Page 7 of Dragon Fight (The Dragon Queen #2)

7

W e got a glimpse of Glimmer’s new-found proficiency on the flight to Brom’s family. Thankfully my husband made no such demands of proper ladylike clothing as Draven had on my trip to the capital, and I wore my leathers as we circled down, descending on a large, though remote, estate. Brom’s family seat was a sprawling building full of tall steepled roofs and Gothic arches, set against a backdrop of the sea crashing against the rocks beyond. As we started to circle down, I remained wedged tight against Brom’s body, his arms keeping me safely in the saddle. Glimmer had ridden the whole way clutching the pommel, her snout up in the air.

“Glimmer!”

I felt as if I was starting to sound like the mother of an unruly child. As we dropped lower, her wings went out, the harsh sea winds tugging at us, at her. Brom just chuckled.

“Someone’s ready to stretch her wings.”

“But she—”

The end of my sentence was cut off by a gust of wind that seemed to sweep up and under Glimmer, lifting her from the saddle. All sense of self-preservation left me as I pulled my hands off the pommel and leaned forward to try to catch her.

“Gods, Pippin!”

Brom’s arms wrapped tight around me as Obsidian shifted and I almost went with him. My heart felt like it was smashing around in my rib cage, adrenalin making my limbs shake. And to what end?

“Glimmer is fine. Obsidian would never allow her to fall or be swept away. She’s a dragon, Pippin, and you’re not,” Brom told me urgently. And sure enough, the shift of Obsidian’s body put him squarely underneath her. And I felt what she did.

Sky drunk, that’s what the rider had called it, the rush of sheer ecstasy that dragons felt when they were in the sky. Glimmer wasn’t afraid, she was elated—she’d never felt as strong. She wasn’t being carried around like a child or fed like one; she was a dragon, complete and whole, a queen of the air. But all good things must come to an end. The muscles around her wings began to ache with the pressure of keeping them wide, so she was forced to flap a few times, then alight on Obsidian’s neck, the big dragon letting out a congratulatory bugle that had her preening, especially when the other dragons did the same. That feeling of excitement, of having dared something and won, filled me, right until we reached the ground.

“Never do that again!” Brom lifted me from the saddle and set me down so I leaned against Obsidian’s side, his mouth coming crashing down on mine before I could answer. It wasn’t my wing commander who was directing me now, it was my husband. However, any lesson I might have learned about caution was lost entirely in my enthusiastic response to the feel of his mouth, his hard body.

“Well, that is a very convincing display.” We broke apart, panting, to see a sardonic Prince Draven standing there smirking at the two of us. “And in full sight of your family.” He nodded to the two people who were walking towards us. “Well done.”

Brom dismissed him with a frown before turning back to me.

“Pippin, Glimmer knows what she’s doing, what she is. She possesses instincts we are never likely to understand, and our dragons are utterly committed to her safety, so look after your own safety first.”

I do too , the dragon herself said, throwing herself off Obsidian’s neck and landing heavily on my shoulder, her weight forcing me to stagger. But having tasted those moments of independence, she wouldn’t be held, and was intent on clawing her way down so that I was forced to set her on the cobblestones.

“Son, we weren’t expecting you.” A big man approached. He had Brom’s eyes and brown hair, though his was liberally streaked with grey. Before he reached us, his gaze shifted to me. “And who is this? The lovely dragon rider you’ve written so often about?”

“Written often?” I asked Brom, but he just ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

“May I present Lady Pippa, Father. Royal rider and…” Brom smiled, “my wife.”

“Wife?” His father blinked and then his grin got wider. “So she agreed?” He didn’t wait for his son to answer, instead he stepped forward and took my hands. “Welcome to the family, my dear!”

“Thank you, Lord…” I realised then I had no idea of the man’s title.

“Bernard, if you must,” he said, sweeping me into a rough hug. “Perhaps, one day, Father?”

“Stop mauling the girl, Bernie,” a female voice said. A woman who had the kind of beauty that only develops as she ages, continued on. “I’m Kay, Brom’s mother. Well, aren’t you a precious thing? Though what happened to your hair? It wasn’t one of those blasted pranks, was it? If those boys cropped off your crowning glory, they’ll have me to answer to.” But before I could answer, her eyes dropped down and she spied Glimmer. “And look at you.” Her tone was reverent, something my dragon acknowledged with a slow nod of her head. “Aren’t you the most perfect little queen?”

