The Queen's Mystery

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  "Listen to me," Bryon gripped her upper arms. "I will not have you vulnerable."

  "You forget yourself," she said, white lipped and in a fury. "Remove your hands from my person. I do not wish you in my bedchambers until I summon you."

  "I am not one of your pretty boys to be banished at your whim. I am your consort. Your protector."

  "You serve at my whim. Your jealousy is displeasing to me."

  They were shouting at each other. She did not want to fight with him. But she was so sick of his demands.

  "Mary, I love you."

  "I love you," she said, "But right now, I'm so very angry at you."

  Bianca was halfway to the door when her vision cleared and she came back to the present. "Wait," she said, digging in her heels. It was hard to think. Hard to separate past from present. "I gave the diary to Joachim."

  Byron cursed. "Why would you do that?"

  "Because I can't read Latin."

  "It doesn't matter. You're going to be my mate, right?"

  "I don't know," she said. "It depends on what the book says."

  "What?" He dropped her hand.

  "If all I have to do is drink a potion of eye of newt or something, then I think that's the better choice." It was certainly better than Joachim's root canal choices. Being human and unable to stand dragons. Or being a dragon and being in danger like Mei Hua.

  She crossed her arms over her breasts which still bore the mark of his teeth and the graze of his beard. She shifted as a wave of heat tickled between her thighs again. "Besides, I don't think this solution number two of yours is going to last as long as the circle. I’m going to be dragon-struck again before I can get away from you."

  "What are you saying? I'm here to rescue you."

  "I don't need rescuing."

  But she did. The attack was vicious and unexpected. Her throat was gone before she could call out. Her heart was ripped out and shredded on the courtyard.

  Byron.

  "What is it?" Bryon said, touching her cheek.

  Bianca shrieked and fell back. "How did Mary die?"

  His face turned away. "She was attacked. I was no longer her protector or consort. We had fought. By the time I got there it was too late."

  "Did you kill her?" she whispered.

  "How could you say that to me?" He glared at her.

  "Her last thought was your name." Bianca sank to the floor, hand to her throat. She could feel the blood draining out of her body weakening her.

  "How would you know that?" Bryon yanked her to her feet.

  "I was her."

  "You are human."

  “Joachim said I am a Queen.” Bianca’s lips felt numb. She sank back down on the bed.

  Bryon glared at her. “I don’t know what game the Dragon Slayer is playing with you, but I assure you, that you are no Queen and you are certainly not my Mary.”

  "I know what I saw."

  "You're wrong." He pulled her off the bed. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m willing to make you my human mate. It solves your problem and it pleases me to touch you.”

  Struggling out of his arms, Bianca tried to make him understand. "I believe Joachim. I know things I shouldn’t. I feel things I shouldn’t."

  "You're crazy."

  They were shouting at each other again. She didn't want to fight with him. But she was so sick of his demands.

  "Leave with me now," he gritted out.

  "I promised I'd stay until morning." Bianca's head was swimming. He didn't believe her. She wasn't sure she believed him.

  "Promised who? Joachim? Is he your lover?"

  His possessiveness, his demands. It was too much.

  "Do you know what I risked to get here for you?" he snarled.

  "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

  He gave a humorless laugh. "So what if the cure is something as easy as taking two aspirin and lying down until the feeling goes away? Where does that leave us?"

  "There isn't an ‘us’. We met hours ago. As you said, I'm human. You're a dragon. Our worlds will never collide again." Her heart was breaking.

  "I have loved you from the moment you first walked into my life. Your beauty, your intelligence, has humbled me. I am yours. Whatever scraps you give me, I will gladly take,” he had said that on bended knees to her.

  "You lied," she whispered. Bryon had wanted more.

  "What if I want our worlds to collide?" he asked.

  "Why? You believe I am only human. I am not your Queen."

  But, I am.

  "You and I have something special. Even after a few hours I can sense that."

