“Stow it,” she grumbled.
“I think you look pretty,” Salena said.
“You stow it too,” Payton grumbled. “I look like a princess.”
“You are a princess,” Grier pointed out. “What’s the occasion?”
“Skipped out on a banquet and didn’t tell anyone where I was off to. Going to be in trouble. I find my father’s temper is softened if I don’t look like one of his soldiers.” Payton shrugged. “He thinks he’s tough, but he’s all roar and no bite.”
“Your father is a general?” Salena asked.
“Prince Falke of the Var, commander of the armies,” Payton answered, rounding her eyes as if that was supposed to scare people but didn’t.
“Huh.” Salena slowly nodded her head. “That explains a lot.”
Grier didn’t bother to suppress his amusement. “Doesn’t it, though?”
“What about your mother?” Salena asked.
“Captain Sam, space pirate and troublemaker,” Payton said with pride before shrugging. “Or she used to be. Now she’s,” the princess threw her voice into a delicate whisper, “Princess Samantha of the Var, former troublemaker.”
“I like your mother,” Grier defended. “She’s fun.”
“I know. Me too. She’s amazing. I’m just in a grumpy mood.” Payton held out the circlet to Salena. “Can you figure this out and do something girly to my hair, please? I want to get the next three hours of lecturing over with.”
“You might want to rub the dirt off your cheek,” Grier said.
Payton grimaced and rubbed her face.
“Don’t listen to him. There is barely any. Grier, stop being a boy,” Salena scolded him. “Payton, you’re beautiful.”
“Thanks, Salena.” Payton arched a brow at him and smirked as if he were a kid who’d just gotten in trouble.
Grier watched as Salena combed her fingers through Payton’s hair, straightening it before lifting a portion to loop over the circlet. The metal ring lay across Payton’s forehead and was held in place by the layer of hair.
Salena smiled, giving Payton’s locks a few more adjustments. “There. Perfect.”
When Salena looked at him expectantly, Grier found himself saying, “You look very pretty, Payton.”
“And I know it’s true because you can’t lie around my new friend,” Payton said, hugging Salena’s shoulders as both women faced him.
Salena’s expression fell at the woman’s words. It was a subtle shift of her features, but he saw it. Payton didn’t seem to notice. He wondered if she was missing her sisters.
“What else do you like about me, Grier?” Payton asked, batting her lashes.
“You’re a loyal friend and a good fighter,” he said.
“I’ll take it!” She gave Salena a little squeeze. “You look exhausted, new friend. Let’s sneak you two into the palace, where you can sleep without the threat of someone darting you in the ass. No one will bother you once you’re in a guest suite.”
“So, Siren’s not up and running?” Salena teased. “I heard she liked to zap people.”
Payton laughed and led the way toward a back entrance to the palace, keeping parallel to the Var city. “Grier told you about that? Yeah, my uncle Jarek is hilarious. He has the best stories from his time in space. It’s too bad you won’t be here long enough to meet his old crew. Actually, it’s some of his crew and some of my mother’s old crew. Anyway, they visit every few years. Those are some wild parties. Since I was a little girl, I have secretly wished to stow away on their ship and go with them to space.”
“From what I’ve seen of space, it sounds a lot more glamorous than it is.” Salena limped a little as she stepped, and Grier slipped his arm under her elbow for support to take the weight off her ankle. She nodded her thanks. “Most of the time it’s endless and boring, with a few stops along the way at questionable fueling docks that look like they’re about to be rusted out of the sky. When you do land on a planet, the locals tend to look at you like you’re a carrier of the yellow plague come to wipe them out. Which is how many of them secretly think, and they have no problem telling me, thanks to my ever-so-wonderful gift. The only place that didn’t seem to care was Torgan, well at least until my nearness started interfering in some of their dealings.”
“I’ve heard about that. The black-market planet,” Payton said, sounding jealous of Salena’s adventures more than deterred. “My mother kidnapped my father when he was shifted into his tiger form and tried to sell him on Torgan.”
“Yeah,” Salena drawled. “Not such a great place when criminals, pirates, and traders start confessing secrets. I barely made it off the planet alive.”
“I can see how that wouldn’t be fun,” Payton admitted.
“Why were you there?” Grier asked.
Salena sighed. “I was looking for my sisters. I heard a rumor they’d been brought there to be traded. It was a dead end. No one knew anything about them and, believe me, I asked. It’s like they disappeared. I think that is where the Federation first discovered who I am. I wasn’t very subtle.”
Grier wished it was within his power to find Piera and Fiora for her. He would do anything to make her happy. If there were a way, he would make it happen. Between both kingdoms, they had a lot of space contacts. One of the old-timers, Lochlann, had been part of Prince Jarek’s crew in his younger days and would still have intergalactic connections. Though he didn’t remember the details, there was some story about how Lochlann found one of his cousins’ sisters…or something. It was worth asking about.
The sound of cat-shifters in exercise grew increasingly louder the closer they walked. Salena stiffened at a roar.
