Claws and Kisses

Surprisingly, when Bear and I arrived back in the arena room, the Dragon Lords and nobles, who accompanied them, had only just settled in their seats at the bottom floor where Bora was. Unlike the booths, all of the Dragon Lords were now easy to see. All of the stands had turned away from the dying flames of the fire and had trained their eyes on their lords, who now stood in a circle around the giant arena.

Avel was there as well. His eyes were scanning the arena, and if I did not know him any better, I probably would not have been able to catch the glint of irritation in his dark, purple eyes.

Out of the thousand people in the room, he somehow sensed the very heartbeat Bear and I misted in. His eyes shot to me like an arrow, his shoulders immediately relaxing as he saw that I was in no trouble. I met his eye and gave a pathetic little wave, knowing what the cause of his apparent agitation was. His lordship could not have been too happy that Bear whisked me away mid-funeral to heaven knows where.

When we arrived at the bottom floor, Bear and I strode through the crowds to get to him. He rose from his throne-like chair so that he could look down his nose at us as we approached. Bear and I stopped a few feet from him, the former not looking a shred guilty.

One of his purple brows inched up his forehead in a silent question. Where the hell were you two?

My palms started to sweat as I thought about telling him about the meltdown I had in the middle of the stands. I knew he would not think less of me, but I still did not like the idea of showing him how vulnerable I could be simply by standing in a too-crowded room. Sucking in a breath, I opened my mouth to explain and—

“Little miss human here had to use the lady’s room,” Bear said, smooth and quick. Her lips tilted as she smiled at her Dragon Lord. “I did not want to inconvenience you, so I took the lass myself. Your welcome.”

Without letting Avel get one word in, Bear winked at me and walked away, her hips swaying as she joined the rest of the Inner Circle a few feet back. We both watched as she sat among them, laughing at something Seth said. Despite the death of their High Lord, they looked happy talking and smiling together.

When I turned to Avel, his eyes were already on me. Searching. Analytical. I immediately shrunk away, hating the way he could stare into my eyes and make me feel as if I was baring my very soul to him. “What? I was in the bathroom, like Bear said.”

His one eyebrow twitched again. “That was an awfully long trip, then.” In one motion, he curled his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest. An instant blush blossomed across my cheeks as I felt the eyes of thousands of dragons on us.

Avel chuckled quietly when he saw, the vibrations from his chest rumbling against my skin. He kissed my temple, crushing me further against him. “You are awfully bashful for a human, little tiger.”

I squirmed in his hold, trying not to laugh as his nose tickled the sensitive spot in crook of my neck. “No, you are just unapologetically shameless for a dragon. Do you know where we are?”

He shrugged, breathing in deeply before leaning away from my throat to look down and into my eyes. With his body so close to mine, I could feel his warmth penetrating through my thin, silk dress and into my very bones. His eyes were starry as they blinked, amused, down at me. “At least I am not treating you as Lord Ghani is treating his mate.”

Guided by the nudge of his head, I followed Avel’s gaze to a couple sitting opposite the arena to us. The male was seated, with the woman sitting directly on his lap. Her dress was nothing more than skimpy lingerie, and it looked as if the two were currently dry humping in the middle of the funeral. His hands were wrapped firmly around her ass, kneading the flesh there. Her hands were down his pants, moving in fast, hard jerks. Their lips were clashing in a battle, both looking as if they were trying to choke one another with their tongues.

I gagged and immediately looked away, finding warm solitude in Avel’s chest. I laid my cheek against his armored torso, wishing I could wash my eyes of the languid sight. Avel’s laugh deepened, and he rubbed my back in a patronizing kind of way. “Like I said. Bashful.”

Peering up at him with accusing eyes, I hissed, “I am not bashful. The whole lot of you should have more decency. And . . .” My eyes unwillingly fluttered back to the open-mouth dragon couple, before I snapped my gaze away and stared hard at Avel’s chest. “Gods, they can’t wait until after or something?”

Avel was quiet. I looked up to see him staring down at me, his gaze hooded and entirely focused on me. There was a mix of fascination and adoration in his eyes, and I felt myself stupidly wondering if I had said something embarrassing. In a low voice, I whispered, “What is it?”

He shook his head, his purple eyes taking in all of me with a little, quirked smile curving his lips. “You,” he replied, never once looking away. “I’m just . . . I’m glad to have you. You are . . .” He shook his head again, as if he couldn’t find the right word to say. His smile grew. “You’re perfect. In every single way, you are perfect.”

His words had my chest swelling with an emotion I couldn’t pinpoint. My eyes glazed with the beginnings of tears, and I smiled broadly and just as warm up at him. “I love you, Avel. I love you more than I can say.”

My mate placed a sweet, lingering kiss on my cheek, his arms tightening around me. His warmth cocooned me in our own little world, and I closed my eyes to savor the feel of him holding me, his scent washing over me in waves. Smoke, with a hint of some kind of Drachen spice.

“I hope I am not interrupting anything.”

Avel’s arms immediately retreated from my form, and only on hand remained to wrap steadily around mine. We both turned to see Bora, High Lady of the Dragon Lands, standing in front of us. Her blonde hair and piercing blue eyes were even more striking up close. The deep, lilac purple of her dress had the azure gleam in her eyes appear even bluer. Her lips were full and laid in a flat, straight line. Even though her mate was burned to cinders, she did not appear all that sad about it.

