Dragonlands(86)

Tressa's cheeks turned red. "Wow, and thanks for defending me."

Jarrett glared at her. "There was nothing to defend other than our secret."

"What?" She stumbled to her feet.

"You were kissing him back. I thought you had more restraint than that, but after how you presented yourself to me at the pond, I should have known better."

Tressa shoved Jarrett. "I was dreaming. I had no idea I was kissing Henry." She rubbed her sleeve across her lips and tamped down a flare of revulsion.

Jarrett's jaw dropped. He stared at Tressa for a moment, then reared back and kicked Henry in the stomach. He bent over, but Tressa grabbed his arms and tugged him back.

"Don't," she said. "Just let it go."

"If your mother knew how you were treating an unwilling woman..." Jarrett sank down on Tressa's bed, his head in his hands.

"My mother sent me away to steal a throne," Henry said, still doubled over in pain. "I don't think she cares what I do so long as I take it and claim it for The Sands."

"Your mother would chain you in the dungeon for a month. You know it as well as I do. Learn to behave and do it now!"

Tears streamed out of Henry's eyes. "It's the dragon. It made me do it." He looked up at Tressa, his eyes pleading. "You believe me, don't you?"

She didn't know what to believe and she wasn't sure it even mattered.

"What did you learn in your time with Stacia?" Tressa asked Jarrett, interested only in moving on from the incident with Henry. He was nothing but a petulant boy. She wanted Stacia gone, but she wasn't sure Henry was the answer either. The lesser of two evils. Tressa wanted a third option.

"Not much." Jarrett tossed another annoyed glance at Henry and sat down on his bed. He ran his hand through his hair. Bangs flopped down over his eyes. "She mostly paced. Then she tried to seduce me."

Henry slid across the floor and sat at Jarrett's feet. "Tell us more."

Tressa was only mildly curious. She looked at Jarrett. Nothing gave him away. No blush. No anger. It was as if he said Stacia had offered him a prune.

"There's nothing to tell. She disrobed and ordered me to take her." Jarrett paused.

This time Tressa knew it was for drama's sake. She rolled her eyes and got up off her bed. Henry drew even closer to Jarrett, hungry for details.

"And?" Henry asked. His begging was more pathetic than Jarrett's attitude.

"And I said it was time to switch the guards. I walked out of the room and headed straight here."

Henry's face fell. "I would have done it."

"Which is why you won't be alone with Stacia anytime soon. You'd forget your mission."

"Mother didn't say I couldn't have sex with Stacia. She only said to kill her and take the throne."

Jarrett sighed. "Men must learn to utilize self control, Henry. This is the second time this week I've been in close proximity to a nude woman and managed to control myself."

Tressa dug through her trunk, looking for nothing other than a way to keep her pink cheeks hidden from them. If he told Henry, she'd never hear the end of it.

"You're a lucky man, Jarrett," Henry said.

His envy was misplaced. Jarrett's kindness. His chivalry. His prowess with a sword. Those were the things Tressa wanted Henry to admire him for.

"I choose to treat women with respect, Henry. You should give it a try once in a while."

"Anyway," Tressa said, sitting back up again once she was confident Jarrett wasn't going to tell Henry his first nude girl of the week was her, "what is our next move? I say we kill Stacia now. Before the rest of the guard gets back. There are only five of us here. The three of us," she shot a wayward glance at Henry, "can dispose of the other two. Then we can take down Stacia."

"That was my thought as well," Jarrett said. "The men left about a quarter hour ago. There's nothing standing between us and Stacia now. Take up your arms."

Tressa reached under the bed for her sword. She belted the blade around her waist and let her hand rest on the hilt. She was calm. Resolute.

Henry grabbed his sword and brandished it in the air, pretending to kill an invisible enemy. "Let me be the one to kill her."

Tressa crossed her sword with his, the screech of iron raising the hair on her arms. "No, she's mine to kill. You can have the throne. I've no use for it. But she's mine. Do you understand?"

Henry looked at Jarrett and slowly lowered his sword. "She's a feisty one, isn't she? Too bad she wasn't one of the naked girls."

Jarrett winked at Tressa. "Yes, too bad."

Tressa felt the blush return, at least this time she was already out the door and into the hallway before either Jarrett or Henry could see her reaction.