“It’s just the palace guard in training,” Payton said. “Nothing to be afraid of. We’re going to walk close to the field to use the side entrance. There should only be a couple of guards around there. Just walk like you belong with me and they probably won’t bother you.”
Salena nodded at Payton’s back and glanced around. Her hand lifted to where he held her arm and she grabbed hold of him. He felt her jump ever so slightly each time the practice became loud and aggressive.
“See.” Payton pointed to a courtyard where a variety of big cats had lined up in rows. The guards had stripped out of their clothing and rows of boots stood beside piles of discarded tunics and pants to border the practice area.
Salena stopped to watch.
At first it was a rumble that shook the ground and raised the hairs on the back of her neck. And then the rumble seemed to recede, only for a roar to blast her in the face, pulling her hair back and stretching her skin. She was stunned momentarily, and when she’d managed to shake it off, she saw the clowder of big cats coming toward her like a troupe of feline acrobats moving swiftly in unison, creating a stunning cascading pattern of leaps and rolls until the field was a living surface of agility and strength.
“It’s beautiful,” Salena whispered.
“They’ll be at it for hours,” Payton said. “Shifter formations help build muscle memory for battles. My father says repetition is key.”
“Do you have many battles?” Salena asked.
Payton glanced at Grier.
“It’s always wise to be prepared. Both dragons and cats have been ramping up their training programs since the Federation’s arrival,” Grier answered.
Salena nodded. “Smart.”
“Come on,” Payton urged. “If they see his dragon highness entering the palace, this will turn into a dignitary function faster than you can say get me the hell out of here.”
“Your home is…” Salena looked up the side of the castle toward the sky. “The detail is…”
“Queen Lyssa called the tile work and archway patterns Morrican? Montycam? Moroccan style? Something like that. I can’t remember for sure. It reminded her of Old Earth somehow. My ancestors were obsessed with inlaid tiles and symmetrical patterns. They’re everywhere. They even hid the computer consuls behind them. It’s looked like this for such
a long time that I think everyone is afraid of suggesting renovations for fear of disrespecting our cultural history.”
“I think it’s lovely,” Salena said.
“I suppose,” Payton dismissed. She walked a little faster. “Greetings, palace protectors, fine day, isn’t it?”
Two stoic men merely glanced at her.
Payton patted both of their arms as she passed by. “Nice chatting with you, as always.”
The palace door was open to let in a breeze. Payton led them through the archway into the hall. The tile work she’d mentioned lined both sides of the hallway in exquisite patterns of blue, red, orange, green and gold. Each doorway they passed had been hand-carved along the frame, perfect down to the last millimeter of design.
“Oh, I should warn you,” Payton said as she kept walking. “You saw the streets outside? How they’re all haphazard and make no sense?”
“Yes,” Salena said.
“It’s like that inside the palace too, only worse. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll get lost fast. The mainframe computer has been programmed into each room and inner courtyard, but if I enter you into the database to find your way around, the elders will be alerted, and they’ll make a fuss over visitors.” Payton chuckled. “Just another thing from the old days they don’t want to renovate.”
“The dragon palace is the same in that regard,” Grier said.
“That it is,” Payton agreed.
“They made half the hallways go to dead ends, with doors along the way that don’t all open,” Grier told Salena.
“It probably deters people from storming the palaces,” Salena reasoned. “Makes sense.”
“This way.” Payton turned a corner and stopped at a door. She pressed her ear to it and lifted her hand for quiet. After a few moments, she opened it and ushered them inside. A medical booth had been set up in the small chamber, along with a couple of chairs. She grabbed a short gown off the hook on the wall. “Put this on and climb in. Let’s do something about that ankle.”
Salena looked at Grier and he nodded that she should. He turned his back to give her privacy as she changed into the medical gown. Payton took a handheld from a hook on the wall and went to heal the punctures Grier received during the fight.
“Will it hurt?” Salena asked.
“Have you never been in a medical booth before?” Grier turned as she slid into the narrow opening between two large panels. The light material clung to her. It was more seductive than if she’d been naked. She glanced at him and shook her head in denial. Her body couldn’t rotate now that she was between the panels, and he had a full view of her curves.
“You’re going to feel something clamp your ankle and the bed is going to recline. Just lie still and relax,” Payton instructed as she went to the control panel. “Let the lasers do the rest.”
“At worse, you’ll feel an injection for medicine,” Grier said. “The lasers will feel warm.”
Payton nodded, tensing as the unit began to recline. It stopped when she lay at an angle and started its preliminary scans.
Grier moved closer to the panel and whispered, “Do a full scan, would you?”
Payton nodded. “Already on it.”
“On what?” Salena asked. “I can’t hear.”
“Body scan,” Payton said.
“Oh.” Salena had her eyes closed when he leaned to look at her face. Lasers ran along her body, concentrating on areas where they found something of medical concern.
“You should feel heat on your ankle now as it heals,” Payton said.
“Okay,” Salena answered, a little loudly. She held her body rigid and kept her eyes closed.
Payton lifted her hand and motioned him back to the console. She pointed at the image the unit had made of Salena’s form. It was only a 3D outline, but it still caused his stomach to tighten with a reminder of how his body had been denied the one thing it craved.
