Bride Of The Dragon (12 page)

Birdie’s Bridal Creations wasn’t too crowded at ten a.m. – or it wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for most of the Kingsley clan gathered in the room, trying on dresses, gossiping and drinking champagne out of crystal flutes.

Kelly was doing her best to keep a sharp eye on Tabitha, but she was pretty sure Tabitha had managed to snag at least one bouquet from the display case. She’d tell Gabriel about it later. He was sitting on a bench outside with Winthrop, drinking coffee, banned from the store because of the superstition that it was bad luck for a groom to see the wedding dress before the ceremony.

Planning for her upcoming wedding, only weeks away now, had a surreal quality. She was actually starting to think that it might happen. She might be able to stay here and marry Gabriel. She had nothing to go home to in Seattle. She felt at home here. She was where she was meant to be.

She and Tabitha had settled on a dress that flattered her small frame. A sweetheart neckline made the most of what curves she had, and pretty antique lace swirled in curlicues down the length of the gown, spilling onto a modest sweep train. Cadence had come to weigh in on the bridesmaid dresses, and she’d also promised to help Kelly with any advice she needed on raising dragonlings, when the time came.

“Not saying that I’m actually getting married to a dragon shifter, but if I do and I have four dragonlings, I am blaming you,” Kelly informed Cadence. Cadence was so fertile that her blood had been used by a fertility clinic to create a serum that helped infertile female dragon shifters conceive.

“Me? That’s biologically impossible. I can’t cause multiple births just by standing next to you. Pretty sure, anyway,” Cadence said, sipping her champagne. “Mmm, tasty. Want some more? You should drink while you can.”

Kelly reached for a glass. “True, nine months is a long time to go without… Shut up! Now you’ve got me doing it!”

“It won’t be nine months,” Cadence said, setting her glass down. “Because you’re human, you’ll have your eggs removed when you’re only a few months along and they’ll be raised in a hatchery at the fertility clinic.”

“You sound just like Gabriel, talking about all this as if it
will
happen,” Kelly said skeptically, and then downed half the champagne in one unladylike gulp.

“That’s because I see the way you guys look at each other,” Cadence said. “And also, I know that Gabriel is a good guy, in his own special way. I mean, he’s also kind of an ass, but then again, so is my husband. But they’re both also true-blue when it comes to love, and they’re as loyal as they come. By the way, I saved all my babies’ asbestos bibs, so you won’t have to buy any.”

“Asbestos bibs?” Kelly said with alarm. “Oh dear lord.” She finished her champagne and hurried away, heading over to Evangeline, who was holding up a silk rose-colored bridesmaid’s dress.

“This dress isn’t too hideous,” Evangeline said grudgingly, setting it back on the rack.

Then she leaned in and looked up at Kelly with a burning intensity in her gaze. “Uncle Gabriel says that he talked to you,” she said. “Promise me you’ll do whatever you can to try to help my mother.”

“Of course I will,” Kelly said.

Evangeline’s gaze dropped and she stared at the floor, biting her lip. “I barely even remember what she was like. I was six when she….” Evangeline trailed off. “Maybe if she was normal again, all the other kids at school wouldn’t call me crazy.”

Then she looked at Kelly again. “Is it selfish for me to care about that? It is. I shouldn’t care about anything but my mother getting better.”

“It’s not selfish at all,” Kelly said. “It totally sucks being the odd man out. The weird kid. I speak from experience on that one, believe me.”

“I don’t like it when people call me crazy,” Evangeline said quietly. “I’m going to go get some coffee now.” And she walked out of the store.

Kelly walked after her, stepping outside into the bright sunlight.

“Evangeline,” she called, but Evangeline just walked even faster, shoulders hunched, head down.

“She’ll be fine,” Gabriel said, waving her over to the bench. “Don’t feed into her teenage angst. How’s it going in no-man’s land? Get it? Because men aren’t allowed?”

She laughed. “Gabriel, Gabriel. Still dreaming of that career in stand-up?”

“Made you laugh, didn’t I?” He winked at her and grabbed her hand, and the sun was beaming down on him, and Kelly didn’t want to be anywhere else on Earth. This was home. This was where she belonged. Standing next to a charming thief who told terrible jokes and only wanted to make her smile, with his crazy mother in the store stuffing bow-ties into her purse, watching a sulky teenager stalk off around the corner. It was perfectly imperfect. It was where she was meant to be.

Huge, dark shadows slid along the sidewalk, and she glanced up to see several dragons flying north. They were fire dragons, four of them, flapping their enormous wings and slicing through the air.