“Dragon,” I corrected her hastily, before looking back at Draven. “A female but not a queen. Her name is Glimmer.”

“And you’re here too, Draven, m’boy!” Bernard threw his arms around the prince and I was treated to the sight of the prince’s expression transforming into one of utter surprise, before it faded into an air of relief as he returned the man’s embrace.

“And you, Lord Emberly.”

“Lord?” Bernard spluttered. “After I’ve seen you grow from a small child to a man? We’ll not stand on ceremony here. Now, let's get everyone inside; out of this bloody wind. Sometimes I feel like it's trying to snatch the heat from my bones.”

And so we came to be gathered in the grand living room of the stately home where Brom had spent his childhood. A fire was crackling merrily in the hearth, and maids brought in large mugs of mulled wine and blankets that were warm from the drying room. Glimmer looked around the room and then curled up just beyond the fire grate, her eyes closing almost immediately.

“So, a wedding!” Brom’s mother looked pleased but also a little miffed at having only found out the news with our arrival, although she put on a brave face. “It must’ve been a quick thing.”

Her unspoken question asked why. Brom took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

“We had been courting for a while but, as you know, when the queen’s dragon goes into heat the side effects are felt by everyone.” He gazed down at me and the look in his eyes was the one he’d had when we were at the ruins, not one appropriate for a son sitting in his parent’s living room. “Passions… got away from us and I wanted to make an honest woman of Pippin as quickly as possible.” He turned back to his parents. “I hope you understand.”

“Things do get heated when Zafira rises to mate,” Bernard said. “And you did the right thing, son. No boy of mine would dishonour a lady in such a way. We’re pleased to have you in the family, Pippa, however you came to be joined.”

“But what did you use for rings at such short notice?” Kay asked, peering at my hand. “Is that… no! Not your old signet ring?!”

“Mother…” Brom grumbled.

“Oh goodness, Brom.” His mother sounded exasperated. She came over and looked at my fingers, her keen eyes seeming to be able to size my fingers expertly. “We’ll have a look in the vault, find something much more suitable.” Her focus shifted to my face, as she assessed my features. “Perhaps your great grandmother’s sky sapphires with the diamond accents. The colour would suit Pippa’s eyes perfectly. This old thing is far too big for you.”

“Oh yes,” I replied, slipping it off with ease and handing it back to Brom. Instead of taking it, he put his hand out for me to slide it over his ring finger, where the gold band covered the white circle of skin once more.

“And there’ll be something there for Brom as well. You can choose that for him,” Kay said.

“But not now, Mother,” Brom replied. “We’ve been up and about all day and we’ve travelled for hours to get here—”

“And you all need a meal and a warm bed.” Kay clapped her hands and maids appeared from nowhere to do her bidding. She gave them swift instructions, before turning back to us again. “Come along, now. Dinner will be ready shortly.”

“Gods, it’s going to be painful to go back to eating the food at the keep again,” Ged groaned, rubbing at his now swollen stomach. “With all the good cooking at Pippin’s estate and now here…”

“I’ll make sure to pack a basket for you all before you go back,” Kay said, flushing with pleasure at the compliment to her staff and home. “But how long will you be visiting, son?”

“We’ve been given two weeks leave and we’ve already spent two days at Pippin’s,” Brom replied. “Then it's back to barracks life for us.”

“Two weeks?” Kay’s eyes lit up. “We could arrange a party in that time. Invite some of the neighbours and the cousins. We might even be able to fly in some of the more remote family members, with five dragons stationed outside.”

“The royal riders don’t operate as an impromptu carriage service, my dear,” Bernard replied with an indulgent smile.

“We might be able to bring a small group in,” Soren replied. “The beasts get lazy if they’re just left to lie in the sun all day.”

“There, you see! The drill sergeant is in agreement with me.”

“And woe betide anyone who is not,” Bernard said in a quiet little aside, winking at me. “Very well, wife. On the morrow you can create your list of desired guests and we’ll see what the riders have to say about it.” His focus shifted to Prince Draven. “I apologise, Your Highness. This will be a social event that isn’t quite to the standard you are used to.”

“Nonsense,” Draven replied with a smile. He was always so much more relaxed, more affable when talking to anyone else but me. “I remember the parties held here at Rutherfeld with great affection. I’m sure this will be just the thing to celebrate my wing commander’s wedding to our sole female cadet.”

