Liza (Dragon Isles Book 1)

by Shelley Munro

Leo sighed. “I had no inkling. Gwenyth, we’d better face my parents. We knew this wouldn’t be easy.” He opened the bag. “Hold this.” He thrust his clothes at Felix and tugged Gwenyth into his arms. He kissed her, heat sliding from his mouth and into hers. A faint burning sensation bled down her throat. Not painful, but different. Pleasure roared through her on the tail of this heat, so she gripped Leo’s broad shoulders and enjoyed the heck out of the kiss.

  Felix spoke, reminding her they had an audience.

  Aghast, she jerked away from Leo, but he contained her easily. He nipped her earlobe and whispered to her. It took her long seconds to make sense of Leo’s words.

  “I’m marking you with my scent again, reinforcing the traces of scent already present on your skin.”

  Gwenyth relaxed against him, finally comprehending the reason for the public kiss.

  Leo kissed her once more, breathing more of that enticing heat into her before pulling back.

  “I take it you’re ready for your clothes now,” Felix said in amusement.

  “Please.” Leo drew his black trews over his erection.

  Gwenyth blushed on catching Felix’s gaze. He winked at her, and the heat in her cheeks increased.

  “Where did you meet your human?”

  “I rescued her from the sea,” Leo said without hesitation.

  “I need to do more flying around the coast,” Felix shared with her, his grin big and white. “How come I’ve never seen a beautiful lass during my flights? When did you marry? You never mentioned it last time I saw you.”

  Leo shrugged and finished buttoning his shirt. “It’s a recent thing.”

  Felix’s eyes narrowed. “Your parents will question your timing.”

  “Too bad,” Leo said emphatically.

  Gwenyth allowed Leo to guide her from the training field toward the castle portcullis. Apprehension filtered through her when they crossed a moat and strolled beneath a fortified gate complete with gleaming spikes. Workers bustled around the courtyard beyond, and within seconds, the weight of stares brought a prickling discomfort. Ignoring them, she picked her way around a muddy puddle and wrinkled her nose at the blast of body odor.

  Leo didn’t stop to speak to anyone, instead continuing into a second courtyard, past a small chapel with a stained window. Their surroundings grew quieter and much cleaner, and she risked a full lungful of air.

  “Stay close to me,” Leo murmured as he led her up a marble staircase and through an impressive entrance with vaulted ceilings and gleaming floors. They climbed another set of cream and brown stairs, and Leo directed her along an equally impressive passage. Light sparkled off a chandelier hanging from the high ceiling and left dappled patterns on the tiled stone floor. As they passed open doors, Gwenyth received impressions of lavish rooms with expensive furnishings and paintings of men and women—perhaps dragons—who gazed down from the walls. Each bore a disapproving expression as if they knew she was a human and inferior and therefore had no business entering this castle.

  Gwenyth had no right to Leo.

  A tremor shook her fingers, and she curled her left hand to a fist to halt the show of nerves. Her heart palpitated, her breaths short and choppy while it felt as though sand filled her mouth. Repeated swallows failed to shift the dryness.

  They walked for what seemed like hours but was probably ten minutes. The nerves dancing at the bottom of her tummy heightened her apprehension and exaggerated every worry. With Leo at her side, no harm would befall her.

  She was safe.

  He’d make it so. Of this, she was confident. But he is one dragon among many, a tiny voice whispered. Fear darted off, screaming through her until the horrified shout reached every nook of her mind. What if marriage to her ended in death for Leo?

  “Don’t worry.” Leo grasped her right hand in a comforting squeeze. “Everything will be all right. We’ll inform my parents of our marriage and leave. I have friends who will give us a roof for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll fly to Perfume Isle and start our quest for the truth.”

  “I’m so nervous. What if they act first and don’t listen to our explanations? All they need to do is embrace their dragon and breathe fire over me. I’ll be toast before I can blink.” Her voice took on an edge of hysteria, while trepidation embraced her like a lumpy shawl on her shoulders. This is ridiculous. Get a grip, woman.

  Leo laughed, amusement sparkling in his gaze. “That will never happen. No dragon breathes fire within the castle. We’re a civilized race. We no longer allow our tempers or our dragons to fight whenever the instinct roars at us.”

