to make it easier for my journeys through the woods, looking for herbs.

I’ve never worn a dress, and certainly not a fancy, expensive dress.

Looking at myself now is like looking at somebody else.

Some other version of me that’s wealthy and fancy.

Spinning, I watch the way the dress moves around me like the petals of a flower. “This can’t be real.”

One of the younger girls giggles. “It’s real. That’s you.”

I look back at them and spread my arms out. “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much!”

They smile, all three of them looking pleased at their work.

“Now, I just have to figure out where to go.”

There’s another knock at my door. The servants move to open the door, but I shake my head and hurry to it, more than capable of opening my own door, even in a fancy dress. Flinging the door open, I spot Roland all dressed up in a nice suit.

“You look good!” I compliment him.

He opens his mouth to say something, then his gaze lands on me, and his eyes widen. His mouth drops open, and he just stares and stares.

My cheeks burn. “It’s not bad, right?”

“Not bad?” He manages to choke out after a long minute. “You look incredible.”

I smile. “You think so?”

He draws himself up taller and squares his shoulder. “I will be proud to show you to the dance, if you’d be kind enough to accompany me.”

My smile widens, and I step out into the hall, putting my hand on his arm. “Lead the way.”

We head to the castle, and to wherever the party will be taking place.

He leads me through the academy, and to the castle that stands right next to it.

I feel strange walking in a pretty dress and slippers, almost like I’ve stepped into someone else’s body, but it’s also kind of nice.

Who knew I like being girly? Certainly not me.

“So,” he says, clearing his throat. “Has anyone at the academy caught your eye just yet?”

My thoughts instantly go to the three princes, but I try to push away the unwanted thoughts. “No, not really. But to be fair, you’re all a pack of assholes.”

His cheeks burn red. “Yeah, I heard about the hand-to-hand incident. I was busy with another circle by the time everyone figured out what was going on.”

I wince. “Is that what they’re calling it, the hand-to-hand incident?”

He looks even more uncomfortable. “They’re calling it the Bare Breasts Blessing, but I thought my description was more appropriate.”

I release a slow breath, trying to push down the rising embarrassment inside of me. “Good call on that one.”

At least they’ve been “nice” enough not to say it in front of me. I thought I’d be mercilessly teased about what happened, but not a single man has mentioned it to me. Which is strange, but I’ve tried not to spend too much time worrying about why they’re letting this go so easily.

The academy and castle share one of their courtyards. It’s the same courtyard we used to go out on the town the other night. This time, we head up the many steps that lead into the castle, and guards at the top of the steps open the doors.

Roland leads us down a hall with massively high ceilings, white walls, and art everywhere.

“Wow,” I murmur.

Roland squeezes my hand. “It’s all a little intimidating at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

“Really?”

He shrugs. “Most people do, but I haven’t.”

“Comforting,” I whisper.

“Now, when you come into the ball, you should know a couple of things. First of all, you being the only female dragon riders is going to bring you attention from men and women alike. They’ll all want you, like some kind of prize, so don’t confuse their need for something new and exciting with them actually caring about you as a person. ”

Ouch. Well, that hurts a little, but I’d rather have the warning than think any of these people sincerely like me or want to be around me. All of this is still so new to me, I don’t want to make more mistakes than I have to.

“You should also know that it’s hard to truly embarrass yourself at one of these parties unless you hit the liquor too hard.

Mostly, everyone will be drinking, eating, dancing, and talking.

If you stick with me, I’ll introduce you to as many people as possible and try to guide you on the little unspoken rules that take a lifetime with the nobles to learn. ”

“Thank you,” I tell him, and I sincerely mean it, even though I’m tempted to ask him why he’s not just dropping me at the door like usual. But I don’t want to risk reminding him about what a liability I am, because I’d be lost without him.

We reach more big doors with guards. They open the doors at our approach, and we step into another land.

A land of fairy tales and magic. A land of beauty.

The ball room is bright white, with sconces burning on all the walls and two fireplaces dancing with flames.

Pale blue fabric spills from the tall ceilings down onto the white marble floors below.

Beautiful women in beautiful dresses are being spun around the floor by men in finely tailored suits, and more finely dressed people stand around the room drinking, eating, and laughing.

But the thing that draws my eye the most is the back wall.

There are raised steps that lead to a throne.

The king occupies the throne with a glass of liquor in his hand and women all around him, laughing far too hard.

But if the king notices that they’re faking their enthusiasm, he doesn’t show it.

He just sits there, looking kingly and noble in a room that absolutely suits the huge, imposing man.

It’s all so beautiful. Beautiful in a way I’ve never seen before.

“I’m going to be out of place.”

Roland stares at me with a funny expression, tilting his head. “Harper, you’re the most beautiful girl in the room.”

My cheeks feel hot as he leads me and snags us both a glass of champagne.

Waiters with little trays move about the room, and Roland gets me a bite of everything they offer.

