Psychic Appeal- Urban Fantasy

Psychic Appeal Chapter 11

"Do you want to go to the king?" Jacob asked settling into one of the chairs by the fireplace. Zyllven had brought us back to our room after lunch and we had a few hours to come up with a strategy before he returned to escort us to the joining.

"No. Not yet. There have to be other dragons involved and I need to find them before I talk to the king." I flopped onto the bed, rubbing a hand across my forehead in an attempt to ward off a headache. "I want to meet as many dragons as possible tonight. Then we'll see about going to the king."

"And then we tell the king his own son betrayed him. That's cold."

"I know." Telling Wyllven about his son was not going to be fun.

Jacob yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "Do you mind if I lie down with you? I don't seem to have a room."

I smiled and patted the bed. "You always end up homeless somehow, don't you?"

He laughed and came to lay down next to me, the bed shifting under his weight. "It would seem so. Maybe, I just like you."

Jacob held out his arms and I snuggled up against him. "I think I like you too."

He kissed me on the forehead. "One of these days I'll stop finagling my way into your bed and take you out on a proper date."

"That would be nice."

"Yeah, it would."

Silence fell between us. I drifted off to sleep, the sound of Jacob's heart thudding reassuringly in my ears. In my dreams, dragons soared into a midnight sky only to turn to gold and drop, lifeless to the ground.

***

The joining, or dragon wedding, took place in a large field outside of Wyvrndell just as the sun slipped past the horizon. From the crush of dragons in human form milling about, it seemed the whole village had turned out for the occasion. Zyllven escorted us with his usual cheerful smile, keeping up a nonstop stream of inane banter as we made our way to a wooden dais on the far end of the field, opposite the city walls.

"This is the king's pavilion," He indicated the dais with a sweep of his hand. "You can watch from here."

"Will the king be joining us?" I asked walking over to a wood chair carved with what I recognized as Wyllven's coat of arms; a shield depicting fire, gold in the form of coins, and a flying dragon. A few chairs over, sat a man with sparse brown hair and so thin he was all sharp angles. His fingers danced across the keys on the laptop in front of him, his knee bouncing up and down with nervous energy.

"No, all the dragons will be over there." Zyllven pointed to where two dragons in their original form, one turquoise, the other crimson, stood side by side, their tails caressing each other in such a way that I had no doubt they were bride and groom. I'd never seen such an...erotic use of tails before. It made me blush.

"You'll be able to see everything from here. Not to mention you can talk to my good friend, Randall. He's the scientist who's been working with me." The dragon prince gestured to the lanky man.

Randall looked up at the mention of his name. "Oh, hello Prince Zyllven. Didn't see you there."

"Good even, Randall. I've brought Sofia and her associate, Jacob to keep you company. They're doing some work for the king. All set for tonight?"

Randall hesitated, looking at us.

"It's all right, I've told them what you're doing," Zyllven said. "I want you to explain everything to them for me, so they understand."