  She lifted a brow, her gaze on him as she sought his reassurance. “No fire?”

  “Not indoors. The last thing my parents wish is to destroy the home they and my ancestors have protected and beautified over the centuries. Damage of that sort would invite ridicule from their friends and acquaintances and destroy their standing within the community.”

  “Oh.” Gwenyth sucked in a breath and let it ease out again. She was a ninny, bringing out her judgey hat. Just because they could morph into massive creatures in a blink of her eyes and blow fire, it didn’t mean every dragon she encountered would attack. From what she’d learned so far, the dragon society was as old as the human one. Civilized. They had rules. Laws. “You’re right. I’m sorry for acting so stupid.”

  Leo’s fingers tightened on hers. “You’re shaking. The worst thing you can do is let my parents witness your fear. Don’t worry, my lodestone. Everything will be all right.” Confidence rippled in his voice, his relaxed demeanor.

  I hope he’s right.

  Leo guided her around a corner, and the first thing she noticed was the guard. The man—dragon, she presumed—stood taller than Leo while his scarlet tunic strained to contain his muscled bulk. A sword in a decorative silver hilt sat at his right-hand side, although she guessed it was more a statement than the guard’s go-to weapon. The tension swelling inside her had a tremor rushing down her spine. Fear got ready to give a shout-out to the rest of her body, and she sucked in a fast, calming breath.

  “Steady.” Leo stopped and turned Gwenyth to face him. Tenderness shone in his face as he placed his hands on her shoulders. The corners of his eyes crinkled again, and she relaxed. “Gwenyth.” He leaned in to steal a kiss. She stiffened when their lips met, then he licked the seam of her mouth, and passion roared to life in her. Her own hands lifted to clutch his biceps and draw him closer. A moan sounded, echoing down the passage.

  Leo parted their mouths and pressed his forehead to hers for a long moment. “You can do this,” he whispered. “We’re married, and I can’t wait to get to my room to celebrate in private.”

  “Me, too.” Embarrassment emblazoned Gwenyth’s cheeks, but she straightened and thrust back her shoulders at the faint dare in his gaze while ignoring her instinct to glance at the guard. “No pressure.”

  Leo offered her an encouraging smile and a nod of approval before he grasped her hand and led her toward the guarded doorway.

  The dragon guard stiffened at their appearance, his hand going to the butt of his sword. His dark brown gaze roved them.

  “Please tell my parents their youngest son Leonidas, Champion of the Skies, is here to see them,” Leo ordered, donning an arrogant facade.

  The guard relaxed at Leo’s words, although his hand remained close to his sword.

  Leo drew Gwenyth to a halt and appeared relaxed. His grip on her hand grew tighter, but she didn’t complain. From the little he’d told her about his parents, they sounded scary and heartless, and she wondered how Leo had grown up to be such a decent man.

  Another man appeared in the doorway. A familiar one. Telus, the snooty butler. Surprise flitted across the butler’s face before cunning and haughtiness replaced his shock.

  “Your parents are busy. They are preparing for your betrothed,” Telus said, his long nose twitching with distaste as his gaze skimmed Gwenyth. “What is your bit on the side doing here? The castle is no place for a human.”
/>
  “Telus, I would speak with my parents now,” Leo said in an implacable tone. “Not later. Not tomorrow. Now.”

  Telus blinked, or at least she thought he did. His surprise faded beneath his concrete expression as he focused on Leo. “Your parents have enough to deal with at present. There is much to organize and contracts to complete. A betrothal is a delicate business and yours more so because of your parents’ standing.”

  “Now, Telus.” Leo advanced half a step to underscore his determination.

  The guard tensed.

  Telus sniffed and nodded curtly at the guard. “Very well. I shall ask if they wish to see you. Wait here.” He marched away, his officious manner tickling Gwenyth’s funny bone, despite the situation.

  “Is he always like that?” she whispered to Leo. “He behaves as if he has a stick up his arse.”

  Leo snorted out a laugh. “His position holds significant prestige. He won the position coveted by eleven other dragons.”

