Rex (Dakota Kekoa Book 2)

by Rita Stradling

  Lani stared at me, her eyes narrowing. She tilted her head. “Do I know you? You seem very familiar somehow…”

  Though my stomach churned and my heart felt as if it might beat out of my chest, I forced myself to examine her face. “Do you volunteer at Sunny Hills Elderly Care Center?” I knew she did, Mele had griped more than once about being forced to go along.

  Lani stared for another second before a smile moved across her face. “That must be it. Mrs.—”

  “Alexander,” I said.

  Her demeanor shifted, her shoulders came down and her body seemed to relax. “That’s it,” she gave my back a little rub that was just a touch patronizing. “I’m sorry for the confusion, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, but this exhibition is not open to the public right now. If you’ll just follow me?” She grabbed the back of Wyvern’s wheelchair and started pushing him toward the front.

  Wyvern hung his head low. If I hadn’t known for a fact it was him, I’d have doubted it myself.

  Walking to the front of the exhibit, I saw the guard who had originally turned us away. He was turned to the other guard and had not seen us yet. I was beginning a prayer in my head to whatever human or dragon gods who could hear me that this guy wouldn’t turn around, when he did exactly that.

  He looked straight at Wyvern, a look of recognition passing over his face. An amused grin passed over his face and he shook his head. With a big smile he said, “You guys get a little lost?”

  “Yeah, we hoped it was open,” Wyvern grumbled.

  The guy only chuckled, patting Wyvern on the shoulder. “No harm, no harm. Just don’t do it again. You two have a good time.”

  Lani stopped by the other guards and released Wyvern’s wheelchair. She patted me on the back and said, “I’ll see you at Sunny Hills, Mrs. Alexander. Stay out of the roped off areas in the future, please.”

  I didn’t breathe normally until we were at the front desk and accepting Wyvern’s phone from Honua. As we walked under the caged Ohia tree, I could not scrub my mind of the image of that field of colorful and contorted dead dragon bodies.

  I had thought I was coming for the answer to who those people with the symbol tattooed on their backs were. Instead I got a completely different answer. An answer that chilled me to my core.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You two want anything else?” the waitress asked, looking between Wyvern and me.

  “No, I think that’ll be all,” I said.

  “Great. Oh and just so you know, we offer a senior discount here, so I’ll automatically deduct that from your meal.” She gave us another grin and walked away.

  “See, another advantage to going out like this,” I said to Wyvern.

  He gave me a skeptical look. He looked very much like a grumpy old man. “This wasn’t exactly what I was envisioning when I said I wanted to take you to dinner.”

  “What? I love pizza. How can you beat pizza?” I said.

  “And this?” he pointed to our faces.

  I shrugged. “No one will recognize us.”

  I had the moment of inspiration when the driver dropped us back off at the care center. We had donated the wheelchair to the nursing home and headed to the car when the idea of not going home to change hit me. The prospect of going on a ‘not-date’ with Wyvern when he looked like this was exponentially less scary than when he looked like, well, like he usually did.

  Part of me just wanted him to spit ‘what we needed to talk about’ out. The other part, the dominant part, let the silence drag on between us. I knew that there were a lot of other more important things we needed to discuss. Not least was that the people who had orchestrated the conflict between my family and the Oceania Regina had the painting—The Extinction—on their backs.

  To add on a little not-needed tension, these were also the last few hours that the Oceania dracons had to decide whether they were going to accept Wyvern’s deal.

  However, I could not force myself to break the silence between us.

  I gazed up to find him looking at me, just watching me think, I supposed.

  “Hello,” he said.

  “Hi.”

  He looked away, showing the painted wrinkles on the side of his eye. When he sighed, I knew that I was about to find out what he wanted to say to me whether I was ready or not.

  He said, “I thought about us all the time when we were apart, you know that. Thought about the moments we were together, and how it ended. Also about how you accidently gave me a piece of your soul, and took a piece of mine.”

  I cringed at the mention of that one. It had been an accident, but accident or not, it was still my fault. I couldn’t help remembering how he’d flatly refused to let me try to reverse the soul exchange.

  He turned to look me straight in the eyes. “I regret how I went about things.”

  “What part?” I asked.

  “Tricking you into a contract. I wanted you, I saw the opportunity and I took it. But, knowing you now, I know that by forcing you into a relationship with me, I had also guaranteed that you would want to leave me.”

  “Easy enough to fix,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Do you want out of the contract?”

  My immediate answer was ‘yes,’ but then I really thought about it and glared at him. “If I break our contract now, there’s no way I can save my grandfather. How convenient for you that you’re asking me this right now when I’m depending on our contract to keep me free from Reeves.”

  “I want to propose a new deal,” he said, leaning in toward me with a small grin playing at the corner of his mouth.

  I covered my face with my hands. “Wyvern,” I said with a groan.

  “Just hear me out.”

  I shook my head but what I said was, “Fine, go ahead.”

  “You can end the contract whenever you want. If you say it’s over, it’s over. I will not say a word of protest. You still have to go to all the parties you promised me, but as for the contract, that would be up to you.”