  "What? You want to date?" Bianca would find this whole thing funny, if it wasn't so tragic. "I am the Queen you lost."

  "The moment my cock is inside you, you are my mate." He didn't acknowledge her other words.

  "Why can’t you believe I'm Queen Mary, reincarnated?"

  "I cannot believe that. But I will make you mine. I don't care who you think you are. You're mine now."

  The word almost brought her to her knees. The thought of having a consort and a protector was dizzying, but if she remained human she didn't have to worry about being a Queen. "You need to believe me first. Otherwise it's just sex."

  "Just sex?" He looked up at the ceiling as if the answer to the universe was up there. "That was just sex?" He pointed to the bed. She followed his finger but had no answer. "I made a mistake," he said.

  No.

  "I apologize for disturbing you."

  Wait.

  "Should you require a stud's service, perhaps my father can introduce you to my brother, Reed." He turned on his heel and left her alone, barely restraining himself from slamming the door.

  She stood there, staring at the door until the guards started to come around. Because even after the dragon musk had left, even as her pulse slowed, the biting need was still there. Was her situation getting worse? Or did the desire for Byron exist beyond the dragon-struck lust and she just made the worse mistake of her life.

  Joachim was apoplectic, but she answered his questions in a monotone.

  "Did he hurt you?"

  "No."

  "Why didn't he take you?"

  "I told him I needed to know what the diary said."

  "You didn't tell him anything else did you? About the Order or Mei Hua?"

  "No."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes."

  "He let you stay here?"

  "Yes."

  "You know he could have taken you by force."

  "Yes." Bianca's limbs were now starting to feel numb. The sweet sensation of Byron's body on hers was beginning to fade. "Any luck on the diary?" she asked.

  "Leone is still translating it. So far it talks about the stud behavior when a Queen is in heat. Suffice it to say it's rather blood thirsty. If there is a way to mute the heat, we haven't found it yet."

  "You'll let me know?"

  "Of course. I'll give you a full report over breakfast. Sleep well, my dear." He gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek and it was all she could do to stop herself from ripping his throat out.

  Joachim gave her a quizzical look, as if he sensed the thought.

  "Good night," she said.

  Bianca slept fitfully in the big comfortable bed. She dreamed Byron was lying next to her and when she went to reach for him, she woke up and he was gone. Did he lie to her? Were they already mated? The only way she could test that was if she ran into another dragon and what were the chances of that deep within the Order of Dragon Slayers headquarters.

  A maid knocked on the door around eight o'clock to ask if she needed anything.

  "Is there anyway, I can get a change of clothes?"

  "Of course." She curtsied.

  Bianca decided to take a shower and when she came out a new set of underwear was folded on top of a pair of faded jeans and a sweater in her size. Thick cotton socks and a new pair of Chuck’s were on the floor next to them.

  "That's a little creepy," s
he said. But the jeans fit perfectly, so she didn't have any other complaints. Feeling a little more like herself, Bianca went in search of coffee. Her body guards, if that's what they were, followed her to the elevator. They were not the same two from last night.

  "Joachim is expecting you," one of them said, pressing the button. They left her at the receiving area again and she found Joachim already seated at a table. It was set with flowers, good china and heaping piles of food.

  "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

  "No. What did the diary say?"

  "Eat your breakfast and I'll let you read it for yourself."

  Bianca filled up her plate and ate hungrily, pausing only to gulp down two cups of coffee. Joachim watched in amusement for a bit before going back to the tablet he was working on.

  "Who killed Mary Shelley?"

  "Why do you think we would know?" Joachim asked.

  "Because you know everything. Was it the same rogue that killed Percy?"

  Joachim put down his tablet. "Where is this coming from?"

  "Humor me."

  "Did Byron mention Mary?"

  "Something like that. Did you suspect him of killing her?" Bianca poured herself a third cup and barely tasted it as she hung on Joachim's every word.

