Line of Fyre

by Cara Bristol

  “Well, that’s convenient—if one can fly. How am I supposed to come and go? Or am I a prisoner?”

  T’mar motioned to one of the gargoyles. It flew down, landed in the courtyard, and shifted into a demiforma woman.

  “Your Highness.” She touched her chest above her bare breasts.

  Was everybody naked in this place?

  “B’kah will be your donatta,” he said. “A donatta is a harem guardian. She will take you in and out. If you require anything, she will provide it. If you wish to see your friends, tell B’kah.”

  So, he was assigning her a keeper.

  He turned to the gargoyle-dragoness-guard. “Helena is my concubine. She will be your donja.”

  She thought she saw B’kah’s lip curl, but if it did, it vanished in a blink of yellow eyes.

  “Show her to the fourth wing. Her belongings will be delivered from the ship, if they haven’t already been.”

  “Certainly, Your Highness. It will be my honor to take care of her.” B’kah looked directly at Helena for the first time. Her tone was level, unemotional as she said, “Come with me, please.”

  Helena followed the donatta. She held her head high and refused to check if T’mar headed to another arm so one of his other concubines could take care of that hard-on.

  * * * *

  The lingering scent of Helena’s emotions stabbed him with guilt. She’d been hurt. She’d expected more personal attention from him.

  Sacred fyre, he’d wanted to give it to her.

  On the flight to the harem, she had communicated her exhilaration and excitement through her scent. Her appreciation of Draco and acceptance of the dragon engendered his reluctant admiration. He would hate to be saddled with a human like Patsy, but oh, it would have made his life so much easier. Someone like Patsy would not distract him. There would be no need to force disengagement—avoidance would happen naturally.

  Helena presented too great a temptation. She caused him to burn, to yearn, to wonder why not. She could beguile him to the extent he’d never seek out a dragoness, never mate.

  The donatta would take good care of her. He’d selected the guardian for her diligence and responsibility to duty and because, being female, she would satisfy the dragon who refused to accept a male tending to Helena. The creature’s urge to kill Henry had subsided after the male continued to exude no attraction ester for Helena. So, if it brought her happiness to see her friends, then he would allow it. But if he ever smelled that Henry had developed feelings for her, he would let the dragon toast him.

  T’mar wouldn’t touch her again, but she still belonged to him.

  “Your Highness, what a pleasure to see you.”

  He whipped around to find A’riel, her smiling eyes and musk issuing a sexual invitation. How had she approached him without him being aware? “May I serve you?” Her scales had been polished to a high gloss, and a ring of black outlined her beautiful ochre eyes. A pale orange transparent drape wound around her body to call attention to her attributes. He roved his gaze over her, trying to dredge up a spark of desire but felt nothing.

  “As I’ve only arrived from Elementa, I must report in to the king.” Both true statements, but he would not visit his father just yet. He had to shore himself up for the meeting.

  “Very well. I’m glad you returned from your trip safely.”

  Why can’t I want her? Or one of the others? His concubines’ sudden and protracted failure to stir his libido had concerned him; however, craving one little fire-haired human was so much worse. For her, he experienced no lack of desire. It consumed him.

  A’riel sniffed the air and then curled her lip. “I smell the stench of a human.”

  “My concubine from Earth.” He jutted his chin toward the fourth arm of the star. “Her name is Helena. She doesn’t smell that bad.” To him, she exuded an alluring, fragrant musk, but how could he do more than mildly chastise A’riel when he’d believed the same until recently?

  “Ah.” She nodded. “The one ordered by King K’rah.”

  “Yes,” he was forced to answer. Why did the truth feel so wrong, so disloyal? He never would have brought her into his harem if not for the edict. Exactly how adding a human benefited Draco was the king’s secret, but although his father had ordered him to take her, the monarch had never intended T’mar to embrace her as a real concubine.

  A’riel sniffed again. “This…human…she means something to you?”

  “No, she is just a human.”

  You lie! She is our mate. She means everything to us!

  His bones ached, and pressure ballooned, precursors to a shift. “Excuse me. I must go.”

  The dragon shifted and lifted off before the transformation was complete. He flew with an angry flap of his massive wings, spitting fire and smoke. T’mar prayed to the Eternal Frye for the strength to deal with an enraged dragon.

  Chapter Twenty

  Helena couldn’t find fault with her accommodations. Unlike the ship’s furnishings, the chairs, sofas, and bed seemed more suited for human anatomy. They were still large, but the backs were a solid piece, not split. Instead of grayish green, the interior floors and walls were translucent marble. Her bath contained a pool practically large enough to swim in. And she could see interior doors and windows to the outside! She’d spent long hours watching wide-eyed as demiforma dragons went about their business on the palace grounds outside the star.

  But she had no one to talk to. She’d tried to engage B’kah, but the donatta responded with the tersest replies.

  Yesterday, she’d ventured into the courtyard, but no one was about, and so she returned to her wing. Today, she vowed to explore farther. She plunked herself down on the huge comfortable sofa to don her shoes. When she straightened after tying the laces, B’kah stood there.

  She pressed a hand to her pounding heart. “You should wear a bell.”