Payton elbowed him to get his attention off Salena’s form and pointed at the readings next to the picture. Grier frowned and leaned forward to read. He pushed a button to highlight the notations on her image. Her body showed signs of long-term malnourishment, healed fractures, and a foreign object lodged in her upper thigh.
He shared a look with Payton and nodded. The woman ordered the machine to repair the old fractures better than they’d mended on their own, and to analyze the object in Salena’s thigh.
Grier went to check on her. “Salena, how are you?”
“It tickles—oh, ow!” Salena’s eyes widened, and she stiffened.
“Payton.” Grier lifted his arm to command Payton to stop.
“Relax,” Payton dismissed. “It’s an injection to balance her levels.”
“In my backside,” Salena grumbled. “A little warning next time would be nice.”
“Incoming, second hemisphere,” Payton announced.
Salena tensed, holding her breath until the shot was over. “Does it normally take this long to fix an ankle?”
“No,” Grier and Payton answered at the same time.
“My ankle feels better. Can I get out now?” Salena questioned. Her hand reached from inside the booth and waved in the air.
“No,” Grier and Payton repeated in unison.
“What are you doing?” Salena drew her arm back in and the panel vibrated as if she’d pushed on it.
“We’re trying to see what’s embedded in your leg,” Payton answered. “It doesn’t appear to be a tracker.”
“My leg?” Salena repeated, clearly confused. “What’s wrong with my—wait, you can see that?”
“You know what it is?” Grier joined her, not wanting her to be scared, but when he looked at her, she seemed more amused than anything.
“Pottery,” she said.
“Why do you have pottery in your leg?” Payton asked.
“My sisters and I were playing around by the kilns and they accidentally bumped me into a stack of pots.” Salena leaned her head back. “There were shards everywhere. My leg took a long time to heal. I always thought I felt something in there, but my father said it was scar tissue.”
Payton leaned on his arm to look at Salena. “You want it?”
“You can get it out?” she asked.
“Sure. Standby.” Payton pushed away from him and went back to the console. “Switching to surgery function.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Grier asked.
“It’s pushing buttons. Besides, I’ve always wanted to try this.” Payton lifted her finger and said. “Three. Two. One.” She tapped the button. “And commence numbing.”
Grier knelt, watching to make sure nothing went wrong. The position gave him an all-too-perfect view of her upper thighs. If he weren’t worried about her, he wouldn’t have been able to look away. A needle gave Salena a series of injections before a laser created a small cut. He balled his hand into fists. He’d seen bloody wounds in battle, but this was different. This was Salena.
She held her leg still, lifting her head once to peek down. Seeing a retractor coming toward her, she closed her eyes and turned her head away. Blood ran down her leg and a decontaminating laser began cleaning it as the surgery progressed.
“Retrieving pottery.” Payton came around to watch over his head. “That is astounding.”
The retractors pulled a dark shard from Salena’s leg and disappeared into the side panel.
“Salena?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Is it almost done?” she answered.
“Oh, yeah, hold on.” Payton hurried back to the console. “Closing the incision.”
Salena’s thigh lit up as the booth worked to heal the wound.
“It’s warm,” she said.
“Almost done,” Payton answered.
When it was over, it appeared like nothing had happened.
“And done,” Payton announced. “My first surgery was a success.”
Salena reached down the best she could in the enclosed space to feel her leg. “I can’t
feel the bump that was there.”
“That’s because I’m an amazing surgeon,” Payton announced. She went behind the panel. “There should be a tray-drawer-something around here somewhere.”
As Payton searched behind the panel, Grier stood and reached his hand inside the unit to touch her cheek. Tears had entered her eyes, and he brushed his thumb beneath one to keep it from falling.
“Where do you hurt?” he asked. It was over, and she shouldn’t be feeling any pain.
“In my heart,” she whispered. “I miss my family.”
He nodded, knowing there was nothing he could say to make that ache go away. He could not envisage losing all his family, but he imagined it was much like the idea of losing Salena. The ache he felt with that thought flowed through him as he gazed into her eyes. He wanted to take away every reason she had to leave. He wanted to be the reason she stayed.
“I love you,” he whispered.
At that her eyes closed, and she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” He let her cheek go and stepped back. “Payton, are you finished?”
“Got it!” Payton appeared from behind the booth holding her prize. The broken shard was blue with a black glaze.
“Let me out.” Salena held out her hand for the pottery piece. Payton handed it over and went back to the controls. Salena turned the shard in her fingers as she waited to be set free.
Grier turned his back, politely giving her privacy to change. Though, if he were honest, it was more for him than for her. He could not take much more of his bubbling desires. He was afraid the animal inside him would pounce if allowed to take over. That could never be permitted to happen. He would never harm Salena or do anything that wasn’t her will.
“Grier,” Payton whispered to get his attention. When he looked up at her, she gestured that he should turn around.
Salena had gone to her knees on the floor, still wearing the medical gown. She stared at the pottery in her shaking hands.
“Payton, could you help her with the gown?” Grier asked.
Dragon Prince Page 15
