Glow

Delores

Aubrey shifts in a blink, unconcerned with flashing me his tight ass as he leads me over to the almost invisible door in the wall of the landing turret. I watch as his hand melts into a weird symbol on the side of it, causing a series of whirrs and clicks to make the door spring open. When he turns back, I arch a brow and he smirks as he waits for me to enter.

Damn dragons and their fucking secrets.

"Where are we?" I ask as I step into a dark alcove. My eyes struggle to adjust to the dark, so I stay still rather than break my neck on shit I can't see.

His chuckle is soft and the room slowly lights up when he blows a small stream of fire along the wall. I note this trick works much like the one in his Apex archives, letting the fire crawl through the small trough of spicy scented flammable liquid. "This is one of my secret places, snack size."

I roll my eyes at him then continue watching the very ancient lighting system create a soft glow ahead of us. "Duh, Aubrey. I worked that out when you did some weird Egyptian temple thing to get us inside. It is 2023, you know. Locks are a thing now, old man."

Rumbling as he walks over and takes my hand, lifting it to his lips to kiss my knuckles. "They are, lunchable, but I am still an ancient shifter with a mistrustful nature. The ways of my clash prevent those with nefarious intentions from paying our hoards unscheduled visits. It is simply our way and the passage of time doesn't change that."

"Are you telling me using the old ways keeps people off your lawn? Because if so, I'm getting you a rocking chair for our front yard." I give him a playful wink, squeezing his fingers.

"You're definitely spending too much time with Fitz and Rennie," he grumbles as he laces our fingers together and lowers our hands. "Come with me, bite size, and you'll see why I keep the ownership of this place concealed."

My lips curve at his seriousness, but inside, I'm dying with curiosity. I know this has to be one of his fabled ‘hoards.' Aubrey hasn't said this is the main one; however, if he's got one bigger than a damned castle tucked away outside of the nearby cities, I'm going to be very impressed. This is huge, and I'm certain there's a wealth of info about my reticent dragon held within these walls.

"Show me, big guy." I shake my hair a little as we walk to a set of stairs that illuminate as we descend them. He still hasn't made a move to ask for the pack with the clothes I'm carrying, but hell if I'm going to be the one to say anything. The broad shoulders, round ass and muscled thighs are not a punishment to watch from my vantage point.

Lucille didn't raise a fool, despite what she might think.

"We'll stop at each floor individually," he says over his shoulder and I nod, still entranced with watching him walk.

My cheeks heat, then it spreads down my neck to the rest of my body just like his weird torch system. The snowsuit is going to be unbearable at this rate, so I raise my free hand to lower the zipper a bit before it gets mission critical. I don't know if it's just my reaction to him or if this castle really is hot, but I feel it from head to toe. It takes me a moment to clear my throat and push a breathy response out.

"Are they all different?"

He pauses on the first landing and my eyes widen as my dragon turns to face me. I blink, forcing myself to keep my eyes on his strong features. There's a hint of amusement in his eyes and it occurs to me that his damn shifter nose is probably tattling on me as we speak. "Of course. Everything is cataloged and in its proper place."

The indignance in his tone breaks the spell, making me giggle. "Oh, how could I think any differently, Lord of the Card Catalog?"

Huffing small smoke rings, he gives me a narrow eyed glare as he puts his hand on another hieroglyph. The heavy door opens and he mocks a bow. I let go of his hand and smack his shoulder as I enter the enormous room with a gasp.

Holy fuck.

The entire floor is one big room with gorgeous built-in shelves and displays in rich black marble with gold veins. There are paintings, sculptures, carvings, statues, lithographs… every possible art form you could dream of featuring dragons from all corners of the world. The most heavily represented is obviously the Draconis line from Egypt, but the sheer amount of jewels and precious metals sparkling in the creations in this room is almost blinding. Museums would weep at Aubrey's collection; it's so beautiful I'm hardly able to catch my breath.

"Aubrey… this is…"

He chuckles and shrugs. "I've been gathering it all my life—legitimately, I might add. I didn't raze any villages for it, so I don't want your ethically abundant best friend coming after me when you tell her."

I probably look slightly abashed—he knew I'd tell Rufus and Cori even if I'm supposed to keep all of this a big secret. "I'll make sure she knows you didn't rob any temples, big guy."

"Unlike humans, dragons are quite fair in their pursuit of valuables for their hoards, snack size. We could terrorize and take, but it's not our way." His expression darkens and he grumbles, "That's probably why the assholes love to portray us as greedy fuckers in their tales. It absolves them of their guilt in raiding supe culture as easily as they've done their own people."

Nodding, I walk over to an empty glass display pedestal. "What was in here?"

"Your crown," Aubrey says. "It belonged to the last dragon Empress of Eurasia. Once the clashes separated the territories, there wasn't an Empress anymore. Plenty of royalty, but titles get retired when things get shuffled in negotiations."

I have no idea which question to ask first.

"Um, what negotiations? We don't learn about mythical politics, remember. And… how the hell did you get that thing, anyway? And why are you letting me wear something that priceless, for fuck's sake?"

My voice gets higher as my anxiety rises. I knew that damn thing was expensive, but now I feel like an idiot storing it on the special wig head Rufus gave me in my bedroom. I mean, an Empress used to own it? This fucking guy, I swear to shit. Fidgeting as he looks at me in amusement, I stomp my foot, hoping to let him know I'm serious.

