by Amelia Jade
“Why aren’t you?” the other woman asked, lounging on the bed that Miranda had spent very little time in over the past few days.
“I was just talking with Daxxton about the security,” she said, hoping to avoid any further conversation about it.
“Oh, was that a long conversation?”
She shrugged. “A little, why?”
Harriet just eyed her. “Well, I came looking for you last night and you weren’t here. So I was wondering if you two had spent all night talking about ‘security.’” Her friend put a heavy emphasis on the last word, letting the real princess know she wasn’t fooled for a second.
“Does everyone know?” Miranda asked, throwing herself down on the bed, still half-dressed but no longer interested in the shower.
“Nolan and I do,” she admitted. “I’m not sure if anyone else has guessed it, but we haven’t told them.”
“Fuck,” she groaned. “This just keeps getting worse and worse!’
Harriet sat up, looking at her with concern in her blue-green eyes. “What do you mean? What happened?”
Miranda patted her friend’s arm, appreciative of her protective streak, but not in need of it just then.
“He happened, that’s what I mean. Daxxton. He just waltzed into my life. It’s not even been a week yet, and I already feel as if I couldn’t live without him around,” she complained. “It’s not fair.”
She lifted her head slightly and threw it back down onto the bed, her arms coming up to rest on her face, obscuring her vision of the room as she vented.
Harriet was quiet for a moment. Miranda thought she was trying to come up with some words to say, but then she felt the bed begin to shake. Moving her arm slightly, she peered up at her friend.
“Are you serious right now? How is this a laughing matter?”
Harriet couldn’t contain herself any longer and doubled over, her peals of laughter bouncing off the walls as she tried to sputter an apology to the red-faced Miranda.
“What the hell is so funny? How can I be true to my heart and my people at the same time?”
The laughter stopped, replaced with a look of disbelief as Harriet turned and stared at her.
“Okay, now what?” Miranda ground out, beginning to get frustrated with her longest friend. “Use your words, please.”
“What do Daxxton and Tanith have to do with each other?” Harriet asked, confused.
Now it was Miranda’s turn to stare. “Are you daft, girl? He’s from Cadia. Do I need to spell that out for you? It certainly isn’t spelled T-a-n-i-t-h.”
“So what?”
“So? How the hell do you think that will look if I, the Princess of Tanith, marry Daxxton, of Cadia. Who in their right mind would buy our claim to neutrality then?”
“Neutrality?” Harriet asked. “What does that have to do with staying true to your people?”
Miranda’s jaw dropped open. Was her friend on drugs? Tanithian neutrality was at the core of their being. Of who they were as a people.
“Because, Tanith has always been neutral between Cadia and Fenris, never siding with one over the other.”
Harriet barked a laugh. “Oh my. I love you so much, Mir, but you’re so wrong you don’t even know it yet.”
“Explain,” she said, not used to being spoken to that way, even from Harriet.
“Miranda Pyke,” Harriet said sternly, her eyes narrowing at the snappy reply from her friend. “You are a great princess, and you care deeply for your people. Nobody would argue that. But you need to realize that the people don’t care about neutrality because of neutrality and tradition. They care about it because you care about it, and they care about you. They love you, adore you, because you do whatever it takes to make their lives the best you can. But they aren’t married to the idea of neutrality themselves. They just champion it because you do.”
The Princess of Tanith stared at her friend in open-mouthed shock. All her life, she’d fought for the cause of neutrality, because she’d believed it was what her people wanted, what they desired from her. Now she was being told she was completely in the wrong.
“And before you go accusing me of reading the population incorrectly—which I assure you, I’m not—don’t forget that one of those two strongholds has tried to kill you. Not once, not twice, but three times in the past week.”
“Kidnap,” she corrected absentmindedly.
“Right, because they were going to set you free eventually,” Harriet replied with an overly dramatic eyeroll. “Come on Mir, you know better than that. Once they had what they needed from you, you were as good as dead to them.”
She couldn’t argue that point. “Fine. I suppose they might be more favorably inclined toward Cadia at this point. But that still brings me back to Daxxton. He’s powerful and well respected, yes. But he’s not part of the political elite here.”
“So? Who says you have to marry a politician? He’s a born leader, Miranda. Plus, he hates politics as much as you do. Wouldn’t that make married life just a little easier, when you can both vent about hating the same thing instead of having to pretend you love that part of your job?”
Miranda looked away unhappily at the accuracy of Harriet’s points. “How the hell do you know me so well?” she grumped.
“Oh you know, I’ve just had to deal with you for over a century. Practice makes perfect, right? And I’ve had a lot of practice.”
Harriet started to giggle, but it was cut off by her cry of surprise as a pillow took her full on the side of the head, appearing in Miranda’s hands as if by magic.
That started a battle that lasted no more than a few seconds. It was hard to rein in their supernatural strength, and the pillows ripped to shreds as they hurled them into each other over and over again. Lying there in the midst of tattered pillow cases and shards of memory foam, the pair laughed and allowed themselves, for just a moment, to relax.
