Chapter 6
KIEREN
Idon’t lose my temper. I never yell. I’m levelheaded to the extreme, but I’ve had enough of these candidates.
When we started, Evander called them our candy.
But to me, they’re a damn inconvenience.
One series of lies after another to women who think they are here for a career opportunity, not some sort of other realm dating scam.
But this is it. I’ve had enough. I’m telling Roark and Evander after this we’re done.
No more candidates. No more women trying to slide into my bed when I’m sleeping because they see gold.
I don’t share gold with anyone. It took my dragon a long time to get used to the fact that I have other males in my thunder.
My parents are a couple. Evander has two fathers and a mother.
Roark’s mother had three in her thunder before the clash with the Firested clan.
Roark lost all of his parents in battle.
His mother was a rider. She had the gift of fire breath.
My mother has poison breath. Evander’s mother can shift wings out of her back.
They’re tiny and can carry her only a short distance.
Useful on their farm in the fields of Elderglen.
I swallow. Neither of them have answered me. Fucking Evander can wait a year in silence while you work out it’s you who’s being the asshole.
“I was invited to dinner by Leo. And with my clothes missing, this was all I had. But I’ve found my clothes now. I’ll go up and change. I’m more of a dark color kind of gal, anyway.” Her pale pink painted fingertips grasp the edges of the chair.
“No, you’re here now. We should eat.” I motion to her place.
Evander’s dragon pushes at his face. He’s never been one to lose control and shift uncontrollably. We leave that to Roark.
Her hands drop to her lap without opening the napkin. A valet steps forward. “Mademoiselle.” He takes the napkin and, with a flourish, places it on her lap.
“How very kind of you, thank you,” she says in perfect French.
“You speak French?” Evander asks.
“Yes, just a bit,” she answers in French again.
Evander hasn’t sat. He’s glaring at the valet like he’s entered our hoard vault.
“Evander, sit.”
The low, guttural growl of his dragon answers me. It’s loud enough to shake the water goblet beside my claret glass.
“Sit,” I say again.
We sit in unison, silent as Evander quiets his beast. The rumbling from his dragon says that I’m not getting rid of the candidate with a quick word.
I’ll let him have his fun, but this is the last time.
I nod to the head steward in the corner of the room.
He eyes my computer, and I incline my head.
He whisks it away to my office. He’s been here as long as I can remember.
It’s an honor to serve in Cloud Rift. Not because of me but because of what it stands for to our people.
It will be a minute before the first course begins. “And how did you learn French?”
“My grandmother. She’s from not far from here. Not that I’ve ever been here. I’ve never really traveled. But she liked teaching me and, unlike my older sister, I enjoyed learning. Maybe too much. I majored in French and art history in college.”
“And here you are,” Evander says. His eyes have almost returned to their normal shape and shade of brown.
The stewards bring the first course. Do I have time for a five-course dinner? No, but we start with every candidate this way. “Merché,” I say. Thank you in our native tongue.
“Thank you,” Raine echoes in French.
Evander’s got his fingers twisted around the stem of his claret glass, raised to his lips. But he inclines his head as the stewards retreat to the pantry.
“Smells divine,” Raine says.
“Please eat.” I pause with the spoon in my hand. “How did—”
“Leopold put her on the second floor. But in our wanderings, we found her suitcases on the fourth floor, and she—”
“She would like to be where the other staff are. It’s wonderful of you to invite me to this lovely meal.
This soup is like nothing I’ve ever had .
. . but it tastes familiar. I know that’s contradictory, but either way, it’s just the perfect thing for a day like this.
You got caught in the rain, too?” Her pink lips lift in a wisp of a smile.
“Caught in the storm? Made the storm,” Evander says into his empty glass.
I may or may not have flown through a seed cloud, causing it to unload its water with a burst of fire.
Raine’s eyes flick from Evander to me. “In charge of this lovely castle and the weather? That’s a lot of responsibility.” She doesn’t ask what Evander means. She’s clever—she’s figured out what we are already.