  “In exchange for what?” I asked.

  “I want you to see a tutor,” he said.

  “A tutor in what?” I asked, my eyelids narrowing.

  “In a couple things, but mostly about dracon customs, laws and what it would mean to become the Regina.”

  My throat went instantly dry, and I grabbed my water glass. After gulping down half of it, I set the glass down and said, “I’m seventeen, Wyvern. Also, I’m not marrying you.”

  He climbed out of his booth seat, walked around, and came to sit way too close to for me to comfortably glare at him.

  “Dakota, I’m not asking you to marry me.” He put his arm around my shoulder. “Sophie told me what the Regina had wanted when she arranged a meeting with your family. Do you think she’s the only powerful dracon who will try to acquire you into their family? Sooner or later, someone will trick you as easily as I did.”

  “That’s rich,” I said, looking up at him.

  He gazed down and I immediately realized how close our faces were to each other’s.

  “That’s also why I want you to do it. You’ll never trust me if you think I’m just plotting to trick you again. This is my way of saying that I don’t want to trick you again. I want you to be with me because you want to be.”

  “I think we both know it’s a lot more complicated than that, Wyvern,” I whispered.

  “Maybe, but it’s a start,” he said.

  After a minute of silence, I said, “How long is this tutoring thing?”

  “A year.”

  “Six months.”

  He grinned. “Eight.”

  I grinned back. “Okay, I agree to your terms.”

  “Extra large all meat specialty,” Our waitress said, setting a huge pizza in front of us.

  I startled. “Oh, ah, thank you.”

  She set some plates in front of Wyvern and me. “No problem! And I hope it’s okay to say, but you two are so sweet. I hope me and my husband are that in love when we’re your age.”
>
  Wyvern chuckled. “Thank you. Would you mind taking our picture?” He handed her his phone. “I’m starting to see the appeal of the way we look,” Wyvern whispered in my ear.

  I was sure I looked a little manic when she finally took the shot. When the waitress had again left, Wyvern stared down at his plate and his piece of pizza for a full minute.

  “It just gets less gourmet the longer you wait,” I told him before taking a big bite of my slice.

  He lifted the slice like it might slough its cheese onto him at any second. Tentatively, he took a bite.

  I burst out laughing. “I have never seen you so scared of anything!”

  He chewed slowly, though his look was disapproving, I could tell he was suppressing a grin. “It’s way better than gourmet pizza.”

  I pointed at him. “I told you.”

  He took a big bite.

  “Oh my gods, you’re so happy. Don’t you ever eat junk food?” I asked.

  “No,” he said.

  “I’m sad for you. My body is made up of ninety percent junk food,” I said.

  He leaned away to look me up and down.

  “Really, you’re going to do that right now?” I pointed from my face to his.

  “I’ll be doing that when you actually do look like that,” he said.

  I poked him in the side. “You are so sure of yourself.”

  “I am. We’ll work this out,” he said, as if he was saying ‘I’ll do some extra credit and fix my grades’.

  “How?” I asked.

  “By compromising,” he said.

  “You never compromise,” I said, furrowing my brow.

  “I compromise every day.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Do you?”

  “Yes,” I said automatically, but then I thought about it. Did I?

  “Give me something you want to change in our relationship,” he said.

  “Our friendship,” I corrected.

  “Sure… friendship,” he said, dryly.

  I didn’t need to think about that one. “The spying on me thing, for one.”

  “Be specific,” he said, taking another bite of pizza.

  “All of it. Reading my emails, looking at my medical records, asking other people about details on my life, every way that you find out about me not from my own lips is not going to work.”

  “Only learn about you from you,” he muttered.

  “Yeah, that’s the only way it’s going to work for me. Earlier today, you asked me a personal question for the first time ever. You know all this stuff about me, but it’s not really me, it’s just me on paper. And I didn’t give it to you freely either, you never gave me the chance,” I said.

  His jaw worked and he stared off into space.

  “I can already tell you’re going to say no,” I said.

  He glanced at me. “I’m not going to say no.” He looked away again, staring into nothing. “When I first met you, you treated me in a way that no one ever had before. You were… well, you were blatantly rude and a little crass. Even when I got to know you more, you didn’t filter yourself at all based on my status. I thought at first that that it was mostly because you didn’t know who I was, but after you found out, nothing changed.”

  “So I’m a rude person? Thanks for telling me,” I said.

  He looked up at me. “I don’t think you understand. I’ve never had that before. From the moment I was born I was surrounded by people in a political relationship with me. I had no mother, and only saw my father for a couple days a year. I had an older brother who wanted me dead, a sister who lived in another kingdom, and nephews centuries older than me. All of my friends were selected on their political suitability, and while I had genuine friendships, we were always aware of each other’s status. From my nursemaid to closest friends, every one of them was always so careful not to fall out of my favor. I had the beginning of a relationship with my mother and sister, but it was awkward and we weren’t sure what to make of each other. Then in you walk.”

