Page 124 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection

Chapter 123

“Where the hell did you two disappear to last night?” Ged snapped out the next morning, when we appeared back in our suite.

Your mates are jealous , Glimmer said from where she was nestled in Brom’s arms. She could walk. Her strength seemed to have returned, but he carried her anyway. That comes from mating only one or two of them, not all of them.

You only mate when you come into season, so doing so with all of yours is not such a hardship , I shot back. Humans mate much more frequently.

I know. There was something pithy about her reply, evident in her stance when she wriggled to get down, then walked over to one of the beds and jumped up onto it.

“No need to ask that.” Flynn’s brows furrowed. “It's plain to see they were with the prince.” That line on his forehead deepened and his thumb smoothed over it without thought. “Is this the ways it’s to be? The four of us together, but when the prince beckons?—”

“Flynn,” Soren growled.

“No, if we’re to live this lie, I need to know exactly how it will be.” Flynn turned back to me. “Pippin?”

“I… I don’t know. We haven’t talked about this and I see your point. Perhaps we should’ve before last night.”

“We didn’t see you after that debacle at the garrison,” Ged said. “We had to hear it from the other riders that the mission failed. The boys were moved again before we could even fucking get there.”

“We also need to talk about how you got that information in the first place.” Soren shot Ged a dark look. “Wandering off like that was?—”

“Stop.” The word was out of my mouth before I thought it through, but it had the desired effect. Each of them fell silent, staring at me. I sank down onto the bed next to my dragon, the mattresses having been returned to their original places, but as I did so, I winced.

“What did he do to you?” Ged strode across the room to my side, sitting down beside me, then looked me over with a questioning eye. “Did that bastard hurt you? If he did, I’ll sort him out, prince or no.”

“Only in the way you all do,” I replied. I shared a look with Brom, enjoying watching the way his eyes heated. “I don’t have anything to compare with, but you all seem… big.” Ged’s eyes sank down to his crotch and he slowly smiled. “And while I love every moment of the feeling of you inside me, the next day I feel tender. Like I’m living with the ghost of that pleasure until I reach for it again.”

“Tell me we don’t have anything planned for today,” Flynn said, in a choked off voice. “Tell me today is a rest day and we can hole up in here and spend the day showing our girl just how much pleasure she can experience.”

“No such luck.” Soren shook his head ruefully. “We need to get down to the mess hall quickly and grab a bite. The general wants us in his office first thing this morning.”

“Of course he does,” Brom said with a sigh. “We have to answer for what happened last night and to find a way forward until we locate the cadets.”

“They’re with Marcus.” Every man but Brom seemed alarmed by that admission. “Draven seems to think we won’t see hide nor hair of them until he’s ready.”

“So they’re pawns to be used in his game?” Flynn snapped. “As we were. He manoeuvred us expertly, finding exactly where the boys were in the garrison and creating a diversion he could exploit.” He clapped his hands. “Well done, Marcus.” But then he turned to Ged. “But you can find him.”

“If he wants to be found.” Ged frowned. “I know plenty of his haunts, but no one knows all of them. I can go down?—”

“Let’s await our orders first,” Brom said, before turning to the others. “I’m sorry for monopolising Pippin last night. I should’ve known you would need to know she was well. I just…”

“You had the two people you love most in the world in the same room and they were open to each other, willing to let the other in,” Soren said. He flushed as everyone turned to stare at him. “You all had to know this was on the cards. Draven never wanted to relinquish Pippin, not really. The heat between them doesn’t come from nowhere. For a prince, he’s a damn good rider. I had my doubts when he joined the corps, but he’s shown he’s willing to fight by our sides many times over.” His focus slid to me. “If he does right by you, lass, then I’ve no objections to him joining… whatever we have.”

I moved then, each man hissing at my stiff posture, but I melted as soon as I was close to Soren. I hadn’t known that I’d needed his approval until I had it. As he smoothed his hand up and down my spine, all the aches seemed to fade away until there was just him.

“So that’s what it takes to get cuddles from you?” he said in a low voice. “I just have to approve of your reckless decisions?”

“You just have to be you,” I said, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in his chest.

“Are we forgetting that Draven whipped Ged, and sent Pippin to shovel shit until she almost passed out?” Flynn asked the room.

“Not forgetting,” Soren replied, “just understanding. You’re the son of one of the most powerful dukes in all of Nevermere. To say you don’t understand the way power must be displayed and maintained would be a lie. You’ve just been able to escape the bullshit of your father’s court up until now, and you’re not much liking being thrust back into it.”

A thump on the door interrupted any other conversation we might have, Soren and I springing apart.

“Everyone’s to report to the mess hall,” came a muffled shout, then the speaker moved on.

“Best we get to it,” Brom said, “though we must schedule for a later date a deep and honest conversation about what people are comfortable with.”

“Tonight,” Flynn insisted. “If we aren’t infiltrating secret Harlstonian bases or engaging in sedition.”

We didn’t have long and I needed to get out of my dress and into my cadet’s uniform straight away, but I moved away from Soren to Flynn, his hands snapping out the moment I was close, his mouth brushing against mine.

“Even if we are,” I promised, kissing him just once before pulling away.