Sabine

I cleared my throat and shook my head. "I was thinking aloud, Majesty."

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If there is nothing else, Sire, I would like to retire for the night."

He waved me away. "Yes, that is all."

I bowed and headed toward my room. At the back of my mind, the king's visit gnawed. I should tell the prince. My loyalty was to him and I knew there was tension between them. Prince Cole would want to know and as his personal attendant, I was supposed to prioritize his wants and needs.

My fingers clasped the cool metal of the handle on the adjoining door. I took a deep breath and listened. In the bedroom, I could hear the prince pacing. It sounded like he still had many thoughts on his mind.

The king offered me freedom, which Prince Cole seemed intent on denying me. He'd been quick to interrupt the king and me at the Solstice Dance. But could I trust an offer from the king? What price would I have to pay?

I continued on to my rooms. Based on their relationship, I was certain Prince Cole would not fault me for disobeying an order from the king. The king could still punish me and being someone else's property wouldn't be enough to shield me. Until I knew more about why the king offered me freedom, I'd keep it to myself.

A maid shuffling breakfast into my room pulled me from my sleep. She waved at me before retreating. Sighing, I collapsed on the pillow and glanced out my bedroom window. The sun had barely risen over the horizon. The maid was early.

Did Prince Cole need me already?

Yawning, I stretched and dawned a robe. There was a folded note sticking out of my breakfast tray.

Sabine,

I will not be needing your services for a few days. My wing of the palace is being shut down and you can spend your time as you see fit.

Prince Cole

I yawned again and slipped the note under the tray. I knew the prince liked his solitude but to give me time off so soon after his return... I got the feeling something more was on his mind.

My stomach fluttered. Had he learned more about Princess Cara? Whatever he learned could easily lead back to Princess Aura, and perhaps me.

It was a warm, sunny day, so I grabbed a book and headed to the gardens. There was a hammock between two large, flowering Magnolia trees. This time of year, the flowers were in full bloom and the scent was soothing. I loved laying in that hammock and reading, listening to the birds and the buzzing bees.

There wasn't a single gardener out today. If Prince Cole shut his entire wing down, none of the normal staff would be around. The gardens were still lively with birds and butterflies. Even the koi fish in the pond seemed active in the warmth.

The stone pathway beneath my feet shivered and a low rumble filled the air. My knees buckled and I braced against the tremor. I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye.

Talon stretched out on a flat, stone slab next to the pond. His scales glinted with sunlight and he stretched like a happy kitten. His long neck craned in my direction and he held out his front paw. The great dragon beckoned me closer with his claw.

"Umm..." I glanced around to make sure we were alone in the gardens.

Dragons were as sacred as royalty, if not more so. I had to show him the highest levels of respect.

I bowed my head and moved closer. He extended his neck beyond the stone slab, his nose leveling with my face.

His nostrils flared as his warm breath escaped, sending my hair flying. His red, horn-rimmed eyes crossed over his nose as he looked at me.

I licked my lips. "I never got to thank you. You rescued me twice and that's... well, dragons have better things to do than rescue slaves.

Talon let out a low grumble, almost like a laugh. I could see the deep intelligence and wisdom in his eyes. And yet, I was limited to guessing what he wanted from his body language. I had no doubt he could understand me.

I raised my hand and held my palm out to him, stopping several inches from his nose. "May !?"

Talon warbled and closed the space between us, fitting his curved snout into the palm of my hand.

His scales were warm and soft, silky to the touch. I flexed my fingers over his nose.

The dragon's eyelids drooped and he started to hum. The sound reverberated through the rock beneath me and shook me down to the bone. I almost lost my footing. I fell forward slightly and caught myself on his large head. Up close, I noticed a patch of dry, peeling scales under his cheek.

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"Oh, you're peeling." I traced my finger along the afflicted area. "If you'd permit me, I can help with such a blemish."

I stepped back and Talon lowered his head to me, a sign of consent, I think.

I went to the garden shed and grabbed a scrub brush and bucket. With a little water from the pond, I got to work scrubbing at his dry scales with the brush.

Talon let out a long, low warble and rolled over on his back, pointing his belly to the sky. He stretched his neck out to its full length so I could reach the patch of scales better. His humming intensified.

The brush peeled away the dried, white, flaky scales, and underneath were illustrious, new red scales. I noticed that along his neck, he had more patches of dead scales. I got to work scrubbing those patches and uncovering the beautiful new scales beneath.

He hummed and stretched and I could swear the dragon wore a smile as I worked.

I laughed and patted his neck with my hand as I scrubbed. "You are quite a lush, aren't you?"

"What's all this?"

My hand froze on Talon's neck, a patch of scales partially scrubbed off beneath the brush. Prince Cole's voice sent a tremor down my spine.

I spun around and bowed to him. "Your Highness. I... we didn't disturb you, did we?"

