Chapter 5 #2
Dirk and Bradley both tensed as the former-princess-turned-pirate-aspirant rushed forward with a cacophonous rustle of taffeta.
The baby dragon’s anonymity was the only thing keeping him safe, and now a princess knew there was a luck dragon beyond the safety of Tianzi’s mist-shrouded borders.
She would boast and gossip to everyone, as royals often did to make themselves appear more important in the eyes of their peers, and the dragon’s secret would be exposed.
Armies would come to the tower for his heart, especially Leighton’s.
Abandoning his robe and his modesty, Bradley surged forward.
It would be no difficulty at all to subdue this princess and lock her in the tower dungeon for the remainder of his time here.
Or throw her over the balcony and let her take her chances with the desert, whichever course of action seemed most prudent after he captured her.
But the princess caught them both off guard once again.
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you,” she gushed at Dirk, performing another formal dragon greeting bow.
The baby dragon and the sorcerer apprentice shared a quick glance.
This wasn’t the behavior of a princess who would take advantage of Dirk’s abilities for her own selfish gains.
In fact, this wasn’t the typical behavior of a princess at all.
She was excited rather than hysterical, spoke congenially instead of snootily, and she wasn’t making any demands to be un-kidnapped this very instant.
There was only one reasonable explanation for such odd behavior.
The princess was defective.
Dirk hadn’t returned her greeting before, since there had been cannons and longbows aimed in his direction, but this time, the little dragon touched his nose to Millie’s waiting, outstretched palms. Her smile was so full of delight and wonder, Dirk found himself grinning and Bradley began to think that throwing the princess over the balcony was no longer necessary.
Except she did mention she wanted to be a pirate, and since they were the bane of his former existence, she might still be very deserving of a toss over the railing.
“So it really is true luck dragons can fly without wings! Are you also, as legend says, masters of the wind and rain? Do you have to bestow your luck on anyone who asks, or can you decide who is worthy and parcel it out at your discretion? And your scales . . . I thought all luck dragons were white?”
Dirk’s feathered mane and tail tuft fluffed out like the fur of a bristling cat.
The princess had touched on a volatile subject, and Bradley knew from the way Dirk’s upper lip trembled to keep from showing his fangs that the baby dragon was remembering that rainy day in the lilac garden by the lake.
Millie gave a dismissive flick of her hand, but it was only in regards to her last comment, not the dragon’s reaction. “Who cares, though, right? You look glorious, Master Dirk, like liquid sapphire. And— Oh! Is this one of your scales?”
She crouched down and reached for a cerulean coin that had fallen, unbeknownst to anyone, to the balcony floor by Dirk’s front paws. “Huh, that’s odd. I didn’t think dragons ever shed their scales, unless—”
“It’s just a sapphire!” Dirk’s anger was forgotten, replaced by alarm, and he plucked up the gem and stuffed it into his satchel.
Or attempted to, since the satchel was already full to bursting.
When it wouldn’t fit, he kept it in his closed paw tucked tight against his chest. “Sometimes I get paid in bacon and bolts of cloth,” he sniffed with forced nonchalance, “sometimes it’s jewels. ”
“Who paid you to kidnap me, anyway?”
“I think the more pressing question here is, how do you know so much about dragons?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I’ve taken tea with the Amberlian dragons every third Sunday of the month since I was a toddler.
Speaking of tea . . .” Her auburn hair swept over one shoulder and then the next as she looked around.
Bradley could’ve sworn the faintest scent of jasmine now perfumed the evening air.
“I don’t suppose you have any tea? Water would be just fine, too. I’m awfully dehydrated.”
“We have some in the kitchen—”
“Through here?” She pointed at the archway and began walking without waiting for confirmation. “Lovely. Come along, Duchess. Would anyone else fancy a cup? And what is the supper situation? It’s already past sunset.”
“Wait.” Bradley seized her wrist and pulled her back.
Everything was happening way too fast. And no way was she entering this tower without a chaperone. There were too many secrets here, too many treasures she would blab about to the first person who rescued her. Or steal herself.
“Sir.” She gave the back of his hand a vicious pinch like the nip of an eagle’s beak.
It hurt, but Bradley refused to release her. If anything, his grip tightened. The tower—
“Why you high-handed, presumptuous sack of goblin scat.” The princess yanked free her hairpin, her elaborate coiffure unraveling in flashes of auburn and copper. A second later, that hairpin was under his jaw and biting into his throat. “Release me at once.”
Thunder pounded down his veins at the same time the sweet scent of jasmine teased his senses. It was a confusing rush of danger and arousal and incredulity. Bradley’s shock at the princess’s willingness to use violence and profanity overruled everything else, and his hand snapped open.
“Thank you.” Stepping away, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and kept the hairpin in her hand.
Then she smacked the wrinkles out of her taffeta.
“Now listen here. While I am a pirate aspirant and thus a young woman of gray morality with little regard to propriety, I must insist on some social norms. Particularly, the one where your genitals are not on display when having tea with strangers.”
The sorcerer apprentice, who had quite forgotten he once again was naked save for his boots and spectacles, flushed a deep red and dropped his hands to cover himself.
“Very good. And you might want to wash that robe with a little grease.” She held up a hand as he opened his mouth to protest. “Yes, I know that seems counterintuitive, but take it from one who’s learned how to get pine resin out of cat fur with olive oil.
Treat the stains with grease, really rub it in there, then use the soap.
You’ll have it clean in no time, and this desert heat will take care of the rest. If you hop-to right now, I daresay you’ll be clothed and ready to join us right as I’m pouring the tea. ”
Then she turned on her heel and disappeared into the tower, the white cat trotting after her with its fluffy plume of a tail held high.