The Dragon King (17 page)

I nodded and held my head a little higher and my shoulders back just a touch more. The doors to the palace were held open for us, and the red carpet continued as we walked through the foyer into the main ballroom. The Winter Queen was on her throne on the raised stage at the other end of the room, a large waterfall cascading down the wall behind her.

The carpet ended a few feet into the room, and Aaron and I walked to her, hand in hand. I’d never figured out if it were magic or an optical illusion, but though the other side of the ballroom appeared to be about forty yards away, one had to walk about two hundred yards to get to it.

When we finally reached her, Aaron bent at the waist a few inches and I gave a half-curtsy. Visiting royalty were required to show respect without having to fully kneel or prostrate.

“My Queen,” I greeted, my eyes on her gem encrusted shoes peeking out from beneath her elaborate full-length dress. “I’ve brought my mate. The Land let us in without stripping his powers, My Lady. We landed outside your gate as giant Swans before entering in our human forms.”

The Winter Queen stood and walked down to us. She kissed my cheek first, then Aaron’s.

“It seems you have a thing for queens, my old Consort. You’ve done well and I can see she makes you happy. I wish you the best.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Your Majesty. I hope I make her as happy as she makes me.”

“My dear,” she said to me, standing before me again, her voice loud enough this time so everyone in the room could hear. I smelled my father and Cyrano, though I hadn’t seen them. I’d focused on the dais as I neared it, not wanting to appear rude by looking around.

“My great grandfather had a tryst with a human woman, and the product of their affair was your grandmother. Your entry into the world brought much talk, and even more gossip. My sister and I both wanted to mentor you, and in the end we had to agree to each have control of you during our reign.” I gasped as the implications slammed into me. I was related to both the Summer and Winter Queens — some kind of cousin?

“If you ever came to power, I always assumed it would happen under my sister’s reign. The fact you were born under my rule and will be crowned so close to your birthday brings much discussion as to the energy of your reign. Your choice of mate has added to the rumors and speculation. I’m thrilled to claim you as mine, but today, for the first time ever, you’ll be in the room with me and Titania at the same time.” Her voice dropped as she finished, her words slamming into me as if I’d been punched in the gut. “You must choose which of us is to crown you, Sophia.”

There was no good answer to this.
None
.

“Can my mate and I ask for a private audience with the two of you, My Queen?”

Her smile told me she approved of the question, and she tilted her head as she said. “Titania is waiting for us in my chambers. You must be hungry after flying in.”

I was, but I it was generally considered a bad idea to accept food as a guest while in Faerie.

When we stepped into Mabel’s elaborate chambers I saw Titania standing at the bar with a cocktail glass in her hand, elegant as ever.

Mabel was dark and beautiful, scary and powerful. One wanted to fall to the ground to beg her not to hurt you. As a child I’d been coached to only give the half curtsy, but her power scared me so bad it was all I could do to keep to my feet and not wet myself at times.

Titania was light and elegant, her beauty overwhelming and her energy so strong it was hard not to fall to your knees at her feet to worship her — not out of fear, but out of awe at her power and beauty.

She had a kind smile for me, and then her eyes locked with Aaron’s and her gaze was harsh and cold. I turned to look at my lover, who froze in place as he held her gaze.

Twenty seconds into the icy stare-off, he tilted his head and said, “Queen Titania, you look as lovely as ever. I’d like to present my mate, the Dragon Queen and Swan Princess. I believe the two of you are well acquainted?”

Her head tilted, her smile colder than I’d ever seen it. I’d never in my life been afraid of Titania, but in that moment I wanted to run screaming from the room. Aaron gave my hand a small squeeze and I managed my emotions and worked to convince my body it was calm and in control. I didn’t want to broadcast to those with a good sense of smell how terrified I was, after all.

“While not exclusively mine for some time,” she told him, her voice laced with daggers, “I’ve still considered you mine for over a century. I haven’t given you leave to take a mate.”

