Margery wanted nothing more than spend the next few days in bed and in the bath with Remy. Water dragons. Wow. Who knew? Or maybe it was just what consorts could do with their Queens.

She hummed in contentment and stroked Remy’s chest. But if she wanted to get her story out, she had to talk to people, and as tempting as it was to spend time with her new lover, she needed to get back into the swing of things.

She wasn’t a Queen like Bella, who would be content with a harem, or a Queen like Mei Hua, who ruled over an army. That just wasn’t her. She wasn’t a crime fighter like Viola or a researcher like Carolyn. She was just Margery. All she’d ever wanted to do was write articles that changed the world. And this was her chance.

“You’re thinking deep thoughts, chérie,” Remy said, stretching lazily next to her.

“Just that we should get ready for dinner.”

“I’m not hungry,” he said and coiled a strand of her hair around his finger.

Margery kissed him. The hunger that had burned between them was satiated, but it was still a physical pleasure to run her tongue over his. Sighing, she pushed away from him and went over to pull the plastic covering off her dress. “Where do you think Mei Hua got these clothes on such short notice?”

Remy groaned as he got up. “I think she uses her magic and creates them based on the Queen.”

“Do you think her special guest is the pope?”

“Maybe. I hear they share the same catering staff.”

“That’s convenient.” Margery pulled the shimmering dream of a dress over her head and wiggled it down so it fit in all the right places. Remy zipped her up and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

“I hope you find the information you need for your article. But are you sure you want to expose yourself to the public?”

Margery leaned back against him. “You make it sound like I’m flashing my tits on Canal Street during Mardi Gras. I’m telling the truth. I’m getting justice for the women who died. And if Smythe and his goons don’t like it, they’re going to have to do more than throw a Smooshie bomb at me.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered.

The servant arrived shortly after they were dressed and led them to the grand dining room. Remy was dashing and suave in his kilt, and Margery was trying not to ogle all the priceless art that hung on the wall and adorned the halls.

“Queen Margery of Vermont and her consort, Remilliard,” a courtly dressed Dragon Slayer announced them from atop the stairwell leading down to the dining room.

“Remilliard?” she whispered, trying not to trip on her gown and her pretty, but not very practical, heels. Once they were seated she was going to magick them into ballet slippers or at least flats. Her toes would thank her later.

“How in the world did he know that?” Remy frowned then stopped dead in his tracks.

She followed his gaze to the group of guests mingling on the floor. To her disappointment, she didn’t see the pope. It was Bella, her entourage, and a fully dressed stud she assumed was Lane. A human man was speaking with an older Queen, who beamed at them. An older Queen she didn’t recognize.

“Remy is that...?”

“Mother?” he said.

The older Queen opened her arms. “Hello, darling.”

Remy hurried down the stairs, and Margery had to change the shoes on the fly otherwise she was going to break her ankle. This was definitely not your usual Loch Ness monster sighting. Nessie looked like a younger Sophia Loren. She grabbed her son and kissed him soundly on both cheeks.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

She frowned at him. “Have I taught you no manners?”

“Right. Sorry.” Remy cleared his throat. “Queen Margery of Vermont, may I present my mother, Queen Niseag of...” He broke off. “I’m afraid I don’t know your territory anymore.”

Nessie smiled at her son and held out her hand to Margery. “Formerly of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Perhaps now that Cassandra has passed into the weave I will be again.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet Remy’s mother. I know he’s been very concerned for you. There have been rumors of Queens being kidnapped and held against their will.” Margery shook her hand.

“Your father would never have allowed that,” she said to Remy.

“Where is he?” Remy looked around the dining room.

“He is guarding the waters of home.”

“And that is?” Remy asked.

The gong sounded, indicating dinner was served, and Nessie chose not to answer him. They took their seats at the large, formal table. Squadrons of Dragon Slayers were at different locations in the room, but instead of feeling safer, Margery started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. It hit her that they were surrounded by an order that killed creatures like them. And they were just going to sit peacefully and have dinner while their potential executioners looked on.

Joachim and Mei Hua sat at opposite ends of the table. Bella, sitting at Mei Hua’s side, faced Margery across the table. Margery was glad that Remy was between her and his mother. She looked over at Lane, who was waiting for Mei Hua to start the meal.

The table was set for an intimate gathering, and while they weren’t on top of each other, the close quarters made Margery twitchy, and Remy grew more and more tense as they waited for something to happen.

Tea was poured, and Margery decided that no matter what, Mei Hua was all right in her book. She drank the fragrant brew gratefully and thought about what questions she should ask Lane.

Joachim was an excellent host, introducing the other human as Sebastian Pierce. His tattoos showed him as a Dragon Slayer. “I’m a chemist. I worked for Cassandra before she was tragically taken from us.” He looked familiar, but Margery couldn’t place him.

“You’ve taken in a lot of Cassandra’s refugees,” Remy said to Joachim, pouring Margery another cup of tea. She drummed her fingers on the table in thanks.

Joachim nodded. “It is the least we can do.”

