Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
How do you spot a kraken before he spots you? You don’t.
–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival
Heart thundering, I stood in the entrance of a ballroom transformed.
Above, the vaulted ceiling shimmered with three currents of light.
One flowed in deep sapphire, like the endless outer sea.
Another glowed silver-white, rising and falling in slow pulses that mimicked the dome tide.
The last drifted overhead in pale moonlight.
Every few moments the colors overlapped, only for a beat, before separating again, as if rehearsing the moment when sea, tide and moon breathed as one. The air hummed with soft music.
Crystal chandeliers refracted light in the shape of little fish. Yet to me, this didn’t feel like an ocean but an open sky. If I unfurled my wings, I could soar. And in this dress? I’d be doing it in style.
The pearlescent fabric flowed in sheer, layered panels that moved even when I stood still, whispering with every breath.
It bared my shoulders and collarbones, cinched at the waist and cascaded freely to the floor.
Subtle threads of pearl and silver gave the illusion of clouds.
I felt unbound and weightless. A little dangerous.
“Even when you cannot see me, I will be nearby,” Gunnar assured me. “Your protection is my only concern for the evening.”
The mountain of a man stood behind me, as usual. “I don’t think hiding is possible for you, Guns. You are at least a foot taller than the tallest man here.”
“Guns?” He snorted. “Expect to be surprised then. I’m that good.”
I lingered in the doorway a moment more, going over my battleplan to win Sebastian. It was absolutely diabolical, and something he’d never see coming. I intended… to be myself. That was it. If I was his firebrand, and I was, that would be more than enough.
And there he was. Ash and embers, what a magnificent male.
He stood at the room’s center, surrounded by nobles, with Lady Harpa at his side.
He looked calm and controlled in black leathers cut to perfection, embroidered with deep sapphire accents that echoed the royal crest and complemented the shadow of kraken power humming just under his skin.
A power barely contained, if the runes glowing beneath his clothing were any indication.
The crown was absent, as were the gloves. Whoa. No gloves in public? That was big. Huge. The hand Jokull had maimed, shown to a court that would read it as proof he could be hurt. And I had no doubt he’d done it for me. For skin-to-skin contact.
My insides softened. Authority clung to him, tailored into the rigid line of his posture, every measured movement. He listened more than he spoke, his presence drawing the room into his quiet orbit. Then, he noticed me.
His head whipped in my direction. Our gazes met, and I jolted. This man was anything but calm. Tension etched his features. Brooding over our kiss?
As he drank me in, that tension only amplified.
Good. Let him simmer in his feelings for a bit.
I blew him a kiss, and his lids slitted as if the gesture were a thrown gauntlet.
Guests noticed me and air rippled outward. Conversations stopped. Many heads turned, every eye finding me, then the king, then me again.
Finally, I glided into the room. Time to play my part as royal consort. But I didn’t go to Sebastian. Instead, I headed for the ambassadors gathered nearby.
People parted, and I passed without a hitch in my step. Everyone watched me, wondering what I’d do. Or perhaps they feared Gunnar, who kept pace directly behind—wow. No, Gunnar had vanished, as promised. He was nowhere that I could see.
By the stars. He really was that good.
Oh! There was Lady Anna. I took her hands. “I’m so glad to see you.”
Her eyes got big. “And I you. Thank you for the job. I look forward to serving you.”
“After convergence, let’s have tea.” I intended to have a life with Sebastian once our mission completed. I might as well plan for it.
“I would love that, my lady.”
We shared a smile before I flitted off. “Gentlemen,” I acknowledged when I reached the ambassadors. “The King and I are so pleased you decided to join us for this celebration.”
They did not exhibit shock; word had spread, but they did not seem pleased with my change of title.
“So the rumors are true?” The wolf ambassador looked me over. “You are the kraken king’s consort?”
Being myself meant having fun with this and twisting the screws on Sebastian. “What can I say? The man wants me more than he’s ever wanted anything.”
The griffin ambassador’s raptor-keen features sharpened. At low volume, he issued a warning. “I do not think King Malachi will be pleased with this development.”
Malachi, leader of the griffin berserkers, was known for shady deals, elegant double-crosses and a private ledger of every soul who’d wronged him.
Rumor claimed he intended to cross off each name with the offender’s blood.
Beautiful, women said. Ruthless, warriors knew.
According to Adelaide, he was the kind of male you’d follow into ruin and thank for the view.
I pasted on my prettiest smile. “How about this?” I asked, all innocence. “You see to your king’s pleasure, and I’ll see to mine.”
He visibly flinched. The others displayed equally obvious reactions, especially the adder ambassador, who glared with open hostility. My smile held firm.
A cluster of courtiers slipped from their circle to approach, doing their best to appear casual, as if they’d accidentally stumbled upon me.
“Oh. Bronwyn of Ashmorra,” a young woman said with a smile that was all teeth, menace and saccharine sugar. “What a surprise. I’ve been so eager to meet the woman who currently holds our king’s… attention.”
The gleam in her eyes suggested she hoped the floor opened up and swallowed me.
“For a warrior who’s guarded his heart so long, he certainly fell for me hard and fast. Did he not?” I asked, at my sunniest.
Her forced sweetness thinned. “He… did,” she grated. “Is it true you’ve taken a room in the king’s suite?”
Behind her, someone’s fan snapped open and shut in rapid little strokes. I followed the movement to two octogenarians, each holding a silver coin. With a start I realized these two elders clearly had money riding on my answer.
