Page 54 of Curse of the Midnight Dragon (The Moonlight Dragon #2)

Celestina

Soren and I made it back to Fein’s camp at the border on foot. We’d gone straight to Soren’s tent so I could change out of the tunic he’d given me from off his own back and into my clothes. When we finally emerged, we found Amaya outside the central tent, squaring off with Anther and Trace. She stood with her hands on her hips. With a snarl, she leaned slightly forward toward the male dragons. “How dare you come here?”

“We came to help,” a naked Anther answered, spreading his arms wide.

“Help?” She snorted. Smoke swirled out of her nostrils. Everyone in the camp, except for Prince Cullen, backed up. I didn’t blame them. I didn’t want to be around arguing dragons, and I was one. Prince Cullen remained within the line of fire, standing directly behind Amaya. And grinning. “You came to help?” Amaya demanded. “The fighting ended hours ago. Celestina and I destroyed the enemy by ourselves.”

Well, not exactly by ourselves. The wyverns helped . Those beautiful creatures had happily gone back to pretending they were common lizards. And the Fein warriors had served a large role in keeping the undead army at bay, too. But I didn’t think Amaya would appreciate it if I corrected her. Besides, I wasn’t feeling too pleased with the clan myself. I’d been told that they were mine to call, mine to lead into battle. But instead of doing the right thing, they’d decided to refuse me.

With Soren sticking by my side, I walked up to them “Anther. Trace.”

The two dragons immediately took notice of how my hand was twined with Soren’s. And I was sure their superior dragon senses could detect the scent of sex on us. That was no doubt why Trace’s gaze narrowed, and his shoulders tensed.

“While we no longer need assistance from the dragon clan, you are welcome for as long as you wish to stay,” Soren offered while tightening his grip on my hand. It had to be difficult for Soren to welcome the dragon the clan had decided to become my mate.

“See, you can be a diplomat,” I joked.

“I will do anything, become anything you need me to be, Princess.” Soren’s low rumbly voice made the air catch in my throat.

“My father sends his regrets,” Anther quickly stepped forward to take over the situation before Trace said something that triggered a battle none of us wanted to fight. “He kept the others from answering your call, Celestina. He was worried about what would happen to our society if we lost even one of our kind to a war that wasn’t ours. If we all came, there could have been a chance that we’d lose many.”

I tilted my head to the side, trying to come up with something to say that wasn’t argumentative. The battle was done. The war was won. Fighting with the clan about their behavior wouldn’t change anything.

“That’s bullshit, Anther. You can tell Daddy that I said that,” Amaya snapped. “The clan placed Moonglow on a pedestal. You forced her to return to the plateau because she was the dragon mentioned in some vague, ancient prophecy. You told her that the clan needed her to lead them as the fifth kingdom rose again. But when it came time to act, time to rise, you hid behind excuses instead of fighting for our future. If you’d planned to let Moonglow fight this battle alone, you should have allowed her to stay with her vampire prince. He, at least, has the balls to fight. You…you all disgust me.”

“It’s not—” Anther tried to explain.

“You’re here now,” I said, because I wasn’t in the mood to listen to excuses or to fight another battle. “As Soren has already said, you’re welcome to stay—as long as you put on proper clothes.” Soren nodded to a couple of his captains. They smiled and tossed their capes at the naked dragons. “And you’re welcome to offer advice as the Fein take control of the Kingdom of Earst.”

“The kingdom belongs to—” Soren started to say but was interrupted as two large dragons shot out of the sky and landed next to us with enough force that the ground trembled. Four tiny boys leaped out of the pair of dragons’ taloned claws.

With a loud squeal, they ran over to us.

“Lady Celestina! Lady Celestina!” Ronald, the eldest brother, yelled as he jumped up and down in front of me. His twin brothers Rupert and Ryan trailed close on his heels. And little Robert toddled toward me behind them. The four boys’ eyes were sparkling from the excitement of the rescue. I wondered if they’d been told their mother was dead. She’d never been very kind to them or attentive. But she was their mother, and they would miss her. And because of that, I hurt for them.

I crouched down so they could run into my open arms, surprised at how much I’d missed the troublesome imps.