“Are you sure this is okay?” she asked into the silence that descended as they caught their breaths. “That I’m thinking with my monarch brain, and not my heart or anything else?”
Harriet laughed again, but it was a sympathetic chuckle this time.
“No, I think you’ll be just fine,” she said. “Tanith loves you, Mir, as little as you wish to acknowledge that, which is part of the reason they love you even more. If they see that you found someone you truly care for, and not some political flunky, they will go absolutely nuts. Trust me on that.”
Miranda took a deep breath.
“He is a nice guy,” she said at last. “He may not be politically powerful, but Harry, oh, you should have seen the way he called out his Council. Told them that Klara was a cancer in their midst, while she was right there. He didn’t even flinch once, not even when she threatened him. All he had to do was stare her down and she backed away. It was magnificent.”
Harriet handed her a piece of a shredded pillow cover.
“What’s this for?” she asked in confusion.
“To wipe the drool off your face,” her friend teased.
“Rude,” Miranda replied, but there was a smile on her face.
“Are you still here?” Harriet asked with a yawn, rolling over and bunching the covers under her cheek as if making to take a nap.
“It’s my room. Why wouldn’t I be here?”
“Don’t you need to go find him? Tell him you’re done being dumb and you can be with him?”
Miranda rolled to her feet and pulled the covers—and one surprised Harriet—off the bed and into a pile on the floor. Her friend yelped, but Miranda was already grabbing her previously discarded clothes and reassembling them on her body.
“I’m happy for you,” Harriet said softly from the floor, flashing her friend a genuine smile.
“Me too,” Miranda said, knowing she was blushing fiercely as she thought of the idea of spending her life with Daxxton.
She resolutely ignored the fact that he was much older than her, and she would likely only have three or so centuries with
him.
That will just have to be enough.
***
She walked down the hallways, trying not to seem like she was desperately searching for Daxxton, even though that’s exactly what she was doing.
He hadn’t been in his room, but that wasn’t a surprise. She figured he was out walking the grounds or something.
“Dak, have you seen Daxxton?” she asked, passing one of her security team as he roamed the halls.
“Yeah, he was in the atrium when I passed through there a few minutes ago,” the young shifter said, his long blond hair flying as he turned and jerked a thumb back down the hallway behind him.
“Thanks,” she replied, trying not to break out into a run as she made a beeline for the atrium.
At the center of the Nova household, where all four wings met, was a massive atrium filled with plants, trees, and other greenery, complete with glass ceiling and everything. It was beautifully kept, and she could understand why Daxxton would want to go there now. There was something about the room that just emitted a sense of calm, and peace. A tranquility she was sure he would be seeking after what she’d said to him.
A smile appeared on her face as she pictured his reaction upon her telling him what she’d decided—with a little help from Harriet of course! The idea of making him so happy made her happy.
Daxxton was right where Dak had promised, standing against a metal fence separating the walking paths from the greenery, overlooking the koi pond beyond.
Now, with him in her sights and the reality of the situation explained to her, Miranda found that she was hesitating.
What is wrong with me? A second ago this was all I wanted.
But what if it wasn’t what Daxxton wanted? Yes, he’d said he cared for her unlike any other. Was that enough though? He’d been mated once, and lost his love. Would he ever be over that?
Shaking her head, she ignored the doubts suddenly cropping up, and forced herself to walk forward until she was leaning on the balcony next to him. Neither of them said a word for a long moment.
“You look like you have something to say,” he said, speaking at last.
“More like an apology to make,” she admitted.
Daxxton turned to look at her, his short golden-blond hair reflecting the sunlight that streamed in overhead, giving his eyes a vividness to them that threatened to steal her breath.
Not this time. Right now I have some explaining to do. I can get caught up in his eyes later.
“I pushed you away earlier, and I’m sorry. I know this seems like a complete reversal of everything I was arguing for, and it kind of is.” Miranda shook her head. “No, not kind of. It is a reversal of all my earlier objections.”
“I see,” Daxxton said, though it was obvious he didn’t understand.
“I was operating under some false assumptions,” she said. Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “But I just had some sense knocked into me by someone.”
Miranda stopped speaking. Her words were coming out in a jumbled mess, and she wasn’t making any sort of coherent point.
“This is not going the way I had imagined,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Oh? And how did you imagine it going?” Daxxton asked, the beginnings of a smile creasing the corner of his lips.
“Umm, I come running in here, tell you I was a dumb idiot and you sweep me up in your arms and tell me that you love me and we’ll be together forever?” She smiled sheepishly. “Something ridiculous like that.”
The big shifter chuckled. “I’d like that,” he said. “But I’ve been doing some thinking as well.”
Miranda steeled herself. Here it comes, she thought. He’s about to tell me there can’t be an “us.”
“If we were to mate,” he said thoughtfully, “how would it work?”
She frowned. This wasn’t what she’d been prepared for. “Umm, the same way it works with other mated couples?” she said slowly.
His shoulders bounced with silent laughter. “Sorry, let me rephrase. You’re from Tanith, I’m from Cadia. We both have responsibilities in our homelands. How do we work around that? I cannot in good faith leave Cadia the way it is. Not with the moves Fenris is making. I need to do something here.”