Aaron took a breath to respond, but I let go of his hand and took three steps in front of him. “I don’t know what game you and your sister have played with me for the past twenty-five years, but you had to know he’d play a part in it or you wouldn’t have hidden from him your importance to me. Aaron had no idea we were even acquainted, much less the fact you’re my Faerie Godmother! Not only that, I was never told you and your sister were apparently sharing custody of me! I
adored
you, and you weren’t honest with me, and now you dare to speak to my
mate
as if you own him?”

Titania looked at Mabel and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, so she has a lot of you in her.” She shifted her gaze to me and said, “Your Dragon has been a bit of a gigolo over the centuries, my dear. It would be easier to point out the females he hasn’t nailed than to list the ones he’s bedded. Part of me didn’t believe he’d finally found a mate, but seeing the two of you together…” She shook her head. “I’m convinced. I won’t apologize to him for my words, but I’ll ask you to take them with a grain of salt. I respect your claim on him, and hope he can keep his talleywacker in his pants when you aren’t around to entertain it.”

Aaron stepped behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “You both knew I’d never officially mate with someone who couldn’t be mine in every way. I’m sure you’re also both aware she has a dragon form, and now I have a swan form.” He squeezed my shoulder and addressed me, “My Queen, do you have a preference of which sister should crown you?”

I shook my head. “I feel close to both sisters and will not elevate one’s friendship over the other, even though I’m a bit peeved with Titania at the moment, and aggravated with them both.”

Aaron chuckled and said, “Well then, since I’ll be calling Jupiter in for a visit so he can crown her Dragon Queen, why don’t we let him handle the Swan ceremony as well?”

Both Queens froze, their icy stare directed at me, or perhaps at Aaron behind me. He must have felt the affect they had on me because he stepped beside me so I didn’t catch as much of their hostile glares. I could breathe at least a little once the focus wasn’t so close, but Aaron didn’t seem to be the least fazed by the physical weight of their practically twin scowls.

Titania’s voice was breathy, possibly even a little unsettled as she asked, “You would bring our
father
here?”

“I intend to request he come to Chattanooga to crown my Queen, or alternatively ask if we can go to him for the ceremony, if he doesn’t wish to travel. If we can’t come up with a Swan coronation that makes everyone happy then yes, I’m betting he’d be happy to have one ceremony to crown her for both titles.”

The sisters looked at each other a few seconds, and then both said, “Well,
fuck
,” at exactly the same time.

Mabel waved her arm and I was in a beautiful dress. I looked to Aaron, who was wearing a regal tuxedo. The Winter Queen pointed to the seating area and said, “Everyone have a seat and let’s get comfortable.”

When we were seated, Mabel told me, “A few things are negotiable, Sophia. You will be Queen to his king. Titania and I are both in agreement of this, so waiting until the spring won’t change this.”

“Not a problem,” Aaron told her. “She’ll rule the Swans and I’ll rule the Dragons, and we’ll each be second in command of our secondary animal form.”

Mabel nodded and said, “She’ll have to go from human to swan in front of an audience.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Aaron put his hand on mine to quiet me, and said, “The audience needs to see us as a human and as a swan, without either of us leaving their sight, correct?”

“Yes, but Swans turn during sex, which means she’ll have to be okay with public sex.”

“Don’t discount our powers, Mabel.”

My heart skipped a beat waiting for the Winter Queen to tear into Aaron for using her name, but she acted as if she didn’t even notice.

Titania leaned forward. “You’re going to have sex as dragons instead of humans? Is that it?”

Mabel’s eyebrows went up. “However it happens, you’ll need to take the lower position and let her do the fucking. I’ve never seen dragons go at it though, so it could still be a good show.”

Both sisters looked at Aaron, then at me, and Titania said, “No, he’s found a way to spare her. I can see the love he has for her, and she looks as if she’s only a few short hours past losing her virginity.”

“Not acceptable,” Mabel told Aaron. “There will be sex or there will be no crowning.”

“If we don’t have sex before the ceremony then the audience must see the consummation, yes?”

“What are your terms?” Titania asked.

“I can be naked but I want her in a dress. I’ll lift her to my waist, we’ll both remain standing. You’ll put a one-way barrier around us, so the audience can see and hear us, but we can’t hear them. She’ll face the lake but won’t see anyone. I’ll face the audience.”

