Dating A Dragon (The Mating Game Book 2) by Georgette St. Clair
Authors: Georgette St. Clair
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demanded indignantly, “Tell me what?”
“I’m outta here,” Nikolai said, hurrying off.
“Coward!” Orion yelled after him. “Abandoning your post!”
“Not abandoning! It’s a strategic retreat!” Nikolai called back.
Cadence stalked up to Orion and repeated, in tones of icy rage, “Tell. Me. What?”
He let out a long, exasperated breath. “All right, I talked to the Elders today, because of a claim that Humphrey is making. Here’s the problem. If you are carrying dragonlings, we don’t know if they would be fire or ice, at this point.”
“And?”
“The last time we know of a fire and ice couple having dragonlings, it was five hundred years ago. In that case, the man was an ice dragon and the woman was a fire dragon. But she gave birth to ice dragons, so the ice dragon clan tried to take them from her, while banning her from their clan because she was a fire dragon. Told her husband he could take the babies from her and marry someone in his clan. Instead, she and her husband fled with their dragonlings and managed to escape. Both sides went to war, and burned down entire towns and forests. It turned humans against dragons for a very long time.”
“Thank you for the history lesson. Glad the husband wasn’t a dingleberry. What does this have to do with us now?”
“Well, because of the fire and ice war, the law now says that if you give birth to ice dragons, even if I am the father, any ice dragon male who is willing to take you as his mate can claim them, and if I were to try to interfere – pardon me, when I definitely did interfere – then my clan’s lands, mines, and all of my clan’s possessions would be forfeit to him. Wouldn’t matter if I challenged him and won – his clan would still have the right to your dragonlings and my clan’s possessions.”
“No. Orion, that’s crazy.” She went pale. He could lose everything because of her. “You didn’t know this before?”
“Unfortunately, no. It’s a very obscure point of dragon law. The scrolls that cover this are five hundred years old. But still enforceable. I am calling for a meeting of the Dragon Elders and formally requesting a change of the law, but it would be next year before that happens. Too late for us.” He’d said “us”. But he’d tried to exclude her from this news, and from any plans that he’d make to deal with a situation that affected her entire future.
“Anyway, you shouldn’t even have to be concerned with this. It’s on me. And it’s far too early for us to worry about that yet.”
She sucked in a deep, frustrated breath, and when she let it out, a cloud of icy air enveloped them both. Small icicles dripped from his hair and frost coated his face.
He shuddered and rubbed his hands on his arms. “Well, that news got an icy reception.”
She glared at him. “You know, normally, I’m all for dark humor, but this involves your entire clan’s future, and the babies that might be growing in my stomach. You had absolutely no right to keep that information from me. When were you planning on telling me? When I’d delivered a clutch of ice dragons and someone tried to rip them away from me? They’d die trying, by the way.”
“Cadence, I would never—”
“We’re done talking about this,” she said furiously, stalking off.
She knew what would happen if she gave birth to ice dragons. She’d take them, flee, and find a place to hide out with them until they were grown up. She’d live deep in the woods if necessary, and hunt for their food. Nobody was taking her babies from her, and she wasn’t going to cause Orion’s family to be homeless – well, castle-less – and poverty-stricken because of her.
* * * * *
Cadence wandered across the field with the planners and volunteers, enjoying the spring sunshine as they paced out the grounds, planning where the various booths would go. They were making marks with paint rollers and flags – white for ice, red for fire.
“Your arm looks
“I’m outta here,” Nikolai said, hurrying off.
“Coward!” Orion yelled after him. “Abandoning your post!”
“Not abandoning! It’s a strategic retreat!” Nikolai called back.
Cadence stalked up to Orion and repeated, in tones of icy rage, “Tell. Me. What?”
He let out a long, exasperated breath. “All right, I talked to the Elders today, because of a claim that Humphrey is making. Here’s the problem. If you are carrying dragonlings, we don’t know if they would be fire or ice, at this point.”
“And?”
“The last time we know of a fire and ice couple having dragonlings, it was five hundred years ago. In that case, the man was an ice dragon and the woman was a fire dragon. But she gave birth to ice dragons, so the ice dragon clan tried to take them from her, while banning her from their clan because she was a fire dragon. Told her husband he could take the babies from her and marry someone in his clan. Instead, she and her husband fled with their dragonlings and managed to escape. Both sides went to war, and burned down entire towns and forests. It turned humans against dragons for a very long time.”
“Thank you for the history lesson. Glad the husband wasn’t a dingleberry. What does this have to do with us now?”
“Well, because of the fire and ice war, the law now says that if you give birth to ice dragons, even if I am the father, any ice dragon male who is willing to take you as his mate can claim them, and if I were to try to interfere – pardon me, when I definitely did interfere – then my clan’s lands, mines, and all of my clan’s possessions would be forfeit to him. Wouldn’t matter if I challenged him and won – his clan would still have the right to your dragonlings and my clan’s possessions.”
“No. Orion, that’s crazy.” She went pale. He could lose everything because of her. “You didn’t know this before?”
“Unfortunately, no. It’s a very obscure point of dragon law. The scrolls that cover this are five hundred years old. But still enforceable. I am calling for a meeting of the Dragon Elders and formally requesting a change of the law, but it would be next year before that happens. Too late for us.” He’d said “us”. But he’d tried to exclude her from this news, and from any plans that he’d make to deal with a situation that affected her entire future.
“Anyway, you shouldn’t even have to be concerned with this. It’s on me. And it’s far too early for us to worry about that yet.”
She sucked in a deep, frustrated breath, and when she let it out, a cloud of icy air enveloped them both. Small icicles dripped from his hair and frost coated his face.
He shuddered and rubbed his hands on his arms. “Well, that news got an icy reception.”
She glared at him. “You know, normally, I’m all for dark humor, but this involves your entire clan’s future, and the babies that might be growing in my stomach. You had absolutely no right to keep that information from me. When were you planning on telling me? When I’d delivered a clutch of ice dragons and someone tried to rip them away from me? They’d die trying, by the way.”
“Cadence, I would never—”
“We’re done talking about this,” she said furiously, stalking off.
She knew what would happen if she gave birth to ice dragons. She’d take them, flee, and find a place to hide out with them until they were grown up. She’d live deep in the woods if necessary, and hunt for their food. Nobody was taking her babies from her, and she wasn’t going to cause Orion’s family to be homeless – well, castle-less – and poverty-stricken because of her.
* * * * *
Cadence wandered across the field with the planners and volunteers, enjoying the spring sunshine as they paced out the grounds, planning where the various booths would go. They were making marks with paint rollers and flags – white for ice, red for fire.
“Your arm looks
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