Chapter 11

11

I might have been insulted at the abrupt way Levi left the bed, only he pulled the covers over me and dropped a kiss on my lips before stalking to the door to bark, “What is it?”

Hannah, on the other side, sounded slightly amused as she said, “We have a situation upstairs.”

Those words galvanized me. I hopped out of bed and scrounged in my bag for clothes as Levi yanked open the door. “Report.”

Hannah walked in, and I had to wonder if she guessed right away that we’d slept together. Maybe not seeing as how both beds were mussed and we were both clothed.

I paused on my way to change in the bathroom at what she said.

“A Cinderella potential managed to pose as hotel staff. She delivered the prince’s breakfast and now won’t leave unless he asks her to marry him. She even brought a glass slipper so he can do it properly.”

“Why is this even an issue? Toss her out.” Levi offered a simple solution.

Hannah shook her head. “Would love to. However, she’s holding a knife to her throat and says she’ll slit it if the prince doesn’t comply.”

I winced. The optics would be horrible if that happened.

“For fuck’s sake.” Levi raked his fingers through his hair. “Give me a second to change.”

“Will do, boss.” Hannah finally looked at me directly, and her wide smile went well with her chirped, “Judging by the hair, I’d say someone had a good night.”

Could she tell Levi and I had fooled around?

“Comfy bed,” I mumbled, wondering if my cheeks turned red because I certainly heated at the insinuation.

“If you’re done giving me your update…” Levi’s statement held a warning tone.

“That’s all for now. I’ll head back upstairs and wait for you, but hurry. The prince isn’t happy.”

The door closed, and Levi muttered, “Goddammit. Not how I wanted to start my morning.”

“And how were you planning to start it?” I chirped.

He cast me a dark look. “What do you think?”

“I think,” I said, my cheeks hot as I stripped my shirt under his avid gaze, “that I can’t wait until tonight.”

He uttered a long-suffering groan as I dressed in front of him with absolutely no shame. There was something powerful and heady about his smoldering interest. Seeing how his pants tented roused my own carnal hunger. And when he closed the distance between us to drag me into his arms for a kiss? I just about came again. The man knew how to get me humming.

When he broke the kiss, it was with a muttered, “Way too distracting. I’m getting dressed in the bathroom.”

“No fair. Don’t I get a peek, too?” I pouted.

“We don’t have time for this right now, princess.”

At the downturn of my lips, he softened to add, “I will make time later.”

“Yay.” I might have clapped my hands.

Which led to more muttering on his part and a slam of the bathroom door. I spent that scant moment feeding my friends from the stash I’d brought. I’d have to order some room service to ensure they had ample supplies in case I couldn’t pop back in for a while.

By the time Levi emerged, I was doing the morning pee dance. He took one look at me and pointed to the bathroom. “Go.”

“Don’t listen,” I exclaimed as I went and emptied my bladder, because nothing screamed sexy like, Hear me pee!

I emerged, teeth brushed and face washed, to see him typing on his phone.

“Ready,” I announced.

“Good.” He tucked his phone away. “We’ll take the stairs.”

“Do you think the elevator is unsafe?”

“I’m not taking chances.”

The single flight didn’t tax me at all, and as we neared the prince’s suite with its door wide open, I spotted Gerome skulking just outside.

“I assume the situation is unchanged,” Levi asked as we neared.

“Woman’s nuts,” Gerome muttered.

The woman also turned out to be rather old. I entered, expecting to see someone barely out of her teens, only to be confronted by white hair and wrinkles. No wonder they’d not been more on guard at her arrival.

Unlike most wannabe Cinderellas, the woman had not worn a ball gown but an ill-fitting hotel uniform. Single shoe sat on the floor by her feet. As mentioned, she held a rather large knife to her throat and stood in the middle of the suite’s living room. Killian sat slumped in a chair by the trolley of food with Hannah hovering behind him.

Upon my entry, the old woman’s eyes narrowed, and she spat, “Go away, whore. This prince is taken.”

I arched a brow. “You can have him. I certainly don’t want him.”

My reply made her frown. “You’re lying.”

I waved a hand. “No really, if you want him, he’s yours, although I have to say good luck. He’s not really a prize what with his overbearing mother, his slovenly attire, and the fact he eats junk food.”

Killian gaped in my direction, and Hannah turned from the old woman to hide her smirk.

“You’re just saying that to make me go away and steal him for yourself,” huffed the old woman.

“Why would I want to marry a prince? I hate having my picture taken. Not keen on following all kinds of stupid rules about royalty, not to mention I like living here in America and have no interest in relocating.”

The old lady blinked and, for a second, appeared to be wavering before she shook her head and exclaimed. “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

This would be the point Levi lost his patience. “Listen, lady, I don’t want to shoot you, but I will if you don’t stop this nonsense right this second. Drop the knife and leave before you force me to do something you won’t like.”

“Go ahead and kill me,” snarled the woman. “I have nothing to lose. My stepkids took everything. I’m living in a room barely fit for vermin. The prince is my ticket to the life I deserve.”