“No,” said Mabel. “You’ll be bound, with a huge ball gag and a butt plug that’ll split you open and make you bleed. I want your balls wrapped tight, and domes of flesh-eating fireflies over your nipples.”

I looked to Titania, “Will you have the same requirements if we wait until the spring to crown me?”

Titania looked to Aaron, then to me. “As much as I want to hurt him for leaving me, no, dear, I won’t. I’ll allow it to happen the way he wishes.”

I stood as I looked at Mabel. “We’ll take our leave now. I trust the promise of our safety still holds?”

“It does, but please sit back down, Sophia. This is between Aaron and me and doesn’t concern you.”

I didn’t sit, but looked down at her as I said, “He’s my mate and my lover. No one hurts him without going through me. I’d rather have to live in exile than be responsible for his having to go through what you want to do to him!”

Mabel looked genuinely puzzled. “I’ve done much worse to him when he was my lover. It isn’t so bad, and it’s designed to show your power, to make
you
look formidable.”

I shook my head. “Worse! What could be worse?”

Aaron stood and pulled me into his arms, cradling my head to his chest. “You don’t need to know right now, Soph. Let’s keep our eyes on the end goal. Will you let me negotiate this, please? My threat to pull in Jupiter to do the crowning isn’t idle and they both know it. I won’t accept anything I can’t easily handle. I promise.”

I looked him in the eyes, saw the truth of his words, and nodded. His arm pulled me back down to the sofa as he sat, and he put his arm around me comfortably as he told Mabel, “You may stop time to insert a room temperature glass butt plug lubricated with normal virgin coconut oil and nothing else. You may not draw blood, nor may you animate the plug in any way. It must remain inconspicuous to the audience, and must teleport out of my ass and into my luggage as I climax inside Sophia. The glass butt plug will remain mine from that point forward, neither you nor any of your agents will have a claim to it.”

Mabel nodded. “You have half an agreement. The flesh-eating fireflies were my sister’s idea.”

Aaron’s body went rigid, his voice pained as he told Titania, “Our relationship has never been about pain, Tanny.”

The nickname was like a knife in my heart, but I kept my face frozen. He was mine now, but the two of them needed to find a way to part peacefully.

Titania smiled at me before looking at Aaron with sorrow in her eyes. “Before I saw her with you, I wanted to hurt you for leaving me. Now that I’ve seen the two of you together, I get it. So, in lieu of flesh-eating fireflies, how about you being available to fly me into royal functions as a Dragon when I need to make an entrance?”

Aaron looked at me, and I realized he was asking for my input. I considered her request and the most political way to handle it.

“Am I correct that we’re some kind of distant cousin?”

“Second cousins, once removed,” Titania said, her voice tight.

I nodded and said, “Either Aaron or I will try our best to be available, should you be in need of a Dragon to fly you into a royal appearance in order to look even more powerful. I assume having the Dragon Queen fly you in will be as impressive as the Dragon King?”

Titania met my gaze and asked, “You’ll let us be friends? You won’t keep us apart? I’m going to miss him terribly.”

“One year,” Aaron told her. “You can ask her this question on our first wedding anniversary, but not before, Titania.”

Mabel put her hand on her sister’s thigh and told her, “Take it, sister. He’s being more than fair after the things you’ve said since they walked in.”

“I know why she wanted to hurt him, but why did you want to hurt him?” I asked Mabel.

She didn’t look the least apologetic as she said, “It’s who I am, Sophia. I’m Queen of the Unseelie, and we’re all about pain and torture. As a child under my protection, I’ve kept it from you, but as a mated adult there’ll be no way around exposing you to it in the future. I’m assuming Aaron will explain things to you before you return to my court.”

“And you’ll help me shield her from it during this visit?” Aaron asked.

“I will, but don’t ask for it again,” Mabel told him.

He looked at me and said, “You understand what will happen after the ceremony? It’ll be public sex, but you’ll be dressed so no one will see anything, and you won’t be able to hear them. You can pretend no one’s around, if you wish.”

If I’d been given this scenario first there’s no way I could’ve done it, but after hearing the original option, with us both totally nude, him bound, and me doing all the work? This suddenly didn’t seem so bad.