The beautiful one wasn’t, in fact, as captivating as the frightening one, to Vincent, in any case.

Aleria certainly was fair. He wouldn’t have hesitated to call her one of the most delightfully beautiful women he’d encountered. Her blonde locks and perfectly symmetrical features made her perhaps a little more traditional than her sisters and many heads turned whenever she stepped inside a room. Even the most boring man he knew, Elder Nathos, couldn’t stop staring at her. But Vincent felt compelled to yet again turn to her younger sibling.

Talia Astria. The woman who could have killed them all. Her sister had been right, they could have been more polished tonight, but although he hadn’t been able to help himself from teasing her, her scent was making him adjust himself discreetly each time he got a whiff of it. She smelled good enough to eat. He knew where he would start, right at the back of her long slim neck.

Nathos managed to stop admiring Aleria long enough to preside over the ceremony that declared Xandrie wife to his cousin and Queen of Farden. She wore the crown well, like it had been made for her head of brown curls; her posture was stiff and noble; she softened it with her smile.

Vincent, yet again, glanced towards Talia and found her beaming, visibly delighted for her sister as Rhey kissed her lips, and then, shocking absolutely no one, threw her over his shoulder and went out the doors.

“Elza! Vincent! Take care of my sisters!” the newly appointed Queen screamed.

Demelza promised she would; Vincent inclined his head, trying not to visualize how, exactly, he wanted to ‘take care’ of one of the sisters.

What was wrong with him? Shiftless or not, he was a dragon, which meant he was no stranger to flesh desires, but never had he felt like this, all of a sudden, without warning or cause. Besides, the female was human; she wasn’t the sort of woman he ought to look at to satisfy his needs. Dragons were beasts, and, in that regard, he was no different. He fucked very hard, for a long time, and in a manner that would split the girl in two. She was no she-dragon, no bear, and not even a Rider; nature hadn’t shaped her to take the likes of him.

And, furthermore, he knew that human women of birth like her didn’t share the beds of just anyone. Dragons and other shifters saw sexuality very differently; part of the need their beasts demanded. Demelza, princess by blood, one of the most elevated women in Farden, had had plenty of lovers, for instance. Talia, a human from a small town, would only spread her legs for a husband, or perhaps a fiancé.

That should have been enough to make him ignore her. He was no rake. Pretending to be serious and running out after he’d been satisfied wasn’t something he was able to do to anyone, and especially not his cousin’s sister-in-law. Yet, fully aware of what she’d demand for her favor, he found himself still desiring her. Imagining how impossibly tight she’d be, he groaned and turned on his heels.

By all the gods, he needed out of there, fast.

He’d only taken a step when someone caught him by the hem of his sleeve. He turned, frowning at Demelza.

“Don’t even think of running now,” she half whispered, sending him a knowing look. “Your parents are staring. Any more of this behavior, and they’ll tie the poor gal to a bed until you’re done putting little Vasilis inside her.”

Why, oh why, in the name of every holy fuck, didn’t that sound like a bad idea?

“I’m not in control,” he said through clenched teeth.

He needed out of here, now.

Demelza stared at him in utter disbelief first, then she smiled. He tilted his head.

“Your eyes, Vincent,” said she.

So he turned towards the polished windows, catching his reflection.

He stared, and stared, and stared some more. This made no sense, none whatsoever.

Eventually it faded, but, impossible as it seemed, his amber eyes had been flashing red.

“No.”

“That is a fire gaze,” Demelza gasped. “You have a dragon in you.”

Vincent knew he used to have one. He’d seen it. So had his mother and father, although they’d witnessed the whole thing from a distance. They didn’t speak of it now, though. But he’d thought, he’d truly believed, that his beast had been forever sealed inside him.

And now, after all this time, it was shining through his eyes?

He knew who’d caused it. For centuries, there had been nothing, and now, a mere hour after meeting the Astria girl, the most powerful human he’d ever encountered, his dragon stirred? He didn’t believe in coincidence. The question wasn’t who had caused this; it was why. Was his dragon wary of her? Trying to warn him? The beast was silent, but now that he paid attention, Vincent could feel it here, watchful, right under the edge of his consciousness.

Vincent almost listened to his first instinct, walking out of there, running as far as he could. Something told him he should. Shifting back to the two ladies who watched him, intrigued, he forced a calming breath out and made himself smile. He could do this. His extreme unsteadiness, the incomparable amount of lust he felt towards her - he’d ignore it. He had to. She was spelling him some way, probably consciously. That was all. He just had to figure out how, and why.

Vincent Vasili was no coward; besides, if his instincts warned him against Talia, she needed to be observed. And how was he supposed to justify getting the Queen’s sister trailed? He had no other choice but to do it himself.

Yes. Trail her.

He almost froze in his tracks, shocked at the familiar voice he hadn’t heard in far, far too long.

His dragon. His dragon was really here again. Because of her.

If she called to the beast, the monster, Talia was a threat, and he needed to watch out before it was too late.