Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
The first warning means you’re already in the danger zone.
–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival
Istood in an antechamber leading to another antechamber that led to the throne room, not yet ready to come face to face with Sebastian. Gunnar towered behind me, holding my music box.
Only days ago, I’d gathered near here as ambassador after ambassador filed inside to meet the kraken king. Oh, how things had changed, and so quickly too. I’d been so nervous to face Sebastian then and discover the depths of our connection.
The man could still make me nervous, but also breathless with a look, unravel my common sense with a smile, and leave my dragon curious if fire and water could mix. They certainly had in the ocean, amid battle.
This next encounter was a hinge point. How we would be going forward.
The gown Soley had chosen fit as if woven in my dreams, structured at the shoulders, fluid through the hips, the fabric dark as deep water and shot through with subtle ember-thread that caught the light when I moved.
Strength, not softness. Grace, rather than fragility.
The kind of elegance that suggested I could dance or decapitate without requiring a wardrobe change.
Soley had also braided my hair back from my face, the style severe enough to bare my throat, but intricate enough to demand a second glance. No jewels weighed me down.
A clock announced the hour. “Shall we continue on to the king?” Gunnar asked. “Your hour expired with the chime. Any second, I expect to hear roaring.”
Deep breath in. “Very well.” I pushed through the doors, entering the second antechamber with my most graceful glide.
Gunnar entered after me and handed over the music box. Then he left me alone with the king, who stood behind a table, armored in command. Dark leathers, a metal crown settled on his brow as if it had grown there.
My pulse spiked.
“You’re late,” he said, rolling up a map. Then his gaze lifted and traveled slowly over me. He blinked. For one unguarded beat, something hot and unreadable crossed his expression, incinerating everything else. “You’re forgiven.”
I bloomed with delight and performed an elegant pirouette. “Thank you, kind sir.”
A wry curl of his mouth. “I don’t think anyone has ever called me kind.”
“Probably because they’ve not been on the receiving end of your almost smiles.” He looked so at home here. Maps of his territory covered the walls along with aged sea charts, and the air smelled of saltwater mixed with ink, and him, midnight rain and molten amber.
He did it, almost smiled, then crooked his finger at me. “Today, we will attend the Court of Current. I’ll settle disputes and receive gifts and show the world why you are my consort.”
“Ah.” I arched a brow as I approached. “You’ll flip your switch and smolder at me.”
“Every pressure valve requires release.”
What did that mean exactly? He hadn’t been turning off his smolder but allowing it to go free?
Oh, sweet stars. I didn’t know what to think about that.
He motioned to my most prized possession, held protectively in my clasp. “And what do we have here?”
“My music box.” I ran my fingers over the wooden edge.
The piece looked both out of place and perfect at the same time.
Delicate silver filigree curled around every side like dragon fire caught in motion.
“My mother gave it to me after my first week of ballet class, and I informed the entire dragon court I intended to dance for the rest of my life.”
With a chuckle, he lifted the lid. A tiny ballerina rose onto a pointe, her crystal skirts catching the light as she began a slow, graceful turn. The opening strains of Swan Lake drifted into the air, soft and wistful.
“As a little girl, I would imagine Odette wasn’t a swan at all, but a dragon princess hiding her wings until the moment she chose to fly.”
He listened, fully engaged with me. “That fanciful little girl grew up to do just that.”
She did indeed. “I wondered if, while I’m here, we might display it for others to enjoy. A reminder that kingdoms aren’t built only to wage wars, but to give people something beautiful to come home to.”
His features softened. “I know the perfect spot. May I?” he asked, reaching for the box.
“Please.”
Steps careful, he carried the box to the door and summoned a servant. He murmured instructions before handing the piece off with a coldly stated, “Guard this with your life.”
I winced at the tone, but I also maybe, kinda, sorta applauded his effort to keep my prize safe. But where was the perfect place? Curiosity clawed at me.
He faced me once more and dropped his chin, serious again. “Tonight is the convergence ball.”
Right. “Is it held here? Because I’ve seen no rushed decorating. Heard no frantic whispers.”
