She kissed him briefly. "I'm anxious to see if her talking with Aimee tonight will help or not."
"Me, too. But she can't do that until we get the gathering started, which means getting all the leaders to participate in the first dance."
Raising her brows, she tilted her head. "It's not like we can start it yet. Not everyone is here. Besides, we need to greet the other clan leaders in private first." He grunted, and she laughed before adding, "Oh, come on. Bram and Finn's mates are here so there might be a little less bickering."
"So you say," he grumbled.
She kissed him again, more slowly this time, before stepping back and taking his hand. "Let's go. I'll be doing most of the talking anyway. Your job is not to scowl, if you can help it."
Asher scowled.
She lightly hit his side. "Stop it."
He winked. "I'll try. Although I can't make any guarantees."
She motioned toward the door. "Are you done? The sooner we do this, the sooner we can help your sister."
Asher's face turned serious, and he guided her to the door.
~~~
Asher's dragon paced inside his mind as he said, Why do we have to follow all the formalities? The clan just wants to have a party and finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This is a party, but including traditions will help it feel more like a dragon-shifter party.
His beast grunted. Someone is bound to stir up trouble.
Oh, stop it. I know wearing these colors makes you uneasy, but if we can't wear them, how can we expect others to do so?
His beast growled. They didn't have to wear dirty, torn prison uniforms with the same pattern. Or, at least not the majority of them.
Even a few weeks ago, wearing the plaid made up of dark purple, black, and yellow would've stirred up a mixture of anger and resentment, not to mention unwanted memories. However, the moment he'd seen Honoria in the dark purple traditional dress, he'd started to view the color in another light.
Especially since it made her skin glow and hair gleam brighter.
His beast snorted. She would look better with nothing on at all.
There's no bloody way I'm letting the other leaders see her naked.
What if an emergency crops up? She's not going to hide behind a sheet to shift.
They approached the door being used as the waiting area for Stonefire and Lochguard's leaders, and their honored guests. Shut it. I need to focus.
Fine. But don't expect me to stay silent the entire evening.
He and Honoria paused in front of the door. Glancing over, he asked, "Ready?"
"Of course. Unlike you, I think this will be fun."
"Later we're going to have to define 'fun' because I think the American clan may have given you the wrong idea."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
The corners of his mouth curved upward. "Maybe you should give classes on how to sound more American. That should be a cinch for you."
Shaking her head, Honoria placed a hand on the doorknob. "As much as I love your teasing, let's save it for later. Skyhunter will be on shaky ground for a while yet. So let's prove we're serious enough to handle all the challenges."
His beast huffed. If anything, Skyhunter's been too serious.