Page 121 of Kingdom of Dance

“Dannsair didn’t hesitate to help me, either,” Princess Penny said.

King Bern stared between the young royals, alarm clear on his features. He settled on his son, probably as the safest one to chastise. “Amell, are you truly telling me you went todragonsfor assistance? Magical assistance? Don’t you understand how incredibly dangerous that was?”

“I really do, Father,” Amell assured him. “But honestly, I didn’t ask for help. They offered it, completely randomly. And Rekavidur even hinted, afterward, that he did so because the magic he was helping me deal with wasn’t human magic at all.”

This comment was met by prolonged silence, broken eventually by Prince Bentleigh.

“But why? I can’t see how any of those curses benefited Idric, or the dragons more generally. Why would he give his power to human enchanters to use for their own ends?”

“That I can’t answer,” said Zinnia heavily. “It always seemed to me that his primary goal was just to cause mischief. But that never satisfied me. He’s more purposeful than that.”

Amell let out a long breath. “So what do we do now?” he asked his father.

“We wait, and we hope that Princess Penny is correct about the impossible speed at which dragons travel,” King Bern said simply.

Zinnia drew close to the newlyweds in the lull that followed. “Congratulations, by the way,” she told them, an apologetic hint to her voice. “I was a little distracted during the ceremony, but it seemed…nice.” She gave Princess Aurelia a slightly awkward smile. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but my father was determined to marry Amell and me off—which neither of us wanted,” she hastened to add. “That was Idric’s plan, I think. To frame my attack as revenge for the supposed slight given to me and my kingdom by your marriage. But I wanted to assure you that I feel nothing but delight for both of you.”

“Thank you,” said Princess Aurelia, returning her smile. “And please don’t be uneasy. I have absolutely no hesitation in believing you.” Her eyes strayed to Obsidian, who had moved when Zinnia did, and was hovering close to her with a protective air that he was probably not even conscious of.

“Are all royal weddings that dramatic?” Princess Aurelia asked, her eyes on Amell now. “When you said that dragons would most likely attend, I had no notion they would be so…involved.”

Amell laughed. In spite of the recent danger, he was clearly bursting with excitement and energy at the stirring events. He had one arm around his bride’s shoulder, and he pulled her against him, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “No, my darling wife, all royal weddings are not like that. I think we’ve just had the privilege of the most dramatic wedding in Solstice’s history.”

“Privilege,” she repeated blankly. “Yes.”

A look of concern flitted across Amell’s face as he gazed down at her. “I’m sorry if you feel our wedding was ruined,” he said, as if the thought had just occurred to him. Heroically, Zinnia refrained from rolling her eyes. “I wanted it to be perfect for you, and I could understand if you felt it was…less than that.”

Princess Aurelia’s eyes were soft as she gazed up at him. “You just called me your darling wife,” she told him simply. “Itisperfect.”

Zinnia turned away, happy for them, but not feeling any need to witness their love more closely.

“You look a little ill, Princess.” Obsidian’s voice was so low in her ear, it sent a delicious shiver down Zinnia’s spine. “Anyone would think you didn’t approve of romance and weddings.”

She flashed him a cheeky grin. “It’s more that I have no taste for energetic, bright-faced princes, Lieutenant. I’m more drawn to dark, brooding war heroes.”

“If you call me a war hero again, I’m going to zap you with my magic,” said Obsidian flatly.

“Who says I was talking about you?” Zinnia quipped.

Before Obsidian could respond, a rushing sound made everyone go still, looking up as if they could see through the ceiling. A moment later, reptilian forms of various sizes and hues began to drop like boulders into the gardens outside the ballroom. Rekavidur was the first to force his way back through the ruined wall, his eyes scanning the waiting group.

“The elders have convened,” he said solemnly.

Chapter Thirty

The other dragons began to move into the room in an unhurried fashion, several of them casually throwing their sides against the already-weakened walls to widen the hole for greater convenience. Zinnia could tell that Queen Pietra was trying valiantly to keep her expression neutral, but she couldn’t quite contain the wince that passed over her at every renewed crash of falling masonry.

Once they entered the ballroom, a few of the dragons made short work of the assembled chairs, using their tails to sweep them all to the sides of the room with splintering crunches. Then they formed a large ring, none of them seeming in the least bothered by the strange way their enormous bodies were cramped in the space.

A small gap was left in the ring, allowing the humans to watch from the sidelines. In the center of the group, eyes sparking with fury, stood Idric.

“This,” Tanin said in a reverberating voice, “is the first time in our colony’s history that the elders have convened outside our lands. But we feel the exception is, in this case, justified. Never before has an accusation been leveled that a dragon has used his magic to the overt detriment of our human neighbors.”

“This is an outrage,” Idric hissed. “What could any dragon have done to deserve the humiliation of being examined in front of humans, and in their debased tongue?”

Zinnia felt a stab of satisfaction at his outrage. Hopefully it was a sign of waning confidence in his chances of winning the elders over.

“That is what we are here to establish,” said Tanin coldly. He turned to the elders. “You have already heard what I witnessed here today. But the newcomer, Rekavidur, wishes to add his own testimony.”

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