Father came forward then, tears brimming in his eyes, the wisps of hair across his balding head artfully combed over. His suit was tailored and fine and better than anything he’d probably worn in his whole life.
“I knew you’d live among the stars one day,” he said with a tremor in his voice. “I wish your mother could’ve been here to see this. She would’ve been so proud.” A tear overflowed, and he grabbed my hands. “So proud!”
Heat prickled my eyes, and my chest felt heavy. “Thanks, Dad,” I said, hugging him.
“I gotcha—here we are.” Leala grabbed the crown so that it didn’t topple off my head. It had been made with my exact measurements in mind, but it was heavy and cumbersome, made with jewels we’d taken from the ceremonial weaponry in the armory. Despite the booming demand for our cures and elixirs, we didn’t have a lot of funds to spare. With Nyfain’s and my approval, Hannon had poured most of the kingdom’s profits back into the people, continuing to fix houses, lanes, and get them set up with supplies to make sellable goods. There was an incredible expense involved, but Nyfain was confident it would be better for the kingdom in the long run.
Sable and Dash stepped up, Sable in a satin dress with a smudge of dirt around the hem, with really cute curls bobbing around her head. Dash had his hair combed with a little splash of unruliness around his cowlick, and he wore a beige suit that had one more dirt smear than Sable’s. They’d clearly not done their best to keep things clean, but given their normal state of attire, I counted myself lucky.
“Wow, Finley.” Sable’s eyes sparkled as she looked me over. “You look really pretty.”
“I thought you didn’t like looking pretty,” Dash objected. “What’s the point of it?”
“To make people envious.” Sable elbowed him. “To make them desire you.”
“Ew. Finley, that’s not right, is it?”
I laughed and ran my thumb across his cheek. “No, that’s not right. I’m playing a part. People like to look at pretty faces, and so I am distracting them with mine while plotting a way to get my knife in their ribs.” I winked at him.
“Finley, now, that’s not the kind of thing a queen should say to children,” Father admonished.
“Ever the dragon queen,” Arleth said, motioning me toward the door. “Go make my son the proudest king this world has ever known.”
Vemar stood with the door handle gripped in his large hand. “You sure do clean up well, Strange Lady,” he said with a crooked smile. “But look at this.” He smoothed down the burgundy satin lapels of his suit coat. The rest of his ensemble was black except for the burgundy loafers adorning his huge feet. “Pretty slick, huh? I was so excited to represent, I barely noticed that weird ol’ seamster talking about getting his eye poked out while fitting me. He’s obsessed with eye safety for some reason.”
“Yes, yes, we know your cock is huge,” Hadriel cut in dryly. “Let’s move along.”
“As you wish, Sir Butler.” Vemar opened the door with a flourish and then bowed as I passed.
Tamara waited just outside the door in a loose slip of burgundy, ready to shift at a moment’s notice if any threats should arise. The rest of my guard waited beyond her, along the sides of the hall—a collection of dragons and wolves, returning and new, women all. Nyfain would have a collection of men in his guard, and our burgeoning army would be a free-for-all, spots going to those best suited for them.
“I think I am getting a little tired of the color burgundy,” I murmured as I reached her.
Speak for yourself, my dragon thought.
Tamara gave me a tight smile. “The mad king was obsessed with seeing the color of his scales everywhere,” she said as we walked down the line of the guard. The guards toward the end started walking, keeping to my sides to box me into their protection (or not let me get in trouble). “The whole castle was essentially a dull green. Right this way, your majesty.”
She gestured me toward the grand staircase.
“You’re going to use my title all the time now, aren’t you?”
“Only when it’s necessary, I promise.”
She increased her speed to walk directly in front of me with Jade and Lucille at my sides.
I’d wondered if there was a throne room in this castle back in the day, and had since realized that yes, there had been, and the demons stole it piece by piece so it could be rearranged in Dolion’s castle. Dolion had obviously changed the colors, however, wanting to fit the stolen riches to his tastes.
“Was there ever a contract drawn up regarding the mad king’s dealings with Dolion?” I wondered aloud. “I can’t imagine it was expressly noted that Dolion couldn’t steal anything, or that he could, but surely there were some ground rules. Besides, it seems like the council must have some rules of warfare they ascribe to, and stealing would be frowned upon.”