The Queen's Wings

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “You still can.”

  “You’re too valuable.”

  “So, I’m going to be a walking vagina for the rest of my life?”

  Reed blinked. “Uterus. And you don’t have to walk.”

  “Ah-hah!” I said. “That was a joke. At least I think it was.”

  “The fact of the matter is as a young Queen you will have your heart’s desire. You will have a palace built for you. You will have treasure and servants. Rich and exotic food and wine. Hundreds of men to pleasure you. Your every whim catered to. You hit the jackpot.”

  “I’m not saying that doesn’t sound fine for a week’s vacation, but it’s not my heart’s desire.”

  “What is your heart’s desire?”

  I shook my head. “Oh no, you don’t. I’m the only female in this hemisphere not related to you. I’m not giving up the goods, even if I thought you could provide it.”

  “If I were interested, which I’m not.” Reed folded his arms. “You wouldn’t be able to resist me.”

  He was probably right, not that I’d ever admit to it. “I’ve seen your charming personality. I’d rather French kiss Godzilla.”

  “If I can arrange that, do I get a finder’s fee?”

  “You pimp for Godzilla?”

  “It’s a living,” he said, completely deadpan.

  He was dangerous when he unclenched. I grinned at him. “Tell me about your mother.”

  “Who are you, Sigmund Freud now?”

  “It sounds like she and I will get along.”

  “I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her,” he said seriously and went back to his newspaper. And that ended that nice conversation. At least he thought it did. He didn’t know me very well. I gave him another few seconds of peace while I tried to figure out why I wasn’t reacting to him like I did to Jack.

  Jack wasn’t my type, not that I really had one. But when we had sat in the coffee shop, it was like I was floating in a happy cloud of hormones. Reed felt more serious, as if with him you knew there wasn’t going to be any other dragon. You wouldn’t want one.

  “That’s not a nice thing to say about your own mother.” I resisted the urge to rip the paper out of his hands.

  “You should hear what she has to say about me.”

  “Let me guess, she wanted you to be a doctor not a cop.”

  “I’m not a cop. She wanted me to be Lerisse’s consort.”

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Exactly,” Reed said.

  “Didn’t like the idea of being forced to have sex?” I batted my eyelashes at him.

  He either failed to see the irony of the situation or just ignored me.

  “She’s got the right idea. Queens need to stick together,” I said. Maybe I’d be the dragon Norma Rae. Union!

  “I shudder at that image,” Reed said, rustling his paper at me.

  “I’m sure not every Queen wants to be worshipped like a goddess.”

  “You would be wrong. I know all five of them. That’s all they want.”

  “I’m different.” So would the other human Queens—if there were any others.

  “You don’t have to tell me that.”

  “You don’t have to be so nasty about it.”

  “I wasn’t.” At last he put down his newspaper and leaned in toward me.

  That connection pulled at me again and of its own volition my hand reached out to touch his face. He stopped me, but didn’t release my hand. He did the thing with his thumb across my knuckles again. I wanted his kiss.

  I was so screwed.

  “Carolyn, you are very young and you don’t understand our world. The last time females were on an even footing with us, civilization, as you know it, was in its infancy. Since then, all of our women have died but five. Five. If we lose those five, there will never be another dragon again. Male or female.”

  “Who would want to kill a dragon?”

  “Ask my sister.”

  “I will, the next time she speaks to me.”

  “She won’t.” His eyes fell to our joined hands. “Thank you for the chance to say good-bye. I only wish I had been able to keep her safe.”

  “No one is blaming you,” I said.

  “I will find out who did this to her.”

  His hand tightened and I inhaled at the strength in them.

  “My apologies.” He withdrew back into his seat, back into his wall of ice.

  I snatched the paper away before he could hide behind it again. “She knows you will.” I didn’t know how I knew this, but it was as true.

  “I hope so,” he said. “And with her bones buried on sacred ground, she will go into the weave. Perhaps her female energy will loosen the spell bindings that are preventing you from shifting.”

  “You think?” I had my doubts, but it was nice to hear someone believing in me.

  “At the very least it should infuse the new generation of eggs.” The thought of laying eggs made me succumb to the twin screwdrivers.

  With a few antacids as chasers. Orange juice gave me heartburn. Heck, everything nowadays gave me heartburn. The vodka coursed through my system, soothing my jangled nerves. I turned a dopey smile to Reed. “I’m not ready to have children.”

  “Can’t you understand our race needs Queens to breed?” Reed leaned forward. He glared down a few people who were avidly listening to our conversation. He lowered his voice. “Our numbers dwindle daily. In another thousand years, we might be gone. Doesn’t that frighten you?”

  “Not as much as becoming a prostitute.”

  “You’re not going to be a common harlot. You are going to be the mother of CEOs, politicians, and scholars.”

  I put my hand on my stomach. “I never really wanted a lot of kids.”

  “Neither did my mother. Don’t worry you’ll spend as much time or as little time as you want once the children hatch.” Reed took my hand off my stomach and kissed the back of it. It was more of a respectful kiss, than a hubba-hubba one, but my heart trembled.

