Page 15 of Treylon (Soldiers of the Ardannan #1)

One year later…

R osalie was impatient for the meeting of her Ardannan-Sectors Relationship Council to end.

Usually she was totally engrossed in the agenda and in working for the results she wanted to achieve but today was different.

There were three things remaining to be discussed so she forced herself to lean back in her chair while one of her two incredibly capable deputies led the conversation.

She’d mastered the princessly art of appearing to be totally attentive while actually thinking of other things.

Score one for me . But she was also quite capable of tuning in the instant she needed to.

Treylon had insisted on establishing the Council as soon as they arrived on Ardanna after their stay at Resort Planet and his father the king had agreed.

The monarch had also agreed to allow Rosalie to lead the effort, once he’d heard her out about the issues they’d be facing to successfully integrate the Sectors citizens into Ardannan life.

Trey had assured her he’d give her the two most crafty and well-versed political deputies he could find to help her steer her efforts and he’d delivered.

She liked his parents well enough although the queen was standoffish.

Rosalie came to the conclusion she basically could do no wrong in their eyes since being in love with her had enabled Trey to access his dragon self and persuaded him to leave the military and take up his proper role in government.

Rosalie had the impression the king was tired and not in the best of health so she hoped for his sake Trey could alleviate a few of his burdens.

The Ardannan people fell in love with her and Trey’s love story and the wedding was an absolute fairy tale, with no expense spared, including flying Twilka Zabour herself in to create the wedding dress.

Rosalie and Twilka got along famously and the designer was touched by the story of Rosalie’s trip to her boutique and plan to resell the bathing suit.

She had the three women who’d been matched to Trey’s best friends as her bridesmaid, plus two cousins of Trey’s.

A pair of darling children distantly related to the royal family served as flower girl and ringbearer.

The ceremony was designed carefully to include Ardannan and human customs and rituals.

It was her first experience at the massive enterprise that was the Ardanna royal court.

Trey kept his word to support her in any dispute with the courtiers or his family.

Rosalie was determined to be her authentic self at all times.

She and Trey were the poster couple for the whole intermarriage effort, which gave her more power than she might have otherwise had.

Everyone in the higher echelons wanted the effort to be a success and the fact the popular prince and the fascinating human woman had matched through the IDA was a testimonial to the wisdom of the project.

They’d returned to Resort Planet for their honeymoon, well guarded, and had a terrific, carefree week in a remote but luxurious seaside location.

IDA’s reputation had skyrocketed even higher and the company was most co-operative.

Trey had refused to shift into his teomiku form but there was enough trideo and holo evidence from the terrorist incident to satisfy the demand he prove his capability.

The prince insisted his dragon self was only to be deployed in dire situations, not casually displayed.

Although he had let the dragon out once during their honeymoon, at Rosalie’s request. She was fascinated by that version of her husband and they spent a fun afternoon on the beach gamboling in the waves and burning random pieces of driftwood.

She was pleased to find her mate mark had resolved into an emerald green heart with a golden crown above it, much like the crown symbol on her original IDA matchmaking ticket. The symmetry of the symbols pleased her since she and Trey would never have met except for IDA.

Her life here on Ardanna was exceedingly pleasant, with designer clothes, more jewelry than any one woman could ever wear and her slightest wish granted (so she was careful not to express any desire lightly).

True she spent a lot of time on official duties, with and without Trey but she enjoyed the work for the most part and loved meeting everyday Ardannans.

She’d managed a few incognito trips to what passed for thrift shops in the Ardannan capital and found a few vintage items to exclaim over.

Trey had found her the best vocal coach on Ardanna for lessons and she sang in public on occasion, usually at charity concerts or other events. She sang for him in private all the time.

In their own apartment in the royal palace she cooked dinner for Trey often, when they had a free evening without a state event. After dinner they usually played games, which always seemed to evolve into the other kind of games in the bedroom.

She rested her hand on her stomach briefly, watching the lights glint off her huge engagement ring and the diamond encrusted wedding band.

Games had consequences but this latest development was one she eagerly welcomed and Trey would be overjoyed when she shared the news with him tonight, after this interminable meeting ended. The new development was what they both wanted very much.

Rosalie realized with relief the meeting had gotten through two of the remaining agenda items and started on the third while she was musing.

I hope you’re going to inherit the teomiku ability, she thought to her tiny baby .

I don’t fully understand it myself but it’s important to your father.

He’ll love you just as much either way but he’d like to share the experience of being a dragon shifter with his children.

She stifled a smile, trying to imagine a toddler dragon shifter—that would be a handful.

“Time to vote, Madam Chairwoman,” her deputy said, breaking into her daydream about the baby.

Rosalie scanned the holo in the center of the table, which set forth the agreement to be voted on.

It was word for word what she wanted, so she said, “All in favor say aye,” and the room and the holo participants gave her a resounding chorus of agreement.

She slammed her gavel on the special pad on the table and said, “The amendment carries. Thank you, everyone and we stand adjourned.”

There was a bustle as people left their chairs and stood talking in small groups. Rosalie got out of hers and walked with her deputies to the door behind her. “Thank you for all your hard work on this,” she said.

“It’s important, your highness. Thank you for including us and for championing these reforms,” said her chief assistant.

Nodding, Rosalie tapped the door’s portal, which would only open for her and slipped through.

Trey waited on the other side, sitting on the edge of a chair, talking on his handheld.

He raised one finger to indicate he’d be done shortly.

She moved behind the chair to massage his shoulders, which were tight after his afternoon of meetings.

Trey hung up and caught her hands, pulling her in front of him so she could sit on his lap. “How was your day?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

“Long but satisfying.”

“Well we’re clear to go to our quarters now,” he said. “Nothing on our agenda tonight. You said you wanted to talk.”

She’d planned to wait until after the dinner she was going to cook but happiness welled up inside her along with impatience. Taking his hand, she rested it on her stomach. “Do you think baby dragon shifters spout flame or cry when they’re born?”

He stared at her, eyes wide and then at their joined hands. “We—we’re having a baby?”

“I just found out for sure today. I went out incognito yesterday and bought a few of those instant pregnancy tests and yup, there’s a new prince or princess on the way.

” She smiled with satisfaction at his awed reaction to her news.

Trey was going to be an excellent father and she was sure from all her time as a daycare worker she’d be a good mother.

Babies were not a new frontier to her. Of course having her own child would be different but she knew the basics already and she’d have a loving partner in Trey.

She could foresee more battles ahead with the royal family and the courtiers when it came to child raising issues but they‘d probably never met a human mother. She’d be a mama bear for her child.

Fiercer than any teomiku, even if she couldn’t spit flames.

“Life isn’t going to be boring,” she said out loud.

“It never is with you,” Trey said, kissing her cheek. “Ready to get out of here and go somewhere private? We have reasons to celebrate tonight for sure.”

“Lead the way, your highness,” she replied with a wink. ”Feel free to be high handed tonight.”

He bent to kiss her lips. “Always.”

Thank you for reading TREYLON! I hope you enjoyed the adventure (and, of course, I’d love a review if you have time and the inclination to write one. Even a few sentences would be much appreciated. Or a rating! Authors relish reader feedback).