I gave a tinkling laugh. “What can I say? He likes to keep me close.”
“I heard she makes him laugh,” someone whispered.
“I heard he takes her on missions with him.” Another whisper.
Speculation flowed through the crowd like a wave until it seemed as if my romantic life had taken over every conversation in the room.
Delighted, I moved to the next group. Males and females, all kraken, dressed in opulent finery.
“Hello,” I greeted them with that sunny smile. “The king and I are so honored you chose to celebrate the coming convergence with us.”
Their astonishment put the ambassadors’ to shame.
As they mumbled replies, I continued on, repeating the same welcome to everyone I encountered, daring Sebastian to come stop me. And he would. Soon. I felt his gaze boring into me every step I took.
For a while, I even forgot the importance of convergence. One group did what no other dared: protested. And honestly, I’d expected it to happen sooner.
A lovely brunette gasped in outrage. “You, a dragon, cannot welcome us as an honored host of a kraken assembly. You are not the king’s wife. Not even a lady of this kingdom.”
I’d seen her before, at the Tideweave. She’d tried to dance with Sebastian.
My years growing up as a princess of the dragon court had prepared me for just such a moment. I must play this next bit carefully. Humiliating someone who may soon be one of my own people was not how to start.
“Would you agree that I am whatever your king says I am?” I asked, gentle but still firm.
She sputtered, never giving an answer. Then, suddenly, the crowd grew silent. I didn’t have to wonder why. Every nerve ending I possessed sang with awareness.
Sebastian approached.
As soon as he reached me, his decadent scent fogged my head, and I needed a beat to recover. Then he lightly clasped my forearm with his bare hand, a contact hot enough to burn.
Everyone noticed and gaped as his grip glided to my wrist... then slid to my lower back. I understood the message. Stay put.
“Brona,” he said, greeting me first. His broody smolder was still in place. He slid his arm around my waist, allowing me to lean into his side.
Those around us pulled themselves from their shock and bowed or curtsied to acknowledge his presence. A chorus of “majesty” rang out.
He peered at the other woman with calm authority and a dangerous edge. “Lady Sigrún, I see you’ve met my cherished consort.”
“I have, my lord,” she rushed to say as I patted his chest. “And such a lovely woman.”
“My most valuable treasure.” We met each person’s gaze. “If you’ll excuse us. I owe my lady a drink and a dance.”
Gasps all around as he drew me away. He snagged a glass of champagne from a passing tray, gave it to me, and swiped another glass. One he drained. I followed suit. Mmm. Sweet.
We left the empty glasses on another tray.
“In case you’ve forgotten, you also owe me five secrets,” I reminded him.
“The same number you owe me.” He guided me toward the edge of the dance floor. “Must you be so charming every second of every day?” he complained.
“I can’t help it.” I fit against his frame perfectly. Music from the orchestra swelled, couples circling around us. “Charming is my default setting.”
He grinned despite himself and twirled me around.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I whispered, “but you dance like it’s a duty rather than a pleasure. Like you are negotiating a treaty.”
His grin only brightened. “And you dance like gravity is merely a suggestion.”
I swallowed a laugh. “Just relax, darling. Let me make you look good.”
He did just that, and we drew gaze after gaze as we moved together. But halfway through, he grew serious. With torment pulling at the skin around his eyes, he bent his face to mine, his mouth at my ear.
“When we first began, I intended to imply our relationship.” He spoke English, his voice low and throaty, yet also terse. “And here we are, stating it outright. Again.”
“You started it, my sweet little poptart. Though I suppose I’m partly responsible this evening. But since we’ve already crossed the line twice…” I batted my lashes at him, a little too smug to pass for innocent. “Shall we make it worse, majesty?”
Sebastian ran his tongue over his teeth, then led me into a tidewaltz. “We shall. But you should know, Brona. You are not playing with fire. You play with ice.”
Hot to touch, frozen heart? “Is that supposed to scare me off, darling? Try again. I’m the woman who took down an entire mer army.” Was the reminder unnecessary? Ja. But also nein. Let him marinate in the memory of my strength.
He pursed his lips. “If you had any survival sense, you would pack your bags and leave this realm. You should not want me.”
Survival sense. As if being with him would only destroy my heart? As if he knew something I did not. But then, he did know something. The rune’s cost. Did his resistance to our relationship have something to do with that?
“I do want you, Sebastian,” I admitted. No reason to deny it. “Very, very much.”
He jerked, as if I’d stepped on his toes. For the record, I hadn’t. “There are things you do not know.” He pushed the words from clenched teeth.
Oh, ja. “I’ve figured that much out on my own, thank you. And fair warning, I’ll be spending a secret to find out.”
His hand tightened at my waist. “Very well, but not here,” he said, and I let him have that, because not here wasn’t never, and he’d just told me the debt could buy me the truth.
“Once I know what you’re hiding, we’ll go from there,” I said.
He drew in a breath that seemed to collect in his chest and steam there, but he didn’t respond. Just danced me across the floor. His movements were precise and accurate. But…
Before he could respond, I slipped beneath his arm into a smooth turn, my skirts blooming around us as I returned to him. His hand sought my waist again, strong, certain and possessive enough to send another murmur rippling through the ballroom.
Peering up at him, I said in English, “Because the real question isn’t if I want you.” I cupped his cheek, reveling in the scrape of stubble beneath my fingertips. “It’s this. Do you want me?”
I didn’t wait around for his reply. I glided off, leaving him a wee bit slack-jawed.