“Lady Celestina!” Ronald shouted again after I’d smothered each one of them with hugs and kisses. “Did you hear what happened? We were abducted by a dragon! But she turned out to be a kind dragon. She took us away from the fighting and these two other dragons fed us sweets and told us stories, like you used to tell us.”

Robert tugged on my tunic. “I can see now why you prefer the dragon stories to the vampire stories,” he said with a lisp. “Dragons are the most awesome magical creatures in all the lands. Far cooler than nasty old vampires.”

“Hey, now!” Soren objected as he gave Robert a stern look.

I wrapped my arms around my grouchy prince and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “Don’t worry. I still like vampires, especially a certain bossy one.”

“I’ve developed quite a fondness for dragons as well,” Soren said with a smile. “Particularly for a certain moonlight dragon.” He kissed me back in a decidedly less chaste manner. “I love you, Celestina.”

“You’re not going to order us all to clear out of the camp so you can have sexy times with your princess, are you?” Raya complained as she shoved Soren away from me.

“Raya!” I shouted and threw myself into her arms. She was safe. I hadn’t seen her since before the battle. And I’d nearly died when, through the bond I shared with my wyverns, I knew they were attacking first her troops and then Gray’s. I’d been so worried that they hadn’t survived.

“Not a scratch on you,” Soren said as he looked her over from head to toe. “You always have been the luckiest fighter of us all.”

“I think you mean the one with the most skill?” Raya sassed back with a hand on her hip.

“Both.” He hugged Raya. “You had me worried there for a moment when the wyverns started blasting their fires. Don’t do that again.”

Raya wiggled until he stopped squeezing her. She brushed herself off as if our hugs had been covered with mud. But she was smiling as she did it. “I managed to get everyone to take shelter under rock overhangs and small caves. Only a few of us suffered burns. But nothing that required a healer’s attention.”

“And we won!” Gray cheered as he charged into the camp and hugged everyone he could get near. “Earst is ours!”

“Excuse me?” Amaya said. “The dragons took down the army, not some puny vampires.”

“From what I heard, it was Soren’s sword that put an end to the queen’s existence,” Gray countered.

Before Gray and Amaya started yet another battle, the two dragons who’d flown the boys into the camp shifted back into their human forms. They’d mastered Amaya’s skill in pulling on clothes during the transformation. Gwen was dressed in a purple sweater, black trousers, and boots. Juniper, Amaya’s mother, had donned a homespun flowered dress with a matching fur-lined cape and sturdy boots. Gwen shot Trace a worried look before coming over to stand next to me.

“I’m glad to see you safe,” she said, while Gray and Amaya continued to argue. She put her hand on my cheek. “Your mate has done a good job protecting you.”

“He has,” I agreed.

“Not that she ever needs protecting,” Soren leaned forward to add. “She’s amazingly powerful.”

“The muting spells have been broken?” Trace surged forward, grabbed my arms, and spun me toward him. “How?”

Soren growled and violently shoved Trace away from me. Trace was lucky he still had his arms, seeing how the arms had been the first things to go on those royal guards who had attacked me in the cave.

“How did you break the spells?” Trace repeated as he rubbed the spot on his chest where Soren had pushed him.

“And your eyes, dear,” Gwen added softly. “They’re exactly as I’d imagined them.”

“What happened?” Trace frowned as he looked at me again, but this time kept his hands clasped behind his back. “Your eyes are no longer mismatched. What’s going on?”

“I broke the spells,” Amaya proudly announced.

“That’s right. Amaya did it,” I agreed. “It was brilliant. She figured it out and got rid of both spells for me at the same time. And good thing she did, too, since I needed access to my magic and my dragon form to keep from getting killed by Queen Beatrice and her army of the undead.”

“This wasn’t our battle,” Anther said as he, too, moved closer. He squinted as he peered at my indigo eyes. “You should have never interfered in the affairs of the outer—”

“Queen Beatrice still had the means to control me with those spells. If I hadn’t acted, I would have been fighting the battle for her side and under her control. Not only that, she also had a magical weapon that she’d planned to use to gain control over the rest of the clan. This was our battle, Anther, and I’m grateful for the Fein who helped Amaya and me win it.”

Anther pressed his lips together.

