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)
But the one that mattered most now: Scan for exits without looking like you’re scanning for exits. Every ballroom, throne room, and library you’re not supposed to be in has hidden ways out. Know them before you need them.
I traced my gaze over every door, filing away their locations, even as my mind whirled. He and his people were said to view fated bonds as liabilities. A weakness to avoid at all costs. The complete opposite of dragons, who prized their soulmates. Which was reason eighteen of ten thousand why I fervently hoped Sebastian Mórisi wasn’t mine.
Whatever you do, don’t throw up.
Finally, I did it. I looked. And promptly lost my breath. Beautiful in a way that defied reason, the king lounged upon a throne of bones and scorched coral, the seat studded with glittering, bejeweled barnacles. Light from the sea-glass lanterns scattered across his skin, giving it a pearlescent sheen. His hair, black as the deep, caught streaks of iridescence, as though kissed by moonlight.
I’d thought he resembled a romance novel hero before; now I was sure of it. Too beautiful for anyone’s good. Least of all mine.
He wore black and tide-colored fabrics that clung like both water and armor. Once again, gloves covered his hands.
Lightning zinged beneath the surface of my skin as I halted at the base of the royal dais. Forcing my arms behind my back, I breathed deeply and met his gaze.
Scorch my scales. His irises. They shimmered in starburst patterns, shifting colors like the ocean itself. From stormy sapphire to emerald-gold to fathomless onyx.
Heat pulsed over me. For one dizzying heartbeat, the throne room lurched. The polished floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet, my stomach dropping as though I’d stepped onto the deck of a ship in rough seas. Then the sensation vanished when my dragon unfurled her wings inside my mind, bringing balance. Thankfully, I wasn’t nauseated. Nein, far from it. I couldn’t look away from the man.
Calculation flickered in his gaze, as though he’d reached for a blade and found it missing. Did he purposely use his eyes, turning it on and off?
Had it just failed to work on me?
He didn’t speak. Never blinked. Just canted his head and gave me a slow once-over. Appraising. Dangerous. Glittering. Silence stretched until my pulse drummed a war beat against my ribs. Then something like recognition flickered in his gaze. Just for a moment, ja, but definitely there. I gulped. I’d performed before dragons countless times, but never, never had I felt an audience member strip me bare with a single look.
Perhaps I should ask to serve my ambassadorship from a lighthouse above the waves, far from him.
“Do you intend to properly greet the king holding your future in his hands,” he finally asked in his native Icelandic, “or stand there trembling until you fall?”
First of all, I absolutely was not trembling. Not anymore. Second, his voice rolled over me like a dark tide. Third, my training took over. I offered a flawless, controlled curtsy. “Your majesty,” I greeted in the same language. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. Officially.”
Far from impressed, he rested his elbow on the arm of the throne. “You are the dancer,” he said. “The one rumored to bespell legions with every performance.”
“I am a dancer, ja,” I managed, pretending he hadn’t mentioned the ridiculous rumor I’d fought to quash for years. “Or I was, before I became an ambassador.”
“A transformation with no obvious motive.” He stroked his jaw, locks of his hair sliding through shades of moonlight. “Tell me. Are you being punished? Did you disobey a royal command? Fall in love with the wrong man?” French now. “Or did you wish to be closer to me, after your ravenous gaze devoured me during the meeting of royals?” Ancient Norse, as old as the tides.
Heat suffused my cheeks. He couldn’t be mine. Right? He just couldn’t be. Tentacles couldn’t be cuddly. Fire and water didn’t mix. Dragons belonged in the air; kraken buried themselves in the sea.
But why had he switched languages? To test me? I should pretend not to understand. That was what Adelaide would recommend. Harmless was informed. But the spotlight called…
I responded in Spanish. “I assure you, majesty, being here is no punishment. I look forward to helping kraken and dragonkind maintain our mutually beneficial friendship.” I refused to address the eye-devouring, which I couldn’t deny without lying. “You will see. Berserker factions can function well together.”
A faint, sardonic smile curved his mouth. “Such a cautious response. How very diplomatic of you,” he said, speaking Italian. “I’m told you are shy, but you come alive with laughter and wit as soon as you are comfortable.”
My mouth snapped shut. Ignore the flood of warmth. Never mind that his description was pitch-perfect. How did he know such personal details about me? Was there a spy in the dragon court?