Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Ella
“Nope. Not happening,” I said, staring aghast at the thing laid out on my bed.
Milly pushed past me and immediately began cackling as she took in the outfit. “It’s shaped like a dress, at least? Mostly.”
I groaned. “I’m going to cancel.”
“Oh, no,” Milly said immediately, sitting upright. “And force me to miss out on the sight of you in this? Absolutely not. Get your clothes off. You are going to dinner, and you are going like this. End of story.”
“You’re not the boss of me,” I pointed out.
Milly arched an eyebrow. “I might only be eighty or so percent back to normal, but I can still take you.”
“Now I really want to wear it.”
“Oh, come on. This is amazing. You asked Dirk to do things formally. To sweep you off your feet and show you he’s different.” Milly gestured at the dress. “This is most definitely different.”
I couldn’t argue that.
“Why am I doing this?” I moaned, walking over to the bed and touching the dress. “At least it’s soft?”
“You’re doing it because you like him, and one day you might even love him,” Milly said in a singsong.
Love? Dirk? I bit my lip. I hadn’t considered that word before, not with him. Could we get to that point?
Maybe?
A slight rush of approval reached me, though it didn’t feel entirely “mine.” I frowned. Was that my dragon? Was she waking up?
But nothing followed it.
“Come on. Time to get in,” Milly said. “Dirk is waiting for you.”
“Right.” I stared at the abomination. “Okay. I can do this.”
Together we got me dressed and in front of a mirror. I tried to get over the ridiculousness while Milly braided my hair into a dozen strands. It wasn’t easy.
The dress was a bright floral green in color with a built-in bust squeezer that managed to make even my little bumps look bigger.
It also cinched my waist so tightly I couldn’t bend.
Even breathing was a chore, forcing me to go up instead of out.
All of which made my cleavage more prominent.
I could only imagine what someone like Anna or Holly would look like in it.
“It’s so poufy,” I complained. “And feathery. And ridiculous.”
“Shut up and stop moving,” Milly ordered, tugging on my hair.
There was yellow frilling around every sleeve opening, and the wrists were draped with feathers of blue and white that would make eating an absolute pain.
The neck swam back behind my head, and more feathers were splayed out there so that they framed my head from behind while looking at me from the front.
Two big loops of material ran around my hips, ending in a giant bow just above my crotch, before the dress scooped outward in a circle. Bells were attached to the hem of the dress. Bells. Every time I moved, they chimed lightly.
“There,” Milly pronounced, stepping back. “You look … perfect.”
I turned my gaze on her.
“Perfectly ridiculous,” she howled, falling onto the bed and gasping for air as more tears streamed from her eyes. “This is the best day ever. I never want to forget this or the look on your face.”
“I hate you.”
“I don’t even care. This trumps that!” She wiped at her face. “Come on. Let’s get you to the Honorable Lord Dvorak, Warrior of your cleavage, Protector of your Posterior, Plunderer of your Pu …”
“You will stop that right now!” I cried before she could get more profane.
Milly was still clutching at her sides, but she managed to lead me from the room. My bells led the way, followed by the rest of me. Kolar walked steadily at my side, matching his pace to mine.
“I hate payback,” I grumbled, though underneath it all, I had to admit it was humorous how ridiculous we looked. In time I would probably look back and laugh.
For now, I pouted.
We rounded a corner and I saw Dirk. It was impossible not to. His entire outfit was white. Every single bit of it. The pants that could fit two of him in each leg. The top so skintight I could see his nipples through it. The hat, cut like Kolar’s but also white.
And the feathers. All the feathers in the world fell from him in pleated waves, rolling down his back and sides, leaving only the front bare.
“There is no way this is actual formal dress here in the citadel,” I said, eyeing my mate up and down.
My mate.
That was the first time I’d casually called him that.
What does that mean?
“This was formal wear,” he said. “A millennia or so ago at least. I figured it would be fun to bring it back. And I was right. You look amazing.”
“We’re going to have a formal talk about your ideas of fun,” I said, but I walked forward to the chime of my bells and took his arm, fighting down the heat in my cheeks and neck from his compliment and the way his eyes never left me.
“We can talk about whatever you want,” he rumbled, settling my fingers on his forearm, just behind the cuff of his sleeve.
I inched my fingers forward instead, resting the pads of my fingertips on the bare skin. Instantly, I felt calmer. Dirk’s eyes drifted toward the connection and then back to me, but he said nothing.
He walked us forward, his back straight and his pace matched to mine as we entered a ballroom, empty except for a table in the center. Candles burned in the center, and other oil lamps were scattered around the room but turned low, giving it a quiet, intimate setting.
With some help from Kolar, they managed to get me properly seated. At that point, he retreated from the room to stand guard, leaving just the two of us.
Dirk approached his seat and sat with impeccable grace of a ruler. Of the heir.
“You can do this,” I told him.
He cocked his head. “Do what?”
“Rule. In Caz’s stead. I saw how little you liked it when he reminded you. I can see it in you, though. You’re a good man.”
Caz grunted, shifting in his chair. “Thanks. But I don’t want it.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve never wanted the throne. Caz is better suited for it. He was raised for it.”
“Maybe,” I said, catching his eyes and holding them. “But that doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of it.”
Dirk’s mouth pressed into a line. “I appreciate your vote of confidence, but you are wrong, Ella.”
He was polite but insistent.
“Just because you threatened your uncle doesn’t make you a bad ruler.”
“I know,” he said.
His eyebrows tightened just enough as he said it to let me know that wasn’t what he was referring to about his inability to lead the kingdom.
“But I shouldn’t have lost my temper. It’s just that, whenever I think of you, bleeding and scared on the mountainside because of him, I get so angry. My dragon wants him dead.” He clenched a fist. “I should have been able to stop them from getting to you. It’s my job to protect you.”
I reached across the table, stunned by the look into his soul. Dirk had never let me in like that before, never revealed the depths of his emotions.
“You can’t always protect me. You can’t predict what the future will bring, not now and not then either.” I squeezed his hand until he met my gaze. “But I can tell you, Dirk, that ever since that day, you have made me feel safe in a way no one has ever done.”
We stared into one another’s eyes. Slowly, he unballed his hand, and I slipped my fingers between his. Letting myself open up to him.
Something stirred in my brain, and more approval trickled through.
“I’m sorry for exposing our bond and making you a target to my uncle while your dragon is still in hiding,” he said, his thumb stroking over the back of my palm.
As before when I let my guard down, Dirk’s scent came to me, the smell meant only for me. Flannel in spring air and teakwood in summer breeze, they washed over me and held me close, wrapping me in their comforting embrace.
“It’s not hiding now,” I whispered. It never seemed to be when I was open with him.
Dirk’s eyes brightened, and something in me rose to match it. His growl filled the room, prompting thoughts of him lunging across the table at me, dinner be damned. He could eat me if he wanted to.
Heat crept its way across my cheeks and down to my chest, dragging Dirk’s eyes with it as he followed the growing blush and desire.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, that thumb still stroking the back of my palm.
“I’m thinking I’m not hungry.”
Was I crazy?
My dragon purred, startling me with its presence, approving of my directness. I got the distinct impression of “finally.”
“Is that so?” Dirk rumbled.
The chair squeaked against the floor as he rose, his eyes filling with feral white light.