“There is help for people in your situation,” I stated, moving closer despite Levi’s warning grumble.

“I don’t want help. I want him!” She aimed her knife at Killian, the moment someone had been waiting for seeing as how a projectile flew past me and hit her in the forehead, stunning her. The water bottle fell to the floor.

The old lady blinked, and her fingers loosened enough the knife fell from her grip. Danger averted.

Or not.

“You’ll pay for that,” the woman spat as Levi moved in her direction.

It should have been an empty threat, only the old lady began to change, her body rippling unnaturally. Her lips moved soundlessly as she began to grow and grow, her body bulking, tearing the seams of the stolen uniform. Her skin darkened to a slate gray as scales formed.

It took Levi shouting, “Dragon!” for me to understand what I saw.

Holy candy corn. The woman shifted into a giant reptile with wings, big enough the hunch of her back almost touched the ceiling, but more worrisome? Her jaw dropped open, and I could see an orange glow in the back of her throat.

Before I could react, Levi did, dragging me to the floor and covering me with his body as a jet of fire shot past where I’d been standing, hot enough that the exposed parts of me ended up with singed hairs.

Levi rolled from atop me and shouted, “Where’s the fucking spear?”

Spear? Oh dear. They were going to kill the woman who never asked for this. There had to be a way to stop the carnage.

At the same time, the dragon was only just beginning her attack.

On me, I should add.

While the dragon lady ignored the prince and his bodyguards, she appeared intent on reaching me. Her neck stretched in my direction, and her teeth clacked. The heat of her breath washed over me, and as I froze in fright, Levi lunged, sword out, stabbing at the chest, only the armored scales deflected the blow. That didn’t stop him from hacking at the beast, trying to distract it.

“Cinder, get out of here. And where’s the fucking spear?” Levi bellowed.

I would have liked to move, but fear had me planted in place as Hannah hollered, “Gerome’s fetching it from his room.”

Which would take time and we didn’t have any. Already a new batch of flames brewed in the dragon’s belly. Steam emerged from her nostrils as she once more opened her maw to spew, with me standing like a statue in her direct line of sight.

A jug of ice water flew right into that opening, startling the dragon, who snapped her jaw shut. A glance showed a cool and composed Killian by the trolley still laden with breakfast.

Despite Levi’s barked, “Get out of here, you fool,” Killian walked toward the dragon and looked it in the eye.

“I am sorry to disappoint, fair lady. Alas, as you might have surmised, I’ve already found my bride.” He reached out a hand to me without ever taking his gaze from the dragon.

What was he doing? Whatever his plan, his words held the beast’s attention, and so I played along, joining him to place my hand in his.

Killian tugged me closer to his side and calmly stated, “The truth is I’ve already placed a lost shoe on my Cinderella, and it was a perfect fit.”

The dragon huffed.

“I know, she shouldn’t have lied. She didn’t want to injure your obviously large and loving heart.”

This time the beast rumbled.

“I fear I am not the prince you’ve been seeking, but I am sure there is one out there, waiting for you.”

The dragon roared, a sound to make any sane person wince. It shook its head, and I felt my hair flutter with the breeze of the shake. I stood close enough that I kept expecting it to chomp me in two.

To everyone’s surprise, the dragon whirled around, its whipping tail only missing my ankles because of a fierce yank that dragged me out of the way, along with Killian.

The dragon trundled to the window and, with a smash of glass, threw itself out. For a second, I thought the old woman, now beast, had chosen to kill herself, but a moment later, she rose on extended leathery wings. She flapped off into the bright blue morning sky, a speck that grew smaller and smaller until she was gone.

I whirled on Killian. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“Me neither,” he admitted sheepishly.

Levi, however, didn’t seem as impressed. “What kind of foolhardy bullshit was that? You were told to run.”

“I am not the type to flee in the face of danger, especially when I’m the cause,” he stated.

“Do you know the fucking trouble that would have occurred had that dragon murdered you? And then, to add to your ill judgment, you almost got Cinder killed.” Levi shook with rage, and while his fists remained by his side, the tightly clenched fingers showed him barely in control.

I put a hand on his arm. “But everything worked out in the end. We’re uninjured, and the old woman wasn’t needlessly executed.”

Levi turned an icy glare on me. “There’s a dragon loose. I wouldn’t call that a good thing.”

Before I could reply, Gerome returned, long silver spear in hand. “Where did it go?” he exclaimed.

Hannah pointed to the broken window. “It flew away.”

“Bummer.” The Knight looked utterly dejected.

Killian, however, clapped his hands. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some breakfast after that excitement. Since this one is ruined, I say we find that greasy diner and stuff ourselves with bacon and pancakes.”

“You can’t be serious?” Levi ogled him.

“Well, we can’t exactly stay here. The room is a mess, which means we’ll need to relocate. The question being, where? I, for one, can’t plan on an empty stomach, so what do you say, my fake fiancée?” Killian turned an engaging smile on me. “Shall we dine?” He offered me the crook of his elbow.

Despite Levi’s simmering annoyance, I looped my arm through Killian’s and chirped, “Lead the way, fair prince.”