Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Kraken smile often. This should not comfort you.
–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival
Pulse skittering, I glided toward the same door I’d entered, doing my best to appear unhurried while King Sebastian’s gaze bore into my back.
One step. Then the next. But dinner? With the king? Just the two of us? Or a welcome banquet for all ambassadors?
Sebastian Mórisi didn’t strike me as the sort to indulge in social niceties, especially those involving rival berserker factions.
I swallowed. And what did he mean by my duties?
As an ambassador, my official responsibilities were clear: relay messages between kraken and dragonkind, attend a monthly meeting, and report kingdom deviltries to my sister. Nothing more, nothing less.
Turning around to ask would require meeting those fathomless, bottomless eyes again. Hearing his sultry voice. Enduring the weight of his attention. Nein, thank you.
The moment I exited the throne room, a woman stepped neatly into my path. Coral-pink hair pulled into a severe braid. Tailored suit with pearl fastenings and fabric that glistened like wet silk. Clipboard in hand.
“Princess Bronwyn, I’m Freyja, your personal assistant,” she said, brisk.
If I had one word to describe this woman, it would be impeccable. “Are personal assistants standard for ambassadors?” They weren’t in Ashmorra. And Henry hadn’t mentioned one.
“Follow me, please,” she said, very obviously choosing not to answer my question. “I will escort you to your room. You’ll be staying in the palace tonight.” She pivoted and marched off.
I hurried after her, forced into an undignified jog to keep up. Forget the personal assistant. Being assigned a room here at the palace? Why? Ambassadors stayed in their embassies.
Freyja led me through corridors with quiet authority. As we walked, the walls curved, spiraled and unfolded like the inside of a seashell, all pale stone and opalescent veins. Still, she explained nothing.
I should let the subject drop. According to Adelaide, curiosity left tracks. Every question told people what interested you. But…
“Why am I staying here tonight?” I’d been looking forward to some downtime. And now that I’d met with the kraken king, I really needed to decompress. Alone.
When I’d spoken to Henry, the former dragon ambassador to Krakenstrond, he’d described his stay as “little better than prison” and the embassy as his only refuge.
“All ambassadors spend their first night in the palace, in a wing for visitors, under royal protection.”
Ah. Under guard, more like. But okay. That, I understood.
“I’m sure King Sebastian will explain anything else you need to know,” she said.
Translation: Zip your lips.
She turned a corner. “By the way, your bags arrived safely at the dragon embassy.”
An entire night without my gowns—my armor. My music box. My books.
“Everything you will need tonight is provided for you,” she continued. “From now until veil you may relax and freshen up from your journey. You’ll have access to the Ambassador Communication Lounge to contact your realm.”
No reason to visit the lounge. I had another way to contact my sisters. I brushed my thumb over the ring on my left index finger.
Freyja tapped her clipboard. “Finally, you are scheduled for a private dinner in the king’s suite later this evening.”
Grace held, even as surprise struck. So it was just the two of us. In his suite, no less.
Prickling unease spread beneath my ribs. I may be new to ambassadoring and all that it entailed, but I did know this: when someone invited you to their private quarters, it was for bed, not conversation.
The woman in me wanted to fire up my temper, but my dragon rolled her eyes. Why waste my flame? If he made a move, I’d react then.
But what if he suspected the truth? That I suspected he might be my firebrand?
If he intended to charm dragon secrets out of me, the delicate ballerina, the easy mark, well, he’d soon learn better. I was a vault. What’s more, I was determined. I would charm him and use this time to change his mind about faction marriages.
We turned another corner and came to a hall where guards lined the walls. They didn’t glance our way but remained on alert.
“Here we are.” Freyja stopped before double doors crafted from dark sea-wood and banded in silver coral. The royal crest was carved so deeply it appeared ready to crawl free. “I’ll return at veil to collect you for dinner.”
Veil. Because kraken lived in a dome under the sea, they didn’t count time by numbers but descriptions of the water. “Veil is…” I flipped through my mental files. “Early evening, ja?”
“Veil is veil.” She marched off.
I sighed. Currently, the hour was dimwake, or late afternoon. Enough time to rest, center and stretch.
Sighing, I entered the room. Oh, wow. Nicer than I’d expected. Layered linens in sea colors draped the bed. Luminous crystals glimmered overhead, filling the space with light that danced over the walls like sunlight on the ocean floor. Gauzy draperies hung across the entrance to a balcony.
Two doors stood opposite the bed. Tugging the first open… a bathroom. The other, a closet, with a single dress hanging from a rod. A stunning creation of ice-blue with side cut-outs and a sweeping skirt of matching silk split at the sides.
Such fine material. But… was this what I was supposed to wear to dinner?
