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“Notice he’s trying very hard to get that ribbon off its snout?

” Niall looked toward the dais and nodded.

“Well, you might casually venture onto the platform to personally wish your brother’s child a healthy, prosperous life.

Before you leave, you might accidentally pull at one end of the ribbon controlling that dragon and let him loose. ”

“How would that be fun?”

“It wouldn’t. It’s what the dragon will do once set free that will be unforgettable fun.”

“Unforgettable?” Niall was practically salivating. “He’ll cause commotion?”

Vidar pinned him with the gaze of a demigod so that Niall would know he was very serious. “Oh. Yeah.” Niall wiped his mouth with the sleeve covering his forearm then shoved the half-full beer stein into Vidar’s abdomen. Vidar smiled, accepted, and nodded. “Go get ‘em, Kraken.”

As Niall crept away, Vidar looked at the overly stylized, oversized mug in his hand.

He loosened his fingers and let gravity take over.

The stein fell away but dematerialized before it hit the ground.

His eyes immediately went to the last place he’d seen Ilmr. She wasn’t there, but hadn’t gone so far away that he didn’t find her.

The queen of Scandinavian fae was watching the royal archers when Vidar came up behind her and whispered in her ear.

“You might want to move closer to the royal reception. Fireworks should be starting soon.”

Without turning around, Ilmr smiled. She wasn’t sure which she liked better, the feel of Vidar’s breath on her neck or the thrill of imagining Maeve on the edge of comeuppance. After casually adjusting her skirts, she began to saunter in the direction of the dais where the monarchy was on display.

Vidar walked beside her.

“I wasn’t sure you were coming,” she said, not looking at Vidar, but nodding at a French diplomat she couldn’t stand.

“Where else would I be?”

“I couldn’t say. With a new lover perhaps?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not done with you.”

Ilmr laughed lightly. “Good to know. I haven’t heard from you lately.”

“By lately, you mean since day before yesterday?”

“Yes. That’s what I mean.”

“Well, my dear. We have a long-distance, commuting kind of relationship. I still have a job, you know. As do you.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of interfering with your work.”

He teased by echoing her words. “Good to know.”

As they neared the hub of the party grounds, Vidar took Ilmr’s elbow and pointed toward the dais.

Niall’s back was to the crowd. He was leaning over, saying something private to the king, whose face was utterly passive and giving away nothing about his thoughts or feelings on the matter. After scant seconds, Niall straightened and retreated to the rear behind the thrones.

Thorn kept his eye on the prince as he approached, but was wise enough not to act on unicorn intuition alone.

As both Vidar and Niall had guessed, everyone’s attention was on the royal couple and their tiny, but illustrious princess.

So long as Niall moved slowly, keeping his focus trained on anything but his actual goal, he’d garner no notice.

A single nondescript figure, even one who was well-dressed, was no competition for spectacles that dazzled with every slight turn of the head.

He moved the few feet across the dais slowly enough to impress Vidar with his stealth and patience. An unexpected, but sweet surprise.

As if he suddenly remembered somewhere he needed to be, Niall grabbed the end of Squeaky’s ribbon and pulled like sleight of hand as he hurried past. It happened so quickly, even Thorn almost missed the caper.

The instantaneous squawking was so loud it threatened to drown out the collective sounds of spectators, entertainers, and all other miscellaneous noises typically found at summer fairs.

Evie cupped her hands over Rhiannon’s ears, wishing she had four hands so she could minimize the cacophony for herself as well.

“Diarmuid! We need a dragon handler. Somebody take that thing and put it in the soundproof cellar. You know. The one that used to be used for torture? Long, long ago?” At least that was the story she’d heard from Maeve.

He was already on his feet giving chase after a dragon intent on destruction. It could run surprisingly fast, if awkwardly, on two legs. Now and then its wings ruffled. Sometimes they spread and lifted it off the ground for a few yards at a time.

Like the king, Ex, Scruffen, and Rox were also chasing the dragon although my guess was they wouldn’t know what to do with it if they caught it. Even royal dogs could reason that eating Maeve’s precious gift to her granddaughter would be very bad form.