“I’m ashamed the clan didn’t come to your aid,” Juniper said. “And I’ll make sure that the clan never denies you again. It has always been written that when the last moonlight dragon returns, we would accept that dragon as our leader.”

“Unfortunately, you and I were females,” Amaya added. “The council has long been ruled by angry old males.”

“Celestina was stolen from us and raised by humans,” Trace added. “She doesn’t understand our ways. How can we expect her to lead us?”

“Regardless of her past, by her birthright, we are hers to call,” Juniper said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “When our moonlight dragon needed us, we failed her.”

Everyone fell silent. They seemed to be looking to me for direction.

But what could I say? It felt like everyone had already chosen their sides.

“A queen is dead.” I cleared my throat. “She was a threat to both the Fein and the dragon clan. She’d shown in her actions that she wouldn’t stop until she’d destroyed our societies. And she’d already taken countless lives during her reign. She’d abused her power and tormented the innocent. Still, I don’t celebrate her death. Whether we’re talking about the life of a human, or a dragon, or even the life of a vampire, it should be celebrated and held sacred.”

“What do we do now?” Gwen asked. “Who will take Queen Beatrice’s place?”

The argument Amaya and Gray were having over whether the Fein or the dragons deserved to rule Earst erupted again. This time it seemed everyone joined in to loudly voice their opinion on the matter. Even Queen Beatrice’s sons joined in. Although, they seemed to be shouting simply for the joy of shouting.

Soren held up his hand, calling for silence. Surprisingly, the dragons obeyed as quickly as Soren’s own warriors. Was he using his compulsion powers? I didn’t feel the prickle of magic on my arms, nor did I feel compelled to keep my silence, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t snuck some power into his gesture. It awed me to think that he could command a room with the strength of his charm alone.

“Princess Celestina was raised in Earst,” Soren said once everyone was listening. “She has a vision of what this kingdom could become and how to achieve it. Her ability to call the wyverns is the reason we defeated Queen Beatrice.”

“Wyverns?” Trace and Anther both muttered.

“She’s the bravest warrior I know,” Soren continued. “Hands down, Princess Celestina is the best choice—the only choice—to rule Earst. Or perhaps I should say Queen Celestina?”

No one objected.

Not even Trace.

“A dragon kingdom,” I said with awe. My gaze softened as I focused on Soren. The corners of his eyes creased as he took note of the smile that tugged on my lips. “A kingdom for both of us to lead,” I corrected. “I will be the queen only if you stand by me as my king.”

“I will always stand by you, Your Majesty.”

My mind raced with the possibilities. “We’ll free the slaves. We’ll stop punishing the citizens for speaking out against injustice. We’ll—we’ll make the kingdom better, safer, and more welcoming than before and…” I glanced over at the queen’s sons. Gwen was hugging them. “Goddess, they don’t know.” I swallowed. “Earst is their birthright.”

“No,” Soren said. “Royal sons never inherited leadership roles in Earst. And the kingdom needs a leader with the vision to right the wrongs and fix its problems. That leader is you.” He brushed a kiss against my lips. “Let’s all go inside the tent and hammer out the details.”

“But the boys, I should take care of them.” I started to move toward where the smallest boy had latched on to Gwen’s legs.

“Go,” she said as she gave Robert a tight squeeze. “I’ll care for them as if they were my own.”

And so, we headed into the central tent. Dragon, vampire, and human—we all worked together to develop a vision for the future, a vision of a kingdom where all could live free. A future where Soren and I would get to live together and love each other.

Goddess, how did I get so lucky ?

Amaya

“Well.” I stretched my neck left and right when I left the camp’s central tent after several hours of peace talks. I still felt more than a little feral after the battle. While we were fighting and even after it had ended, whenever my powers had started to flag, Celestina had fed me some of her own. I doubted she knew she was doing it. But because of it, I now felt more alert and on edge than before we’d taken on Queen Beatrice and her gruesome ghouls.

Prince Cullen walked beside me like an idiot, smiling at me while doing nothing to fill in the awkward gap of silence that followed my one-word utterance.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” I demanded.

“You’re stunning.”

I snorted. “And you’re covered in blood and soot.”

He looked down at himself and then back at me, seemingly unperturbed by his untidiness. “As always, you are correct, Princess.”

“I’m not a princess.”