  “Why?” The donatta had mastered the stare. Helena had timed her at only two blinks per minute.

  “So I know when you’re coming and going. Would you please announce yourself before entering my quarters?” The donatta had the habit of popping in at odd times. Helena would assume she was alone and then discover B’kah watching her.

  “My scent announces my arrival.”

  “But I can’t smell you.” At least not until she got close, and then she imagined the dragoness exuded an odor akin to burnt rubber.

  “You have a visitor,” the donatta said.

  “Prince T’mar?”

  The burnt rubber odor grew stronger. “No.”

  Her spirits sank and then rose again. “My friends? Patsy and Henry?” She’d asked B’kah when she could be taken to see them, and the donatta had said she’d look into it. Had she arranged for them to come here instead?

  “No.”

  “Then who?” Why play Twenty Questions?

  “Me.” Rhianna entered.

  “Oh my god!” She ran to hug her, but Rhianna stiffened. Helena pulled up short. “I’m so glad you’re all right. I’ve been so worried about you!”

  “Really?”

  B’kah stood there watching. Unblinking.

  “We would like to be alone, please,” Helena said. “Wait—before you go—have you been able to arrange bringing my friends here for a visit?”

  “Not yet. I’m working on it.”

  Maybe Patsy had balked at another flight by dragon. “I would like to visit them. Will you take me later?”

  “I will do my best to arrange it.”

  What was there to arrange? Why couldn’t she pick her up and fly her there? She needed to force the issue and discover the cause of the delay but didn’t wish to argue, with Rhianna here. Making matters right with her friend was most important. And before she could say another word, B’kah swept past them and left the wing.

  Rhianna wrinkled her nose. “She doesn’t like you.”

  “Why do you say that?” She’d wondered the same, but sinc
e the donatta had never said or done anything untoward, dismissed her impression as anxiety. “I’ve never been anything but polite to her.”

  “The odor—burnt rubber.”

  “The smell is real? I didn’t imagine it?” Just like now, she thought she detected a sourness in the air. “There’s so much I need to tell you.”

  Rhianna crossed her arms. “This should be interesting.” The sourness got stronger.

  “You’re happy with Prince K’ev?” She needed reassurance that everything had worked out well for Rhianna.

  “Do you care?” Blue eyes iced over.

  “Yes. More than anything.” She turned away, swinging her arms. How did she explain? “I’m sorry. So very, very sorry. I know you feel betrayed.”

  “I don’t just feel betrayed. You tricked me into coming to Draco and set me up as a suicide bomber to kill the king. K’ev almost got killed when his dragon swallowed the bomb by accident!”

  “Sending you here was your only chance of survival.”

  Rhianna snorted.

  “You would have been killed if you didn’t go.”

  Rhianna jerked her head. “What are you talking about?”

  “My father’s special advisor, Jackson Biggs, is the one running the country.” Helena twisted her hands. “My father is his puppet. Biggs threatened to have you eliminated if you refused to go to Draco or if I told you what they had planned. The only thing I could do was record a message for you. I died a thousand deaths wondering if you’d find it in time.”

  “How do I know you’re telling me the truth this time?”

  “Rhianna, you know me. We’ve been friends forever.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

  “Except you did.”

  “I tried to save your life. They call Biggs the fixer because he fixes problems by making people go away. He wants Elementa bad. It has a lot of rare metals with military applications, so it could tip the balance of power. Staking the claim forced us into a standoff with Draco. He hates the dragons beyond all reason.

  “You don’t have to take my word for it. Two friends came to Draco with me. You remember Patsy, Dad’s personal assistant? She’s here, along with Henry, who was a Secret Service agent. The vid-comm when you told us King K’rah had asked for another concubine? I wouldn’t have known you were calling about it except Patsy tipped me off. She lost her job because of it. They helped me get to Draco. I wouldn’t be here if not for them.”

  Rhianna wasn’t saying anything.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” Helena said.

  “I thought we had each other’s backs. I agreed to come to Draco to support you! Then I find out I was part of some plot to kill the king, and you were in on it! You say this Biggs guy threatened my life? If that’s true, you should have told me. We could have gone to the FBI or the local police department. We could have dealt with the situation together. You had no right to make the decision for me. K’ev was almost killed!”

  Her friend had no idea what Biggs was capable of. A man willing to drive two planets to the brink of war to achieve his goals wouldn’t let two women derail his plans. But Helena shouldn’t have sent Rhianna to Draco alone. She should have come with her. “I’ll never forgive myself for what I did.”

  “That makes two of us.” Rhianna spun on her heel and marched out of the room.

  * * * *

  What did she expect? I would greet her with open arms? Let bygones be bygones? Rhianna stomped away, Helena’s sadness and regret drifting in the air like a misty rain. Why should I feel guilty? I have every right to be mad!

  “Your friend is sad.” K’ev met her as she walked out of the wing. “I can smell her tears.”

  “She should be sad. She deserves it! They almost killed you!” Rhianna would never forget how K’ev’s dragon had accidentally swallowed her communication device—and then she’d listened to Helena’s message and learned the device was really a bomb. The horror of that moment would haunt her forever.