The little monster hopped up onto one of the feast tables and ran straight through the buffets, turning over every kind of food displayed in every kind of container including some that were priceless museum-quality pieces.

He then began hopping from head to head in a gender-selective pursuit of women only.

Even though fae femmes could fix their hair with a thought, nobody wants to be seen with an out-of-control dragon on her head pecking at the hairpins holding her updo in place.

Ilmr and Vidar were laughing so hard they were leaning against each other for support. Niall, hiding behind a nearby blue and white striped tent, was in ecstasy. He didn’t think he’d ever had so much fun.

The amount of damage done in a short time by such a small creature was mind-blowing.

Once Maeve realized the cause of disruption, she was furious.

People were vanishing from the party faster than she could keep track.

Staff and guests alike. Pop. Pop. Pop. The crowd had seriously thinned out in seconds.

And she knew instantly that, all said and done, people would talk about the dragon incident and not the pitch-perfect party.

“No! Don’t go!” she said, but partygoers ignored her and continued disappearing.

Maeve wheeled on the little devil with narrowed eyes and began stomping toward him.

Seeing that, Squeaky appeared to convulse and cough.

He repeated the odd pattern three times.

Then, just as Maeve, Diarmuid, and his dogs were about to reach the dragon, he projected a tiny puff of smoke at Maeve.

The projectile was small but had at its core a tiny burning ember, just enough to set the tulle skirt ablaze.

“WHY YOU LITTLE…!” Maeve yelled at Squeaky as she put out the fire and refreshed her costume. That was her first thought. Her second thought was to whisk him away with a thought. No hint as to where.

“Wonder where she sent it?” I mused. “Maybe to the decommissioned dungeon.”

“Or just into nothingness,” Esme said.

“Gosh. That’s harsh, Esme,” I chided.

Esme didn’t look chided. “Dragons are notoriously mercurial. That’s why this one is one of the last of them, if not the last. They have no business being anywhere near babies. Not even a gifted one like Rhiannon.”

I stared at Esme. “How do you know Rhiannon is gifted?”

She chuckled. “The same way I knew she’d have blue eyes. She has two blue-eyed parents. No other outcome is possible.”

“I see. And I assume we’re talking magically gifted?”

Esmerelda laughed softly. She thought I was joking. I said nothing more because I just didn’t want to reveal that I didn’t get the joke.

Returning my attention to Maeve, I saw that she was treating the remaining guests, including ourselves, to an exhibition of more of her incredible power by quickly undoing most of the dragon’s damage.

We’d stood still and watched the drama progress transfixed.

“Quite a show,” Keir minimized as he spoke the most memorable line of the day.

“Don’t you feel even a little sorry for her?” I asked. “She’s been humiliated. Foiled by her own gift to the princess. It’s…”

“Poetic,” said Esme.

“No. I do no’ feel even a little bit sorry for her,” said Kagan.

Esme smiled at Kagan lovingly, then reached up and ran her hand over his blondish locks that would look too young and shiny on a human. I smiled to myself knowing exactly how that feels.

“What happened to that dragon?” Ilmr asked Vidar as they fell together onto her bed laughing.

“You mean where did it go when she whished it away? Don’t know. I could find out.”

She shook her head. “Not that important. But I did wonder. Will he be rogue like that forever?”

“Oh, no. If I did that, my superiors would be compelled to step in. Permanently altering a powerful creature might even cost me my ranger badge. Don’t worry. It will wear off soon.”

Ilmr gazed into Vidar’s eyes adoringly. “You did it. I don’t know yet how this affects my rank as queen, but I do know Maeve took a hit. A big one.”

“I know. I overheard somebody in the crowd say, ‘Maeve must be slipping. She can’t even control her granddaughter’s dragon. And I heard it was a gift from her!’” Ilmr watched his sexy mouth as it spread into a smile. “By the time we’re done, you’ll be number one.”

“In your heart?”

“Mine. Yes. But also, in the hearts of all of fae.”

“Ooh. Like the sound of that.” She pulled him into a lingering kiss before saying, “What’s a ranger badge? ”