Mischievous Prince Page 9

  The palace castle stood over the valley. Eve gestured that Sadie should follow her down to a nearby village. They walked along the edge of a forest that hugged around the small cottages and patches of farmland. Specs of yellow dotted the bushes. Cobblestone paths joined houses on the hillside. “It’s like stepping back in time, isn’t it? Only cleaner than I’d imagine the Middle Ages to be. Or onto a movie set. Medieval village, take one.” Eve pushed her hands forward and then stretched her arms wide to encompass the scene like a director. “Cue the dragon men leaving their homes to work the fields, toiling under the three suns to grow the grain to make blue bread, who must fight against the tyranny of—”

  “The crazy Lord Montague,” Sadie supplied in a dramatic voice.

  Eve laughed, hard. She nodded her head. “Can you believe that man’s nerve? Trying to forbid us from leaving the palace. I’m sorry, I love my prince husband, but I’m my own person, and I come and go as I please. I’d like to think that’s what he loves about me.”

  Sadie’s smile fell, as she again thought of what Finn said. One fact played over and over in her brain—she was not his true love. That didn’t mean she wasn’t already falling for him. The pull she felt toward Finn was unlike any attraction she’d ever known. Even now the feel of his lips were ghosted imprints on her skin, branding her as his.

  “Listen to me joking around when you must have a lot of questions. I know I did. I had so many I didn’t know where to even begin. First, don’t let the shifter part frighten you. It’s not like the wolf man. They don’t go all crazy on the full moon. They don’t have full moons here. They can control the change. They shift when they want to, or automatically as a form of bodily protection—like if they were to fall off a cliff or be attacked by a knife.”

  Sadie let the woman talk, unsure if Eve was trying to convince her to stay, trying to put her at ease, or simply trying to fill the silence. Perhaps Eve had been without Earth company for so long that the words flowed in an unstoppable gush of excitement.

  “My husband tried to tell me that a female dragon can fly, but I’ve never seen it.” Eve laughed. “Come to think of it, my husband said he’s never seen it either. I doubt it’s true, which is a pity. That would be awesome to see. Also, a pity is the fact that shifting is not contagious. I so wanted to be a dragon and fly, but apparently once a human always a human.”

  Sadie took a deep breath. The smell of cotton candy and vanilla cookies filled her nose. It carried on the breeze as if coming from the grasses or trees. Mountains surrounded the palace and village, their tall spiked peaks pointing toward the sky. It was like an underground giant had reached up from the earth to cradle the city in his hand.

  This moment felt important, like standing on the edge of a cliff deciding whether or not to jump. Strange sounds came from within the trees. The skinny trunks were covered with bubble-textured bark.

  “Birds,” Eve explained when she saw Sadie turn toward the sound. “Everything is just close enough to Earth to be recognizable, and just alien enough to be strange.” She paused and waved as she neared a group of farmers. They wore the tunic shirts and pants in the same style she’d seen on those in the palace. “Murdock, come, meet Princess Sadie!”

  “I’m not a princess,” Sadie denied, trying to keep her voice low.

  “If you’re not taken, you’re on the market,” Eve said. “Do you want to be on the market? Or is it safe to assume you’re cool hanging out as Finn’s woman for now?”

  “Uh, I’m, ah, cool hanging as Finn’s friend,” Sadie answered. Eve had a unique way of talking to get her point across.

  “Well you come,” Murdock stated as he approached.

  “Welcome,” Eve whispered in translation.

  “Thank you,” Sadie said. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sadie.”

  “I am Muireadhach,” the farmer said.

  “Don’t even try to say it. Call him Murdock,” Eve suggested.

  “Yes, Princess Eve says I am a Murdock,” Muireadhach allowed. “And may I say, Princess Sadie, you are a quite bitchin’ babe.”

  Sadie’s mouth opened, but she wasn’t sure how to answer.

  “Your language is coming along nicely,” Eve praised the man.

