Page 52 of Dragon Fight (The Dragon Queen #2)

52

“N o. No! Pippin can’t go anywhere looking like that,” Flynn declared later that night. I’d had a long and exhausting day with Eloise as she measured, altered, and held swatches of fabric against my skin, keeping some and discarding others. “I won’t let her.”

Each of my men was dressed in his formal uniform in unrelieved black, except for the silver of their insignias, ready to go to the Duke of Skane’s private residence.

“Every man there would already have wanted to fall upon my girl, like the wolves they are, but now?” Flynn took my hand and scanned the dress more slowly. “Where’s my bloody sword? I will be fighting duels before the night ends.”

“On your bloody hip, as it should be,” Soren drawled, but then he smiled down at me. “Lass, you look—”

“Radiant,” Ged supplied. “That’s the big knob word for pretty, isn’t it? Though you look more than pretty. Pippin…”

I didn’t know where to look or how to respond as each man paid homage to me. My training prompted me to demur with graceful, polite responses, but my tongue didn’t cooperate. I couldn’t, wouldn’t say a thing, and I felt my cheeks flush bright red.

“You do, my love,” Brom said, then held out my daggers in their scabbards. “And I need you to wear these.”

“Gods, yes. A voice of reason,” Soren said. “Walking into this nest of vipers.”

“I feel like I should defend my countrymen,” Flynn said, “but I can’t. Make sure they’re in easy reach.”

“And stay with at least one of us for the entire night.” Ged seemed so much more serious since we’d visited Marcus Lighthands. “Don’t even duck to the privy without an escort.” He glanced over at my dragon. “Glimmer too.”

She preened under the attention, then focussed back on my earrings.

They know you to be a queen , she told me, but now they show you real honour. Tell them you like those shining stones very much. We need many more of them.

For your hoard? I asked, looking at how her eyes were shining. I’m sure your mates will bring you every pretty stone they find if you tell them.

And where would be the fun in that? she asked. They should just know.

“I’ll probably need one,” I said, going to smooth my hands down my skirts to stop the palms from sweating, then stopping myself before I ruined the fabric. “It's been quite some time since I’ve had to manage a dress like this. Men’s clothing is much more practical.”

“And damn near pornographic on a woman’s form,” Flynn muttered but then shot me a wink. “We usually have a battle plan ready for each time we engage with the enemy. What tactics are we going to use to get through tonight?”

“Wing Commander Emberly and his lady wife, Pippa,” the butler announced Brom and I as we walked into the dining room of the Duke of Skane. A snort from my beast corrected an oversight. “And her dragon, Glimmer.”

Every man present got to his feet, the appropriate response when a lady entered a room. Although the duke also rose from his chair, the possessive eye he ran over me and Glimmer was definitely outside the bounds of politeness.

“Well, well, where is the raffish cadet of before?” the duke said, coming closer. “She has been replaced by this exquisite creature. You look as beautiful as a queen tonight, Pippin.”

I didn’t care a jot if he used my nickname nor if he left off my title. It was the title he chose to include that sent a cold finger of fear sliding down my spine. I glanced down at Glimmer.

This one wants to play games , she said.

“Doesn’t she, Your Graces?” Skane said, nodding to the others around the table.

All of those gathered at the table were men. Two of them gave a sort of nod of acknowledgement. One, I remembered from the ball, was the Duke of Cantlyn. I assumed the other man with the flushed countenance of a heavy drinker and the richly embroidered doublet was the Duke of Tharfield And the rest I was willing to bet were men significant to each duchy, the military bearing of many of them evident, even in their civilian clothes.

“Pippin is beautiful no matter what she wears,” Flynn said somewhat testily. “Now, we’ve come at your request. Shall we get on with it?”

Glacier’s rider says what I was thinking , Glimmer said. Why must humans dance around an issue so?

Because they can’t just blast their enemies with flame, ice or lightning? I replied.

Pfft. Weaklings.

“Son, I merely invited issued you and your wing an invitation to dine with me. You know I’m not in town often,” his father replied.

“Do you think that explanation fools anyone, Father? It won’t impress anyone at the palace when they get wind of this dinner. So, if we’re to commit treason, perhaps we could get right to it over canapes, hmm?”

“Is that what rich people do normally?” Ged asked me in a hushed whisper.

“No, usually we bandy around a million words rather than say what we mean,” I hissed back. “But Flynn seems determined to cut through that.”

“Gods be praised,” Ged replied. “I knew I liked Pretty Boy for a reason.”

“Forgive my son,” the duke told the table. “Being a part of the corps seems to have rubbed off some of his finer edges.”

“I don’t mind a man who speaks his mind,” the Duke of Tharfield said, then turned to me. “I’m Boris, Duke of Tharfield.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Grace,” I said, sinking into a low curtsey.

“That’s Clarence, Duke of Cantlyn, and these men are our generals. There’s no point pussyfooting around. That’s a mighty fine dress you’re wearing, milady, but this is a war council, not a party.”

“But me wearing my leathers to it might reveal to others what you intend to discuss,” I replied.

“Quite.” The Duke of Tharfield looked past me to where Brom stood. “There is, of course, the issue of why a bloody Harlstonian was invited.”

“Because this bloody Harlstonian is just as fearful of what will happen if another girl from my duchy is made queen-in-waiting,” Brom replied. “I’m willing to bet the queen will do everything she can to ensure Countess Beatrice Marchant bonds with the new queen dragon and takes her place by Draven’s side.”

That woman is no fit queen , Glimmer said. I do not get much from her but what I see… She shivered dramatically.

I knew this, somewhere deep down, I did. But I didn’t think of it often, letting my eyes skate over the evidence to support it, preferring to keep on looking elsewhere. I didn’t want to know it in my soul, even though my heart ached every time I saw that woman with the prince.

My prince.

I’d just found him and for one night it had felt like everything had come together, been as it should be. Only for it to be cruelly ripped away again. I had to believe Draven was playing a role. I must. Otherwise the pain of my heart breaking in two would… I shook my head sharply, not allowing myself to consider it further. Then, before I could disappear too far into my own navel, Brom continued.

“The duke and his sister, the queen…” There was a disapproving rumble around the table. “They do not necessarily represent the views of all of Harlston. They expect us to fight and die for the whatever they propose, yet we are not consulted. The duke lives an insular existence, surrounded only by his hand-picked yea-sayers. But I will say, if you want to stop the queen, you have more allies than you think in my duchy.”

“Well…” Skane said with a small smile. “That is welcome news. Come, sit, and let me pour you a drink. Politics and good food are not a palatable mix, but we’ll do our best tonight, because the future of our country is at stake. And I think you four are well placed to play a pivotal role.” He glanced at each one of us. “Things have been changing since Raina took the throne, but it's past time we started to influence that change, shaping it to provide an outcome we approve of.”

I hoped none of them expected me to eat tonight. Apart from the fear of spilling something on my beautiful dress, my stomach swirled dangerously at his words, making clear just how terrifying their implications were.