Page 46 of Dragon Heir

“Let me take care of you,” he says. “When you’re settled with a good book, I’ll wait outside your door. Ready in case you need anything…” His voice trails off, and I swear he’s asking more than if I’ll need a book. He’s asking if I’ll need him to hold me.

I do. But I know that one thing would lead to another, like it has the last few times, and I’d want so much more.

What if we did it? Even if I got pregnant—egged?—it would be a dragon, as capable of becoming queen as any other.

But what will they do to him if he breaks the law that way? What will they do if my babies aren’t hatched with the queen’s pure royal blood?

I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner. If Pax and I had taken this chance before I “had my first heat,” as Sinetar explained, there would be no repercussions.

Now that I know so much, it’s hard to believe the truth staring back at me. After all those years of thinking maybe one day he’d notice me, it turns out he did. But now, it doesn’t matter anymore. We can never be together in that way.

The sting of that loss burns fresh in my heart again.

“I’ll wait in here too,” Master Sinetar says. “If you have any questions, I’d be happy to educate you.” He doesn’t say it in his suggestive way, but the words trigger a stirring sensation low in my belly. It’s like my lady-business has an automatic reaction to Sinetar’s voice—one word and I’m soaked.

“And I suppose you’re going to stick around too?” I ask True.

“I’ll be here,” he says, crossing his arms over his broad chest and frowning at the other two. “If anything were to happen, I want to be able to protect you.”

“I wouldn’t want to impede your job,” I say, trying to keep the bitter note from my voice.

“Of course, your majesty,” True says with a slight bow.

I wish he’d cut that out.

Chapter Nineteen

The ladies are happy to take their leave for the day, and I’m more than happy to barricade myself in my room. I’m full of unspent energy, and I pace around the room like a caged animal instead of relaxing with a good book. I’d love to lose myself in another world, but this world is clamoring for attention. I can’t afford to ignore it right now, as appealing as that would be.

I know I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on a book, anyway. What I really need is to wind my crazy hair up into a bun, put on some sturdy shoes, and go for a run, like I used to do with Pax. He always said he had to keep me in shape because otherwise I’d wither away, sitting curled in my chair with my nose in a book all day. Now I wonder if there were other reasons he wanted to keep me fit.

The truth is, though, I got used to our runs. I relied on them to relieve stress—and sometimes I had a lot of that after watching Pax blow through another week-long fuck-fest with yet another girl, while I couldn’t so much as bat my eyes at a guy without Pax pouncing and chasing off the unsuspecting suitor.

But we aren’t back home in the village, or even in Ricoterra. We’re in a freaking palace. I don’t even know how to get out. All the doors I’ve seen have at least one guard. Anyway, I seriously doubt they’ll let me run around by myself. Now that I know I’m royalty, the dragon court expects me to act like it, and that includes having an entire entourage with me, or at least a lone guard.

I settle on the only thing I know can calm me down. I step into the bath and tug at the laces of my dress. It takes forever for me to pull them loose, and I’m so frustrated by the time I step out of my clothes that I’m ready to scream. Finally, I get the dress off and step over to the bathtub, only to find the oval shape surrounded by smooth, pearlescent walls. I peer into it, under it, feel around it. Nothing. If my ladies hadn’t insisted on running baths for me every day, I wouldn’t even be sure it was a bathtub at all.

It could be an incubator for my freaking eggs.

I hear soft footsteps outside the washroom, in my main chamber, and I can tell by their rhythm that it’s Pax. Damn Pax, who I know so well that I can recognize his footsteps. Pax, who knows me so well that he brought me a cup of tea and is ready to settle down while I get lost in my studies and calm down.

Shynia’s words sing through my mind.

Keep your low born consort with you if it makes you happy. The queen has had many over the centuries. They pass the time. Just make sure he doesn’t get too excited and spike you…

My biological sister is the last person in the world it’s safe to take advice from, but for some reason, maybe because no one in my entourage seemed shocked by the statement, I think Shynia was telling the truth. The queen can take whoever she wants as lovers so long as they don’t “spike” her, whatever that is. What it sounded like though, is that spiking is impregnating, meaning that male dragons can control if they impregnate a female or not.

If that’s the case, I could have Pax as a guard and a lover.

But he shut me down. He doesn’t want me that way, despite whatever he feels. Which means it’s fine if I ask him for help when I’m barely decent. It’s not like he’ll be tempted.

Gathering my dress back around me, I hold the bodice in place, since I can’t lace the back up again without the help of my ladies. This princess thing is a pain in the ass if I can’t even dress myself. With a huff of frustration, I throw open the washroom door.

Pax is setting a cup and saucer down on my table, but he freezes with his hand halfway there. His eyes take me in from my disheveled hair to the dress I’m clutching to my chest. I expected him, but what I didn’t expect was for him to be joined by Professor—Master—Sinetar. True is also standing in the doorway, his face carefully blank as he observes the scene.

Pax steps in front of me, blocking me from Sinetar’s gaze with his broad shoulders. “Do you need something, Nessie? I can help.”

“And let you have all the fun?” Sinetar drawls.