  “Thank you,” Muireadhach grinned. “Princess Eve has been teaching me to blend for when I am allowed to cross over the portal.”

  “Rock-n-roll.” Eve threw a couple of fingers into the air.

  “Rock-n-roll,” the man repeated the gesture as if it was a suitable way to say goodbye.

  Sadie arched a brow.

  “What?” Eve shrugged. “He wanted to learn to be cool.”

  “And that other stoic guy behind him staring at us like he couldn’t be bothered?” Sadie asked.

  “No English. That’s Beringer. He married one of the last dragon-shifter females so feels no need to speak our words. You’ll find a lot of the married men are like that. They have their mates, so they’re not looking to talk to other females.” Eve waved at the man. He gestured politely in kind before waving Murdock back toward the fields.

  Eve continued her tour of the village, introducing Sadie as a princess to everyone they came across. The people appeared to have a real affection for her, all but a few of the married men who kept back. None of the single men tried to flirt with them, which Sadie found strange for a planet full of guys who didn’t have women around. Then again, she kept thinking about Finn back in his bed and didn’t try flirting with any of them.

  Between greetings, Eve explained how the planet was divided in half. The Var cat-shifters lived to the south of the dragons. Each shifter population stayed on their side of the planet—not because they fought, but because they had different ways of doing things. Eve had never heard of a dragon-shifter and cat-shifter having a baby, but supposed they would make a bizarre creature.

  “Fluffy dragon or hairless cat,” Eve had supposed with another of her playful laughs.

  If that weren’t terrifying enough, aliens from outer space would sometimes visit. In the west, they were breaking ground on some ore mines to make an intergalactic trade. It was going to be a long time before operations were set up—perhaps even generations.

  By the time they made their way back toward the palace, Sadie felt she had a reasonable sense of the planet and the people. Eve had done her best to convince her she needed to stay and help keep the portals open. None of that mattered.

  There was one thing Eve didn’t realize her tour had revealed. The dragon couples loved each other very much. The adoration when Beringer looked at his wife, when any of them looked at their wives, was potent and strong. They didn’t need a ray of light or sprinklings of fairy dust. The love was there for all to see. How could Sadie agree to stay married to Finn and keep him from finding such pure happiness for himself with his true mate? And an even harder question—how could she live with him knowing she could never be who he was destined for?

  Sadie pondered these things, mulling them over in her mind, and the more she thought about them, the more her feelings for Finn deepened.

  11

  Finn stared down the long palace hall, wanting nothing more than to go to the village and find Sadie. He worried about her, about what Eve was telling her about him, about her being in the village around unmated men. What if she found her true mate? What if she left him? The pain he felt at that idea was real.

  Finn knew he had a reputation for not taking things seriously because he often tried to lighten the mood with jokes and laughter. No more. He was married now. He needed to realize his potential. For himself. For his people. For Sadie. She deserved a husband she could be proud of.

  With his goal in mind, he turned his attention to the council chamber door and waited.

  “You’re early,” his brother Kyran acknowledged, not bothering to hide the surprise in his blue gaze. His black hair was pulled back from his face. “I thought I would have to drag you to this meeting.”

  “Of course I came,” Finn answered. “It’s my du
ty to be here.”

  Kyran gave him a perplexed look before carefully answering, “Care to tell me what happened before we go in there? Are there any truths to the rumors?”

  “My wife is not diseased,” Finn stated. He balled his fists in warning, ready to take on anyone who tried to claim such a thing.

  “I know that.” Kyran lifted is hands as if to tell his brother to take it easy. His voice lowered to a hush. “That much goes without saying. What I meant is there anything to the rumors about Ivar?”

  “What are people saying?”

