The Queen's Mystery

The Queen's Mystery

An Emerging Queens Novella

By

Jamie K. Schmidt

This story takes place before the events in The Queen's Wings.

The Queen's Mystery is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

Copyright @2016 by Jamie K. Schmidt.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.

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Cover Design by Thomas Schmidt

Thank you.

Chapter One: She walks in beauty, like the night

Bianca stood outside the dragon's bookstore and willed herself not to run away. She felt like the Little Match Girl. The biting wind cut through her coat and snowflakes dusted her eyelashes. Instead of lighting matches to keep warm, she was huddled in the doorway trying to figure out why the musky, Old Spice scent of the dragon smelled like coming home.

Byron's Classic Books looked like an antique store from the outside. It was a well kept secret in the dragon community. Nothing on the outside of the shop gave it away. Byron liked his privacy, disliked humans in general, and lived for books of all shapes and sizes. While the other stores on this block were decked out in holiday cheer, the bookstore was dark and uninviting.

Glancing down at the small children's book Niall had given her to bribe her way in, Bianca noticed her hand was shaking when she wiped the plastic covering. She wasn't afraid of the dragon, she was afraid of herself. She was going to start her new job at Smythe Industries in January as a dragon human liaison. It was a golden opportunity, and she was going to blow it if Byron couldn't help her. Apparently, this little book was the key to his cooperation.