Nein. Nein, thanks. Far too sexy for an in-suite one-on-one. I closed the door with a decided thud.
Charm him, change his mind, be a vault—and also refuse the dress provided for me and meet him in my preferred armor. My diplomacy instructor would have wept. But tonight I’d need every scrap of courage I could get. So I’d go just as I was. Ja. Plan accepted, no need for a mental debate.
Craving fresh air, I eased onto the balcony. A cool, sea-scented breeze welcomed me, whisking locks of hair from their pins. I stood upon a wonder of coral and polished nacre, its railing formed from twisting shells and living sea-glass.
Below the royal gardens glowed a breathtaking maze of swaying anemones, coral hedges and bioluminescent blooms. I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the next gentle caress of wind.
Oh! I’d read about this. Though we were submerged in the ocean, where humans couldn’t reach, and surrounded by a clear dome, runes etched along the surface acted as doorways between worlds, constantly circulating air.
All perfect fodder for my pros and cons list regarding a romance with King Sebastian.
Voices drifted up, yanking me from my head. I stiffened, my lids popping open. Dragons were curious by nature, and it wasn’t really eavesdropping when someone spoke so loud I could hear it, right?
I scanned below until… there. Next to a large wooden crate in the center of the garden waited King Sebastian.
Though I’d only escaped his presence minutes ago, my body reacted, cells buzzing and bones vibrating.
Please be attraction, not fate. Please.
He stood flanked by two soldiers. One was the man who’d whispered in his ear during my formal greeting, and the other was as tall as a mountain. The three of them were examining whatever filled the crate, all of them on edge, retractable tridents drawn.
What in the world could be inside to cause such aggression? One of those nightmare-inducing deepwater eels Henry had warned me about?
Whatever occupied those wooden planks was bad enough to unsettle the realm’s most powerful man.
I shuddered.
Dangerous things crammed in a crate were decidedly none of my business.
I’d chosen to be a ballerina, not a master-at-arms like my sister Adelaide, and certainly not a ruler like Queen Olyssa.
But I was an ambassador now, charged to observe and report back to the dragon court.
So, I searched for markings burned into the wood.
Shipping seals. Blood. Anything.
Nothing.
My focus shifted to Sebastian himself, and I went soft all over. Not my fault. Dragons loved admiring lovely things, and the king was beyond beautiful. Something I could soak in now that he was so distracted.
A smile curved the corners of my mouth as I rested my elbows on the rail and propped my chin in my palm. He had shed his tunic, though not his gloves. Muscle stacked upon muscle.
Despite the distance, I had no trouble tracing the images tattooed on his chest. A lattice of ancient sea-runes etched across his skin, forming a shield-like pattern.
I couldn’t look away. Could only watch as a bead of sweat trickled between his pectorals, down the ridges of his abdomen, disappearing into the waist of his leathers. My pulse spiked.
What did the runes signify? Obviously, they weren’t doorways that circulated air like the ones on the dome and palace walls.
The scrape of wood against stone rose as he closed the crate’s lid. The muscles lining his forearms flexed as he worked, every movement controlled.
A sound suspiciously like a purr vibrated in my throat.
Bad Bronwyn. Bad. I returned to my list.
Cons
Possibly murderous
Invited me to his suite
Pros
Beautiful irises that don’t make me sick
Powerful
Multilingual
What did he enjoy doing in his free time? Other than building his strength and making women question their life choices?
What kind of heart lurked beneath his smug confidence?
He wasn’t careless. He wore responsibility and expectations with ease. A definite pro.
But what kind of women did he prefer? Bold beauties, I’d bet. Kraken were the most savage of berserkers and didn’t appreciate delicacy in any form. As a dancer, I must land squarely in the con column for him.
Could he be trusted? Unknown. Pending review.
I’d need a lot more information gained through observation. Preferably with his shirt on.
He said something to the non-mountainous soldier, who responded with what might have been a curse. Though I strained, I couldn’t detect their words, only the soft murmur of their voices.
The man stalked off.
King Sebastian flicked his eyes up and locked onto mine, that fractured light at their centers catching me mid-stare, as if he’d sensed me from the beginning.
I straightened with a gasp, cheeks blazing.
He arched his brow, and I had no trouble deciphering his unspoken question: See something you like, princess?
I couldn’t say what came over me. Instead of being timid, as usual, I fully embraced the character my current costume represented: a bold queen assured of her power.
Tipping back my chin, I silently responded. Wouldn’t you like to know, majesty?
His mouth curved. Not a smile but a challenge, and heat coiled through my veins, unwelcome and undeniable. If that was the pull of a firebrand…
I pressed my hands to my belly and backtracked, escaping his view. But I couldn’t escape my traitorous body.
This wasn’t good. Not good at all.