“Avel, won’t you introduce me to your mate?” Her icy eyes flicked to mine, all-knowing and predatory.

“High Lady,” Avel said in greeting, bowing low to her before straightening. “This is Wendy, my mate. Wendy, this is Bora, High Lady to the late High Lord, Loch Shade.”

Flustered and nervous, I sunk into a hasty curtsy, dipping my head low as Avel had done. “It is a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I’m Wendy, at your service.”

Bora, despite her cold exterior, began to smile, an amused spark in her eyes. “I have not been called ‘ma’am’ in six centuries, since Loch found me at the small farm my family used to live in.”

Avel positioned himself slightly in front of me, his protectiveness a little too prominent. “High Lady, I apologize. Wendy is mortal and is not accustomed to—”

Bora raised her hand in a silent order. Avel fell quiet at once, his hand wrapped too hard around mine. His eyes were steely upon the High Lady, and I knew he would do something drastic if he thought I was in danger.

“I find your mate . . .” she let her eyes trail over my figure, my face. “Humorous.” Her eyes snapped back to Avel, lazy yet lethal. “Put away your testosterone, Avel. We have no need for it hear.”

I could have sworn I heard Bear cackling madly behind us, but it was too hard to hear over the sight of Avel struggling on how exactly to follow his High Lady’s orders. Instead of thinking about it too long, Avel tried redirecting the conversation. “Your ladyship, I have brought a gift for you.”

Avel gestured to a guard behind us, who immediately ran off to fetch whatever Avel had brought for the High Lady. Before the funeral, Avel had explained that every Dragon Lord would be bringing a gift for Bora, as a sign of their continued loyalty and respect. I little saw reason in it, as Avel had only told me moments ago that mates soon died after one another passed.

The guard soon returned with a sheathed item, wrapped in velvet. The guard handed the piece to Avel, who turned and presented it to Bora. She watched as he unwrapped the cloth, revealing a silver, gold-handled sword.

“Argentigne,” she whispered, her eyes baring the smallest hint of approval. “The last sword of the Old Warriors. Supposedly used by Charlemagne himself.” She glanced up from the sword to Avel. “This is impressive, fledgling. How would a newly minted Dragon Lord come by one of the most precious artifacts in our history?”

Avel’s lips twitched. “My father is not the only man who knows how to make connections and allies.”

“And,” Bora added. “A number of enemies, if I have heard correctly.”

My mate nodded, if a bit stiffly. “Yes, High Lady.”

The sword was still held out, gleaming and beautiful in Avel’s hands. The High Lady gave it one last glance before waving her hand in the air, dismissing the blade. “Keep it. It will be of more use to you than I.”

Avel frowned. “Your Ladyship—”

“Besides,” she said, cutting him off. Her eyes shifted from the Dragon Lord to me. “I have another gift I should like to recieve. Have your mate brought to me after the funeral is over. I think I will rather enjoy her company for the next few days during your stay.”

Avel opened his mouth to protest, but I quickly slid in front of him, smiling brightly, and stuck out my hand. “Thank you, ma’am. It’d be an honor to accompany you.”

Bora looked down and blinked at my hand. Oh shit, I thought. Who sticks there hand out for the literal Queen of the Dragons? I was about to retract my hand and start apologizing profusely, but Bora slipped her delicate hand into mine and grasped it with a surprisingly strong grip.

“I look forward to it, Lady Wendy.” She smiled at me—a real one, teeth and all—and nodded to Avel. “Enjoy the funeral games, Dragon Lord. I would advise you to be thankful for that mate of yours.” The High Lady began to walk away, her dress trailing elegantly behind her. “She is certainly better at making connections than you or your father.”

Then she was gone. Swept away by the crowd.

I glanced sideways at Avel. His jaw was locked, and he was staring hard at the spot Bora just occupied. She had already moved onto the next Dragon Lord, leaving Avel still standing with the Argentigne in hand.

Smiling softly at him, I carefully took the sword and handed it off to the guard from before, he looked as surprised as Avel had been to be getting it back. I patted the dragon on the shoulder in comfort. “She’s not wrong.”

He shook his head, still dazed. “I can’t believe she didn’t take it.”

“I can’t believe she wants to hang out.” I shook my head, my smile widening with Avel’s growing scowl. “You’d think she’d ask one of the cool kids.”

Avel shook his head, more fiercely this time. “I’m not just going to leave you with her. Not so soon after we started the mating ritual. You’re vulnerable and—”

“Avel,” I cut him off, grinning. “I wish it were different, but your Queen wants to chill with this chick. And that means it is simply nonnegotiable.”

His scowl mutated into a growl. “No, you can't—”

The next day, late in the morning, I knocked on Bora’s door.

Hey, folks!

Another Tuesday update. Woo! Hope you all enjoyed. I have a ton of work to do, so short Q/A today. Thank you for everything all of you readers do (as always) you're amazing!

That's all for today. Hope you all are ready for the next few *fiesty* chapters!

~Elaine