  He paused to take another bite of pizza and then set it down. After finishing chewing, he exhaled a big breath of air before saying, “But you were also a liar. I had finally, for the first time in my life had something real, but everything you said to me was also a lie. And from the beginning, I knew you were lying. I knew you were lying because even though you showed absolutely nothing on your face, I could smell your fear. I could smell that you were attracted to me while you rejected me.”

  “Gross,” I said.

  “Not to me.” He grinned. “All I wanted was to have one real thing in my life, but I didn’t think you would give it to me. So I took it.”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” I said.

  “I see that now. And I am willing to do this, only get information about you, from you. But I want you to compromise in return.”

  “You are always wheeling and dealing, can’t you just give up something for free?”

  He grinned at me, and it was obvious: no, he never would.

  “Okay, what do you want?” I said.

  “No more lies.”

  I took a really big bite of pizza and chewed it slowly. Finally, I said in a quiet voice, “I don’t owe you all the information on me, Wyvern. You actually know way more than I would have wanted to share.”

  He ran his fingers through his short hair as he talked. “I know, and I don’t need all the information. I just need to know that when you’re saying something, even if you say that it’s none of my business, it’s the truth. It drives me crazy when you lie to my face, and I know you’re lying.”

  Looking up into his eyes, I felt the weight of the promise I would have to make to him. Could I not lie to Wyvern? Did I have a single relationship in my life without lies?

  He touched my chin with his thumb. “I just want one true thing in my life.”

  “I’ll try,” I said. “Lying has been a pretty big part of my survival since… since I can remember.”

  “And likewise finding out information that the people in my life try to hide from me has been essential for my survival. But I’ll try with you,” he said.

  “Do you like your life as the Rex?” I asked, for the first time ever considering he might not.

  “Do you like your life working for your grandfather?” he asked in return.

  “About half of the time, less lately. Now you,” I said.

  “Probably about the same as you. I was never anything else.” He shrugged. “Never knew there was anything else to be.”

  “What would you do if you weren’t the Rex?” I asked.

  Once more, he gazed off, as if he’d never really considered it. Then he grinned. “Fly, as a dragon.”

  “Like live all the time as a dragon?” I asked.

  “Most of it,” he said, grinning. “Not all. I’d also like to play music more, fiddle mostly, but guitar too.”

  “That’s not really what I expected you to say,” I said.

  “What about you? If you’d never met me and your grandfather freed you from your duties, what would you do?”

  “Travel,” I said, grinning. “The furthest I’ve been is on this Island chain. Like, real travel.”

  “I’m not sure I’ve ever done that,” he said.

  “But you’ve been everywhere?” I said.

  “To hundreds of palaces and mansions, but they all just sort of blend after a while.”

  “Well, we could both just blow off everything and combine our dreams. You can be a fiddle playing dragon and carry me around the world. Except traveling in your claws wasn’t my favorite experience ever.” I grimaced.

  “I’ll create a litter for you and carry you around in it.” His eyes seemed to twinkle.

  “I like the sound of that. All right, where are we going first?”

  Wyvern’s phone on the table buzzed.

  I took in a deep breath as he reached for it. When he looked at the screen I said, “Is it them?”

  “Yes,” he said. Then he answered the phone. “Joseph, good
to hear from you.” He paused, then said, “Yes. I’m glad to hear it.” He gave me a thumbs-up.

  “Yes,” I mouthed to the ceiling, pumping my fist in the air.

  “Good, they’ll bring them tonight?” He paused. “We’ll be there. Goodbye.” He set down his phone.

  “Who will bring them?” I asked.

  “Harrison and his brothers, Benjamin and Thomas,” he said. “I know Harrison and Benjamin are devoutly loyal to the Regina, so it’s safe to assume Thomas is loyal to Joseph.”

  I nodded, though my mind’s processing had stopped at the name ‘Harrison’.

  I had forgotten about Harrison.

  Now that I had made this no more lying pact with Wyvern, I had to either tell Wyvern the truth about what happened that night, or risk him seeing my not telling him as a lie.

  If I told Wyvern now, he might not care as much as Sophie had presumed he would. I had been on an assignment, and Harrison had not only been duped, he obviously hadn’t thought much of the encounter, except that it confirmed I was manipulative.

  Yet, I’d given my word to both Sophie and Harrison that I’d never tell Wyvern. If I told Wyvern and Harrison found out, it would just confirm for him that I couldn’t be trusted. It might spoil any chance of him stealing the Regina’s body for me.

  But if Wyvern somehow did find out down the road, it would make the whole thing seem more important than it was. He’d also likely think I was lying to him this whole time about what was between me and Harrison. Which was nothing, but Wyvern might not see it that way.

  “Dakota,” Wyvern said, grabbing my attention.

  “Yes?” I asked, blinking up at him. Had he been talking this whole time?

  “Do you want to go with me to meet the boat?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Definitely.” I gazed into his old man’s face, and decided not to tell him about what happened with Harrison. I just hoped like crazy that he’d never ask.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Three hours after we’d arranged to meet the Oceania dracons, I sat in the backseat of Sophie’s car, watching Wyvern’s silhouette, backlit with the harbor lights.