Before anyone could reply, a handsome older man in livery entered the room and then bowed to all of us around the table. His hair was largely grey, but it was thick and luxuriant, tied back into a neat queue. Bernard perked up at the sight of him, but Kay’s reaction was quite different. The light seemed to fade from her eyes as she considered the man.

“Got the port and cigars ready, Jonathon?” Bernard asked in a jovial voice.

“Of course, milord.”

“Well then, lads, let's not dilly dally. We’ll leave the women to their party planning and enjoy some of the more civilised pleasures the world can offer.”

Draven, Flynn and Brom rose automatically, as this was a well-established tradition in noble houses. Men would retire to do whatever secret manly things they felt they could only do without a feminine audience, and women would be left to knit or chatter or whatever else was seen to be acceptable for our sex. Soren and Ged looked to me for confirmation.

“Oh, go on,” Kay said, forcing herself to smile. “Himself has a new bottle of port he’s been dying to share and some of those foul-smelling cigars from the continent, which men seem to love. I’ll just show Pippin to her room and make sure she and Glimmer are well settled.”

I don’t need to be carried , Glimmer told me as we re-entered the living room, even though her eyes were heavily lidded. Just open the front door and I’ll sleep outside with my mates.

Glimmer, it's freezing outside , I told her, and it might rain.

I’m a dragon, not washing on the line. I’ll not be ruined by a little storm.

I relayed the conversation to Kay, though with considerably more polite terms, and she smiled as we let my dragon out and watched her march out into the darkness.

“Do dragons become teenagers just like boys do?” she asked me with a sigh. “Because if they do, you’ll be in for a rough time. Brom and Draven—he was fostered here by his mother for some time, you see—they were holy terrors when they got tall and their voices started to break.”

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I wasn’t exactly prepared for becoming a dragon rider, nor anyone’s wife.” Kay’s eyes widened at that. “I am from good stock and am now in possession of my father’s estate, but until recently I worked as a pig herder.”

“A pig herder? How on earth?”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” I said. And I proceeded to fill her in as we walked back inside and she led me up the stairs.

“Well, I never,” she said as we stood in a darkened hallway, only the small lamps hanging from the walls providing us with some illumination. “But you got it all back? And my son’s dragon ate those devils up?” I nodded. “Well, good riddance to bad rubbish I say, and good for you. Now, while those men are enjoying those ridiculous pleasures of theirs, I wanted to ask…” She opened one door to reveal a room with a huge bed obviously made for a couple. “As for sleeping arrangements, did you wish to sleep in here or to have your own room?”

That was an odd question, especially since it’d just been announced I’d married her son. Most newlyweds were notorious for being unable to keep their hands off each other, but I assumed she was just being conciliatory. She didn’t know what stage our relationship was at, other than the fact we’d apparently been swept up in a night of passion courtesy of Zafira.

“Oh, I think we’ll both sleep in here,” I said, “though if possible, it would be good to house the rest of the wing in the adjoining rooms. We tend to always bunk in together. Soren swears it helps with morale.”

Soren swore no such thing, but it was much more palatable than the truth. Though my fake excuse didn’t quite have the effect I expected. Kay winced just for a minute, the pained expression there and gone again so fast it was hard to know if I’d actually seen anything at all.

“Of course, dear,” she replied, patting me on the arm. “I’ll let the maids know. Now unless there’s anything else?”

“No, and thank you for your kind welcome. I apologise but with the day I’ve had I’m dead on my feet.”

“Sleep then,” she told me, “and I’ll have some of the kitchen lads bring your bags up. You’ll feel like a whole new woman in the morning.”

She was right in the end, but not in the way she thought. I retired to bed, slipping under the stone warmed covers in just my shirt, snuggling down and falling to sleep almost immediately. But at some point in the night, that was disturbed. A heavy body landed beside me, then another shuffled me closer, putting me at the centre of the mattress. Muffled complaints made clear a process was being fought out about who got to sleep with me, but while I tried to raise my head, I failed to open my eyes. Warm lips pressed themselves to my forehead, stinking of port and cigar smoke, but it didn’t stop me from nestling down on the connected chest.

More arms, more legs tangled with mine, holding my hand, cradling me close and right now that was enough. I fell back into sleep like a deep sea diver, but when I did, I saw a pair of cool blue eyes watching me in my dreams. Did they do so with cruel amusement or was it malice? I couldn’t decide and then I was tugged down deeper into the darkness.