by Avril Sabine
“Tempting.”
Amber’s eyes closed as their lips met and she could have throttled Crystal when she burst back into the room minutes later. Kade grinned down at her and then leaned back so he could offer her a hand up. Amber reluctantly took it, letting him pull her to her feet.
Kade’s lips brushed her ear, his words quieter than a whisper. “You can mess with my memory later.”
Amber couldn’t resist a smile as he moved back, his eyes meeting hers. She nodded before she walked towards Crystal who waited impatiently.
“I can’t leave you two alone for a minute without you finding the nearest bed. Or not even bothering with one.” Crystal shook her head in mock disapproval.
“What did Flinn say?” Kade asked.
“Stop carrying that bloody rock around.”
“About you joining us for a picnic,” Kade prompted.
“That was it. I said I was going on a picnic with you and he just growled at me and said that.”
Amber shook her head. Flinn was hard to understand sometimes. Well, maybe most of the time. They stepped out into the courtyard as Maira landed, a strange dragon with her. The dragon became a tall gangly man with black hair and a narrow, pointed face. He stepped forward, holding out an envelope to Kade.
Maira continued to stand where she’d landed. “I intercepted the messenger on my way in from my patrol, but he wouldn’t let me deliver the letters. Said he needed to hand them over in person.”
“You were out all night?” Amber asked.
Maira shook her head. Her eyes watched Kade as he opened the letter. “We swapped over every three hours.” She took a step forward. “How long does it take to read a letter?”
The messenger withdrew another two envelopes. “I also need to see Shannon and Flinn.”
Kade gestured towards a man who entered the courtyard.
“If you will follow me, sir.” The man held the door open and waited for the messenger to precede him.
“You’re deliberately doing this, aren’t you?” Maira tried to read the letter over Kade’s shoulder but he closed it with a smile. The smile became a grin and he handed the letter to Maira. She squealed when she read it. “Our share of the hoard is a hundred thousand? Sweet!”
“How many shares are there?” Amber asked.
“Three. One for each Gold Dragon,” Kade said.
“Do I get to pick out a pretty rock too?” Maira’s eyes slid towards Crystal and then back to Kade, her smile pure mischief.
Kade took the letter from her and tucked it back in the envelope. He turned to Amber. “Do you want a souvenir from your first hoard?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something little that I could wear on a necklace.” Amber shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Rian chose that moment to lead two saddled horses with bulging saddlebags into the courtyard. He handed the reins of one horse to Kade and led the other to Crystal. She reached up to pat the horse.
“You know, just because I love horses, it doesn’t mean I can ride them.” Crystal continued to stroke the horse.
“I can.” Rian swung up on the horse and held out a hand to Crystal. He helped her swing up behind him.
Kade also mounted, waiting for Amber to join him. When she continued to stare up at him, he grinned. “You could walk if you want.”
Amber sighed, reaching for his hand. She tried to smother the shriek that escaped and clung to Kade once she was seated. Her arms tightened around him as they started to move off. “This doesn’t feel safe.”
Kade laughed. “This from the girl who rides dragons with no parachute.”
“Yeah, I know. But a horse just doesn’t feel as steady. Besides, it doesn’t understand me.”
“How do you know? Have you tried talking to her?”
“Idiot,” Amber muttered.
“Hold on.” Kade urged the horse forward and they broke into a slow canter. Soon they were galloping across the rolling countryside, following a stream to where it forked off into a shady glade, becoming a little nosier as it tumbled over rocks.
Kade noticed Amber’s smile when he helped her down. “Did you like it after all?”
“I like going fast. Slow just made me feel like I was going to slide right off.”
Hearing her, Crystal came to stand beside Amber, her arm going around her waist. “How am I ever going to manage to return home after this holiday? It’s going to kill me. I’ve actually been thinking of quitting school early.”
“Crystal! No! What about uni?”
“Oh, I’m not going.”
“What are you going to do instead?” Amber dropped down onto the blanket Rian spread in front of them.
Crystal joined her, tucking her legs under herself. “Help Flinn.” She grinned. “I’ve already warned him that if he doesn’t treat me right that I bet there’s more than a thousand other Gold Dragons who’d love my help.”
“Probably way more than a thousand,” Amber said.
“And I know you’d come looking for me if I seemed to drop out of existence.”
“Of course I would.” Amber glanced towards Kade and Rian who leaned against trees not far from them.
“We all would,” Kade said.
“See. I’ll be fine. But Flinn keeps harping on about me finishing year twelve since he has to. I tried to point out that not everyone does finish it, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Well, whatever happens, I’ll look out for you.” Amber grinned. “You and your pretty rock.”
Crystal grinned back. “I know, isn’t it just awesome?”
Amber couldn’t help laughing. “Can you imagine what your parents will say if they find it?”
“I’ll tell them Flinn gave it to me.” Her eyes danced with suppressed laughter. “And you can bet they won’t be thinking saintly thoughts.”
Amber’s reply was interrupted by the sound of dragon wings. She turned to look up into the sky. A large blue and silver dragon, flanked by two other dragons, flew down. A look towards Kade and Rian showed that Ronan was expected.