  “I mean I always figured I’d want two. One boy and one girl.” I stared out of the window, bereft when he let my hand go. “I’m not sure I’d be a good mother.”

  “It’s not a requirement.” Reed gave a short laugh. “Ask me how I know.”

  “So, I really am just an incubator to you guys.”

  “Try and grasp the concept of nobility here. You will be exalted.”

  “I’d rather be loved.”

  Reed snorted. “Love? You are so young.”

  “Well forgive me for not being alive when Caesar was in small clothes.”

  “I forgive you.”

  My toes tingled at the warmth in his voice. I didn’t want to go all gooey at his admiration. I was trying to make a point. “How would you feel if you were forced into being a sex slave? You had a choice not to be a bed boy.”

  Reed regarded me thoughtfully. “You don’t understand.”

  “I keep hearing that.”

  “I wasn’t anything special.”

  Now, it was my turn to snort.

  “You’ll see. I’m one in literally a thousand.”

  I personally thought he was one in a million, but I didn’t want to inflate his ego by telling him that.

  “I can’t give birth. Only the five females have that power. Six, if you turn out to be fertile.”

  “What if I wanted a monogamous relationship?”

  “Preposterous.” He tossed up his hands and sat back in his chair.

  “Think I couldn’t find a man virile enough to procreate the species?”

  “I can think of a few who would vie for the title.” Reed peered longingly into his empty glass. A few rattling shakes of ice and our drinks were replenished.

  “Including you?”

  “I don’t dance to any Queen’s tune.”

  “Except your mother,” I ventured.

  “Even her,” Reed said.

  “That’s right, you gave up being a Queen’s consort to work for the
government. What if I wanted to become a G-man?”

  “What?”

  I was losing him if the baffled look was any indication. “You know, carry a badge and be a crime fighter. Don’t you watch TV?”

  “It’s a cultural wasteland.”

  “So what do you do for fun to relax?”

  “I read.”

  He didn’t know it, but I fell in love a little with those words. “Say that again,” I drawled.

  “I read,” he said slowly.

  I quivered.

  His head cocked at an angle as if to wonder what I was up to.

  “What kind of books do you like?” That was the closest I get to flirting.

  “I like all kinds.” His eyes tracked my tongue when I wet my dry lips.

  “Military thrillers I bet.”

  He shrugged. “I prefer nonfiction.”

  “That was my next guess.” I stirred the ice in my glass.

  “Let me guess, you read romances. Bodice rippers?”

  “I’d read the phone book if that’s all there was. Do you read human authors?”

  “You pretty much have to. You’re much more prolific than we are in these matters. In fact, that describes the human race to a T. Prolific. Even in your breeding.” He scowled.

  “Tough guy.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “I’m sure you can enlighten me.”

  “We don’t have that much time.” Reed grinned at me and for a moment I forgot to breathe.

  “Ever join the mile-high club?” I asked, blurting it out. A few of the VIPs rattled their papers and harrumphed at me. Reed brought the stupids out of me at the worst of times.

  “Inside or outside an airplane?”

  The question stumped me. “Uh, both.”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “So you can…you know…while flying?”

  “Maybe I’ll show you some day.”

  My brain short-circuited. He snatched back his newspaper before I could think of a witty reply. Truth be told, I was all out of banter for today and far too distracted by the thought of Reed unclenching enough to make love at thirty thousand feet.

  Normally, if I was flying first class from JFK into Mexico, I would be halfway to drunk by now. But it had been a hard first couple of days so I pretty much slept the rest of the way. I was woken up by the smell of hot, fresh chocolate-chip cookies and the flight attendant putting a bowl with a warm, wet washcloth by my side. After scarfing down the cookie and wiping bits of chocolate off my face, I turned to see Reed staring out the window. Worry flashed across his face, which made my stomach gurgle.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  His face slid back into a pleasant expression. “You can see the fortress from the air.” He gestured with his chin and I unbuckled my seat belt to lean over him and stare out the window.

  The fortress was more of a castle complex with high, stone walls surrounding a clearing with a small city of houses and buildings. The jungle was full and lush around it.

  “How are we getting through all that vegetation?”

  “We’re going to fly in.”

  “I don’t see a landing pad.” I squinted.

  Reed made a disgruntled negative.

  “I can’t fly. At least I don’t think I can. No one has reported a Green Western soaring over their rooftops.”

  “I will carry you.” He didn’t sound too happy about the prospect.

  “Can I ride on your back?”

  “Do I look like a beast of burden?”

  “Would it be better if I asked to ride you like a Harley down a bumpy road?”

  I was rewarded when both his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “I meant to say that one.”

  Chapter Seven

  Seventh Rule of Dragons: Choose your alliances carefully

  Reed was adamant about the no riding him, but he took great pleasure in gripping me in his claws like he was a hairless King Kong. I tried not to pee my pants and scream when he launched into the air. It was one thing to be carried a short distance by Jack, who stayed close to the ground, but it was certainly the other to be snatched up and shot into hundreds of feet in the air like I was on a supercharged roller coaster.

  And the barrel rolls were really unnecessary.

  “You’re a diiiii-iiick!” I screeched up at him. “You know, if I puke it’s going all over you, buddy.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll drop you first.”

