Page 24 of The Dragon's Gambit
“I wouldn’t speak to her that way,” Brody snarled as he towered before the man.
“What are you people? You don’t smell like dragons.” The man eyed them in disgust.
“It doesn’t matter, Reynold. She’s right. I shouldn’t have to repeat myself. The answer is no,” the red-haired woman snapped at the man.
“You’ll change your mind. Then you’ll come looking for me.” Reynold chuckled and shook his head. He gave one last sideways glance to the three people before he walked away.
“Thank you. I was trying to figure out another way of telling him no besides lighting him on fire.” The red-haired girl giggled with a shrug.
Reiya could tell immediately that she liked this girl. “I think lighting him on fire still wouldn’t be obvious enough. I’m Reiya, by the way.” Reiya felt the gentle discouraging tug on her arm from Chelsie but shook it off as she walked up to the red-headed woman.
“Ruby. So, who are you exactly?” Ruby extended her hand and gently shook Reiya’s.
“Hmm … that’s a tough question. Who am I exactly? That would be the fairy princess. Why am I here? I’m trying to decide between being a willing prisoner or a caged bird.” Reiya scrunched her brows up as she tried to decide exactly what her role was there.
Ruby giggled. “Xander not letting you leave? Who knows what he’s thinking half the time? I don’t think it’s proper etiquette to keep the fairy princess hostage.”
Reiya realized that this girl had referred to him as Xander and not his majesty. She was someone close to Xander, then. “I didn’t think it was, either, and yet here I am.” Reiya smiled warmly at the girl. “So, besides a dragon, who are you?”
“I am the second princess born of the Southern Dragon Kingdom, so basically a nobody. My older sister and brother take that spotlight. I’m just the afterthought. Everyone ogles over my two older siblings. I’m the obligation. ‘Wait, she’s their little sister,’ and, ‘Oh, she’s their daughter. We better be nice.’ Yep, that’s me. I’m the oddball out.” Ruby shrugged with a crooked grin.
“That Reynold guy there seemed interested enough,” Chelsie dripped out a little poisonously. The truth was, she was feeling possessive over Reiya and didn’t like how friendly the two girls were being.
Ruby looked up and smiled at Chelsie. “That guy there is just a pain, trying to take advantage of an unfair situation.” Ruby frowned slightly. She shook her head and smiled. “In either case, I’m here to have fun and dance and eat way more than a woman is supposed to.” She giggled.
Chelsie couldn’t help it. She was starting to like this girl. Okay, so maybe not all dragons were horrible. Still, they weren’t better than kelpies, but she could grow to like a couple.
Reiya studied the girl while smiling softly at her. There was a sadness in her eyes. Ruby was obviously forcing herself to be happy, but deep down, it was obvious that she was hurting. Everyone had their secrets, and whatever hers were, she planned to keep them to herself. Reiya wondered what it was that was making Ruby sad.
“Reiya.” A deep stern voice sounded from behind her.
Reiya spun around to see Xander seething down at her. Busted.
“Xander.” Reiya smiled at him weakly. She watched as he shifted his angry gaze toward Brody and then back to rest on her. This was the first time he had really directed his anger toward her. She could feel the intensity. There was a deep power that was drilling at her through his eyes. She wouldn’t back down from it, though. She met it head-on and stared defiantly back at him.
Xander’s eyes flickered as he stared at Reiya. “I thought we had an understanding. I told you not to leave the castle. I didn’t want you wandering around. It hasn’t even been that long.”
“Says the person who hasn’t been cooped up all day.” Reiya sighed in frustration. She looked at him with discernment. Was he the one who wanted a map of Elysia? This was still something she would have to figure out with time. What was the purpose of keeping her here?
“It’s not like we’re going to burn her to a crisp, Xander. Why make the poor girl stay locked up in your stuffy castle?” Ruby chimed in, frowning with disapproval.
“Ruby, stay out of this. This is about her safety. Last time I checked, this was the West Dragon Kingdom, not the South. Reiya … Reiya, are you ignoring me?!” Xander watched as Reiya looked away from him, refusing to make eye contact with him. He let out a dark chuckle and reached for her. He heard her gasp as he pulled her into his embrace. “Be careful playing such childish games with me, or I really will lock you up.”
Reiya wasn’t having it. She was tired of being pulled around by these men who just assumed they had the right to hold her close to them. She stomped on his foot and swung her elbow back into his gut. She heard him let out an ‘oof’ sound as she managed to escape his grasp. She took a few fleeting steps backward and landed into another warm chest and strong embrace. She tiltedher head up and clicked her tongue in agitation. She was now being held by Lee.Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Lee bent his head down and spoke gently near her ear. “What a feisty kitten we have here.” He spun her around and pulled her into his chest. “Reiya, I thought I told you I would show you around later.”
“I just needed to get some fresh air. I wanted to clear my head a little.” Not meaning to mention the desire to clear her head, Reiya flinched as the words came out. She felt the strong arms tighten around her.
“Clear your head? What happened?” Lee prodded, resting his head against hers.
“Now, this is an interesting sight. I have never seen you two act like this around someone else.” Ruby smirked as she looked at Xander and Leviathan.
“You can leave now, Ruby.” Xander snarled up at her threateningly. She caught a glimpse of the darkness behind his eyes and immediately took refuge away from it. There was a menacing anger behind his gaze, and she knew better than to provoke it further.
“Reiya, are you going to answer me?” Lee gently squeezed her shoulders.
Reiya lightly gripped at his shirt and closed her eyes. She was absorbing his heat and listening to his soothing voice. She needed to escape from him, where she could think more clearly. Being next to him like this made her feel compelled to tell him everything and give him everything. With an enormous amount of effort, she gently pushed back from him. She looked up to his eyes and for a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of hurt. It was gone just as quickly, so maybe she had imagined it. Sure she had. She wanted him to feel hurt, so she saw the emotion she wished was there, until her mind reminded her that it was never there in the first place. The mind could be such an asshole.