As the next course was served, shrimp and thin slices of meat, Margery made her play. “So, Lane, how did you come about the pills for Bella?”

Bella rolled her eyes. “Not this again. Aren’t you going to drop the story? I told you it’s not a dragon Viagra. It’s a helpful drug.” She held Lane’s hand.

Lane opened his mouth to speak, but Nessie cut him off. “I can answer that.”

“You can?” Lane asked.

“Probably more truthfully than you.” She sneered at the drake. “The pills were made by Sebastian”—she pointed at the man next to Joachim—“at Cassandra’s request.”

Margery almost dropped her chopsticks in shock. “You created BabyDragon?”

Sebastian made a face. “It’s actually called 187-5, but that’s not as catchy as its street name.”

“As you can imagine,” Nessie said. “Cassandra wanted a way to help dragon studs have families.”

“Because she was philanthropic like that,” Remy cut in. His sarcasm could have cut diamonds.

“Hush, boy. Of course, the real reason is she was tired of servicing studs. She figured there were willing human women—why not have them rut with the studs instead?”

“Because they would be half dragons instead of full dragons,” Margery said, her fingers tightening enough to snap her chopsticks. “And their bodies are incompatible and they die.” Her voice rose on the last word.

“Not necessarily,” Sebastian said. “Of course, the hatchling would have some features and DNA from his mother. The stud’s magic would generally overpower all of the human genes.”

“But it didn’t work. It was killing humans.”

Sebastian shook his head sadly. “Not every woman is compatible to host a dragon’s seed, even with the pill. We do very thorough testing before a woman is set up with a stud.”

“We?” Remy stressed, his voice as cold as death.

“I didn’t go through any testing,” Bella scoffed, helping herself to another meat bun and rice.

Nessie fixed a look on Lane. “We had a theft, and several cases went missing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but he began to sweat.

“Smythe put them in the Smooshie dolls,” Margery said.

“And Rathin distributed them on my river,” Remy snarled, slamming his fist on the table. It didn’t crack, so it must have been reinforced, taking a dragon’s temper into account.

Nessie nodded. “Before that, Lane—along with a team of mercenaries I’m afraid you’ve run into a few times, Margery—stole a container of pills from Sebastian’s lab on Mykonos while it was on route to me.”

“You have no proof of that,” Lane said, pushing back from the table. “I’m not going to be a scapegoat for another stud’s errors.”

“Sit down,” Mei Hua ordered. Two Dragon Slayers approached, apparently to enforce the Queen’s command.

“So what if he did steal those pills?” Bella said. “I can make amends for it. How much?”

“Ten women’s lives,” Margery said quietly.

“More,” Nessie corrected.

“They knew the risks,” Lane said. “It was their choice. I never forced them to take it.”

“Had they been tested, they would have known that their outcome was a horrible death for them and the hatchlings.” Nessie dabbed her mouth with a napkin.

“Where is Rathin now?” Remy gritted out between his teeth.

“I don’t know,” Lane said. “I didn’t know there were ways of testing. All those pills we wasted.” He held his head in his hands.

Margery tensed. “All those human lives you wasted!” she shouted. This was unbelievable. How couldn’t he see that his greed killed innocent women?

“Rathin has one of my people. One of Margery’s people,” Remy corrected. “Lisa’s pregnant. What’s going to happen to her if we can’t find her?”

“If she’s a match, there’s a possibility she can deliver a healthy hatchling through a C-section.” Sebastian tapped his chopsticks on the table in thought. He didn’t sound so sure of himself.

Margery kept her hands busy gripping her napkin, otherwise she would have gone for Lane’s throat. “They’re trying to do that with another of Rathin’s women.”

“He’s been a busy naga,” Nessie said. “Unfortunately, without a doctor who knows what the drug will do to both mother and child, they could all still die.”

So much for a nice, quiet dinner conversation. “We need to find Rathin,” Margery said. “Bella, can’t you order Lane to tell us where he’s hiding?”

“I told you I don’t know.” Lane gripped Bella’s hand. “You believe me, don’t you?”

Bella bit her lip and looked at all the concerned faces around the table. It was obvious she didn’t know what to believe.

“How did you contact him?” Remy asked. “Or do we need to go through Smythe?”

Lane shook his head in a panic. “Don’t call Smythe. Whatever you do. He holds a grudge. You’ll never find the rest of the pills, and we’ll all spend the rest of our short lives looking over our shoulders while he cleans house.”

“Or I’ll end him before he strikes,” Remy hissed, the last word draconic and so vicious Mei Hua flinched back.

Lane cleared his throat. “Rathin isn’t as much of a psychopath as Smythe. He gave me a special number to call. But I don’t even know if it will still work.”

“Call him. Have him meet you on Lake Champlain tomorrow night.” Remy was just as outraged as she was. She was glad they were on the same page.

Lane shook his head. “He’ll never do it. It’s too risky.”

“Tell him you stole another shipment from us.” Nessie folded her hands. “It’s the least you can do.”

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” Lane said.

“Of course not, baby.” Bella hugged him.

Margery didn’t think Lane was asking Bella. Nessie didn’t look like she had made up her mind yet.