  But to give him credit, he didn’t loosen his grip, even a little. And I was willing to bet a part of him wanted to dump me into the lush, green canopy of the jungle, if only to see if I would bounce.

  Two Quetzalcoatls, who gave me the evil eye, escorted us into the compound. Although armless, they made up for that with long teeth and sharp talons.

  Speaking of teeth, I almost got whiplash as the one on my left snapped at my head and Reed pulled me into his body. His poison sacs contracted, and he spit two globs of black sludge into the other dragon’s eyes. It screeched and writhed away, losing altitude. Reed’s warning bellow to the other Quetzalcoatl rumbled in his chest. The Quetzalcoatl who’d threatened me jerked side to side and plummeted as he rubbed his face on his chest.

  “Did you blind him?”

  “Temporarily,” Reed said. “No need to lessen the strength of my mother’s guardians if we do go to war.”

  I shivered. “Just put me down.”

  He banked, this time in less of a screaming arc, but he still headed toward the ground way too fast for my liking. The wind whipped my hair in my eyes. It was so cold I had to clamp my jaw hard enough to keep my teeth from knocking together.

  It was warmer by the time we hit the top of the stone temple. To my surprise, the dragons awaiting us were in human form, wearing sarongs that accentuated their muscles. The woman among them appeared to be in her midforties, an exquisite Spanish beauty with short, dark hair that framed a face that would cause any human to do a double take. Eight men stood with her, four on each side. The four on her left were dark-skinned with lovely dark eyes and long hair. The four on her right were blond and muscled. I was distracted by the eye candy, and their wonderful scents made me dizzy.

  “I am Esmeralda,” she said. “Welcome to Mexico.”

  The air compressed as Reed switched back to human form.

  I gave a slight bow and said, “I’m Carolyn.” Her scent was stifling cinnamon and I fought not to cough.

  “We have much to discuss. Come.” She extended her hand and as I took it, there was a frisson of power that arced between us. I wish I understood the smile she passed over my head to Reed.

  The men followed as she led us down several hundred stairs. When my legs were about to collapse into jelly, Esmeralda waved her hand and a rock wall slid open to reveal more men in various states of undress. I was definitely gawking when Reed spoke. “I will leave you ladies to your discussion.”

  The cool air of the room grew even colder when Esmeralda said, “You do not have permission to leave. In fact, you will attend our new Queen.”

  “Oh, he doesn’t—” I started to say, but cut off when she turned a bitter gaze on me.

  “You will change out of those clothes. They offend me. Reed, escort her to the changing area where she can be dressed as her station permits.”

  He grabbed me by the upper arm and hauled me through a few rooms until we reached a giant wardrobe.

  “Don’t be pissed at me if Mama slapped you down.”

  “Be quiet and strip, unless you want me attend you.”

  I opened my mouth, but saw the warning in his eyes and thought better of it. I snuck around the ornate dressing screen instead. I chucked off my comfy clothes just as a peach-colored peignoir and matching panties came sailing over the top.

  “I’m not wearing anyone’s underwear,” I said.

  “These are brand new. Esmeralda keeps them on hand for guests.” He tossed a white linen sheath dress next.

  “You don’t call her mother?”

&nbs
p; “Not if I value my life. I am only her son when I do something to elevate her status.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “There are three hundred of us. I no longer care for such sibling rivalry.”

  “Do you think she called us here because of Arianna?” I peeked out at him.

  Reed’s face paled. “Don’t mention my sister to her. She’ll go off on a rage. Let Niall be the one to break the news to her. She still believes her daughter is alive. One thousand years is not a long time in dragon years.”

  “How long is it in dragon years?”

  He made an exasperated noise. “I don’t know. Perhaps a year for every human century.”

  “Wow,” I said and slipped into the luxurious clothes. So what if I was homeless and didn’t know how to turn into a dragon? I looked good. I came outside the screen and made a face at his shoe choices.

  “No heels. Do you know what that would do to my back on this stone floor?”

  Reed swapped them with a pair of gladiator sandals that were as soft as butter. I gave a happy sigh. He looked at me, bemused. “It doesn’t take much to make you happy. Perhaps, I should have offered you my townhouse in Hoboken or a flat in London instead.”

  “Maybe you could cosign a loan on a condo in New Haven.”

  His face grew grim. “I owe you a house.”

  “Seems to me I won’t need one when I’m a Queen,” I snapped.

  He crooked his finger under my chin and tilted my head up. “What is it?”

  “It’s just the way you guys were talking, I’m going to get locked up in a lab until I shift and then when I do I’m going to have a fortress like this.” I waved my hand around. “With twenty studs at my beck and call.”

  “Only you wouldn’t want that.”

  “Would you want it?”

  Reed cupped my face and rubbed his thumb over my cheek. I clutched his arm, desperate for the zing of connection we had when he touched. I could let him stroke me for hours. Losing myself in his eyes, the world melted away.

  “My wants pale in comparison to what my race would need.”

  “Duty,” I whispered.

  “Carolyn, you were given a great gift.”

  “Not yet I haven’t been.”

  “Would you see our race die out because of your selfishness?”