Gabriel followed her gaze. “They don’t usually fly in formation like that,” he said. “Unless it’s centurions, but most of the centurions here are ice dragons.” Then he shrugged and returned his attention to Kelly. “So how’s it going in there? Selected a dress yet?”

“We’re narrowing down the choices.”

“We should start planning our honeymoon,” Gabriel mused.

“I’m just getting used to the idea of maybe really going through with the wedding. I’d forgotten about the whole honeymoon thing. Yikes.”

“Sorry, babe, I know this is all on fast-forward. Oh, look who’s here now! The fun-killer!”

A taxi pulled up by the curb, and Teresa climbed out.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Princess Charming,” Gabriel said. “Huh. She somehow looks a little less bitchy this morning.”

Winthrop had been sitting on the bench next to theirs with a scowl on his face, looking as glum as ever. He glanced up when Teresa walked towards them.

“Gabriel, I need to talk to you privately,” Kelly said, and he let her tug him away, heading down the sidewalk and leaving Teresa and Winthrop alone. Teresa sat down on the bench next to Winthrop.

“What’s happening over there?” Gabriel stared at them in astonishment.

Kelly snorted. “What do you think’s happening? Okay, let me explain it to you. Sometimes, a boy and a girl like each other very very much…”

“Really? Teresa and Winthrop?” He looked at Kelly questioningly, then glanced over at the two of them again. “Yeah, I could see it. They’ve got a lot in common. They’re both like human versions of Eeyore the Donkey.”

Kelly strangled on a laugh. “Oh God. No, no, no. Now I’ll never get that image out of my mind.”

“You’re welcome.”

Winthrop and Teresa were leaning in close, and Teresa was saying something to him, with an intense look in her eyes.

Then Winthrop reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Oh my God,” Gabriel said to Kelly in a low, shocked voice. “That look on his face. I’ve never seen that before. It’s terrifying. He’s…he’s
smiling
.”

A few minutes later, Teresa and Winthrop seemed to have reached some kind of agreement, because Teresa actually smiled back as Winthrop pulled out his cell phone and began entering her number into it. That was the first genuinely happy smile Kelly had seen on Teresa’s face in ages, she realized. Whenever she’d been with Chad, her smile had had a tense, frantic quality to it.

Off in the distance, Kelly heard the sound of sirens. She glanced at Gabriel, who was frowning now. “They’re heading north,” he observed. “The same direction those dragons flew a little while ago. Well, whatever’s happening, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

As the Kingsleys wrapped up their business a little while later, several patrol cars pulled up and parked next to Gabriel.

Principe Teague climbed out, accompanied by half a dozen dragon centurions. Calder climbed out of one of the cars.

“What a surprise to see you here,” Teague said. “Why is it that every time you’re nearby, something bad happens to the Maplethorpes?”

“Fortunate coincidence,” Gabriel said with a nasty smile, his eyes blazing red. Kelly smelled a faint hint of sulfur as smoke drifted from his nostrils.

“You don’t have any proof that they have anything to do with this,” Calder said to Teague with annoyance.

“I’m your Principe.” Teague’s lips curled back in a snarl. “You do not question me in front of others.” His centurions gathered behind him, their expressions hostile.

“You’re the Principe of the ice dragons. I work for the Dragon Elders, not for you.”

“The last thing we need is your help,” Gabriel snapped at Calder.

Calder snorted. “Good, because I’m not trying to help. I want to see the investigation done properly, and the right people punished for this crime. At this moment, despite what Teague is saying, the centurions have no reason to think it’s you.”

“No reason? Every time there’s an attack on the Maplethorpes, they’re right there!”

“They’re three miles from the house.” Calder met Teague’s gaze with a steady, unflinching glare.

“Punished for what? What happened this time?” Tabitha said irritably. “Did Pandora’s extensions catch on fire?”

“Very close,” Teague said, his eyes glowing blue. “The Maplethorpes’ house caught on fire. Four fire dragons flew over it and burned it to a crisp. If the Maplethorpes had been home at the time, they’d have been killed.”

There were several gasps of shock and surprise from the Kingsley family members.

“Nice try,” Teague sneered. “So you’re pretending you didn’t know? That’s what we’re going with?”

He glanced over at Kelly. “Got anything to say for yourself? We’ve been doing some checking up on you. You can manipulate power gems, which means that you shouldn’t have anything to do with the Kingsleys.”

“Do your research. It means that I can’t work for them as a gem empath,” Kelly said coolly.

“In theory, a power gem could influence a dragon’s behavior,” Teague said, his cold gaze fixed on Kelly. “It could cause them to attack.”