" That was adorable. Do it again," he rumbles as he comes closer. "Better yet, do it with your ears."

"Aubrey ," I grit my teeth as I chastise him. "Answer me. You can't just… drop shit like that and expect me to hop over like a good little rabbit."

For the first time ever, I see what I'd call a pout cross the serious librarian's face. If he was Fitz, I'd swear it was, but the big guy doesn't ever look that silly. My jaw drops when he bats his lashes and I sputter as I try to work out what is even happening right now. His eyes dance as I stride over, unable to stop myself despite my confusion.

"I…"

My dragon darts forward, tugging me close. His lips are warm and his skin is even warmer as he kisses me deeply. When we part to breathe, his gaze is soft. "I can't focus when you're being cute. It makes the dragon—and me—go a little crazy."

Flushing at his words, I smack his bicep, sniffing haughtily. "That doesn't mean you don't have to answer me, Lord Draconis. I'm not just any fluffy cute thing bouncing around your big ass lair."

His big hands cup my face and he looks at me seriously. "You most certainly are not . Aside from Rennie, you are the only other person I've ever brought to this particular castle, Peaches."

My hand comes up to rub my temple at the nickname and I groan. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Indeed." He kisses me lightly then pulls back. "To answer your questions, dragons and wyverns have their own ruling bodies they elect and shift from time to time. They may pretend to have allegiance to the Council, but our own royals and agreements trump theirs. I suspect many mythical shifter groups have similar systems; it's just not smart to have too many of us in any place simultaneously."

"Why?"

"Chaos theory. Human curiosity. Hunters. Fear mongering. Take your pick, lunchable." Aubrey brushes a hair off of my face and shrugs. "Much like your emergence and immediate punishment, things that are different and powerful are not welcomed in the normal shifter world."

Thinking about that for a minute, I ponder why the mythicals don't worry about the Council finding out. Because no one tells them, dummy, and now you know. I swallow hard, realizing I'm now an even bigger target because I know things I shouldn't. Maybe the damn magic rebels aren't so far off with their demands. This whole pred vs. prey system is bullshit and it definitely puts all the power in the hands of lesser beings. No wonder the mythicals avoid the Council like the plague—they rule because they've been allowed to do so.

"As for how I got it, it's a family heirloom. It belonged to my mother."

Annnnd now I'm going to die of shame.

"Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Me. That!" I hiss at him, thumping his chest in fury. He doesn't get why I'm so irritable, but I definitely would have treated a precious crown from his freaking mother the Empress differently than some random expensive thing. I mean, I didn't do anything stupid with the crown, but I didn't treat it like a priceless artifact, either.

Aubrey blinks, tilting his head. "I said it was a dragon crown."

"But not a bazillion year old treasure that belonged to your mom. I might despise my evil, martini swilling egg donor, but you've never even mentioned her, so I assume she wasn't horrid!"

His hands catch my fists, holding them between us as he leans forward with a smirk. "Isn't. She isn't horrid, bite size. She's just… very old school. And retired, obviously."

My head is going to explode; I'm sure of it. Men are so fucking incapable as a gender.

I suck in a deep breath, trying not to panic. Chess' parents are dead, so sadly, no worries about them. Fitz and Felix's father is a psychopath like Lucille. For some reason, I assumed Aubrey and Rennie were far too old to have parents to worry about. They never talk about their families, even when we discuss their exile, and I didn't consider for a second that they might still be walking around ignoring their damn children. I have to get my shit together; he's looking at me like I'm ready for a grippy sock vacation.

"Aubrey…" I begin on a slow breath. "You have to tell me things like this. Out of everyone, you and Rennie hold the most back. I know you're used to sharing what little shit you talk about with only each other but… I was photographed by major media outlets wearing the former Dragon Empress' crown! She probably saw those damn pictures."

He thinks about that for a moment and nods. "She loves a good gossip rag, so you're probably right. I didn't think it mattered, Dolly. You've been wearing a piece of the Laveaux royal jewels for over a year. People had to have taken your picture in it. And… you wore a Khan tiara on New Year's Eve."

I'm wearing a what?!

Burying my face in my hands, I groan. The Khan tiara was a middle finger at the Raj and my mother. He and Renard didn't think to tell me I've painted an even bigger target on myself by strutting around in their royal bullshit, too. I'm in no way prepared to be invited to meet the people who sent my caring, intelligent winged mates off on their own because of some bullshit traditions. At least I know The Raj is a fucking asshole; these people were just cowards, in my opinion.

"Fuuuuuck," I mutter as I lean into him. "We're on borrowed time with this, aren't we?"

"Maybe?" The dragon pulls my face out of my hands, looking at me seriously. "They kicked me out of the line of succession, bite size. I don't have to come when they crook their finger, and neither does Rennie. Unlike the cats, our parents were simply following traditions without questioning why. They're not stalking us or working to keep us under their thumbs."

"Goddess, I hope not. We have way too much on our plates to get some sort of royal summons."

His lips quirk as I calm a little and he arches a brow. "Does that mean you'll refuse something sparkly for the road? Might as well be all in now."

I elbow him in the ribs, but I don't say ‘no' when he starts the tour. After all, he's right.

In for a penny, in for a pound.