Page 3 of Lady Dragon

Kirek shook her head, tapping her chest. “The Heartstone is what permits it, and its use is only granted at very specific times.” The princess looked over at her curiously, but Kirek had no intention of showing her the Heartstone nestled under her armor.

“This is one of those times. The only time I’ve encountered.

Dragons generally don’t condone becoming like this.

” She didn’t bother trying to conceal her distaste.

“It’s considered degrading, and so only the strongest of us—queens or their heirs—are required to undertake it. Our pride can withstand it.”

She hoped.

“Well,” the princess said in a pleasant tone, for reasons unknown to Kirek, “you look quite nice for someone so new to this.”

“ Nice? ” Kirek’s distaste only grew with the supposed compliment. “It is not my intention to be nice .”

The princess winced, seeming to realize she had misstepped somehow. “I mean you look handsome.”

“ Handsome? ” Kirek was more baffled than anything. What in the sky’s name did that have to do with anything? And she didn’t look handsome. She looked hideous.

“I mean you move quite well,” the princess clarified hurriedly. “Powerfully.”

Kirek nodded, slightly mollified. She hadn’t come to Andrath entirely unprepared.

She’d first used the Heartstone to change into human form several weeks before her arrival here, during which time she’d practiced human gestures and studied how to wield both sword and pen.

She found writing tedious, swordplay less so, even if she disdained human flourishes in either.

She’d rather spell out her meaning in blood.

While mastering such a body had been a challenge, she could already tell she carried herself better than half the queendom. Better even than many men, who prided themselves on their physical strength and prowess, from what she understood .

Kirek was eager to see what they could offer in the tourney.

Or, rather, what they couldn’t.

Samansa glanced at her sideways, a flash of mischief in her eyes. “Though you move a little stiffly.”

Kirek felt her lips twist as she responded, “Should I try to be graceful ? Womanly? We don’t have this concept as dragons. We are female, yes, but not like you.”

“So you don’t like men, and you don’t appear to like women. Do dragons like humans at all ?” The princess paused before continuing more determinedly once it became apparent that Kirek wasn’t going to answer. “Being womanly isn’t only about grace. Nor is grace a bad quality.”

“Grace is unnecessary,” Kirek said. “As are flowers without purpose.”

“So you only do what’s necessary?” Samansa’s voice had wound tighter.

“I try.”

“Is that why you’re not terribly nice?” The princess’s eyes widened, as if she was startled by her own words.

Skies above, this girl can scare herself, somehow , Kirek thought. How was the future ruler of this realm so flinching?

Never mind that Kirek had come here for this exact reason—to assess their weaknesses and report back.

Not that the humans knew her ulterior motive, and they wouldn’t discover it, not with the dragons’ secret means of communicating.

Her mother would be pleased at what she was finding.

But instead of satisfaction, Kirek only felt bone-deep disgust.

“Yes. Niceness is useless,” she said. “Niceness doesn’t win your battles and defeat your enemies.”

“But we’re not enemies. Right?” It was an obvious bid for reassurance that Kirek ignored. Samansa continued, “And life isn’t always about battle, but also beauty.”

Kirek abruptly turned and faced the princess, baring her teeth. “If you’re an overripe fruit, gone soft in the sun, don’t be surprised when someone plucks you up to eat you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she hissed in a breath.

She risked revealing too much, through these unwieldy words and too-malleable expression.

She forced her face to return to smooth indifference.

Jamsens had moved a few steps closer than his previous discretion had allowed, his hand on his sword. Kirek only flicked him a glance.

“Are you going to eat me?” Samansa bared her teeth in return—and then Kirek realized the princess was smiling , albeit sharply.

Samansa was assuming Kirek had smiled first—had jested about the princess’s precarious position. What luck, if a mistake on Samansa’s part.

Kirek almost wanted to warn the fool to run the next time she saw a dragon showing her teeth—bodyguard or no. Dragons didn’t smile, and they didn’t jest. And a man like Jamsens would fall like cut grass, no matter the weapons he wielded.

But Samansa wasn’t stepping back, despite their proximity, standing within reach. Remaining so close to Kirek showed a lack of wisdom, indeed, whatever form the dragon might be wearing—smile or no smile. Kirek could have snapped her neck in a blink, had she wanted to.