“In theory, you could remove your head from where it’s inserted up your ass, but I’m not holding my breath.” Gabriel’s teeth were bared, and the air around him was so hot that Kelly had to take several steps back. “We’re going home. And if you try to stop us, I will issue you a sky challenge right now.”

“Hey! Completely unnecessary! I do not have any power gems on me,” Kelly said, glaring at Teague. “And I’m not a damn sociopath.”

“Are you willing to let a female officer pat you down, just to verify that?” Calder asked, gesturing at a blonde female ice dragon.

Kelly said, “Sure, why not?” at the exact same moment that Gabriel said, “Hell, no.”

Shaking her head, Kelly walked over to the dragons and handed her purse to Calder. “Search away,” she said.

The female officer patted her down as Gabriel scowled protectively. Calder swiftly went through her purse, then looked at Teague and shook his head. “Nothing.” He tossed the purse back to Kelly.

Kelly grabbed Gabriel’s arm. “Let’s go home,” she said to him. Home, meaning back to the castle. The castle where she’d marry Gabriel and live with him for the rest of her life – if Teague wasn’t the death of them first.

“You set a mean brunch table, Winthrop,” Kelly observed the next day. Winthrop normally set a strictly formal table. This morning he’d decided to embellish it with napkins folded into swans and little wrapped nosegays on her and Gabriel’s plates.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“And you seem to be smiling.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, ma’am,” Winthrop said, pouring more ice water into her glass, and then retreating.

“That’s why he’s smiling,” Gabriel said, inclining his head as Teresa walked towards them, holding a paper shopping bag.

She stopped by the table. “Can I join you for lunch?” she asked hesitantly. “I brought a gift of apology, just in case you’d consider letting me act like a sister for once.”

She dug into the bag and pulled out a Styrofoam box and a gift-wrapped box.

“A pearl bracelet for my sister, and a filet mignon for you,” she said to Gabriel.

She sat down at the table next to Kelly. Winthrop hurried over and poured her a cup of coffee, a smile playing on his lips. Again. This was getting positively unsettling.

Gabriel grabbed the Styrofoam box and opened it, and nodded in appreciation. Then he slid the meat onto his plate.

He sawed off a big piece of meat and shoved it into his mouth. “She makes a strong argument for why we should accept her back into the family,” he told Kelly.

“So you can be bought off with meat?” Kelly asked, putting on the bracelet and admiring the pearls, which had a delicate hint of rose pink to them.

His eyes gleamed. “Among other things. As you know.”

Kelly’s cheeks colored. “Ahem. My sister is here. If you
don’t
mind.”

“Yes, really,” Teresa said, her cheeks also reddening. She glanced at Winthrop. “They are incorrigible, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are. Absolutely unsuitable for a lady of your refined qualities.” He didn’t address Teresa as “ma’am”, Kelly noted.

“Anyway. Have you heard anything more about those fire dragons that burned down the Maplethorpes’ house?” Teresa asked. “It was in the paper this morning. The fire dragons apparently said the same thing as the ice dragons – they literally don’t remember any of it. Principe Teague was quoted as saying that it’s still under investigation.”

“No, we haven’t been able to uncover a thing,” Gabriel said.

“I got a very interesting phone call this morning,” Teresa said. “From Chad. He said that he had been thinking about it, and he laid out the conditions under which he would be willing to take me back.”

Winthrop had grabbed the coffee carafe and was about to pour Gabriel some more coffee. He froze where he stood, staring at Teresa, wide-eyed.

“I would need to quit my job and agree never to work again, and I would need to write a letter of apology to his parents for the embarrassment I’ve caused them, and I would need to agree to cut off all contact with you immediately and permanently.”

Teresa paused for dramatic effect. Then she gave a sly smile. “I told him to kiss my – Winthrop, you may want to cover your ears. No? Okay, I warned you – ass.”

Winthrop broke out in a huge smile and refreshed Gabriel’s coffee.

“But I don’t usually speak in such an inappropriate fashion,” she added quickly to Winthrop.

“Of course not,” Winthrop said. “But on this occasion, I think it was entirely justified.”

Then he glanced up, and his brow creased. Everyone else followed his gaze. There were a couple of dozen ice dragons flying towards the castle, their enormous bodies glittering ice-blue and white.

Gabriel leaped to his feet and rushed into the castle with Kelly, Teresa and Winthrop at his heels.

“Stay inside,” Gabriel said to Kelly. “They’re probably here to try to arrest you on some kind of trumped-up charge. Let me deal with it.”

They hurried through the castle, and Kelly waited in the drawing room as Gabriel rushed out the front door. Looking through the enormous windows, she could see that Calder had driven up in his car. Fifteen of the dragons were still in dragon form, but Calder, Principe Teague and several of Teague’s men were in human form now, naked.

