“Just a little,” he begged. “Please?”
Sweet peaches, someone put my soul back in my body.
“No thank you,” I said. Resenting every syllable.
“Pity,” he sighed. “When you leave this room, go three doors down and enter the bedroom on your left. The wardrobe in that room should have something that will fit you. When you’re done, join me in the dining hall.” He gave my palm one last kiss, then released me and moved away. Water dripped down from his soaked clothes as he lifted himself from the pool. Dante slung his discarded coat over his shoulder and made his way out the door.
“Wait!” I called after him.
He paused and glanced back at me.
“Um… could you tell me where the dining hall is? This place is a maze.”
Chapter 7
Cherry
One successful closet raid later, Dante and I were sitting in the dining hall. The extravagant yellow dress I had pilfered, from whoever’s room that had been, hung loosely off my shoulders. It fell far past my feet and I had to bundle it at my side to walk properly, but it was better than slapping on dirty clothes.
Plates of meat and cheese were brought out by little creatures. I did a double take; they looked like a family of warrior weasels that had turned to a life of crime, and who relished in the fruits of their labor. They were about the same size as the frog people on Gideon’s island. Were all dragons assigned tiny butler animals or was it a rite of passage kind of thing?
I shuddered, thinking back on the spiked doglike creatures Gideon also had at his disposal. Unlike the butler frogs, the water dogs didn’t often come inland, much to my relief. Yet at night, I could hear their haunting cries along the shore.
“So let me get this straight, you bit me because my scent called to you. Which created a soulmate bond that ties us together as husband and wife and now we’ve entered a…” I waved my hand in the air trying to remember how Dante put it.
“A honeymoon phase,” he finished, biting into a slice of pork.
“Yes, thank you. Which is the reason for this… intense attraction for each other.”
He nodded.
I rested my elbows on the table, clasped my hands in front of my face and smiled at him, waiting for him to finish the joke. Yet he merely sipped his drink and continued eating.
My shoulders shimmied in a little dance before I wagged a finger at him. “No,” I giggled. “You hear what I mean?” I took a sip from my mug and took a deep breath. “Because forget it…” Another sip for my suddenly parched throat. “On no account, you hear me?”
The giggling ended as my denial turned to a rage that settled into the stillness of my fists on his table. “You’re going to start off with a no, sprinkle some paprika on that no, mash the no together with yeast, water and butter, roll it into a ball of no, and then bake it in the oven for an hour so it comes out with a nice flaky no. I’m not gonna lie, you had me at sexual favors, I’m a little desperate at this point. But I draw the line at holy matrimony to the same type of demon that I just escaped from. It’s not gonna happen, sorry you wasted your time, I’m gonna go take my chances with freezing to death outside. Where is your front door?”
“Gods, you talk fast,” Dante sighed, resting his chin on his hand. “You didn’t feel the need to breathe during any part of that declaration?” He swirled a finger between us as if to mock my rushed panting.
In truth, I was breathing rather fast, but the situation called for it. The walls in the room I thought massive only moments ago, shrank further in on me with every tick of the clock. “I mean it, Dragon,” I snapped, then pushed away from the table and stood. “Where is your front door?”
“I understand this can be a lot to take in,” Dante paused, the grip on his goblet increased as he took in my trembling form. “Are you alright, love? You look rather faint.”
I shook my head. “Don’t call me that.”
He stood and moved to my side, but I stepped away from him. “Cherry, sit down.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, either,” I barked at him. The room swayed, and I gripped the table to steady myself. “I need to get out of here.”
The dragon-shifter took a step back, apprehension forming a crease on his brow. “Alright. I’ll take you outside, but first I’d like it if you took a sip of water.” Slowly, he took a glass from a tray in the center of the table, filled it and slid it over to me.
Water spilled as I picked up the glass with shaking hands and drank. After a few sips, Dante nodded in approval. “Good, this way then.”
Heart pounding, I followed him out of the dining hall. He remained silent, only glancing back at me occasionally to ensure I was still following. Relief flooded through me when he stopped in front of a door, then turned to fury when I didn’t see the outside world on the other side. “That’s just a closet!” I snapped.
“How very observant,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Dante rummaged through articles of clothing before he emerged from the closet with a light blue fur coat. “Put this on,” he said, holding it out for me.
Frustrated, I snatched the coat and pulled it on. “Are we at least close to the exit?”
