Page 39 of Dragon Heir

I lift a dragon-shaped cracker to my lips and take a teeny-tiny bite, cringing at the explosion of salt in my mouth. Damn. Must be a dragon thing.

“Something wrong with the cracker, your highness?” my lady in waiting Yadira asks, her lips twisting into an almost-grin. She’s smiling just enough to hint that she’d like to laugh at me without coming out and doing it.

“Tastes great,” I say as I set it on my luminescent, ruby dish.

I’m not even hungry, but after two days of sitting around with Kimbra and Yadira, I’m at a loss for anything else to occupy myself with. For security reasons, I have to stick to my rooms until I have the all-clear. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to be doing. Am I supposed to pretend I have authority here and boss my ladies around? Not really my style.

At least they’ve stopped looking at me with such judgment—apparently I’m not supposed to roll around with my guard, even if he has been my best friend since…forever.

“So anyway,” I say when the silence stretches on for an uncomfortable minute. We’re in my sitting room before a lit hearth with a plate full of every kind of cracker, cheese, fruit, and nuts. Beside it waits another tray with an assortment of pastries, then there’s a meat tray, and a tea service, and some kind of gelatinous creation shaped like a perfect rose.

“Yes, your highness?” Kimbra leans closer with an eager smile on her heart-shaped face.

I try again. “So… We’re all female dragons, huh? Does that mean that you’re my sisters?”

Kimbra giggles, her round cheeks almost obscuring her eyes. “Of course not, your majesty. Not even close. For starters, we’re halflings.”

“We’re half human,” Yadira explains. “And our fathers are not royalty. We just grew up here, like most everyone at court. We don’t get new blood often.”

“Not that you’re new blood,” Kimbra says quickly. “Technically, you have the oldest blood in the kingdom, since you’re the queen’s heir. That means you’re her most pureblood offspring.”

“Pureblood what?” I ask.

“Dragon, of course,” Yadira says, opening a panel in one wall I hadn’t even noticed was there. The marble slides back to reveal an enormous closet full of clothing made from materials I’ve never touched in my life.

“Ooh, it’s time to dress you,” Kimbra says, slinking to the closet. She moves like a cat, her stride both stealthy and sexy. “Look at this dress.”

“Wait, back up,” I say. “So I’m the most pureblooded dragon, and that’s why I have to take over?”

“Have to?” Yadira asks, her eyes widening.

Kimbra’s eyes narrow as she takes me in, and I remember Pax’s warning not to let anyone here me say things like that. Oops. Too late now.

Still, the way the girls are looking at me reminds me that I don’t know them. They’re not my friends—they’re paid to be here, just like Pax. The difference is that I know Pax. I trust Pax. And I don’t trust them. I’ve never been important enough to have secrets to guard before. As I stand looking at my ladies in waiting, though, I know that my old life is over. The life where I could say and do as I pleased. I’m a princess now, and I better start acting like one.

“I mean, why I was brought here,” I say.

“Yes, you have the most royal blood,” Kimbra says, selecting a silvery dress from the closet. She looks at it longingly as she holds it up. “And it’s pureblood, not pureblooded.”

“Right,” I say. “Sorry. You have to realize, I didn’t grow up at court. All this is new to me.”

“It’s okay,” Kimbra says. “That’s what we’re here for. To show you the royal ways. And of course you’ll have your royal tutor to help you with our history or anything else you need to know.”

“I get a royal tutor?” I ask, thinking of the academy. A sinking feeling curls in the pit of my stomach. I’m never going back. That library full of all those books I’ll never get to read and artifacts I’ll never get to study.

“Of course,” Yadira says. “They don’t expect you to know everything. You have us, guards, and advisors too.”

Relief floods through me. I won’t have to do this alone, showing how naïve I am at every turn. There will be people to help me learn the ropes, including Pax.

“Great. So, what are we getting all dressed up for?” I ask.

“Oh, we’re not getting dressed up,” Kimbra says, looking me over and wrinkling her nose. “We’re just getting you presentable so you can go meet your royal entourage. They’ll present you at court later.”

Kimbra and Yadira set upon me, stripping me of my comfortable nightgown and wrangling the dress over my head. I try to protest, but my words are muffled by the layers of slippery silk that pour over me like a bath. Afterwards, they circle me like vultures, pulling at the hem and pinching bits of fabric here and there to adjust the garment until it hangs on me the way they like.

“All this for a couple advisors?” I ask. “Because trust me, Pax has seen me lounging around in the most raggedy clothes I own.”

“Your guards aren’t allowed to say anything if you look a mess,” Kimbra says with a sly smile. “That’s what we’re here for.”