Ryan said, “What the hell? Does everything want to have sex with you?”
Everyone slowly turned to look at him. He refused to meet anyone’s gaze.
Whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean.
So I focused on the first thing. “I thought it was weird too,” I told Morgan. “I didn’t think dragons could talk.”
“They can’t,” he said. “Or at least I’ve never heard of one speaking before.”
“So it’s like a magic thing?” I said, wiggling my fingers, and I swore I heard Ryan make that ungh sound again. I reminded myself to ask him later if he was okay. “But that doesn’t make sense. Justin’s not magic and I’m pretty sure he understood what the dragon was saying.”
Morgan frowned. “I honestly have no idea, then. We’ll have to move quickly. The dragon was seen headed north. Dragons are fiercely territorial, but I don’t have any record of this one having been spotted before. It’s possible he was looking for a new territory to inhabit after having come a great distance.”
“So call out the knights and have them start tracking,” I said. “They can storm wherever he’s being kept and rescue him.” I just wanted to sleep and forget about this ridiculous day.
The King said, “Tactically, that’s not a good plan. The dragon could easily wipe out a large portion of the knights in a single blast of fire. It’s better to go covert. Only a handful of people. And I know just the handful.” He smiled. I didn’t like that smile.
And Morgan must have gotten the same thing from it, because he said, “Your Majesty, I don’t think—”
“Ah,” the King said. “But I do.”
“No,” I said. “No.”
“Yes,” the King said.
I glared at him.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked.
“To be honest, I haven’t understood a single thing being said here,” Dad told her. “But that’s nothing unusual.”
“I just keep you around for your looks,” Mom said. “Not your brains.”
“Romance,” Dad sighed.
“It’s almost romantic,” the King said wistfully. “Like the stories I heard as a child. The princess being rescued from the dragon’s keep by her one true love. The hero rides in and slays the beast and everyone lives happily ever after.”
Ryan’s eyes went wide.
“Or, in the real-world version, they get set on fire and eaten,” I said.
“Semantics,” the King said with a wave of his hand. “Besides, you’ll be there to protect him, won’t you?”
“Everyone out,” I said as I grit my teeth together. “I need to have a word with the King. Morgan, you stay too.”
For once, everyone listened to me, though Ryan looked as if it was the last thing he wanted to do. His eyes were on me as he backed through the doorway, pulling the door closed.
I took a breath, trying to calm down. It almost didn’t work.
The King said, “Why were you out in the fields?”
“Because Justin took me there.”
“For what purpose?”
“To spar.”
The King frowned. “But you’re not sword trained.”