Fortunately for the princess, Kirek didn’t want to—yet.

“I told you,” Kirek said, “I don’t like sweets.”

To Samansa’s credit, her tone had bite when she snapped back, “If I’m an overripe fruit, let me guess what you are. ”

“A honed blade,” Kirek answered immediately. She would have preferred tooth over blade , but she didn’t want to frighten the princess—or concern Jamsens—more than she already had.

“I was going to say a dried-up stick.” The princess’s gaze darted beyond Kirek. “But I think you’re more of a cat.”

Kirek turned to see that exact animal strolling across the path behind her.

So there was one creature, at least, hunting among the flower beds.

It paused to stare haughtily at them, and then continued on its way as if they were beneath it, despite its vastly shorter stature.

It was orange and striped and absolutely nothing like her.

“I don’t even want to guess as to how you came to that conclusion,” Kirek said, turning back and folding her arms. Humans did that to show they were relaxed, yes?

Not ready to inflict violence? Her amused scoff was entirely genuine, at least, and Jamsens seemed to uncoil somewhat.

“And you don’t want me to guess which beast you approximate, because it’s one I like to eat and that wouldn’t be very nice to suggest.”

The princess covered her mouth in yet more shock.

“That wasn’t nice of me, either, was it, to compare you to an animal?

In fact, that was terribly rude! My mother is going to—where are my manners?

My apologies, Lady—erm—Lady Dragon.” She bobbed another curtsy.

“You’re not like a cat, even if that’s rather more flattering than a cow or a pig or a sheep, which is what I assume you were implying with regard to me. ”

Kirek ignored that last part. “Did you forget my name? Because it isn’t Lady Dragon . It’s Kirek and only Kirek.” She found herself frowning again, but not because of the atrocious title. “And you can withhold your apology, because I rather appreciated seeing your teeth, for once. ”

Samansa blinked. “What does that mean?”

Kirek spun away from her, putting a safe distance between them once again. “I’ll leave it to you to find out. One can’t learn everything in a moment.”

If only , she thought, a bitter taste on her tongue. Because then I would be done with this place.

“I thought you wanted to learn from me on this little outing.” The princess had to hurry once again to keep up, despite being the supposed guide, picking up her ludicrous silk skirts, which were pale and fluffy and about as substantial as a cloud against either a dragon’s claws or a blade.

“And I have learned from you.” About you , Kirek didn’t add.

She nodded at their opulent, ridiculous surroundings.

“I won’t ask why the path beneath us is made of tiny broken rocks, because I know it’s for your soft, unclawed human feet.

But please, do tell me why your walls are arranged in such a cramped and yet ineffective way, never mind why they are blue with gold cracks to weaken the stone? ”

“Blue is the queen’s color, along with gold, and this veined marble is particularly rare and… valuable.” Most of the fire in Samansa’s voice guttered out by the end.

“So your queen’s worth is shown through… decoration?” Kirek’s own hesitation was as deliberate as a timed strike. “Decoration that proudly bares its flaws for all to see?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kirek watched the princess’s jaw clench under her rosy cheeks with no little pleasure.

She wasn’t sure why she liked goading the girl so much.

For her purposes it was as unnecessary as being nice, and yet it felt satisfying where uncovering her human weaknesses had not. Like scratching an itch .

Hopefully the princess never had to face her actual claws. Skies help her then.

Despite the high ceiling, the tall windows, and the stretching table that was nowhere near to full because the queen hadn’t wanted to overwhelm Kirek—or so she’d claimed—the dining hall still felt suffocating between walls of gold-threaded blue marble.

The queen sat at one end of the table, her heir next to her.

Kirek had the supposed honor of sitting at the queen’s other side, across from Samansa.

One seat farther down the table from the princess sat a man in his prime, introduced as the prince and second-in-command of the queen’s forces.

Branon, who had Samansa’s red hair and none of her softness.

He looked a good deal older than her, more than ten years her senior, though it was sometimes hard to tell with humans.

The queen had evidently struggled in giving birth to a daughter for some years.

Which was likely why Samansa felt the pressure to start trying for an heir sooner rather than later, despite her youth.