I taste the softest dumpling filled with fine cuts of meat, quiches, different kinds of cheese with honey, nuts, and dates.

Everything is different and fun, and Roland and I laugh as we try different things.

People approach us too, and he’s right. Men and women alike want to know about the “only female dragon rider.” The men leer. The women seem to be trying to pick me apart. It sours my mood just a little, but the champagne warms my belly making it all feel less important.

At last, he turns to me, a twinkle in his eye, probably from the three glasses of champagne we’d managed to drink. “Would you do me the honor of joining me in a dance?”

I smile. “I’m not a very good dancer, and I’ve never danced like this before.”

He returns my smile. “Luckily for me, I’m a really good dancer, and, on the dance floor at least, all a woman needs is a good leader to be amazing.”

“Really?”

“Trust me,” he says, offering me his hand.

I take it, and he leads me out onto the floor.

To my surprise, what he says is true. As awkward and unsure of himself as Roland seems to be, he’s confident on the dance floor as he moves me through various steps.

I’d have thought it’d be clumsy and stiff, but we’re smooth as we move about the room, his hands always there to guide me.

As I look at him, I feel a wave of desire that I’ve never felt before with Roland. Suspicion rises inside of me.

Ebron , I think, projecting my thoughts the way I’d been instructed.

Yes , he sounds amused.

What are you doing?

Seducing a few of the female dragons. The ones I think may become my mates.

Is that why I feel… so funny?

There’s laughter in my mind. Sorry, I’ll try what I can to not have you feeling so much of what I feel.

Thanks.

No promises.

My gaze moves back to Roland. He’s not a bad looking fella, even though I prefer my men with more of a backbone. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, so I know we talked about how dragon riders are effected by their dragons’ arousal, but I’m just finding it hard to believe that every one of you are just walking around sprung all day.

So, I have to ask, are all dragon riders as horny as I am?

And if you are, is there a trick to handling it? ”

His eyes go wide as they move to my face. “What?”

“I’m just wondering… this connection with our dragons makes me kind of want to jump every guys’ bones. Do you guys have ways of… disconnecting with your dragons, so you don’t feel it as strongly? Or are you all miserable the way I am?”

He seems to take a painfully long time to answer.

The band starts another song, and still he doesn’t answer.

Finally, he says, “No, there’s no way to disconnect from your dragon, although they can be more cautious how much they direct their feelings, if they want to.

But up until recently, it was bearable for all of us.

Basically, it wasn’t as bad before your dragon came, but now it’s definitely hard to manage.

The men usually only went to town once a week to get laid, but now many of them are sneaking out on a daily basis to… meet their needs.”

“Okay,” I say, a rush of breath. “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a me thing, because Ebron was just seducing the female dragons, and I was feeling all kinds of things that made my knees weak.”

“Really?” His voice goes a few decimals lower.

“Maybe I’ll have to find a guy or two to take care of my needs. No assholes though.”

We continue dancing, and his hand on my waste pulls me a little closer. “You know…” he begins.

I glance up at him, wondering what he’s thinking.

“If the position is available…”

“Position?” I ask, confused.

He twirls me around, and I laugh, feeling beautiful and free for the first time in a long time.

If you forget about all the people in the room, it’s not actually that intimidating to be here.

My gaze slides around the room, and stops short on the three princes standing by the doors leading into the ball room.

All three of them staring at me in shock.

Probably not used to seeing their Peasant Queen all done-up the way I am, or maybe just not expecting me to be included in the party tonight. I’m not sure which one.

I try to keep an eye on them as Roland swings me around the dance floor, talking about something in a low voice, something I’m not following.

The look of shock melts away from the princes’ expressions…

and turns into expressions of pure anger.

My back stiffens. I have no idea why they’re upset, but I know it has to do with me.

My gaze slides to the king. He’s smiling back at me, seeming to enjoy the show. I wonder if he really is just happy to have the dragon riders here, or if he’s particularly enjoying watching the drama unfold.

Pulling my gaze away from him, I see that a crowd has gathered around the dance floor.

The dragon riders, a sea of men in fine suits, are all staring at me, and I get the strangest sense that trouble is coming.

I don’t know why though. It’s like they had this ugly little thing to torture at the academy, and they don’t like seeing her suddenly put on display.

“Fuck,” Roland mutters.

“What?” I ask softly.

“Nothing. Just trouble,” he says, and it’s like he’s saying my thoughts aloud.

“Why?”

He hesitates, then says, “You. It’s about you.”

“Why?” I ask again.

My gaze slides to him, and he looks at me like I’m crazy. “Harper, come on…”

But I don’t know what he’s trying to say, I just know that the last thing I want is for this group of jerks to embarrass me in front of the king and the fancy people here. Can’t they leave me alone? At least just for one day?

As I catch the princes’ thunderous expression, my gut twists. Maybe not.