Chapter Six
Indulf
The mages had nothing to report. That was to be expected. Magic took time to study. It was a rigorous procedure that had to be followed to a T. Any mistake could end up being catastrophic. That didn’t mean that the continual lack of answers didn’t grate on Indulf’s nerves.
He was in his chambers, calming his agitation with a glass of his favorite wine, when Volcant came to him. His head security officer looked so grave that Indulf knew that all the wine in the world wasn’t going to be enough to soften the blow. He set the glass aside and nodded at Volcant to speak.
“My lord, we’ve started receiving reports that Warmund is… gathering.”
His fires flickered. “Gathering what? Chickens?”
“He’s gathering dragons to his cause. He’s proclaiming that he will find the lost princess, and… he has a surprising amount of support.” Volcant’s eyes glittered with anger as his hands clenched. “What, do they think that boy will be able to—”
“They want their princess back.” Indulf’s voice was soft.
He gestured at the door, dismissing Volcant without words. The other dragon hesitated for only a moment before bowing. He walked away with a stiff back, leaving Indulf alone. The kingdom had celebrated with Wildref’s birth. A king without an heir was a cause for concern. If he didn’t have a child to take his spot, then the dragon lords would fight for the position of king on his death. The last time that had happened, half the country had been burned.
He needed to take a new mate. Needed to have another child. There was no getting Wildref back.
His eyes drifted shut, and he remembered the first time Warmund had held his sister. There was a look of protective awe on his young face. He had been afraid that there would be jealousy, anger that she, and not him, would one day ascend to the throne. But Warmund never wanted to be king. Never.
A shuddering sigh echoed from Indulf as he rubbed his chest. He had lost everything. His wife, both of his children. Wildref’s loss was a keen pain in his chest, but the ache of Warmund’s betrayal was even worse. If he had been more understanding, if he had considered his son’s feelings more, would this be happening? Warmund gathering people to his rallying cry… This was going to end up in a civil war. Fighting his own son.
God, how did it come to this?
The door flung open, startling him. He swung around, mouth open to release a jet of flame, but choked on them when he saw who it was. Anna fairly danced into the room, eyes bright with a brilliant smile on her face.
“It’s time for my fencing lessons,” she sang.
“Is it time for that already?” Indulf glanced out the window. The sun was still high in the sky. Funny, it had felt darker in his room. Perhaps that was just because of his melancholy thoughts. He retrieved his glass of wine and sat, gesturing Anna to do the same.
She knelt across the table from him and rested her elbows on it. “Wine? At this hour? Are you an alcoholic?”
“What’s an alcoholic?”
“Someone who uses alcohol to deal with the stress and anxieties of life, to the point where it’s a dependency and they can’t get through life without it.”
Indulf looked at his single glass. “I don’t think I am. Today just happens to be a particularly bad day… come sit next to me, Anna, rather than over there. Please, if you don’t mind.”
Anna gave him a suspicious look, but crawled around the table and sat next to him. Indulf had the sudden urge to lie down and have her cuddled in next to him. He wondered how she’d react if he asked her to do that. With a half-smile at his imagination, thinking about how red her face would be, he set the wine down and sighed.
“You know, I didn’t love Warmund’s mother.”
Anna chewed her lower lip.
“I didn’t even pretend like I did. I was curious about sex, and I found a woman who could introduce me to it… well, I didn’t find her. My father did. He said that it was high time that I became a man, so he set me up with a beautiful dragon lady. She was magnificent. Eighteen centuries, so much more experienced than my sixteen… she knew exactly what to do, and I was more than willing to let her teach me everything there was to know.”
He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Anna. She wasn’t looking at him, instead glowering at the hearth. He almost laughed. Was that jealousy written across her face?
“After Warmund was born, I decided never to play around like that again,” he continued softly. “My father, he had several sons and daughters that were like Warmund—born to my father but not my mother, his mate. I hated thinking that my son would be treated that way. I loved him so much, from the moment I first held him in my arms. My father would have sent him away, but I refused. Perhaps if he had been raised by someone older, someone who wasn’t… me, he would have had a happier life.”
Anna turned back to him, her eyes widening. “What about his mother?”
“She didn’t want anything to do with him.”
“That’s… that’s terrible.”
Indulf scowled, remembering the way it seemed like nobody cared about the tiny, helpless child but him. He would have fought his father and all his uncles for Warmund. In some ways, he did. He shook those gloomy thoughts off and focused on Anna again. “What about you? Do you have children waiting for you in your world?”