  "No," Joachim shook his head. "He was devastated. He nearly died of grief."

  The coffee stuck in her throat as it tightened in sympathy.

  "So it was a stud?"

  "It's a bit more complicated than that."

  "Of course it is."

  "Percy was a consort of another Queen. Harriet. He left her court and took up with Mary."

  "I didn't know that," Bianca said.

  "It wasn't common knowledge. Queens have been known to kill for less than that insult."

  "Harriet killed him?"

  Joachim nodded. "Queens order studs deaths all the time. As long as no humans are involved, we don't interfere. Besides, Harriet was already dead at that time. When Mary fell, we assumed we had another Queen killer on our hands."

  "So who was it?" Bianca searched her brain. "Was it Dante?"

  "Dante?" Joachim stared at her. "Senator Dante?"

  "I have no idea." She shrugged.

  "No, it was a stud whose name I've forgotten. Harriet had put out a contract on Percy and the stud decided to go the extra step and take out Mary as well."

  "Why?"

  "Harriet thought that killing Percy was justice. But, she went into the weave in grief after his death. The stud, who was in love with her, retaliated at the loss of his Queen by killing Mary."

  It sounded like a story Mary or Percy would have written, romance, lies, betrayal. "What do you mean, Harriet went into the weave?"

  "She committed suicide."

  "That's awful," Bianca gasped. "What happened to the killer?"

  "He was executed after being drawn and quartered."

  "Sorry I asked." The coffee rolled around in her stomach and threatened to come up, but she was starving for some reason and forced herself to think of something else until her insides settled down.

  "Are you ready for the diary's contents then?" Joachim asked solicitously.

  After she popped the last bit of jellied toast in her mouth, Bianca poured herself another cup of coffee and sat back in her chair. "Okay, hit me."

  He handed her the tablet. "The left column is the original Latin and the right column is Leone's translation. I highlighted the relevant portions."

  Bianca flipped through it. The gist was the heat could be suppressed. The bad news is she'd have to drink dragon's blood. She tossed the tablet on the table.

  "So what does dragon's blood taste like?"

  "You tell me. You just drank three cups of it."

  Breakfast threatened to come up again. Bianca gripped the table as she made a mental inventory of tastes. She tried to tell her stomach that there was nothing out of the ordinary in there. It was listening for the moment.

  "Is this some kind of a joke?" Bianca stared at the fourth cup as if it was going to bubble or coagulate.

  "I thought you would be pleased. There's no need for the surgery and as long as you can keep up with your daily dose, you won't feel the side effects."

  "You turned me into a vampire," she said. "Where am I supposed to get enough dragon blood on a daily basis? I'm pretty sure the Red Cross doesn't do blood drives and I'm not about to take it from the source. Whose blood was that anyway?" Bianca realized her voice was becoming hysterically shrill with each question.

  Joachim opened his mouth to answer, but she interrupted him.

  "How did you have this just lying around? Is Byron all right? Did you hurt him?" She rose up from the table, the white dragon in her body roared. The sound was deafening and she staggered.

  Joachim rose up. "Are you ill?"

  "Where's Byron?" She wiped her brow with her hand.

  "I don't know. He escaped us."

  "Whose blood is this?" she demanded.

  "We don't keep track."

  "So it's either drinking dragon blood or going under the knife?"

  "That's right."

  There had been another option. But it was too late for that now.

  "I don't have access to dragon's blood on a daily basis," Bianca said, wrapping her arms around herself. She would not panic. She would not puke. “This is just a temporary fix.”

  "We have a supply," Joachim said. "And we're willing to provide it to you, discreetly of course."

  "What do you want in return?" Nothing was free. Even for a so-called Queen.

  "We don't have a spy in Smythe Industries. There have been whispers that he's into something that might violate the Treaty of 1099."

  "What do you want me to do?"

