Page 50 of Dragon Heir

“He’s right,” Pax says. “You are not meant for simple guards, or even a royal scholar. We are not worthy of a queen, and it was wrong of us to take advantage of your current needs.”

“My needs that lit the washroom on fire.”

He nods. “Until you learn to control your powers, we will be much more careful, for our safety and yours.”

“Because I could have burned down the palace?” I ask, rubbing my face so I won’t have to meet their eyes. “Or because half the dragons here are looking for an excuse to kill me?”

Master Sinetar laughs. “You can’t burn down this place. It’s ninety percent marble and what isn’t marble is inessential.”

I sit on the edge of my bed, noticing how he didn’t answer the part about people wanting to kill me. “I could have hurt one of you, though.” Now that I say it, I notice that True’s shirt is singed and burnt. “True? Did I burn you?”

“No.”

Pax scoots onto the bed beside me and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “We’re all fine,” he says, squeezing me against him. “It’s not safe for you, Nessie. Princess Shynia is looking for any excuse to replace you. You have to at least pretend to give the dragon court what they want.”

“This is all the more reason to find out what you’re capable of and train you to use your powers,” Sinetar says. “Besides, if they found out I fucked the virgin queen before her husband, it would start a war with the Sky Clan, and Shynia could make a strong case for your disposal.”

Great. Just what I need. My hormones to start a dragon war.

Chapter Twenty

Pax

I startle awake, my head jerking upright as scales roll up my forearms. The area outside of Vynessa’s room comes into focus. The scent of cedar, the flickering hearth reflecting off marble and casting a warm glow on velvet chairs and sofas. I must have nodded off for a moment.

True stands beside me, inspecting a line of blisters running over his arm.

“Whoa, True. You’re burned,” I say, voice coming out hoarse.

True yanks down his sleeve before regarding me. “It’s fine.”

“I didn’t see that you were injured earlier, Captain. I apologize.”

“I’m fine,” True insists, turning away.

I reach out, not quite touching him, but close. “I can heal that.”

He looks over at me, and I try to say with my eyes, Don’t be a stubborn ass. Let me heal you. True is a stubborn ass, though.

“Say that Vynessa sees you with those. How is she going to feel when she finds out her losing control hurt you? Even if she never sees them, what happens if someone attacks her, and those burns weaken you?”

True’s icy blue eyes flash dark a moment, and I think I’ve gone too far, that he’ll snap back at me. Instead, his gaze shifts to over my head, and he holds out his arm. “Very well.”

I lay a hand on his burns, and he hisses in a breath.

It feels like a surge of water spraying from my fingers, but healing is not physical. It’s more like invisible tendrils of magic are shooting from my fingers and forcing his body to speed up its healing at a quicker pace. My hand prickles like its fallen asleep on me, and I stretch my fingers until the feeling returns to them.

True pulls away and gazes at his arm. The blisters are gone, leaving flawlessly tanned, smooth skin. Healing was the first dragon magic that came to me, and it’s the one I utilize the most. Vynessa has no idea how many times I’ve healed her. I reach out a finger and touch True’s arm to be sure, and he pulls away.

“Don’t tell her,” he growls. Then, as if in afterthought, he adds, “Please.”

Please. That’s new. I take my place beside him again, staring at her door. “I wasn’t planning to.”

True stands like a statue, unmoving, unresponsive.

“Anything from Vynessa?” I ask, breaking the silence first. “I should probably check on her. We can’t be too careful with the Sun King now that the heir has been named.”

“The queen sent most of the court away when Vynessa arrived. The royal advisors are negotiating with the Sun King in Solgrange, keeping our enemies and allies occupied with each other. The only people who know about Vynessa are the queen, Shynia, and all their guards and entourages, as well as Vynessa’s entourage.”