Raine places her spoon at the four o’clock position of her plate, letting the steward behind her know she’s done. So she has manners. That doesn’t mean anything. Doesn’t mean she’s destined to become queen of Crest Wing.
“Yes, I suppose it is, but he enjoys it.” Evander motions for more wine.
I raise an eyebrow at him— he’s pushing it. But I do enjoy the rush I get from charge in the polarity before lightning forms.
The courses roll from one to the next. And unlike so many of the other candidates, Miss Fischer doesn’t seem to need to fill every minute with chatter about the weather, her makeup routine, or the best way to tell if an egg is fresh.
Although I did learn a lot about cooking from the rejected candidate who was a chef.
And I also invested in her restaurant in Zurich.
She was one of a handful who figured out the real reason why she’d been invited to Cloud Rift.
Raine’s first appearance put me off—behind the curtain, in front of my office, and steps away from the Thessari. It’s sacred to us, specifically to those of Crest Wing descent.
The steward appears with dessert, a marzipan and berry cake that’s a favorite of my sister’s.
And next to it are three glasses of Dragon Ale, which isn’t ale at all but rather a potent whiskey-like substance produced by an Earth dragon in Scotland.
A substance strong enough to get even a dragon drunk.
“Bravari,” Evander says.
“Bravari,” Raine repeats. Without an accent.
Evander catches my eye. There are a few staff members here not from Crest Wing, locals who have worked here for a good decade. They’ll attempt a phrase or two now and then, but it’s always barely recognizable.
Raine takes a sip of the drink and puts it down. She’s done that with a few things, eating enough to show respect, showing appreciation. The queen calls it three bites and mixes.
“Have you had Dragon Ale before?” Evander’s glass is empty.
“A few times in college. But I don’t drink much anymore. I’m a lightweight, and I want to get right to work in the morning. Will you have time to show me where the collection is, or will Leopold be showing me?”
“I can show you when we finish our drinks.”
Evander tips his drink back, draining it.
“So, somehow Miss Fischer hasn’t signed the NDA yet.
” He puts his glass down. He’s pushing at me.
Seeing if he can get more reaction from me.
It’s his job, after all. Being a thunder mate means he’s in my life forever.
He’s one of two males I can count on to tell me the truth.
“And why is that?” We don’t normally even purchase transportation for candidates before they sign.
Evander shrugs. “No clue. But I double-checked, and we don’t have one.
I have one waiting for her in the office, now.
” He pushes back from the table and dismisses the steward ready to help Raine with her chair.
He does it himself, and there’s a stirring inside me, one that I don’t recognize.
Stepping out into the corridor, I turn back to see Evander guide her out of the room.
My stomach twists, and I make a mental note to skip the cloud cake tomorrow.
I step forward to pull open the curtain, and the memory of this afternoon comes rushing back.
I was worked up, knowing yet another one was coming today.
Evander and I took a nice long flight. Coming down the stairs, I should have known the smell was going to be there.
But Percy’s car wasn’t parked in the back livery, and there was no sign of his dog either.
I turn to her suddenly enough that she stops, standing in the middle of the dragon’s eye, under the arch in the middle of the foyer. The late summer light shining through the western upper-story window shimmers over her dark hair. “How did you get here?”
“I used a rideshare app.”
Evander and I both have no investment in her, but we both have the same reaction. “You got into a stranger’s car?” I hold back a growl.
“In a country you’ve never been to?” Evander adds.
“It’s a rideshare app. The drivers have background searches done on them. I hold my keys in my hand to punch them with if anything happens. New York City would shut down without them.”
“This isn’t New York City,” Evander says.
“But I’m here. In one piece. Ready to do my job. It’s not a problem; I wasn’t late, just a little wet. If I can, I’d love to see the collection tonight.” Her eyes light up, and there’s a bounce to her when she says it.
“Yes, fine. Let’s get the papers signed.” I enter my office with them trailing behind me.
“Holy crap.” Raine blows past me.