  “I see,” Gwenyth said, although that was an overstatement. This world of Leo’s was strange, and she’d felt far more comfortable with the minister and his wife.

  She and Leo waited for a long five minutes.

  “Do you think he’s coming back? He wouldn’t leave us here to make a point?”

  “That’s his style,” Leo said. “Let’s go.”

  He tugged her toward the open doorway. The soldier’s hand tightened on his sword hilt.

  “Don’t,” Leo advised him. “These are my parents. I won’t harm them.”

  “There are rumors of someone wanting to take over the castle. To steal from your parents,” the soldier, his voice full of thick gravel and bass.

  “I have my property and have no intention of challenging for the castle. My older brothers are a different story, however. Watch them. Let us pass.” Leo’s implacable gaze bored into the dragon soldier, determination and strength emanating in a silent contest.

  “Very well.” He raked them with his gaze. “But if you injure Tudoarreo or Qille, I will make it my mission to hunt you.”

  “Fair enough,” Leo said. “Come, Gwenyth. Let us greet my parents.”

  Gwenyth let Leo lead her into the room. Like the others they’d passed, this one was full of elegant statues, furnishings in luxurious silks of jeweled colors, and dozens of portraits and paintings hung on the walls.

  One of a beautiful seascape drew her attention. The artist had captured a day of fun, but instead of humans, he or she had included dragons lounging on the sand, making the canvas appear whimsical to her eye.

  Six chairs in a dramatic black-and-white formed a seating area around an enormous stone fireplace while drapes of a rich, lustrous ruby-red velvet framed floor-to-ceiling windows. A person could get lost in that fireplace. Gwenyth closed her gaping mouth.

  “I told you to wait,” Telus’s voice boomed across the distance separating them.

  “We don’t have all day.” Leo’s face remained impassive, but a muscle twitching in his jaw told Gwenyth of her husband’s fury.

  “Gwenyth and I have things to do. Mother. Father.” He offered his parents a respectful nod.

  Gwenyth studied his parents. Both appeared young, not much older than Leo. Perhaps shifters aged slower than humans. She’d have to ask later.

  His mother rose, as did his father. They were both tall like Leo. Unlike Leo, the garments they wore were of top quality. Gwenyth felt scruffy in her oversized black trews and baggy shirt, both handoffs from Leo.

  “What is so important that you must interrupt our meeting?” Leo’s mother asked. Her chin rose, her nostrils flaring as she glowered at Leo. After her first glance of distaste, she ignored Gwenyth.

  “I’d like to introduce Gwenyth,” Leo said in an even tone. “She is my wife.”

  Leo’s parents stared at him, and his father laughed.

  “Stop joking around, boy. You would have us believe you have married a human?”

  “Gwenyth is my beloved wife,” Leo repeated. “Telus knows this. Gwenyth told him the day he delivered your summons. Did he not divulge this information? You never gave me a chance to tell you about Gwenyth. As you can see, we are married.” He lifted Gwenyth’s hand to show them the ring he’d made himself and gifted to her to celebrate their marriage.

  “You gave her a Marquess ring?” his mother demanded, her voice edging toward shrill.

  “My Gwenyth is worth the price of an expensive ring,” Leo replied. “She deserves much more.”

  “How could you afford a ring of this quality?” his father scoffed.

  The frown broke on his mother’s face. “It’s a fake,” she crowed.

  Anger built in Gwenyth. She hadn’t believed his parents were as awful as he’d described, but they were worse. She glanced at Leo but had trouble reading him. Although, he’d stiffened at the insult.

  “I assure you this is a Marquess. I have the paperwork for the piece,” Leo stated.

  “Marriage to a human is impossible,” his mother snapped. “We dragons do not marry humans. We take them and use them as they have destroyed us in the past. We fuck them for pleasure, but we do not join them in matrimony. Prove you’re married.”

  “Don’t bother,” his father said in a snooty voice. “I don’t care what you say. The betrothal to Nandag will proceed, and that is an end to it. Nan and her people arrive tomorrow to sign the official contract. The wedding will take place on the following weekend.”

  Gwenyth frowned. Leo had told her the betrothal and the marriage took up to a year. This seemed uncommonly quick. What was the hurry?