  “Many things.” Kyran didn’t try to lighten the gossipmongers’ words, as he said, “That you lured Ivar through the portal and then killed him on the other side. You both took an unsanctioned trip and tried to abduct a village of graveyard bound woman in a desperate move to distract the elders. That the two of you went through, met with trouble, and you abandoned him like a coward. That you defied the will of the gods. That you stumbled out into the prairie broken and bloody, and chased a screaming human woman. That Ivar did not come back at all. You did it because of a woman. You did it because you are jealous of Ivar. You did it because—”

  “Enough,” Finn stopped him. “How are such things being said so quickly? There were only a handful of men who saw me come back from the trip. Only a few of them could know about Sadie running and screaming when she first arrived. Ivar had just thrown her through the portal without warning. Can we blame her for being a little shaken?”

  “Then one of the guards on duty that night is the one spreading the rumors. Who all were there?”

  “Gudmund, Cleve, Albin, Cedar, Gale, Jaron…” Finn motioned weakly. “Then whoever rode out with our parents and Lord Montague, but all of them came later after the marriage tent. Cedar and Gale don’t speak the Earth language, so they probably heard nothing worth repeating. Plus they did not come too close to Sadie. They did search the tunnels for Ivar before realizing he didn’t make it back from the other side.”

  “I trained with them. And with Albin. They’re loyal, and not ones for gossip,” Kyran said. “I doubt Jaron would spread rumors. He’s in line to be one of the first through the portal to find a mate if and when travel opens. He has spoken out many times at the public meetings to keep the portal open.”

  “Cleve is young and eager to prove himself worthy of the post,” Finn dismissed. “I think this was the first unmated woman the lad had ever seen. I don’t perceive him as talking out of turn to anyone who would listen.”

  “Do you think… Gudmund?” Kyran frowned. “I have not had many interactions with Gudmund. I always had the impression he keeps his opinions close.”

  Finn’s memories of his return were still a little jumbled after hitting his head. “Gudmund tried to convince me to hide Sadie in the Mining Camp. He seemed confident someone would take her as a wife. He appeared very worried that the Var King and Queen would be upset about Ivar.”

  “Naturally, that’s a safe assumption,” Kyran put forth. “But why would Gudmund suggest that you give away your mate? To do so would be to go against the will of the gods. We have spent weeks at the temple begging the gods to send them to us. How could he suggest you…?” Kyran paused, evidently reading something in Finn’s expression. “Tell me, brother.”

  “I care for Sadie,” Finn said, not wanting to admit the truth. He’d told himself that no one would ever know.

  “As you should,” Kyran agreed. “I care for her as well, as she is part of you. She is family.”

  “I care for her greatly, but I do not think she is my mate. I did not have the explosion inside of me that others speak of when it happens. I don’t hear her in my thoughts. I—”

  “Then by all the dragons, Finn, why would you take her to your marriage tent?” Kyran exclaimed a little too loudly. He glanced around, before saying in a quieter tone, “What were you thinking? We’re dragons, not Var. We do not take half mates. You bound yourself to her. You cannot have another.”

  Finn didn’t want two wives. He wanted to know the connection of a true mate—feeling what they felt as if it were his own emotions, hearing her voice inside his head. “I did it for our people. The elders want to close the portal. Someone had to do something to stop them. Ivar agreed with me. We went to find wives. We hoped it would be mates, but any wives would have to do. This isn’t about my happiness. It’s about the future of the dragons.”

  “There’s more. I see it in your eyes.” Kyran narrowed is gaze.

  “I did not tell Ivar this when we left, but I was planning on not coming back. I was going to stay behind and force the elders to leave the portal open for another year.”

  “That is why your bag had so much Earth cash in it,” Kyran concluded. “People were saying you’d gone to purchase women with the currency. Gods’ bones, Finn, you are a fool. This is not some boyhood game.”

  “You call me at fool because I want to save our people? Tell me what should I have done? Stand aside and let our people die out?” Finn ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He felt the scab from where he’d hit his head on the cave floor. “I tried to speak up. The king and queen would not hear me. The elders have their own agenda.”