  “I did not detect any lies from her. Her intention was to save your life,” he said.

  “She still made bad decisions.” Since mating with K’ev, her sense of smell had sharpened, but his olfaction and lie detecting was much stronger than hers, so she’d asked him to stay close while she confronted Helena.

  “When she spoke of Biggs, her fear spiked,” he said.

  “I find it hard to believe an advisor, a mere appointee, could have the power she claims. I know President Marshfield! I was invited to his house before he became president. I stayed in Bunker One when things went bad. He’s a good man.” Was a good man. He had gone along with the plot to kill K’rah. Could Biggs be the one running the country? That still didn’t absolve Alan Marshfield of culpability—it made him more responsible. And Helena, too.

  Although she did record the message warning me of the plot. She hadn’t totally abandoned me.

  “If you hadn’t come here, you and I wouldn’t have mated.”

  “So you’re saying she did us a favor? Whose side are you on?”

  “Yours. Always yours.” K’ev grabbed her and kissed her.

  “The donatta hates her,” Rhianna gave voice to a niggling concern. Why should I care?

  “Yes. I could smell it. She resents having to take care of a human. She feels it is beneath her. She feels shamed.”

  “I wonder if T’mar is aware.”

  “I haven’t spoken to my brother since his return.” Yellow eyes glinted. “I’ve been spending my time with you.”

  They’d reached the courtyard and stopped in front of the fountain. Rhianna took a puff of her inhaler. Although part dragon, she still couldn’t breathe Draconian air. In the harem where lava bubbled up into a pool and a statue spewed fire, the air was even more toxic to humans than outside.

  “The donatta lied to her, too,” Rhianna said.

  “About what?”

  “She came with a couple of friends who’d worked for her father. They are being housed in the human habitat facility. She asked the donatta if she’d been able to arrange a visit, and B’kah said she’d been working on it, but I could smell the stench. She lied again when Helena asked if she could take her to see them. She has no intention of helping her.”

  He regarded her with an assessing gaze. “See, you do still care.”

  She could lie to herself but not to him. K’ev could sniff out an untruth from a mile away. “I don’t want to!”

  Helena had been her sister by another mister. From the moment they’d met, they’d clicked. BFFs. That’s why the betrayal had devastated her. She’d thought their friendship had been destroyed, but after seeing her again—dammit, she did still care. Helena had lied to her, tricked her, but it had done so with the best intentions. So, how did that equal out?

  Rhianna worried about her being alone in the harem. It was almost as if T’mar had abandoned her. “I came to Draco as your concubine, but you never deposited me in a harem,” she said. “Why?”

  “By the time we arrived on Draco, we’d become mates. A dragon only takes concubines until he mates.” He grinned, flashing some fang. “Besides—I didn’t have a harem.” Then he sobered. “But T’mar does. He keeps three concubines.”

  “Maybe we should talk to him.”

  “About what?”

  “Helena!”

  K’ev vetoed the idea with a shake of his head. “The worst thing one can do is interfere between a dragon and his female. If T’mar has feelings for her, what is meant to happen will happen.”

  Rhianna noticed he didn’t say mate. “What if he doesn’t care about her?”

  “Then, there is nothing you can do anyway.”

  “Why do you suppose the king asked for the president to send his daughter? After what happened with me and the bomb, why risk it again?”

  “He doesn’t share his reasons with me.”

  A crazy idea flashed. “You don’t suppose the priestess put him up to i
t, do you?” A vision had prompted the priestess to order the king to request a consort the first time.

  K’ev snorted. “I know little about my father’s motivation—and less about the priestess’.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “You know her better than anyone.”

  “Maybe I’ll ask her the next time I see her.”

  “Yeah.” K’ev laughed. “Good luck with that.” He stepped away and shifted.

  His dragon folded Rhianna in his claws and took to the sky.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Helena splashed water on her face and then dried her eyes. Pity parties didn’t solve problems. Expecting Rhianna to forgive her right away was unrealistic. Trust was an unconditional gift until broken then it had to be earned. Helena vowed to do whatever it took—including giving Rhianna the space to work through everything.

  In the meantime, come hell or high water, she intended to visit Patsy and Henry! Out of contact for two days, they were probably getting worried about her, and she was concerned about how Patsy had fared during her flight by dragon.

  T’mar had promised B’kah would take her to visit her friends, but every time she asked about it, the donatta blew smoke up her ass. No more Ms. Nice Guy. The next time she saw B’kah she would demand to be taken to the human habitat. If that didn’t work, she would find a way out of this stupid harem and go on her own. She’d seen the facility during the inflight tour. She had a good sense of direction, so she should be able to locate it.

  T’mar had said there was an exit in the servant area. She was going to look for it. If she found it before she saw B’kah, then hasta la vista, baby!

  With a plan in mind, she marched off to execute it. Before she got to the courtyard, she ran into B’kah. Speak of the dragon. “You’re just the person I wanted to see.”

  B’kah said nothing, and once again, Helena caught a whiff of burnt rubber.

  “Take me to the human habitat. Right now.”

  “I told you I will arrange it.”

  “What is there to arrange? Isn’t it a matter of you shifting and flying me there?”