  Leo was correct to suspect his parents’ actions. Their plan reeked to high heavens.

  “I am legally married to Gwenyth. I love her and do not wish to have another wife. Gwenyth is my other half.”

  His father puffed up, his shoulders expanding until his garments strained at the seams. A ring of smoke exited his flared nostrils. “The old tales of soulmates are rubbish. There is no such thing as a soulmate. I thought we knocked that nonsense out of you years ago.”

  Gwenyth had difficulty standing her ground and masking the fear that flashed through her. Leo’s parents were scary. Their uncaring attitudes didn’t signal reasonable or a willingness to listen to a convincing argument.

  “This is not a discussion, Leonidas,” his mother snapped. “We’re not stupid. You married this human to place a barrier in our way. You have always been a tiresome child. Nothing like your brothers.”

  “Why must Leo marry Nan, The Strongminded?” Gwenyth blurted. “Why can’t one of his older brothers get betrothed to her?”

  “You dare to speak to our rulers?” Telus thundered.

  Gwenyth froze, wishing she hadn’t inserted herself into the conversation. She quivered, and Leo placed his arm around her waist. He drew her closer until their bodies touched. She took comfort from his proximity and pressed her lips together, so she didn’t repeat her mistake.

  “Gwenyth raises an excellent point. None of my older brothers are wed. Offer one of them as a match with Nan. Why does it have to be me?”

  “Tudoarreo, The Dragon Lord, and Qille, The Taker of Life, do not answer to you,” Telus thundered. “They are the absolute power in this castle, and your betrothal is their choice to make.”

  Leo’s mother gave a contemptuous sniff. “Telus has the right of it. We make the decisions. Everyone follows our rules.”

  “I do not live here,” Leo snapped. Neither his parents nor Telus deflated Leo’s courage. “I have not lived at the castle for years.”

  “No, you prefer to dig in the dirt, despite your advantages,” his father snarled. “You bring shame to our clan. Others laugh at your common activities. But runt, in this, you will follow our directive. You will sign the betrothal papers and you will marry Nan, The Strongminded. The deal is struck, and nothing you do or say will make me change my mind. Are you clear?”

  “Tell me why it must be me,” Leo said, his voice cold and unfriendly. “You and Mother never p
ay me any mind unless you want something. Why must I align myself with Nan? Does her clan have something over you?” He pinned his parents with a determined gaze.

  Gwenyth felt the exact moment when something clicked for him. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he seemed to go on alert.

  “What have my brothers done? Which one has created trouble? You can’t expect me to clean up the mess.”

  “The reasons are none of your concern,” his father declared with regal hauteur. “You will follow our orders. Nan is a reasonable female. You can keep your human pet, although how you can bear to sully yourself with her. A weakling, she brings no advantages to your connection.”

  Indignation rose in Gwenyth. She might be human, but she was not weak. She was decent and hardworking and never shirked her responsibilities. A protestation struggled for release, but she bit her bottom lip to keep her words restrained. It was best to remain silent since she had no knowledge of castle life. The customs and hierarchy of dragons were beyond her. Although Leo had shared a little, there hadn’t been enough time for in-depth explanations.

  “Come, Gwenyth,” Leo murmured.

  “Nan arrives on the morrow,” his mother called after them. “You will attend the welcoming ball.”

  Leo ignored his mother and kept walking. His arm was a heavy band around Gwenyth’s waist, his inner tension communicating his anger at his parents. He hustled her from the room and down another passage she hadn’t noticed earlier before he opened a door and urged her inside.

  “Leo, this isn’t—”

  “Shush.” Leo strode to a double door that led to a balcony. “We’ll talk once we get outside and are among friends. I don’t trust anyone here.”

  She nodded her compliance.

  Leo disrobed and handed her his clothes. “Hold these. It’s a quick hop to the battlefield.”

  She watched in fascination while Leo shifted. The transformation happened so fast she didn’t get to appreciate his strong physique. His muscles. A shiver swept her and this time it had nothing to do with fear. She adored Leo. And after their wonderful time at the beach, she lusted after his powerful body.

  Leo turned to face her, and a grin—no, a smirk—settled into place on his dragon features.