  "Nothing out of the ordinary. Do your job. Keep your eyes and ears open and if you get a hint of something you think we may need to know, contact me." He handed her back the tablet. "Take this, with my compliments. You'll get a six-pack of coffee drinks every Monday."

  "There are seven days in a week," she said.

  "Make sure to avoid a dragon on the day you don't have a drink. Or stockpile them. I can't give you more than six a week."

  "Why?"

  "Seven is a magical number. I'm not sure what seven doses in one week would do to you. The dragon blood will suppress your change and all of the pheromones your body is emitting. You will be able to live a normal, human life."

  "This is crazy," she said.

  "This is your solution. You get to keep your life and your symptoms of being dragon catnip go away. However, you must never tell anyone what you learned here or what your cure was."

  "Seems to me, keeping dragon blood or obtaining it also violates the Treaty of 1099."

  "I assure you, the Order of the Dragon Slayers follows the Treaty to the letter—if not in spirit."

  Spy or Queen?

  Bianca took the six pack with as much grace as she could manage.

  Chapter Five: There was a sound of revelry by night

  Her brother Juanito loved the X-Station and she was the world's best sister. Bianca went by Byron's bookstore, on Christmas Eve, but it was empty. Not even a trace of dragon musk remained, if she could even still sense it after drinking her dragon blood—which tasted just like a Starbucks Mocha. She wouldn't return Niall's calls. She was pissed that he played her.

  But she looked for Byron. It was if he had taken wing and was hiding in Switzerland again. Bianca was resigned, though. She made her choice. She would remain as she was. Half human, half reincarnated dragon Queen— even if the only one who mattered wouldn't believe her.

  It was no surprise that Smythe's Industries were very happy to have her start a week early. On her first day, Bianca deliberately didn't take the blood. She kept it in her purse. But as soon as she entered the building, a dragon in a nice suit stopped the elevator and unhearing of protests from his staff, made a beeline to her. The security guard's double take gave her a few moments to guzzle the drink down unseen.

 
; "Is it hot in here?" Bianca asked, tossing the empty bottle in the trash.

  The dragon blinked, sniffed, and then shook his head. He walked back to the elevator without a word or an explanation.

  By the time her badge was ready, she sensed nothing and no dragon gave her a second glance. Joachim was good to his word. The two weeks of training were mind numbingly dull. The only bright spot was Smythe's admin assistant. Viola was funny and didn't take Smythe seriously at all, which was a relief because the rest of the staff thought the sun rose and set on his shiny black scales.

  She met him briefly. He nodded at her in passing and called her Bee. From that point on, so did everyone else. Bianca checked in with Joachim once a week. She didn't have much to tell him, but after each phone call a six pack was delivered to her apartment.

  After a month, Bianca decided not to take the drinks on the weekend. She wanted a stockpile in case she had to make a tough decision and tell the Order to go stuff themselves. In her second month, she had her first liaison meeting. She would be negotiating the buyout of a local vitamin store. Joachim was interested in the transaction, but Bianca didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was a Mom and Pop store and they were looking to retire. Mom and Pop Carter were very excited to meet with a real dragon. She didn't have the heart to tell them, Smythe wouldn't show up.

  "So, Mr. Smythe just needs you to sign these papers and I can give you the cashier's check," Estella said.

  Mom looked at Pop. "We were hoping to speak with him personally."

  "I'm sorry, but Mr. Smythe is on an international call right now and is very busy today."

  "We'll wait," Pop said.

  "Is there a problem with the buyout amount? I'm authorized to go five percent over the agreed on price, but you would need to sign immediately."

  Mom snorted. "That other dragon offered us double."

  "What other dragon?" Bianca said. Dread filled her. Smythe was going to freak. And when the boss wasn't happy no one was happy. She'd probably be taking her drink this weekend because she sure as hell was going to be in the office investigating this fiasco.

  "Mr. Byron. He gave us a message that only goes to Mr. Smythe."

  "Give it to me," Bianca snarled before she realized her tone was unprofessional.