“Um… no. I don’t really have anything waiting for me… I mean, there’s the new season of Game of Thrones, but that’s more me waiting for it. My folks and I… we don’t talk much. It’s not like we don’t get along, we just have nothing in common. And I think that I was a disappointment to them. They wanted an all-star prom queen daughter; instead, they got… you know, me.”
He nodded slowly. “And what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m not exactly the Prima Donna type. My mom was a cheerleader, my dad was a quarterback. They’re like, poster beautiful together. And then I’m… I’m short, fat and a huge nerd. They didn’t openly discourage me from being me, but…” Anna shrugged. “I know they wish I could have been more like them.”
Indulf nodded slowly, his eyes still intent on her face. “And are you married?”
“Hell no.” Anna snorted. “Don’t even have a boyfriend. I mean, I’m still young, right? I’ve got time to figure that all out. Besides which, I want somebody who’s into my stuff. And it seems like the nerd guys out there are only interested in nerd girls if they have porn star bodies… or if they are interested in a fat girl like me, they think that I must have terrible self-esteem and all I’m good for is a quickie. But I’m not into that stuff. I know that I’m not gorgeous, but I’m not ugly, either. I’m fat, that doesn’t mean I hate myself.”
“I see…” Indulf frowned as he tried to work out what she was saying. There were so many turns of phrase in there that he didn’t understand. He decided to pick out the most confusing. “What is a porn star body?”
Anna’s face flushed red, making him grin despite the heaviness in his chest. She looked so damn cute when she got embarrassed like that. If only he knew what it was that was embarrassing her so badly…
“Um… it’s, you know, a really hot bod. The kind of body that porn stars have.”
“What’s a porn star?”
Her face turned so red that he was surprised that blood didn’t start dribbling from her nostrils. She glanced away, glanced back at him, then looked away again. “Oh, well… Um… So, porn is… Porn is… Well, it’s when people are filmed having sex. And then they, you know, sell it. So that other people can watch them having sex so that they can…”
Indulf chuckled softly. “I think I’ve got it.”
“Good.” Anna snatched the wine glass and took a gulp. She seemed to remember afterward how much it affected her because she set the glass down again gingerly. “Anyway, only the really hottest of the hot are in that sort of thing. Girls without a belly like this.”
Indulf found himself leaning forward, unable to stop himself. He wanted to see her blush again, for her sweet scent to increase in the air. He kept a careful distance between them, but grinned all the same at her. A wicked thought came to his mind. If this was embarrassing, then a well-played lie would do even better. “You know, if that’s something you like, there are similar options here.”
Anna’s eyes became round.
“Not filming, but there are theaters where all they do is parade various couples in the act.”
“Um…” her voice squeaked. “It’s not. I mean, it’s not something that I want to do. I—I—I—I—I—"
The stammering was just too much to take. Indulf laughed, taking her hand in his. “I’m joking,” he said softly.
“What?” Relief broke over Anna’s face as she shoved his shoulder. “Jerk!”
“I just like making you blush. You turn such a shade of red. I’ve never seen it before. It’s quite…”
Words weren’t going to do this justice. He moved his hand from hers, cupping her face in both of his hands. Her eyes went around again, but she didn’t pull away. Indulf moved slowly, a thousand thoughts bursting through his mind. Anna tilted her face towards his. When her eyes fluttered shut and her lips parted slightly, he found himself unable to stop.
He kissed her, deep and passionately. His tongue swept over her lips and she opened them eagerly for him. The kiss deepened, their tongues tangling. His fires flared and flickered under his skin. His loins tightened. With a slight growl, he pulled her tight to his chest and shifted positions. Anna’s arms wrapped around him, drawing him even closer.
Wait. He jerked away from her abruptly. She stared up at him with anticipation and guilt swamped him. He couldn’t do this. It had been ten years since his mate died, ten years without physical comfort. But what if she got pregnant? He was not going to bring another child into this atmosphere. He was not going to have another child when he couldn’t protect the two he already had.
Indulf scrambled to his feet. “I won’t be able to attend to your fencing lesson today. I’ll have Volcant take care of you.”
Anna stared from where she was half-reclined on the furs. “Um… okay…”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and then turned on his heel. He needed to keep himself focused. He could not let his passions carry him away. Perhaps if he had protection on him… With a groan, he dropped his face into his hands. What was he going to do?