“Why didn’t it work?” She asks me.
I shrug and say, “I have no idea! Remiel poisoned me, nearly killed me and I lost out on three months of my life. Did you know what he did to me?”
Well, obviously, She does. I just need to hear it with my own ears.
“Yes,” She says without a hint of regret.
“Do you know where he is?” I ask.
“Yes,” She says and offers up no more information.
“Well?” I
snap at Her. “Where is he?”
She hesitates and then says, “Back where he belongs.”
I pause. I hope She means the Spirit Realm because She hacked him into a thousand pieces this time, but something tells me that isn’t what happened. “The Underworld?” I venture with a croak.
“The Dragon Realms,” She says as if I am dense.
Dense, no. Full of rage, yes. “You have been harboring him this entire time?” I yell at Her. “How could you?”
“He is important,” She says briskly.
“I am important,” I say arrogantly, prodding myself to show my point. “I am Queen of the Underworld; I shouldn’t be laid out like some kind of poisoned Snow White.”
“You were supposed to heal,” She says as if that makes it all better. “Enough of this!” She says abruptly. “There are more important issues to deal with.”
And just like that the subject gets dropped.
“Oh, yes,” I drawl. “You want me to breed. Well, that isn’t going to happen.” I cross my arms defensively and She stands up again.
“Clearly not in this state.” She sweeps Her hand up and down in disgust. “However, that does not change what is about to happen to you, ValamAtrux.”
“And what is that?” I ask, not really wanting to know.
“According to the charts, you are about to go into…” She purses Her lips and looks uncomfortable.
“Into what?” I press.
“Heat,” She says quickly and if I didn’t know better, I’d say Her cheeks flushed just a little. My cheeks, on the other hand, are flaming bright red.
“Heat?” I repeat in disbelief. “Like some kind of bitch?”
“Like some kind of Dragon,” She barks at me, reigning in Her temper.
“Uh,” I stammer as She has completely caught me off guard. That is how this is supposed to happen? I go into Heat and mate and get pregnant? Ah fuck. I slump my shoulders and wish for the millionth time that I didn’t always find these things out at the eleventh hour.
“Not happening,” I say in complete denial.
“Yes, it will, Aefre,” She says, reverting to my birth name now that She has got to the purpose of Her visit. “You cannot stop this, but you will not be safe here. You must come back with me where I can protect you.”
“What do you mean, I won’t be safe?” I will be safer here than with Her trying to pimp me out.
“You will give off pheromones that your men, no, all men, will find irresistible. It will set off their primal instincts and you won’t be able to fight them off.”
Yikes, She makes it sound…well, actually, She makes it sound kind of fun, I think wickedly. A mass orgy with all of my lovers would be just the ticket.