Gabriel, his parents, several of Gabriel’s cousins, and about a dozen of Gabriel’s employees stood on the front steps. There was a lot of arguing and yelling and arm-waving going on, and puffs of steam and smoke emanating from dragons’ curved nostrils.

Finally, Kelly glanced at Teresa and said, “Screw it,” and headed for the door.

“Miss, Gabriel told you to stay inside!” Winthrop protested, following at her heels.

She ignored him and walked out onto the front steps. To her surprise, Gabriel turned and glared at her with a look of utter fury and betrayal.

“I trusted you,” he said simply.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You betrayed us,” Tabitha said bitterly. “You told the Elders about Alexandra.”

“I didn’t tell the Elders!” Kelly spluttered. “I told my mother, because I thought she might be able to find a healing stone that would save Alexandra.”

“Why would you do that?” Gabriel demanded angrily. “Now the Elders are giving us forty-eight hours to hand over Alexandra to be terminated. That’s what happens to mentally ill dragons. That’s why we kept her hidden. Is the commission on the ruby that important to you? Hell, we could have given you the money if it mattered that much.”

Kelly looked at him in shock. That was what he thought of her? He might as well have stabbed her in the heart.

“I was trying to help,” she said furiously.

“There’s no point in lying now,” Gabriel said, his voice bitter.

“Hey, more bad language coming your way,” Teresa piped up. “Fuck. You. Don’t you dare talk to my sister that way.”

Winthrop cleared his throat.

“I know, I know, you can’t see me anymore,” Teresa said, her tone resigned.

“Actually, I was going to let you know that I will be packing my bags. I wonder if your hotel has an adjoining suite.” Winthrop gave Gabriel a severe, chastising look.

“I’ll help you pack,” Teresa said, and followed him back into the castle.

Tears of hurt and anger filled Kelly’s eyes. “I have never lied to you,” she said to Gabriel. “From the minute I came here, I told you that I was going to do my very best to find the Dragonsblood and that I would turn you in for it when I found it. Does that sound like somebody who’s trying to deceive you? If I had known what would happen to Alexandra, I wouldn’t have told my agency. I’m going to take a cab into town, and I’m going do my very best to track down some healing stones somehow before the deadline is up. And you can all kiss my ass.”

“Did you know about this?” Principe Teague asked Calder. “Did you know that your family was concealing a mentally ill dragon in their castle and endangering the lives of every human being in the valley?”

Calder met his gaze. “I knew my sister was here, yes. I visit her as often as I can. And she isn’t a danger to anybody.”

Teague’s eyes lit up and he said, tone gloating, “When I tell the Dragon Elders about it, you will be fired.”

“So be it,” Calder said coolly. “I regret nothing.”

“You know, while I’m being
truthful
, you are all being a bunch of hypocrites, blaming Calder for your problems,” Kelly snapped. “You were the ones who caused Alexandra’s condition. You didn’t mean to, I know, but you one hundred percent are responsible for it. It’s not his damn fault that he did his job and prevented Emerson from stealing the citrine. I’d have done the same thing in his position.”

Smoke poured from Tabitha’s nostrils, and scales covered her body. “You…you…you…”

“I what?” Kelly yelled. “You can’t say anything because you know I’m right!”

She stomped off towards the end of the driveway, and heard footsteps thudding after her.

“Hold on,” Calder called. “I’ll give you a ride.”

Kelly sighed and climbed into his car. She blinked back tears as they drove away, but she refused to look back at the castle, and she refused to cry. She was too pissed off.

They drove to town in silence, and Calder parked on the town’s main street, in front of the Dragon’s Scale Hotel.

“They’ll have rooms here,” he said. Then he glanced at her as she slid out of her seat. “You know, my brother really loves you.” Calder sighed. “For what it’s worth.”

“I love him too, for what it’s worth, but I’ve spent a lifetime being treated like crap for things I didn’t do, and I’m done with it,” Kelly said. “Thank you for the ride.”

She went to the front desk and checked in, with a dull feeling of sorrow settling in her stomach. Then she went up to her room and started calling everyone she knew, desperately trying to find a lead on any jewel that might help Alexandra.

Nothing.

She finally flopped back on her bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling. Her phone rang, and she quickly grabbed it, hoping it was somebody with an answer.

“Hello?” she said eagerly.

“It’s me,” Teresa said. “Where are you right now?”

“I got a room at the Dragon’s Scale. Where are you?”

“I’m going to come pick you up right now. And if Calder’s still with you, don’t tell him.”

“He’s not still with me. Why?”

“Because I’ve got an idea about how to get the Sunrise Citrine.”