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"I think that the brooch you gave me last week was a better Maid of Honor gift," Vivian said, bracing herself for having to deal with another of the gruff creatures.
She watched Aurora give Arach a knowing glance.
"I don't know," she said softly so that only Vivian could hear, "He's definitely the best wedding gift that I got."
Vivian let out a laugh, but the sound cut short in her throat as the doorway darkened and a large dark green dragon stepped into the room. The smell of sage was nearly overpowering as he stepped up closer to Arach and made a slow, scrutinizing evaluation of everyone at the table.
"They smell like herbs," Vivian muttered.
Aurora gave her a strange look out of the corner of her eye.
"What?"
"The dragons," Vivian whispered, unable to take her eyes off the reflection of the torch flames glistening on the dragon's back, "They smell like burned herbs."
"I haven't noticed."
Before she could say anything else, she heard Arach talking to the dragon.
"Cade, please," he said in an authoritative but familiar tone.
The dragon made a snorting sound in his snout, but a second later a man stood where the dragon had been. Vivian was stunned at how quickly the shift happened. She would have expected something brutal and drawn out like the excruciating shifts in werewolf movies, but the dragons seemed to change form in less than the span of a breath, changing forms so seamlessly it was as if they were only reflections that changed depending on the angle.
"Vivian, this is Cadman. We call him Cade. He'll take care of you until the wedding."
Cade seemed less than thrilled with the arrangement as he visibly bristled and shot an angry glare at Arach.
"Arach, I'm a soldier, not a babysitter."
"You're a soldier when there's a war to fight. Right now, you're a guard, and so you're going to guard Vivian."
"I really don't think it's necessary," Vivian started, but the cold look in Arach's eyes when he turned to her stopped her.
"Marrying me is the first step in keeping Aurora safe, and if that means that she needs you to take care of some details for her, you best believe I'm going to make sure that you stay safe at least until that's done. Cade is going to watch out for you until the wedding. Aurora is my life and I will do anything to protect her. Even if that means dealing with a guard who thinks extremely highly of himself."
Arach looked at Cade, who shifted slightly as if the admonishment of the next leader of the clan was finally making him uncomfortable. Aurora stood and walked over to Arach, dipping her head to kiss him as she took his hands in hers and led him to his feet.
"I love you," Vivian heard her whisper against his lips as she lifted slightly away from the kiss.
"I love you," Arach whispered back, then looked up at the men still at the table, "We're done for now. I've already sent word to my father and he should be back tonight. Until then, return to your posts."
Aurora started walking backwards toward a small doorway that led off the room opposite the door where Cade had entered, guiding Arach along with her with a mischievous look in her eyes that reminded Vivian of when they were children and Aurora snuck into the kitchen to grab one of the warm brownies the housekeeper had just pulled out of the oven.
"Bye, Aurora," Vivian said sarcastically as they disappeared through the doorway.
As soon as Arach and Aurora were gone, the rest of the men dissipated until only Vivian and Cade were left in the room. They stood staring at each other from opposite sides of the table, the quiet building awkwardly between them. Despite his unpleasantness and the obvious disdain he felt for his new role as her protector, there was something about Cade that made Vivian's heart beat a little faster when his eyes met hers.
"I'll go pack. Meet me here in twenty minutes," Cade said, turning to the door to leave before she could even respond.
"Pack?" Vivian asked, running around the corner of the table in an attempt to stop him.
"Do you know of any all-night bridal shops that you can visit to cross all the items off your wedding responsibility list?" he asked.
"No."
"Then I'm assuming you will want to get some sleep before taking care of everything tomorrow. If Arach wants me to stay with you, that means that whole time, so I'm going to go pack while you sit here and figure out the sleeping arrangements.
Vivian sat down hard in the chair beside her as Cade stepped out of the room, shifting instantly back into the dark green dragon as he made his way down the corridor. She stayed in the same position until Cade came back in the room. He had a leather satchel around his neck and he stared at Vivian expectantly from the doorway. When she didn't move, he made a sharp gesture with his head and stepped backwards out of the room, the massive size of his shoulders and folded wings making it impossible for him to turn around to leave.
Vivian stood and followed him, feeling more of a pull toward him the longer they were near each other. When they made it outside, Cade led her to a large open area to the back of the house and lowered his neck to the ground. Vivian tilted her head questioningly at him, unsure of the meaning behind the gesture. He waited for a few seconds, and then lifted his head to approach her. She shivered slightly as he came up beside her, close enough that his smooth, warm skin brushed against her leg, and then she felt him tuck his head behind the backs of her thighs. In one swift motion, he flung her into the air and onto his back.
She grabbed at his shoulders, gasping as her body landed between his wings. Cade lifted his neck to nudge her so her thighs parted and she slid backwards a few inches to a spot where she felt more stable. Without any more hesitation, the dragon beneath her lifted, his leathery wings stretched to either side of his body, and they soared up into a sky just beginning to pale with the first streaks of early morning sunlight.
The air around her felt cooler and Vivian closed her eyes to let it stream across her face. It smelled fresh and dewy, the smokiness of the close stone room gone. After a few moments, the smooth movement of Cade's body through the air lulled her and the adrenaline of the night's revelations seeped out of her. Vivian bent forward to rest her head on his strong back and breathed in the scent of sage as sleep gently took over.