Her first thought was to rise to her feet, but then decided it was better to remain relaxed. “Ronan, so nice of you to join our picnic. Although your son is a bit slack at serving.” She sent a pointed looked towards Rian who brought one of the saddlebags over and started to unpack food and drinks. It would have been nice if they’d warned her Ronan was joining them. She was definitely going to have to say something about that to Kade later.
“It was your choice to keep him. If you get sick of him you can always send him back to me to deal with.” Ronan stretched out on the edge of the picnic blanket, picking up an apple.
“He’s a bit of a diamond in the rough.” Amber shrugged slightly. “Oh well, I guess they do say diamonds are forever.”
Ronan smiled. “Nice turn of phrase. But I wouldn’t start getting too cocky. I don’t think you’re up to playing with the grown ups yet.”
“What choice do I have?”
“A good point.” Ronan took a bite from the apple.
“Other than looking for a feed, was there a reason you decided to join us today?” Amber tried to keep her words light, but curiosity was eating away at her.
Ronan turned to Crystal. “How many people can you see, including yourself?”
Crystal looked around. “Seven.”
Ronan nodded before his gaze returned to Amber. “The proof is authentic.”
“What’s wrong with you people? Paili is meant to be Kiani’s ally. Someone really needs to teach all of you what that means.” Amber wanted to pace. Instead she managed to stay on the blanket.
“Don’t try and change our society. It won’t work. You’ll just end up disillusioned and then dead.” Ronan tossed the apple core into the trees. He looked over to Kade. “Kiani needs to be informed. Quietly. And we need to make our alliance a little more public.”
Kade nodded. “I’ll invite my parents and some of my family to dine with us tomorrow night. We should know by then how our test went.
That’ll make a good excuse for the meal. Celebration or commiseration, either will do. Did you wish to join us or wait until Amber’s party?”
Ronan tapped his finger on his chin. “I’ll wait. I think that’ll make a better impression. Surely you can keep her safe for six more days.”
“That might be best. We don’t want to risk Paili wondering what we might have learned by making too many changes too quickly,” Kade said.
Amber tried not to ask, but she couldn’t resist. “What have you done with Daray?”
“He’s still where you last saw him.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
“You can’t have him.”
She mightn’t have asked, but she’d considered it. “I didn’t ask for him.”
“Amber, he’s your enemy.” Ronan’s voice was filled with exaggerated patience.
“I know that.” Maybe. “What are you going to do with him?”
Ronan rose to his feet. “I’ll see you at your party.”
“Ronan-”
“It’s not up for discussion.” He smiled. “Will you save a dance for an old man?”
“Can you dance?”
“A waltz.” Ronan sprang into the air as he turned into a dragon and was soon flanked by his warriors as he flew away.
Amber’s mouth dropped open. “I can’t waltz. Don’t tell me that’s the only dance you do at your parties.”
Kade grinned. “No, we do the minuet too.”
“I don’t even know what the hell that is.”
“Please tell me you’re joking,” Crystal said. “I don’t know what it is either.”
“Lucky there’s plenty of time for dance lessons then.” Kade joined them on the blanket, helping himself to a slice of cake as he ignored both expressions of shock.
Chapter Eleven
Amber watched as Kiani greeted Kade and congratulated him on passing yet another test. She handed him an envelope that he pocketed.
Amber glanced towards Maira who stood near her. “What was that?”
“A Gold Dragon’s clan gives them fifty thousand each time they pass a test.”
“Kade has one hundred and fifty thousand dollars from that one test?” Amber hoped the shock didn’t show on her face.
“Nah. He’ll give half of that fifty to Flinn since he doesn’t have a clan. Everyone must be paid.”
Amber started to shake her head, but stopped in time. “What I really want to know is when he’s going to give her the proof about Paili.”
“He would have already done that.”
“When?”
“When Kiani gave him the cheque.”
“I didn’t see.”
“No one is meant to see, but it’s the most logical time.”
“You dragons just like to make things complicated.”
Maira smiled. “We love complications. Not to mention intrigue, dramas and destruction.”
Amber turned towards Maira, startled. “Destruction?”
“Ask your warrior what his tat means.”
Amber glanced towards Rian who stood a couple of paces behind her. “What does your tattoo mean?”
“Creation, preservation, destruction.”
“That makes no sense.”
“They’re all part of each other.”
“Great, now we’re going to have a Yoda moment. I’m still not understanding here.”
Kiani stopped in front of her. “Amber. It is lovely to see you again.”
Amber forced herself to smile pleasantly and not growl in annoyance at the interruption. She couldn’t think of a single word to say.
“How are you enjoying staying on our lands?”
She shrugged. “It’s very green.”
“Yes, I guess that’s something you’d notice after living in your dry country,” Kiani said.
“What the hell am I meant to say to her?” Amber appealed to Maira.
Maira smiled at Kiani. “It looks like everyone is starting to make their way to the dining room. Shall we?”
Kiani’s gaze was drawn around the room. “Yes, of course.” She led the way to the dining room.
