“Or get information from,” Leala murmured, joining us again. “Remember, we have a job to do here. We are in charge of circulating among their staff. We’ll need to get or spread gossip, depending on how things are going. It might not be so dire here, since Calia will hopefully pave the way toward an alliance, but kingdoms down the line might be dangerous. We’ll need to practice networking.”
“Yes, exactly,” I said as we joined Urien and headed to meet up with Finley and everyone else. They were assembling on the docks, Finley getting constant congratulations and the king staring straight ahead like he wanted to burn the world to the ground.
He’d spent all day hearing various people’s accounts of the dungeons. When it was time for me to give mine, I realized I didn’t feel so seasick when I was afraid for my life. And while I wasn’t in danger from him directly, the vicious rage that radiated from him made my balls tighten up.
Finley had gone last. I wasn’t sure whether she got to finish, because the next thing I knew the king ripped the door off its hinges, threw it, and made short work of getting into the sky. His dragon roared with such rage that my heart jiggled in my chest and the poor sod next to me, a faerie deck hand, pissed himself. The king painted the sky in fire and flew for a long time after that.
It did not seem to help.
That motherfucker was still fuming. He stood stoically, straight and tall and broad and fucking terrifying. Only Finley and Hannon would stand close to him. Not even Weston or Micah kept their usual proximity.
“I can pull off eccentric,” Vemar said, tugging on his oversized lapels.
“You’re too big and mean to pull off eccentric,” I replied. “You’re a dragon. When you fuckers try to be eccentric, it just comes off as dangerous. What do you even do anymore, anyway? The queen has her guard now. She doesn’t need a bodyguard.”
“I look after you so that you can look after her,” he replied. “I’m the guardian of the asshole.”
“Aw. That’s sweet,” Leala said, giving him a smile.
“What in the fuck?” I honestly couldn’t tell if he was serious. Then I decided I didn’t really care. He did actually keep people from picking on me. One look from him and people found somewhere else to be. “Well, just don’t scare people who I need to get information from.”
“Unless scaring them will help,” Leala murmured as we drew closer.
“When would it help?” I whispered.
Vemar chuckled. “You have so much to learn, little buddy.”
Once everyone was assembled and the trunks and supplies and goods were being unloaded from the various ships, Calia and Dessia met the royal couple on the docks. It was only then that I looked around, following the progression to the banks, where several large carriages drawn by four or six horses each had rolled to a stop.
“Is it just me,” I murmured to Leala as Finley and the master stepped off the docks and onto a cobblestone lane, walking beside Calia and Dessia at a measured pace, “or are these docks incredibly clean and…I don’t know, organized?”
Flowers bloomed all around us as we reached a small market, where vendors in stalls and booths were selling fish and other goods. They were all in orderly rows, each evenly spaced from the next, and separated by patches of grass. No one yelled out prices or called to their friends. Not one piece of garbage or stray fish part marred the ground. No whiffs of rot or unsavory smells mingled with the lovely floral bouquet passing my nose. It was like this place wasn’t real. It was just too…nice.
“They must be hiding something.” I narrowed my eyes at the stall owners, all impeccably dressed. Only one had a stain on his shiny blue shirt. “This loveliness probably covers up some sort of devious horror.”
“Everyone says the faerie kingdom is lovely,” Leala whispered as we entered a more densely populated area of the town. “They obviously go to great lengths to make sure it stays that way.”
Finley and the king stopped with Calia near the biggest and grandest of the carriages. Six well-bred draft horses waited in front, one stamping its hoof impatiently. A golden insignia was etched into the body of the carriage, and the windows and door were outlined in gold to match.
All of the faeries in the area slowed, their eyes riveted to either Finley or the king. When the two were helped into the carriage, Dessia and Calia following, the crowd’s attention swept over the rest of the gathered party. They gaped at Micah or Tamara as they stripped off their clothes and took to the sky. More dragons handed their clothes off to staff and followed. Weston did the same before shifting, organizing his wolves to lope around the procession of carriages as the dragons flew in perfect formation overhead. They were all making a statement. The king might still be pulling himself up by his bootstraps, but he had a well-organized and well-disciplined defense.