“Did you send Margery the Smooshie doll with the bomb in it?” Remy asked in a quiet voice that sent shivers up Margery’s spine. She wondered if there was going to be bloodshed next. The Order of the Dragon Slayers were closing in on them, trying to be as inconspicuous as deadly warriors with deadly intent could be. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

Lane’s mouth dropped open. “No. I would never harm a Queen. Never.” He looked to Bella, who gave him a relieved smile.

Some of the tension left the room.

“Did Rathin?”

“No,” Nessie said. “I sent the doll.”

The dinner party froze as if time stood still.

Remy went stock still and turned to his mother with a glacial politeness that was almost as alarming as his temper. “Why did you attempt to kill my Queen?”

Margery put a hand on his knee to try and soothe him.

“I didn’t know she was your Queen. And I wasn’t trying to kill her. It was supposed to blow up Rathin.” She shrugged. “And if it scared Margery away from writing about the pills, so much the better.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Margery said. “Smythe, Rathin, and Lane are going to pay for their actions.”

“How?” Nessie said. “Are you going to execute them? You can do that now without posting our dirty laundry for humans to read.”

“Please don’t kill my Lane,” Bella begged.

“I’m not killing anyone,” Margery soothed. “But they committed a crime and have to be punished.”

“You are not the aggrieved party,” Nessie said. “You can call for punishment all you want, but in the end it’s up to the Queen they wronged.”

“But Cassandra is dead—she’s the one they stole the pills from.”

“Cassandra was my partner. I have control of the 187-5 pills now. I will continue to handpick serving studs so they can petition their human mistresses to Sebastian, and we will operate as before. No more women will die. Our testing is 100 percent accurate. If a woman is not a viable host, she doesn’t get the drug,” Nessie assured Margery. “However, I cannot let thieves go unpunished. Lane betrayed a trust.”

“No,” Bella sobbed.

Margery’s heart twisted. Even though Lane thoughtlessly used and killed women, she could see how much Bella loved him. She didn’t want to add to the body count. Killing Lane wouldn’t bring those women back.

“What about prison?” Margery said. “Or service. He can work off his debt in your court.”

“I do not trust him in my court,” Nessie said. “I have remained hidden all these years so I can protect the curse-shifted Queens. I can’t continue to do that with a thief in our camp. I am a scientist and will continue my research until the Queens’ conclave. Then I’ll petition for Cassandra’s lands and come back into society.”

This was almost too much to take in at one time. Margery’s head was spinning. “What do you mean, the curse-shifted Queens?”

“I was one,” Mei Hua broke in. “My dragon was too powerful for the curse to stop completely. The Order gave me a choice. They could end the shift and I would remain human, or they would help me through the transition. It was a terrible ordeal. Magic against magic, and my body was a battlefield. In the end, I emerged as a Queen. But I was stolen by Esmeralda’s studs, and my wings were broken so I couldn’t escape.”

“I’m so sorry we failed you, my dear,” Nessie said. “You would have been safe with us. We took in the shifted Queens and live in a very remote island cluster along with other Queens who do not wish to be bothered with politics and breeding.”

Joachim raised his eyebrows at that revelation. Remy did a double take and looked at his mother as if he was seeing her for the first time.

“You mean there were more than five Queens prior to the curse being broken?” Lane asked. “And you kept them from us?” He barely remembered in time to keep the outrage out of his tone and his eyes downcast.

“Protecting them from voracious studs and Queens who would abuse them like they did Mei Hua is one of the reasons I have hidden myself all these years.” Nessie glared at him.

“You could have trusted me,” Remy said, his voice gritty.

“With my life, yes. But not with the Queens’ lives.” Nessie turned away from her son. “So I’m sorry, Bella, but your stud will have to die.”

“But we have sanctuary here,” Lane said.

Joachim glanced at Mei Hua, who shook her head. “You have twenty-four hours to leave this place. The Order withdraws their protection.”

“What will happen to me?” Bella cried. “And my baby?”

“You have three other studs in your harem,” Nessie soothed. “They will take care of you.”

“Margery, help me.” Bella turned to her, eyes filled with tears. Margery tried to fight it, but it was her sister Carla all over again.

“Margery, take me with you,” Carla had cried from the porch, struggling to get out of Mom’s grasp.

But she couldn’t take her sister with her then. Couldn’t save her. Maybe if she had, Carla would’ve grown up more like her and less like their mother.

“If Lane gives us Rathin, would you accept that as a fair punishment for stealing from you?”

Nessie tilted her head as she considered it. “It could save the human woman’s life he has with him. So if he betrays his partners, I will not demand his execution. I will leave it to the embassy to decide his fate. Provided we obtain any pregnant humans.”

Lane nodded, still sweating and tense.

“But you will still need to leave my presence,” Mei Hua said.

“That’s okay. That’s fine. Isn’t it, Lane?” Bella asked.

He didn’t look too happy about that. “Smythe and Rathin will kill me for this.”

“Not if I kill them first,” Nessie said with an evil smile.

“No more bombs,” Remy muttered under his breath.