Kade waited by the door for Amber and guided her to where she was to sit. The table was crowded with not only some of Kade’s immediate family, but also some of their important allies. Amber was annoyed to see one of those people was Paili.
“Stop looking at Paili,” Rian warned.
“She shouldn’t be here.” Amber stared at the plate of food that was placed in front of her.
“We can keep an eye on what she is doing while she is here,” Rian said.
“I didn’t realise it was going to be such a large dinner party.” Amber glanced towards Kade as he started to eat his food. She picked up her cutlery and moved her food around, trying to figure out what it was. It appeared to be some type of stir fry drowned in a dark sauce. It suddenly occurred to her to ask, “Is this what my birthday party is going to be like?”
“Eat your dinner, Amber. People will wonder what the problem is if you do not at least try it,” Rian said.
Amber took a small mouthful and finding it bearable had a little more. She looked across the table when she heard Crystal’s laughter. She watched Crystal chat to the young man beside her, asking a million questions and totally at ease with her surroundings. Amber couldn’t understand how Crystal could forget all their problems and just enjoy herself. She wanted to do something, not sit around and wait for someone else to make a move. She wanted to drag Kiani from the table and point at Paili and demand to know what Kiani was going to do. And if she planned to do nothing, she wanted to deal with it. Amber barely managed to stop herself from looking in Paili’s direction again.
She could now picture the woman without even looking. Paili was only a couple of inches off six foot, black hair piled on her head and eyes nearly as dark. Jewels decorated her throat, wrists and ears ensuring everyone could see her clan was wealthy. What had surprised Amber the most was that Paili, like the rest of the dragons at the dinner party, wore well known designer labels from her world. She was glad she’d given in to Maira’s choice of dress for her to wear this evening, but as always, she wore figure hugging dragon-leather shorts and top underneath her dress. There was no way she wanted to end up naked if she turned into an animal and then became human again.
“What time is it?” Amber asked Rian.
“The night is still young. Try and talk to someone. It is meant to be a social event,” Rian said.
Amber couldn’t resist a look in Paili’s direction. “Siting down to eat with your enemies is considered a social event? Do you think knocking Paili flat would end the night sooner?”
“You are not much of a pacifist, are you?” Rian asked.
“I said I wanted peace, not that I was incapable of standing up for myself.” Amber bit back a sigh and made an attempt at eating some more of her dinner. How long could they draw this process out?
Amber soon found out they could draw the process out a very long time. It was after midnight when she finally managed to escape to Kade’s room. She discarded her dress in a puddle on the floor and dropped onto the bed to stare at the ceiling. “I never want to endure another one of those meals. Please tell me I don’t have to.”
Kade closed the door behind him and looked down at her. “It isn’t often I need to attend them.”
“Then please go without me next time. I’m amazed I didn’t fall asleep in my dinner.”
Kade laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t. The first thought everyone would have had would be poison. It would have caused a panic.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Kade shook his head. “Not at all.”
Amber groaned. “I’m never going to figure your world out.” She started to say something when a woman entered the room and set up a solid looking fold out bed near the door, but she was too tired to get into an argument with Rian about where he was going to sleep. At least it was better than a mattress on the floor.
> * * *
Amber was still thinking the same thing five nights later as Maira and Crystal helped her get ready for her party. It was the first time she’d used her bedroom. “What do you mean nothing has been done about Paili yet? And why does she have to be at my party?”
“Because these things take time and we don’t want her to be suspicious. She’ll already be wary when she sees Ronan arrive. We need to keep everything else as normal as possible,” Maira said.
“Tell me again how many people are going to be here?”
“Thousands,” Crystal interrupted. “I just can’t wait to go down there. A ballroom! You’re having your birthday in an actual ballroom. I really, really want to come back here in the September school holidays for my birthday. You should see how they’ve decorated the place. I can’t wait to show you.”
Amber groaned. “Great. Tons of people to watch me trip over my feet when I try and do those stupid old time dances.”
Kade entered the room in time to hear Amber’s complaint. He laughed. “You aren’t that bad. Besides, it’s only for the first part of the night. It’s expected.”
Amber turned to face him. “Your world has too many expectations.” She fingered the topaz that hung at her neck. A souvenir from her first hoard, the gold chain a gift from Kade for her birthday. She planned to tell her family it was from all of them. “Do we really have to go down to the ballroom?” She slid her hands up the front of Kade’s suit jacket.
“You look beautiful.” Kade’s lips met hers.
For several moments Amber forgot about the crowd waiting to help her celebrate her birthday. When she pulled away it was to find Maira and Crystal had already left. Rian as usual was nearby. “Where did they go?”
“They will be in the ballroom. It is time for you to make an entrance.” Rian held the bedroom door open.
Amber eyed the doorway as if it led to a pit of snakes. “When you said birthday party, I didn’t think it was going to be anything like this. Most kids I know celebrate their seventeenth with some smuggled alcohol and a stereo turned up loud enough to annoy the neighbours.”
“I want my world to see you’re important. This is how we do things.” Kade grinned. “If you want your noisy, drunken party we can have it Saturday at my house.”
