Page 55 of The Kraken Bride

“So the rumors are true?” The wolf ambassador looked me over. “You are the kraken king’s consort?”

Being myself meant having fun with this and twisting the screws on Sebastian. “What can I say? The man wants me more than he’s ever wanted anything.”

The griffin ambassador’s raptor-keen features sharpened. At low volume, he issued a warning. “I do not think King Malachi will be pleased with this development.”

Malachi, leader of the griffin berserkers, was known for shady deals, elegant double-crosses and a private ledger of every soul who’d wronged him. Rumor claimed he intended to cross off each name with the offender’s blood. Beautiful, women said. Ruthless, warriors knew. According to Adelaide, he was the kind of male you’d follow into ruin and thank for the view.

I pasted on my prettiest smile. “How about this?” I asked, all innocence. “You see to your king’s pleasure, and I’ll see to mine.”

He visibly flinched. The others displayed equally obvious reactions, especially the adder ambassador, who glared with open hostility. My smile held firm.

A cluster of courtiers slipped from their circle to approach, doing their best to appear casual, as if they’d accidentally stumbled upon me.

“Oh. Bronwyn of Ashmorra,” a young woman said with a smile that was all teeth, menace and saccharine sugar. “What a surprise. I’ve been so eager to meet the woman who currently holds our king’s… attention.”

The gleam in her eyes suggested she hoped the floor opened up and swallowed me.

“For a warrior who’s guarded his heart so long, he certainly fell for me hard and fast. Did he not?” I asked, at my sunniest.

Her forced sweetness thinned. “He… did,” she grated. “Is it true you’ve taken a room in the king’s suite?”

Behind her, someone’s fan snapped open and shut in rapid little strokes. I followed the movement to two octogenarians, each holding a silver coin. With a start I realized these two elders clearly had money riding on my answer.

I gave a tinkling laugh. “What can I say? He likes to keep me close.”

“I heard she makes him laugh,” someone whispered.

“I heard he takes her on missions with him.” Another whisper.

Speculation flowed through the crowd like a wave until it seemed as if my romantic life had taken over every conversation in the room.

Delighted, I moved to the next group. Males and females, all kraken, dressed in opulent finery.

“Hello,” I greeted them with that sunny smile. “The king and I are so honored you chose to celebrate the coming convergence with us.”

Their astonishment put the ambassadors’ to shame.

As they mumbled replies, I continued on, repeating the same welcome to everyone I encountered, daring Sebastian to come stop me. And he would. Soon. I felt his gaze boring into me every step I took.

For a while, I even forgot the importance of convergence. One group did what no other dared: protested. And honestly, I’d expected it to happen sooner.

A lovely brunette gasped in outrage. “You, a dragon, cannot welcome us as an honored host of a kraken assembly. You are not the king’s wife. Not even a lady of this kingdom.”

I’d seen her before, at the Tideweave. She’d tried to dance with Sebastian.

My years growing up as a princess of the dragon court had prepared me for just such a moment. I must play this next bit carefully. Humiliating someone who may soon be one of my own people was not how to start.

“Would you agree that I am whatever your king says I am?” I asked, gentle but still firm.

She sputtered, never giving an answer. Then, suddenly, the crowd grew silent. I didn’t have to wonder why. Every nerve ending I possessed sang with awareness.

Sebastian approached.

As soon as he reached me, his decadent scent fogged my head, and I needed a beat to recover. Then he lightly clasped my forearm with his bare hand, a contact hot enough to burn.

Everyone noticed and gaped as his grip glided to my wrist... then slid to my lower back. I understood the message. Stay put.

“Brona,” he said, greeting me first. His broody smolder was still in place. He slid his arm around my waist, allowing me to lean into his side.