AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s good, right?” I asked.
“That’s what we want,” Iokul smiled at me. “But you still look striking to me.”
“Business first, flirting later,” Rai admonished.
~
Iokul and I flew to the location as a pair of dragons and shifted in an empty dark alley. No one spotted us. It helped that Iokul’s ice magic shielded us. My mates told me that their powers had become stronger after mating with me.
We emerged just as how Jarrod had seen us. One of the benefits to being a dragon shifter was that when we changed to our other forms, we remained dressed. Unlike when I’d been the Furies.
We trotted toward an upscale hotel in the city’s popular district. Its façade was sophisticated and refined, lit by subtle blue light inside.
We filed in after an older couple, my hand on Iokul’s forearm. He’d been very happy to spend some alone time with me.
We followed the sign, glided through the floral walkways, and stopped outside an admission hall. Iokul gave our names to the guard and the receptionist outside the door, and they checked the list on a flashy interface.
They smiled at us in a fake, polished manner, oblivious to Iokul’s white, metal mask, and pressed a button that emitted a faint buzz.
A second later, an escort, dressed in a dark business suit, came out of the room. “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, welcome,” she said.
We nodded our acknowledgement and followed the woman. We didn’t strike a conversation as she led us to a table at the back corner. We weren’t at the front—those seats were reserved for VIPs.
The corner table suited us just fine.
Jarrod’s contact had done a good job. I took a mental note to remember that. In this new age, we would need as many friends, supporters, and allies as we could get.
We took our seats and thanked the escort before she went away. The room was mostly filled, only the VIP table at the front near the podium was still vacant.
The hall had modern comforts and luxuries. While I’d lived in the jungle as three beasts, serving a volatile elemental and terrorizing the aliens in the post-apocalyptic planet, my own dynasty had evolved, and the human cities had prospered.
The City of Amethyst, like the other five cities, didn’t need the dragons to rule them. The people no longer needed fire or magic. They had electricity, science, and technology that could probably make magic seem like child’s play.
And yet, my prince’s ice magic still shielded us and none of the humans recognized who we really were.
The escort came back again and brought a middle-aged business man and his wife—or mistress—to our table. Their clothing informed me that they were wealthy. I’d bet they had more money than political power. That was why they were seated with us.
Two women, possibly a mother and a daughter, who looked like they came from old money, also joined us. The mother took a look at Iokul and fanned her cheeks. She thought Iokul was attractive. I contained an amused smile. My ice dragon burned hotter than fire.
“I’m so thrilled.” The woman picked the seat next to Iokul, pulled it closer to him, and leaned toward him in a whisper. She looked like she wanted to climb onto his lap. I didn’t need to stop her. He wouldn’t allow her.
“Did you know Queen Lysandra will make an appearance tonight?” she asked Iokul with a flirty smile. “It’s supposed to be a secret.”
My heart skipped a beat.
But Iokul didn’t miss a beat. He frowned and narrowed his eyes in displeasure. “Why haven’t I heard about it?”
“Oh, sweetie,” she purred. Still, she didn’t see his mask. “Only the queen’s inner circle knows about it. The queen decided to grace us with her divine presence at the last minute. I’m Daphne, by the way.”
“Lady Lysandra isn’t queen yet, is she?” I whispered like an experienced gossiper. “She’s the consort, last I checked. The Dragon King wouldn’t establish any of his concubines as the queen, unless she’s also a dragon. Then she might have a chance to share his throne. It’s the dragons’ ancient law.”
Daphne looked at me with disdain. “You seem too young to understand politics.”
“Intelligence has nothing to do with age, Mother,” the younger woman said, and Daphne gave her daughter an annoyed look, but her daughter only smirked at spoiling her mother’s plan to ogle my mate.
“Our beloved queen is young, but she shattered the dragons’ chains on us,” the daughter said, intending to educate me. “Queen Lysandra is the force of revolution. She doesn’t need an old man to put a crown on her head. She’ll soon sit on her new throne of enlightenment in her Empire Tower. Queen Lysandra ushers in a brand-new era and a brave new world.”
Jarrod had informed us that Lysandra dwelled in the skyscraper of glass and steel, which seemed to be part of the enlightenment in this new age.
