Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71403 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
I should let the subject drop. According to Adelaide, curiosity left tracks. Every question told people what interested you. But…
“Why am I staying here tonight?” I’d been looking forward to some downtime. And now that I’d met with the kraken king, I really needed to decompress. Alone.
When I’d spoken to Henry, the former dragon ambassador to Krakenströnd, he’d described his stay as “little better than prison” and the embassy as his only refuge.
“All ambassadors spend their first night in the palace, in a wing for visitors, under royal protection.”
Ah. Under guard, more like. But okay. That, I understood.
“I’m sure King Sebastian will explain anything else you need to know,” she said.
Translation: Zip your lips.
She turned a corner. “By the way, your bags arrived safely at the dragon embassy.”
An entire night without my gowns—my armor. My music box. My books.
“Everything you will need tonight is provided for you,” she continued. “From now until veil you may relax and freshen up from your journey. You’ll have access to the Ambassador Communication Lounge to contact your realm.”
No reason to visit the lounge. I had another way to contact my sisters. I brushed my thumb over the ring on my left index finger.
Freyja tapped her clipboard. “Finally, you are scheduled for a private dinner in the king’s suite later this evening.”
Grace held, even as surprise struck. So it was just the two of us. In his suite, no less.
Prickling unease spread beneath my ribs. I may be new to ambassadoring and all that it entailed, but I did know this: when someone invited you to their private quarters, it was for bed, not conversation.
The woman in me wanted to fire up my temper, but my dragon rolled her eyes. Why waste my flame? If he made a move, I’d react then.
But what if he suspected the truth? That I suspected he might be my firebrand?
If he intended to charm dragon secrets out of me, the delicate ballerina, the easy mark, well, he’d soon learn better. I was a vault. What’s more, I was determined. I would charm him and use this time to change his mind about faction marriages.
We turned another corner and came to a hall where guards lined the walls. They didn’t glance our way but remained on alert.
“Here we are.” Freyja stopped before double doors crafted from dark sea-wood and banded in silver coral. The royal crest was carved so deeply it appeared ready to crawl free. “I’ll return at veil to collect you for dinner.”
Veil. Because kraken lived in a dome under the sea, they didn’t count time by numbers but descriptions of the water. “Veil is…” I flipped through my mental files. “Early evening, ja?”
“Veil is veil.” She marched off.
I sighed. Currently, the hour was dimwake, or late afternoon. Enough time to rest, center and stretch.
Sighing, I entered the room. Oh, wow. Nicer than I’d expected. Layered linens in sea colors draped the bed. Luminous crystals glimmered overhead, filling the space with light that danced over the walls like sunlight on the ocean floor. Gauzy draperies hung across the entrance to a balcony.
Two doors stood opposite the bed. Tugging the first open… a bathroom. The other, a closet, with a single dress hanging from a rod. A stunning creation of ice-blue with side cut-outs and a sweeping skirt of matching silk split at the sides.
Such fine material. But… was this what I was supposed to wear to dinner?
Nein. Nein, thanks. Far too sexy for an in-suite one-on-one. I closed the door with a decided thud.
Charm him, change his mind, be a vault—and also refuse the dress provided for me and meet him in my preferred armor. My diplomacy instructor would have wept. But tonight I’d need every scrap of courage I could get. So I’d go just as I was. Ja. Plan accepted, no need for a mental debate.
Craving fresh air, I eased onto the balcony. A cool, sea-scented breeze welcomed me, whisking locks of hair from their pins. I stood upon a wonder of coral and polished nacre, its railing formed from twisting shells and living sea-glass.
Below the royal gardens glowed a breathtaking maze of swaying anemones, coral hedges and bioluminescent blooms. I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the next gentle caress of wind. Oh! I’d read about this. Though we were submerged in the ocean, where humans couldn’t reach, and surrounded by a clear dome, runes etched along the surface acted as doorways between worlds, constantly circulating air.
All perfect fodder for my pros and cons list regarding a romance with King Sebastian.
Voices drifted up, yanking me from my head. I stiffened, my lids popping open. Dragons were curious by nature, and it wasn’t really eavesdropping when someone spoke so loud I could hear it, right?
I scanned below until… there. Next to a large wooden crate in the center of the garden waited King Sebastian.