A strange expression crossed the prince's face and he looked at Talon, almost as if he'd been betrayed.

***

Cole

Seeing Talon belly up and squirming with pleasure under my personal attendant's pampering was not what I expected after giving her time off.

I was enjoying that, Talon snarked.

I'm all too aware!

He never let anyone else touch him but me. To see him as happy and inhibition-less as a puppy at the hands of someone else was... strange. And how she referred to the two of them as 'we,' like they were old friends, or like I was the one intruding.

What's this 'we' business? I asked.

I stepped up to Sabine and took the brush from her hand. "Talon prefers it when I take care of him."

She bowed her head and stepped back. "Of course, Your Highness."

At least Sabine noticed when I had dry scales.

I groaned and got to work on the last couple of dry patches. Sabine? I questioned again, wondering why he desired to use her name so readily.

"If you'd like to help, there are more brushes in the garden shed," I said when she continued to stand there.

She nodded and headed off.

I knew that slaves were conditioned to wait for direction before acting. She was obviously smart, and yet she seamlessly behaved like a house-broken slave.

Not that long ago, you thought she was broken, Talon reminded me.

That's before I saw how defiant she really is. All that submission is just an act. So, how does someone that defiant survive as a slave without getting it beaten out of them?

She's special.

It's because she's hidden that side of herself, purposefully. Someone taught her to maintain her dignity and identity even if it's stripped from her. That isn't the kind of thing commoners teach their children.

You've spent a lot of time considering this.

I rolled my eyes and ignored his comment. The more I learned about her, and the people who were after her, the more I realized she wasn't the average slave or mage.

Sabine returned with a brush and she started working on Talon's belly.

"Thank you, for attending to Talon," I said, dipping my brush in the water.

"He has saved my life twice. It is the least I can do."

I chuckled. "He saved your life?"

She flicked her eyes in my direction quickly and I saw her fire in them for a moment before she looked away. "I already thanked you, Sire."

"You did."

"Can you really speak to him?" She ran her hand tenderly along Talon's scales.

He responded with a please warble.

"I can." I nodded. "Even when we aren't talking back and forth, his presence is always in my mind. We share everything, thoughts, feelings, desires..." Why was I telling her the intimate details of my bond with Talon?

"That sounds... beautiful." A small smile graced her naturally dark lips and she returned to scrubbing.

"Beautiful? To secure the bond is no easy task. A human pitted against a wild, recently hatched dragon is never beautiful."

"Would you say it isn't worth it?" her eyebrow arched but she didn't glance in my direction.

"I wouldn't trade my bond with Talon for anything."

She nodded. "Nothing worth having isn't worth fighting for."

I paused in brushing Talon and stared at her for a moment. She kept working diligently but I noticed the flush that spread across her cheeks and down her neck.

"I've been on my own for most of my life, Highness. The thought of having a close bond, an everlasting companion, a lifelong friend and confidant... it's alluring."

She turned in my direction slightly and dropped her brush in the bucket. Water splashed against my pants. I couldn't pull my eyes away from her long enough to care. To most people, dragons were the source of cold sweat and fear. They saw the bond as unnatural.

"I believe that's all his dry patches." Sabine patted Talon's belly and the dragon hummed again.

Do you think she'd survive a taming? Talon asked.

I blinked and looked away from her. That's not what I was thinking.

You know that the only way a non-royal is gifted a dragon egg is when they marry into the royal family.

Talon will you stop that!?

He rolled onto his stomach and curled up. When he yawned, his forked tongue curled happily.

"He seems satisfied," I agreed, dropping my brush in the bucket.

Sabine continued to stroke Talon's scales. She followed the grooves between them with her pointer fingers. After a moment, she started humming to herself.

Anyone who was this comfortable with dragons without the bond would easily survive a taming. Groaning, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Now that Talon put the thought in my head, it wouldn't go away.

"Ahh, I was hoping to catch the two of you together."

I squinted my eyes closed as footsteps on the stone walkway echoed closer and closer. What was my father doing here? Talon rustled his wings and stood up.

I grabbed Sabine's arm and pulled her out of the way as Talon lumbered off the stone and away from the king's approach. I swear he did that on purpose.

Sabine rubbed her arm as she recovered herself. Her lips formed the word "ow," but no sound came out.

"Whatever he wants, it can't be good," I muttered under my breath.

Her eyes widened and she stepped back, bowing her head and clasping her hands behind her back.

"I'm assuming you know the release word for your slave's collar," King Talis said, stepping up to the edge of the stone slab.

"I do."

"Wonderful!" He grinned and shot a wink at Sabine.

She tensed and I could practically see the shudder that went through her. Apparently, she was ruffled by my father, too.

"What do you want, Sire?" I questioned.

"I want to know what she's capable of." He pointed to Sabine. "Show me what she can do with her magic." It was not a request.