Gary herded him out of the door, returning almost immediately to say to me, "Oh, mercy, look at the time. Three minutes! Everyone, we are at T minus three minutes! Where's Jim? Is he harnessed to the carriage? For the love of all that's holy, people, it's show time! Let's get this done right!"
The door closed behind Gary as he scattered orders left and right.
Fifteen minutes later (there was a slight issue with the little carriage that Gary rode in, drawn by Jim, and which had an automatic petal-scattering device), Aoife, Bee, and I gathered outside the closed doors of the palace's ballroom.
"Well?" I asked the ladies, waiting for the music cue Gary had insisted on before the doors were thrown open and we would march down the aisle. "Are we ready for this?"
"We are, but it sounds like the men are in pretty poor shape," Aoife said with a little laugh. "Honestly, if Kostya wasn't so adorable, I'd brush these dragons off and never look back. Imagine fighting on the night before your wedding."
"Constantine says it was your adorable Kostya who started the whole thing," Bee told her sister.
Aoife immediately took issue with that. "Kostya is the mildest of men! Okay, he likes to frown a lot and make dramatic statements, but that's just part of his charm. It's Constantine who's always picking on him. And then Baltic has to come nosing his way in, and now Rowan, who we all know is still trying to get a grip on his dragonness, and … and … "
She stopped and bit her lip.
Bee's mouth quivered.
I sighed. "I think, ladies, we're going to spend the rest of our lives keeping our respective menfolk from beating the ever-living tar out of each other."
"I think you're right," Bee said when Aoife laughed aloud. She gave me a smile that may not have been the warmest on earth, but which at least recognized that we were all in the same boat. "Welcome to the family, Sophea."
"The dragon family or the Dakar family?" I asked as the doors opened, and the music swelled.
"Both," Aoife answered, and as the youngest member of the bridal trio, started her walk down the aisle, preceded by Jim drawing Gary's carriage. Black, white, and red petals scattered ahead of Aoife. Bee lowered her veil and swept forward next, her long dress scattering the petals. I paused at the door, looking past where the ladies were proceeding, my gaze finding that of Rowan.
One corner of his mouth quirked, and I was filled with an immense sensation of joy.
This dragon I would keep.
ALSO BY KATIE MACALISTER
Dragon Fall
Dragon Storm
RAVE REVIEWS
FOR KATIE MACALISTER
Dragon Fall
"Katie MacAlister has funny characters and always makes me laugh … Aoife's story will have you charmed."
-USA Today's "Happily Ever After" blog
"Wacky situations and offbeat humor run rampant through this book, making it an instant classic!"
-RT Book Reviews
"A great mix of romance, humor, and a great story line. I highly recommend this new series, even if you have not read the other series."
-BookedandLoaded.com
"There is a huge amount of fun in this story, which I completely enjoyed. Aoife has a sharp sense of humor, deep compassion, and equally deep strength. And a number of unusual made-up swear words that caused snorts and giggles … A surprisingly strong new entry into Urban Fantasy-one that guarantees that I will be checking out other books by Katie MacAlister."
-SoIReadThisBookToday.com
Dragon Storm
"MacAlister packs oodles of humor into her stories."
-RT Book Reviews
Nothing could prepare Aoife Dakar for a gorgeous man shifting form before her eyes. Thrust into a fantastical world that's both exhilarating and terrifying, she's about to learn just how hot a dragon's fire burns …
Please see the next page for an excerpt from
Dragon Fall.
Three
"I don't see how this can possibly be a good idea, Bee."
My sister looked up from where she was throwing some clothing into a suitcase. "Leaving you by yourself? Dr. Barlind says you're perfectly fine to be on your own-"
"Of course I'm fine to be on my own. Two years of intensive therapy have done wonders," I said with a bright, "I'm not insane anymore" smile.
"Me going to Africa, then?"
"No, of course I think that's a good idea. You're going to be helping all those people get fresh water."
She dumped her drawer full of undies into the suitcase, glancing around the room. "I don't know why you want to stay here by yourself, I really don't. Rowan won't be back for a couple of months, so you'll be alone here in the house." She shot a look out the window. Beyond a scraggy hedge, the dull gray and brown sand could be seen stretching out to pale bluish gray water. Overhead, a couple of gulls rode the currents, searching for signs of food, and even through the insulated glass I could hear their high, piercing cries. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."
"That's because you're a city girl now, Miss Lives in Venice." I rubbed my arms and leaned against the wall, looking out at the endlessly moving water. "I like the isolation of the Swedish coast. Especially after spending two years in a house with forty other people. You can hear yourself think here."
"You're lucky if you can hear anything over the constant sound of the gulls. Never mind, you don't have to tell me that you love it here. I know that you do. You take after Dad that way." She paused and glanced at the family picture that sat on her dresser before turning back to the suitcase. "You promise to call me if you have another … incident?"
"I'm not going to have an incident," I said, standing up straight and giving her another brilliant smile. I tried to remind myself to tone down that smile just a bit, since Bee was much more perceptive than Dr. Barlind had been. Bee always was able to tell when I was bluffing her, and the last thing I wanted right now was for her to cancel her trip in order to babysit me.
"Of course you aren't. Still, I don't understand why Dr. Barlind insists that you confront your inner demons by returning to that weird fair that started everything. Oh." She cast a perceptive glance at me, which made me swear under my breath. "That is what you were talking about not being a good idea, wasn't it? Well, I agree. It's just bound to lead to all sorts of grief for you."
I rubbed my arms again and turned my back to the beach. Unlike my metropolitan-loving brother and sister, I could happily spend hours wandering up and down our little stretch of the coast. "I don't know about grief … It's not like just seeing GothFaire again is going to make me snap, and I see Dr. Barlind's point about confronting my personal bogeys. She's very big on cathartic experiences and thinks that until you directly confront what is giving you issues, you can never really be cured. To be honest, though, I don't have any desire to see GothFaire again. What if the people remember me as the woman who wigged out? I would die of embarrassment."
Bee lifted her shoulders in a half-shrug. "What if they do? They don't mean anything to us." She paused in the act of gathering up toiletries. "Would you like me to cancel my trip and stay here with you for the next month? Maybe it's too much asking you to stay on your own right after your release-"
"No," I interrupted firmly. "I'm fine, I really am. Dr. Barlind wouldn't have let me go unless I was, right?"
"Mmm," she said doubtfully. She placed the items in her bag and zipped it up, turning to face me. "Aoife, you're a smart girl. If you don't think you need to go to that fair, then don't go. Why stir up all those unpleasant memories? With all due respect to your precious Dr. Barlind, you're out of danger now, and that's all that matters."
"I never was in danger," I started to argue, then stopped myself. I took a deep breath, remembering Dr. Barlind's favorite saying: think twice before you speak once. If I made too much of a fuss, Bee would cancel her trip, and I very much wanted time to myself where I could sort out the shattered remains of my life. I didn't want to go back to the GothFaire, didn't want to see the face of the blond man who had lied, and certainly didn't want to see the same field where I'd seen … but, no, it was better not to think of that.
"Aoife?" Bee prompted.
"You're right," I said, deciding that it was worth a little white lie if I could get her off on her trip. The thought of two lovely months of solitude was damn near priceless in my eyes. "I'm sure it would be better for my mental peace to avoid GothFaire."
She smiled, clearly relieved, and patted my cheek in that annoying way older sisters have. "Good girl. Ack! Look at the time! I'll be late for my flight if I don't leave now." She set down her luggage to give me a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. "Call me if you need me. Or Rowan. You know we both love you."