Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Lila
W hen we emerge from our room a few hours later, we find the reception hall empty except for Xavier, Saxon, Brannock, and Tirrian with his brothers and sister—oh, and Silac’s dad, who is still petrified. Silac stayed in half form, since his suit was shredded when he shifted, but I slipped the wedding dress back on. It seems that I glamoured myself as Kinga and didn’t assume her form, so when I changed back, I didn’t destroy the wedding dress. It’s a bit floofy for my tastes with heaps of layers of tulle, but the only other option was a robe or staying in half form. I’m pretty sure Silac wouldn’t keep his hands off me in half form, so the dress it is.
“Congratulations.” Xavier stands up and starts clapping, and the others follow suit, hollering and hooting. I didn’t hide the bite mark on my neck, happy to show it off next to the others. I pretty much look like a chew toy now, but I really don’t care.
“Come join us and let us fill you in.” Tirrian gestures to a couple of spare seats.
“There’s plenty to eat, and we are barely putting a dent in it.” Saxon points out the buffet, which is still full of food. Obviously, nobody had a chance to dine before shit hit the fan. Everyone at the table has a plate in front of them. They must have had something to eat while they waited for us.
“Can we send it back to the dragon keep? I’m sure there are plenty of hungry dragons who won’t let it go to waste,” I ask Xavier who nods.
“The guards who helped with the raid would think you were a goddess.” Thorn chuckles. “The sure way to get a male dragon on your side is through their stomach.”
“They better admire her from afar,” Tirrian grumbles, smoke drifting from his nostrils at his brother’s teasing.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” I sit down on a chair, and Silac moves the one next to me out of the way so he can coil up next to me.
“So how did it all go?” I ask as Tallon passes me a glass of champagne. We clink glasses as Brannock answers.
“All the guests were scanned. Those who were innocent of any foul play were released—mostly women and children and non-related guests. Some were business associates whom the Bravalanas were trying to woo, but they weren’t complicit in any of their illegal trades. Maybe they were trying to go legit, we will never know, but I highly doubt it. None of your family members apart from your father were in the building,” he tells Silac, who nods.
“I didn’t think I saw any of them. I’m actually worried about them,” Silac admits, and I grab his hand and give it a squeeze.
“And those who were complicit are currently residing in the dragon’s containment block, awaiting transport to Westalin.” Saxon takes over as he grabs a plate and fills it before putting it in front of me.
“Mom and Dad want to make an example of them. They have a reputation to uphold, and the basilisks are going to pay the price for their mistakes. Nobody fucks with the king and queen of the warlocks and lives to brag about it,” Xavier explains.
“Where are they?” I ask. “I thought maybe they’d be here as well.”
“They got word from one of their loyal followers that while they were petrified, Atrax tried to take the crown. That’s Elyan and Aryan’s father, who has been one of my father’s advisors for years despite knowing he is plotting against him—the whole keep your enemies closer bullshit.” His power crackles with agitation.
“But even if they were out of commission, you are still crown prince,” I point out.
“Apparently I am being charged with crimes against a harem member and am not fit to hold a royal title.”
“What the hell? You had every right to kill her.” That bitch didn’t suffer enough as far as I’m concerned.
“I thought attacks against one’s intimate was a grievous crime,” Tirrian rumbles, smoke drifting out of his nose. He really does have a short temper.
“It is, and so is trying to overthrow the king and queen. He must have gotten word that they were petrified and assumed there was no chance they would be reanimated. He’s going to wish he wasn’t born by the time Mom and Dad are done with him. They will also clear me of all charges and have told me that neither of us have to appear before the tribunal. They will handle it all.”
I sag in my seat, the relief I feel immense. “That’s one less task we need to take care of. It’s just the Vilaxians now and that bullshit clan stuff. I hate those bitches. I’m feeling all kinds of negativity towards the Vilaxians at the moment. They fucked up one of my acts.”
“I’m sorry,” Saxon apologizes, and I hear his guilt.
I shake my head, waving a fork at him. “Not your fault. Thankfully Vilax is on the way back to Earth, otherwise I’d tell them to kiss my ass, and they could wait until we’ve rescued Chloe.” I look at Brannock who practically vibrates with excitement. “Now that we’re done here, we can do that.”
Xavier winces and looks apologetically at Brannock. “We need to make a short stop at Skarr for supplies and to recall the rest of the circus. The call went out already.”
“What? Why wasn’t I told?” I ask, frowning at my warlock.