“You could be,” he murmured.

“What?”

“What?” he repeated as the corners of his eyes crinkled with pleasure. “Amaya, I—”

“I’m heading back to the clan,” I blurted. Whenever I was near him, I wanted things, impossible things. And I didn’t think I could resist another offer to go live with him at his palace. “So…” I shifted my neck around again. “Have a good life.”

He took a hasty step toward me before I had a chance to shift forms. “Wait. That’s it? You’re running back to your clan? Never to see me again?”

“It’s my home.”

“Amaya,” he said as if he’d caught me in a lie.

“What?”

“You could stay with me for a while.”

“And do what? Return with you to Reinheart Palace?” I snorted.

“I’d let you take some more of my books.”

“You can’t be serious. You think I’d fit in living in your posh palace, pretending to be a lady?” Smoke curled from my nose. “I’m not Celestina. I’m neither gentle nor tame.”

“I don’t want gentle or tame.” He took my hand in his. “ We have a connection ,” he added, putting his calming voice directly into my mind as his thumb traced tingly circles on the back of my hand.

“An accidental connection.”

He lifted one dark eyebrow. “Amaya.”

“ That man abducted me.” I freed my hand from Cullen’s. “And then I met you and my world was turned upside down. It wasn’t planned. None of this was planned.” I gestured wildly to the mountains all around us.

“But it happened. We happened, Amaya. If you won’t run away with me, let me run away with you,” he said, speaking quickly as if afraid I’d disappear at any moment. “Let me come with you to the plateau. I could study dragon society firsthand. Maybe write a textbook or two on the subject.”

“What about your place in Fein? With Soren planning to forge a new kingdom with Celestina in Earst, doesn’t that make you the new crown prince?”

“My sister will make a better ruler than I ever could. I already plan to abdicate the position to her.”

“And your spy craft?”

He bit his bottom lip and hummed. “Now, that would be hard to give up. But you’d make an excellent partner. A beautiful siren who can transfer to air? It’s as if you were created for the work.”

“A partner?” Not a tool he can use?

“A partner,” he emphasized. “You do only what you feel comfortable doing. And if you disagree with me, I’ll listen. We’ll discuss the matter and come to an agreement. Together. That’s how partnerships work. In love. In work. In life. I’m greedy, Amaya. I want it all from you.”

What the hell was wrong with me? Why had I suddenly forgotten how to breathe? I opened and closed my mouth like a land-locked fish.

“We can start by hunting down Captain Proctor and giving him the death he deserves,” Cullen suggested. “I remember you have some wickedly creative ways we could go about putting an end to his existence.”

“ That man does need to suffer.” But falling into a relationship with Cullen? Agreeing to hunt alongside a vampire? That couldn’t be wise. I skated out of his reach. “I don’t think I can—”

“I don’t know if it’s because of the pathway we’ve forged between our minds or fate, Amaya. You say meeting me turned your life upside down. For me, being with you makes my life feel buoyed. Like I can stop searching for something I never knew I needed. When I’m around you, I feel like I’ve found a place where I truly belong. Wherever you go, that’s where I want to be. And I think…I hope …you feel the same way.” His voice softened. “I love you, Amaya.”

My shoulders dropped. My heart melted. I turned swiftly away from him in case he could read on my face the tingly—and totally inappropriate—emotions that were surging inside me.

“I suppose I find you tolerable,” I grumbled around the lump of emotion blocking my throat.

“Tolerable works for me.” He wrapped his arms around me like a farrow monkey, a creature that hunted by squeezing the life out of its prey. His embrace felt tight and warm and exactly what I wanted.

“I’ll permit you to hunt the man with me, and then I suppose you can come with me to the plateau, fang boy, if that’s what you want to do,” I said, hoping I sounded as if I honestly didn’t care. But I suspect the goofy smile I couldn’t hold back totally gave me away.

This was what a stupidly handsome—and stupidly wonderful—vampire had reduced me to. I was acting like a silly maiden with this ridiculous grin.

He traced the shape of my smile with the tip of his finger, a finger that trembled slightly as if touching something rare and precious.

“Your smiles are rare and precious,” he said and then kissed me. “Princess.”

“I’m not a princess,” I corrected…again.

“You will be.”