“So we split our time equally between the two. Half the year in Tanith, half the year in Cadia.” The words were out of her mouth with barely a second to think it over.
Daxxton grinned. “I was hoping you would say something like that,” he replied, a large arm reaching out to pull her close.
“So why didn’t you just suggest it?” she asked. “It’s the easiest solution to the problem in my eyes. It took me all of a half-second to work it out.”
“Doesn’t work that way. I needed to know you would be willing to make that offer, not simply agree with me over it.”
Miranda pulled back and eyed him speculatively. “Why wouldn’t I be willing to make that work? I may be younger, but I grasp what I’m suggesting here. If I’m going to be with you, it’s going to be as equals, together. I’m not pretending it’ll be easy. But we’ll find a way to make it work, I promise you that,” she said with fiery conviction, meaning every word of her little speech.
“You are a remarkable woman, Miranda Pyke.”
“I like to think so,” she said with fake arrogance, giving her shoulders a little shake of pride, even as she blushed slightly at the compliment.
She enjoyed the moment of closeness with him, leaning against his chest, drawing strength from him.
“What are you going to do to change Cadia though?” she asked.
Daxxton hesitated a moment before responding. “I don’t know,” he said at long last.
“What about invoking Imperare ad Impugnandum?” she suggested with a laugh.
The gold dragon looked at her, surprise written all over his face. “You can’t be serious. I could never do that. It’s never been done before.”
“I was joking,” she said. “I’m not sure you could pull it off in Cadia either.”
“Perhaps not,” he mused. “I would really prefer not to invoke it either. Who knows if it would stand. We’re a democracy here, unlike your monarchy.”
She shrugged. “Whatever you say. I wasn’t serious.”
“Miranda!”
She spun as Harriet called to her from down the hallway. It wasn’t her name that made her spin, but the urgency with which she called her name.
“Something’s wrong,” Daxxton said, and she felt her hand reach for his as her friend ran down the hallway toward the atrium where they stood.
“What is it?” she called.
“We’re under—”
The entire house shook violently, throwing everyone to the floor, and Miranda watched in horror as the roof caved in between her and her friend.
Harriet disappeared with a scream.
Chapter Twelve
Daxxton
He threw himself to his feet, boots skidding on the stone walkway underneath as he made a beeline for the cave-in.
From another wing Nolan came charging alongside him.
“Harriet!” he all but screamed, and Daxxton could sense the fear in the other shifter’s voice.
Dragon shifters were tough, but some of the beams that had come crashing down were large enough to squash even them.
“I’m okay!” came the faint voice. “Hurt, but okay.”
“Where are you hurt?” Nolan asked as the two—no three, Daxxton noted as Miranda appeared next to him—of them began hurling debris aside.
“Something crushed my leg pretty bad, and it hurts to breathe. But I should be okay. I’m sorry guys, I’m out of this fight,” Harriet said, hissing in pain as the rubble shifted slightly.
“What happened?” Miranda asked as they finally cleared enough debris to be able to see her friend, though they couldn’t reach her just yet.
“We’re under attack,” Harriet said, looking up at them, her face twisted in pain. “I was coming to warn you.”
Daxxton and Nolan worked as a team, heaving the big beams aside as carefully as they could, so as not to disturb Harriet’s leg.
The house shook again, and they heard the sound of crashing glass as part of the atrium roof collapsed in on itself.
“Princess!”
Dak came rushing up from the other side of the debris collapse.
“Princess, you need to get out of here.”
Miranda snorted as they finally lifted the last beam clear of Harriet and Nolan rushed to her side. “Not bloody happening,” she said firmly. “Not this time.”
Dak stood his ground though. The security team for the Princess of Tanith was made of stern stuff, Daxxton noted. “Princess, I recognize one of the dragons attacking us. This is the Iron Scales A Company.” He paused. “The entire company.”
Daxxton stiffened. Ten full dragons, some of the most fearsome on the entire planet, were now attacking the Nova Estate.
Nolan looked up from where he was cradling Harriet’s head in his lap. Daxxton knew she would be okay, but it would be a long time before even her advanced healing system could make her combat worthy.
They hadn’t even engaged the enemy yet and they were down one of their number.
“You need to go,” Nolan said. “They’re here for you. We’ll fight better with you gone.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Miranda said stubbornly. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t escape.”
“We’ll draw them off,” Nolan said. “You make your escape.”
Miranda shook her head. “Not gonna work. I’m the only black dragon around now, with Harriet injured. They’ll come right at me, ignoring you.”
Daxxton swore. “She’s right. They’ll make her right away. And a car won’t move fast enough to escape a blast of Dragonfire.”
Another, deeper voice spoke as it emerged from a side room.
“She’s not the only Blast Dragon.”
Daxxton looked up as Zoltan Nova, Klara’s reclusive mate, strode down the hallway.
“I will lead them after me, and then you make your escape, Princess.”
“There,” Nolan said, immediately accepting Zoltan’s sacrifice. “It’s settled. We’ll hold them off, Princess. You get out of here.”