“The grandpas made the decision during Nik’s birth. They decided if we were returning to Earth anyway, then we may as well resume our tour.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s if they don’t declare war on us once we raid Area 51,” I mutter sarcastically, glaring at the others, even though it wasn’t their decision. “What were they thinking?”
“Don’t forget this is a business as well, and it’s already taken a few hits this year. If we don’t resume soon, the acts are going to find other employment.” I hate when Xavier is the voice of reason. It makes me unreasonably furious, but he’s not wrong.
“Okay. Let’s wrap things up here and head to Skarr. I guess with the recall going out, I’ll know for sure how many acts we’re going to replace. Fuck, we’re going to have to do that before we head to Earth too.”
I stand up and start pacing, which is not easy in this froufrou dress. Smoke even starts to drift out of my nose. Well, I can’t really throw stones in glass houses with Tirrian, now can I?
Tirrian stands up and steps in front of me, stopping my pacing.
“Easy, your dragon is still new, and if you’re not careful, it will take over. I don’t think this reception center will accept you destroying it if you shift inside. They are already pissed that we raided it earlier.”
His hands on my arms ground me, and I breathe in and out. “Okay, sorry. I’m good now.” I reassure him, and he releases me. Everyone else stands up as Xavier waves a hand, sending the buffet back to the dragon keep.
“How about we fly back? It will give you time to calm down, and there’s nothing like flying with a wing.”
“Wing?” I ask him, slightly confused.
“Yeah, that’s what a group of dragons is called,” Thorn says, taking off his shirt and tossing it at Xavier. “Be a pal and bring our clothes, will you?” He finishes stripping and saunters out one of the patio doors, shifting before taking off. If I looked at his pert ass on his way out, I’m only a red-blooded female, and it was there.
Xavier grumbles but gestures to us all to pass him our clothes. The other dragons strip and head outside while I give my guys a quick kiss. I get to Silac and throw my arms around him, hugging him. “Bye, hubby. See you back on the ship. Make sure you move into one of our rooms.” I have a moment of panic and look at Saxon and Xavier. “Are there any spare rooms?” I haven’t been keeping track.
“No, but we’ve booked for the ship to be refitted during the time we are on Skarr. It should only take a day or two, which is how long we plan to be there.”
“Okay, well, we’ll move your stuff in later. You can sleep in mine for now.” He beams and hugs me back, dragging the zipper of my dress down and letting it pool at my feet. I’m not wearing any underwear, and I feel the room grow heavy with lust from my guys.
“Wait,” Brannock calls as I start to walk out the door. “What about him?” He points at Silac’s father, who is still standing in the corner, petrified. Whoops.
Silac heaves out a sigh. “I’m going to have to stay behind and figure out what happened to my mother and siblings. I’ll catch up with you on Skarr. If you could reanimate him, I’ll take it from there.”
I feel a pang of agitation, knowing I’m going to be separated from him, but it will only be a couple of days. The flight between Fluxx and Skarr is just a few hours. “We’ll leave the grandpas’ shuttle in the space port. That way, you don’t have to wait for a scheduled one,” I tell him, giving him a kiss. I let the basilisk form wash over me and prick my finger on my fang before dropping the blood on Silac’s father’s forehead. I don’t wait for him to unfreeze before shifting back to OG Lila.
“Toodles.” I wave and skip out of the room naked, changing quickly to dragon form when I get outside. Tirrian follows me, growling aggressively. Aren’t shifters okay with nudity? I bet a whole heap of female dragons have seen him naked. Smoke starts to drift out of my nose at that thought, and my dragon growls at him, nipping his tail as we take off. Our flight home involves a lot of nipping and chasing, and it’s the most fun I’ve had in ages. I’m breathless and worn out by the time we get to the keep.
As it turns out, we didn’t have to wait for Silac. He found his family at their family home. His mother refused to be involved in any of his father’s dealings and had apparently already known about the cheating and stealing. When Silac and his father arrived, she told him she was taking over the business, which wasn’t as in the red as he thought. She had been hiding the funds so he couldn’t lose them all. They are mated, and that mating bond is painful to break, so she kicked him out, and they will live separate lives for now. Silac’s brothers are now fully involved in running the business, and Silac also told them their father had been lying about the mating bite not changing a non-shifter female, so they have hope for future naga offspring as well. When he returned to the ship, we had a video call with his mother and siblings and made plans to have dinner next time we are close to Fluxx. I liked them all, and they seemed to like me too, so I call that a win.