16

5

B

y mid-afternoon, we reached the ivory gates of the Shiangan palace. The rest of our journey had been without incident, with Elias either on foot or in his wolf shape, keeping a careful eye on the horizon for any further threats. He was focused on ensuring no other spies showed their faces—it was almost overkill. I got the sense that something about the Daybreak spies had deeply unsettled him, but when I asked, he just shook his head, distracted. There was something he wasn’t telling me. I’d done what he asked, though, trading out my dirtied, comfortable travel clothes for a simple tan silk gown under the usual cloak.

I’d have to question him about it all later, because as the gates rolled open, pushed by two immense guards in golden armor, my worried curiosity was overridden by sheer awe.

I pulled the door to the carriage open enough so I could lean out. The weather was warm; I shucked off my cloak and let the breeze tousle my hair. The carriage rolled smoothly down a well-paved narrow road, cutting through an immense, well-tended garden, carefully arranged with topiaries, flower beds, and immense sparkling fountains. At the far end of the garden, the palace loomed. It was a simple structure, a large, gilded rectangle with huge glass windows and skylights thrown open on the roof. It appeared to be mostly windows and ivory, reflecting the sun so the building glittered like a jewel.

And overhead, soaring in swooping choreographed arcs, were dragons.

Dragons, with elegant reptilian faces and immense, semi-opaque wings, their scales shining in shades of red, orange, blue, and rich green. They moved so elegantly, so sleekly winding around each other, that they looked more like fish darting around a pond. I gasped in awe, watching them turn and spin in the air as they followed our path toward the front of the palace.

The carriages stopped outside the huge doors, which were immense gold and ivory vines, wound over thick glass panels. The dragons overhead landed gracefully, two on either side of the door, then they folded large wings behind them and shifted back into their human forms. Their very tall, very muscular, very naked human forms. I squeaked and jerked back into the carriage and hoped I could blame the flush in my cheeks to the changing climate.

Elias stepped up to the carriage. He was still dressed in the clothes he’d traveled in—thankfully free of blood despite the encounter in the woods—but was now dressed in the delicate gold band around his head he typically wore in lieu of a dramatic crown. He offered his hand.

I gathered the silk of my dress in one hand and took his in my other, stepping carefully down the steps of the carriage and onto the road. Only up close did I see it wasn’t paved at all, but done in mosaic, so carefully tiled it was smooth under the carriage wheels. Elias’ grip was tight on mine, almost uncomfortably so, but I attributed that to his nerves. I’d never seen the king nervous, but being surrounded by dragons was as good a reason as any.

Elias stood in front of the doors with Kodan at his other side, and Fina and Adora were flanked by the attendants behind us. Adora was doing her best to stare anywhere but the guards, whereas Fina was grinning in delight as she took in the sights. She caught my eye and threw me a wink.

Then, the great glass doors slowly opened.

“Welcome!” the King of Shianga boomed. “My royal friends, I hope your journey was unremarkable.”

He grinned at us, revealing all of his gleaming white teeth—and his canines, elongated and made of gold. He was taller even than the guards who flanked his doors, beating Elias in height by a whole head. Yet he moved with reptilian grace, accentuated by a golden robe so lightweight it seemed to shift like water over his broad, muscular frame. He spread his arms wide in greeting and the rings on his fingers glittered as they caught the natural light. On his neck hung a fine pendant of a dragon’s head with rubies for eyes, matching the rubies encrusted onto his ornate crown. I’d never seen a man so tall and so striking. He commanded attention, not only with his gleaming clothes, but his overpowering charisma.

“King Draunar,” Elias said. Despite Elias’ lack of ornamentation, he matched the king in regality. “Apologies for our lateness. A blizzard blew through Frasia along the way.”

“Ah, the weather—the one thing we kings cannot yet control.” He took Elias’ hand in both of his, in a firm shake. “Thank the gods you made it safely.” Then his glittering green eyes turned to me. “And this must be the victor of the King’s Choice.”

“My wife,” Elias said, “and Queen of Frasia, Reyna of Nightfall.”

“I don’t claim to know much of the intricacies of the demographics of Frasia,” King Draunar said, “but I must say, Reyna, you don’t look like a Nightfall wolf I’ve ever seen.” He bared those golden canines again in a slow smile as his eyes slowly looked over my body.

“Um,” I stammered under his burning gaze.

“There’s no certain way for a Nightfall wolf to look,” Elias said curtly. He tugged me closer to his side and wrapped his arm possessively around my waist.

“Of course,” King Draunar said easily. He extended his hand toward mine. I accepted the handshake, and his touch lingered, fingers barely circling on the inside of my wrist.

Elias’ grip dug into my waist. He growled, barely audible, seemingly on instinct. King Draunar laughed brightly, like Elias had delighted him.

“Come inside, please,” King Draunar said, waving his hand grandly toward the palace. “I’ll show you to your quarters.”

He led us inside to the immense front room, with soaring, high walls and ceilings made entirely of skylights. The walls were pale and gilded, covered in ornate paintings of landscapes and battle scenes, and the floor was a vivid tile mosaic. Everything in the Shiangan palace evoked color and light; this room alone was so bright it nearly gave me a headache just walking in. King Draunar guided us into the southeast wing, through a pair of immense wooden doors.