“It is here. The ball opens the convergence rites. Three nights of the court gathered above, while below, the tides climb toward alignment. When the third night turns, the rune wakes,” he responded, oh so reasonable. “I have prepared for this convergence for years. Everything is in place.”
“If I accidentally break any of Mr. Thorson’s rules, I expect you to take the heat.” I could be grace under fire when necessary, sometimes literally, but I now navigated the unfamiliar waters of krakenkind.
He held up his hands, palms out. “If you anger Mr. Thorson, you’re on your own.”
I snorted, and we both went still, staring wide-eyed at the other.
A crooked grin lifted the corners of his mouth. He tsked. “So undignified, princess.”
Heat painted my cheeks. “Ja. Well.” I walked around him to the papers he’d been studying when I entered. More maps. “Working on your war, are we?”
Mercifully, he allowed the subject change.
More shockingly, he didn’t try to hide anything.
“I’ve set traps. Many of them.” He pointed to various locations, giving me knowledge I’d bet he’d shared with few others.
“I’ve also tripled the guard around the palace and outside the dome.
I have spies shadowing Jokull and observing Jon. ”
All excellent. Mostly? I reveled in his trust. “This is really great, Sebastian.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “Just… really great.”
“But?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested in what I had to say.
Might as well tell him. “Well, you’re thinking like a warrior.”
He gently tweaked my nose. “I don’t think I can think any other way.”
Trying not to laugh, I swatted at his finger. “Ballet is about holding positions and fighting gravity, ja? The only difference between who becomes a prima ballerina and who stays in the corps is who runs out of steam first. While your traps and guards are great–”
“Really great,” he echoed, mimicking me.
“–they only act defensively. Don’t just shadow the primordial. Put his endurance to the test.” I remembered how I’d burned Jokull and he’d recovered swiftly. But then he’d fled. Perhaps he tired more easily than anyone had realized.
Sebastian flashed me a sly grin and bent over the maps, making notations. “I like how your mind works, Brona. I’ve been so consumed with his death, I didn’t consider his torture before the fact. We’ll run that bottom feeder ragged, exhausting him before the convergence.”
Pride rolled back my shoulders. Look at me, being an asset, not an anchor.
A bell sounded twice, one I’d not heard before.
“Court of Current is now in session,” he muttered.
He straightened and offered me his gloveless hand.
“I wouldn’t normally open the throne room for the airing of grievances so close to a formal event, and after such a painful experience, but I want all minor kingdom matters settled before the convergence. ”
“I understand.” I twined my fingers with his and snuggled close, because I couldn’t not.
He only encouraged me, wrapping his free arm around my waist to keep me close. My regenerated pinky draped the spot where his appendage should have been. A touch I suspected he allowed few others. Or no others.
“Has another woman ever sat at your side for this Court of Current?” I asked as he drew me toward the door.
A beat of hesitation, his free hand frozen on the knob. “Nei.”
“Sebastian.” I groaned into his arm. “I know I’m supposed to be your consort, but we’re about to incite chaos. Your people won’t be happy to have a dragon ambassador listening in to kingdom activities.” I wasn’t one of them, and I reported to the queen of another faction.
“You are no longer the dragon ambassador. That ended when you agreed to our terms. And you aren’t supposed to be my consort. You are my consort. Your sister will send an ambassador as soon as she selects one.”
Well. He’d effectively cut off my argument at the knees. “Even still, I should probably sit this out and—”
“Do as I say and attend?” he interjected without heat. He nodded. “Já. You should.”
I rolled my eyes and petted his chest. “Silly Bastian. There you go, steamrolling again. Why don’t you try a new tactic?”
Then. That moment. He opened his inner valve and dazzled me. “Pretty please with cherries, sit at my side during court, Brona?”
Even as my bones threatened to melt, I humphed, just to make a point. “I will take those cherries, and I will sit with you. But only because I’m so kind-hearted.”
“Darling,” he said, his amusement clear. “You might be the most vicious woman I’ve ever met.”