  “Lord Montague wants what is best for the people,” Kyran defended. “Those ideas may not line up with what we think is right. But he would not hurt the dragons.”

  “I did what I had to do. I feel no need to defend my actions to you, brother.” Finn reached for the council chamber door. “I’m going in.”

  “Wait.” Kyran placed a hand on Finn’s arm to stop him. “I was not implying that you don’t care about our people. I’m sorry I called you a fool. I’m just surprised that you would go to such an extreme. We must have faith that the gods have a plan, Finn.”

  “Maybe what happened is their plan. I wanted to be the one to stay behind, but they left Ivar there instead.”

  “I doubt the Var king and queen will see Ivar being trapped on Earth as anything but betrayal.” Kyran sighed. “I know that it was not your intention, but if we do not handle this correctly, it could very well start a war between the shifters.”

  Finn felt the words like a kick in the gut, but how could he counter them? “I will do anything I can to make this right.”

  “We should speak to Gudmund,” Kyran said. “See if any of the rumors emanated from him. Maybe he detected Sadie was not meant for you and was reacting. If he offered to take her to the Mining Camp maybe he had other ideas in mind. Did there seem to be anything between Gudmund and your wife?”

  Finn frowned, wanting to answer that question with his fists. Nothing was happening between Gudmund and his wife. He was sure of it. Or was he? A memory flashed through his mind. Cleve had looked at Sadie the same way Finn had looked at her, full of curiosity and hope. Gudmund had an altogether different look when he looked at Sadie. The difference in Gudmund’s expression could’ve been from the realization that this woman was not meant for the prince, and he therefore sought to separate her from Finn by any means necessary. He could not blame the man. If someone had his true mate, Finn would have done anything to steal her away.

  A whirlwind of emotions filled Finn. He was angry and jealous and sad and worried all at the same time. Sadie was his wife. He did not want to lose her. The idea of her with Gudmund was almost more than he could bear. Finn wanted to punch a wall. He wanted to run through the forest in shifted form to let out some of his tension. Instead, he took a deep breath and again reached for the council chamber’s door. He heard voices coming from inside.

  “This is a most serious offense we are dealt. There are rumblings of foul play already starting within the Var—” At their entrance, Lord Montague stopped talking. He stood before the seated elders, arms still wide from his gesturing as he gave his political discourse. The man’s pompous expression was no different than usual, but it annoyed Finn especially on this occasion. “My princes, welcome.”

  Montague waved his hand as he invited them into the council chamber. Yet ano
ther condescending act from the man.

  “I see you started without us, even though we’re early.” Kyran’s tone mocked the elder statesman.

  “We were simply discussing an important matter that affects all of us,” Montague responded.

  “By all means, do continue my lord, if it cannot wait for the king and queen to join us,” Kyran ordered. The censure in his voice was not lost on the gathering. He took his customary seat and folded his arms over his chest. As the oldest brother, he was the highest-ranking royal in the room.

  Montague’s eyes locked with Kyran’s briefly in a battle of the wills before he turned back with a wide smile. “As I was saying, my friends, it affects us all when our cat-shifting neighbors are displeased. We have all come to depend on the harmony that has existed on this planet since coming here through the portal. Yes, I will not deny that there have been times of strife between our two peoples, but we have always overcome adversities by being open and honest and forthright in our dealings with the Var.”

  Finn grunted rudely in irritation, stopping the man from continuing. He knew that he should keep quiet for the moment but couldn’t help himself as he said, “I do not think you should speak prematurely on things you do not know about. Perhaps, it would be best for you to get the facts straight, before resorting to rumors and gossip.”

  Kyran’s eyes narrowed, and Finn knew his brother wished him to stop talking. He was openly challenging the word of the head elder, and he did so in front of council members while inside the hall. The insult was not lost an anyone, least of all Montague.

  “Prince Finn, is it or is it not true that you traveled with Prince Ivar through a portal to Earth without the permission or the foreknowledge of the elders and your parents?”