If Aaron had come to me when I finished, there’s a good chance I’d have cold cocked him. Or, I’d have tried. However, it was Queen Mab who entered the room when the crystal stopped showing the movie and the lights came back on.
“You love her.”
“I do, Your Majesty.”
“You fell in love with the swan. Only time will tell if you can love the dragon, but your response to watching the movie tells me you don’t understand her.”
“Your Majesty, what do I not understand?”
“Imagine a mama bear’s reaction when her two year old bear cub throws a glass across the room in a temper. Now imagine the same mama bear reacting to her sixteen year old son throwing the glass across the room and shattering it — and not just that, but it narrowly misses a child’s head.”
“An older teenage bear without control can’t be allowed out in society. Both must be reprimanded, but the lesson is completely different.”
“Dragons are taught control from an early age, while even powerful swans can be coddled and spoiled without much worry. With great power must come great control. Ember’s a dragon now, and she had to learn control. Yes, the lesson was harsh, but it wasn’t terribly long, and it took. If Aaron hadn’t stepped in and she’d given herself away around humans, the Concilio would’ve imprisoned her for a minimum of ninety-nine years, and they’d have sold her off as an actual slave to the highest bidder for her time served. If she’d burned someone with dragon-fire in a fit of temper in my realm, she’d have found herself a prisoner in my dungeons, and she’d have been the lowest of the sex slaves instead of a favored princess being taught a lesson. She wouldn’t have had the luxury of a chastity belt.”
The Dark Queen took a seat and motioned for me to sit back down. “If word had gotten out about her hurting you, she’d have had to go before the Concilio. It would’ve been her first strike, but her consequences would’ve been completely out of Aaron’s hands. A few days or a few months, and a wide variety of ways to teach her a lesson — many much worse than what she lived through. Aaron’s actions have nullified it, so she’s in the clear.”
“I wouldn’t have told, Your Majesty.”
“No, but the Concilio is watching the new dragons and it’s possible they know. No one knows how, but they frequently know things when there’s no way for them to.”
She was right, of course.
“You’re here to keep me from being pissed at Aaron?” I almost forgot, and added a quick, “Your Majesty” on the end.
“Ember asked that he tell you what she’d been through. She doesn’t wish to talk about it. Dragons can easily recover from a few weeks of hell. She isn’t going to have a ton of baggage based on her time here. I believe you’ll also find that the issues she had from her time with the Owl King will have also resolved. She’s going to return to you in better mental health, not worse.”
Tension I hadn’t realized I was holding left my body.
“I appreciate that, Your Majesty. I was most worried about her mental state.” I’d come dangerously close to thanking her, but had remembered not to.
“My castle guard will take you to her. I believe her flying skills have improved enough it’s safe to ride her. Have her follow the river upstream until you come to a castle. The guards at the gate will be expecting the two of you.” She waved her hand and a small backpack appeared. “A change of clothes for her. She won’t need them until you arrive at the castle. You’ll be fed there and then taken to a portal that will get you back home.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ember
Two days as a dragon changed everything. All the sleep and food I wanted, and I could fly and soar and glide to my heart’s content. I ate elk, deer, and some sheep. I learned how to fly a loop-de-loop. I had a few rough landings, but I kept at it until I could land soft enough I wouldn’t worry about jarring a rider.
Assuming Dementor could ever trust me enough to ride me. Or to look at me.
I was airborne when I sensed another being. Two beings. I flew to the cliff and saw two human forms. As I neared, I realized it was the teleporting castle guard and Dementor. I landed, shifted, and ran to D without slowing. He caught me, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, and he held me in his embrace.
I was afraid to break the spell by talking, but I didn’t have to because he spoke first.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you.”
“There’s so much I need to say, and I’ll say it in Faerie if you want me to, but most of it should wait until we’re home.” Because I needed to spend the next month apologizing. Maybe longer.
The guard disappeared, and D held me tighter. “It can wait. No rush, but when we’re ready to go, we’re to follow the river upstream until we come to a castle. I have clothes for you, compliments of The Dark Queen. The guard unit at the gate will be expecting us, and someone will get us to a portal so we can go home.”
“I can fly ever-so-much better now.”
“I trust you, Ember.”
And just like that, my heart hurt. “I would understand if you didn’t.”
“Aaron says you asked him to show me what they put you through.”
“You saw?” The old Ember would’ve looked at the ground in mortification, but the dragon-shifter Ember met his gaze with dignity. We’d learned our lesson and had no reason to be ashamed.
“I did. He assures me your temper is under control.”
“Yeah. I don’t expect you to believe me just because I say it, though. I hope I can earn your trust.” He’d have to see it for himself in the coming weeks and months — no way would I hurt someone in anger again.
I straightened my legs and relaxed my arms. He let me slide to the ground and I told him, “Stay put.”
Dementor
She walked twenty yards from me, turned, and suddenly she was a dragon. I saw the shift, but it was fast.
“Climb up my front left leg. I can’t wait to take you for a ride.” Her dragon voice was so much deeper than her human one, yet still feminine. Melodic.
She had, indeed, been practicing since I’d last seen her fly. She took off smooth as silk. The power and energy of the huge dragon wings beating the air around us into submission set my heart racing, but it was exhilaration, not fear.
The castle we eventually flew to was the Dragon King’s castle, but I understood Aaron didn’t spend much time there anymore. They were typically at the Swan Castle, since Sophia had so many more duties. She was queen to thousands while Aaron was king to less than two hundred dragons, though the number was rapidly rising.
Ember found her own jeans, shirt, underwear, and shoes in the backpack. Aaron must’ve gotten them to Queen Mab.
Aaron’s permanent staff welcomed us with wonderful hospitality. They fed us a meal fit for a king before taking us via a fancy horse and carriage to a waterfall. We were again invited to stay at the castle so we could have time to enjoy each other without interruption, but Ember was ready to go home.
I had no idea where we were when we exited through another waterfall. We were in the woods, late at night. I reached for my phone to get our location, but Ember said, “This way. I’m pretty sure I recognize the waterfall. Don’t shine a light. I can see. Let your eyes adjust.”