“It is a shard of the dragon heart,” the First Dragon said in a carefully neutral voice. I heard the intake of breath from May when Rowan held up the broken pieces. “Guard it well, wyvern.”

“There you go, then,” Mrs. P said, and gestured for Rowan. He stood next to them as Bo the guard took the ring, and with an arm around her, held the ring aloft. There was a flash of blue-white light that made my eyes water, and then they were gone.

As was the First Dragon.

“She didn’t even say good-bye.” I blinked and wiped my eyes, moving to Rowan’s side to add, “Did it work? Did you get it?”

Rowan had his back to me, his shoulders slumped in a way that made my stomach tighten painfully. Then he turned around and held up the shard for me to see—made whole and glowing with a deep ruby light.

“Welcome to the weyr, Rowan,” Gabriel said with a genuine smile. “You bear a shard of the dragon heart. There can be no more valuable artifact for your sept.”

“Wrong,” Rowan said, smiling at me. “It’s the second most valuable item. The first is standing before me, looking like she has a hundred questions that need answering.”

“Just two, actually,” I said, blushing at the compliment, and thinking to myself of the many and varied ways I was going to thank him that night.

“What’s the first?” he asked.

“It concerns them,” I said, nodding toward where Bael was sitting still bound and gagged. Next to him, Osiris, Maat, and two of her men were listening while Ken pled for sanctuary. “What will happen to them?”

“That is up to Osiris, I believe,” Rowan said.

Maat must have heard him, for she glanced over and said with a little smile, “Do not fear that this one will escape,” she said, gesturing with the feather toward Bael. “Once bound to Duat, he cannot leave without extraordinary circumstances happening.”

“And I shall make sure that such a circumstance does not occur,” Osiris said.

Ken plucked at his sleeve and made murmuring noises.

“Ah, yes, a demon, are you?”

“Please, my lord, do not force me to leave. As an unbound demon, I will be preyed upon by any other demon lord who is of that mind, and I will be forced into another life of slavery and torment, and not be allowed to wear the pretty clothes that I did as Ken. If I were to stay here, I could make myself of great service to you. I am very good with decorations and have a keen eye for colors, and I can whip up the most astounding costumes out of nothing.”

“He can,” I agreed, feeling badly for the poor little guy. He truly did seem happier as Ken.

“Very well,” Osiris said magnanimously after a moment’s thought. “My wife did mention wishing to redecorate. You may stay in Duat.”

“Thank you, oh, thank you,” Ken said, on his knees in gratitude. “I bind myself to you most willingly.”

“None of that, now, none of that,” Osiris said, looking embarrassed. “Glad to have you.”

“One last boon, my lord,” Ken said, his lower lip wobbling. “Could you order me to take the form that lord Bael cast on me via the glamour? It was much comelier, and I feel it better suits me than this one.”

“Certainly,” Osiris said, waving a hand. “Be in whatever form you like.”

Ken’s body shimmered and morphed back into that of a plump middle-aged woman. He beamed at us all and ran after Osiris as he and Maat, with the captive Bael before them, left the ship.

“What a very odd demon,” Bee said, watching them leave.

“I like her. She was a little chatty, but seemed nice enough,” May said. “I’m glad she got away from Bael.”

“I do so like a happy ending,” I said, sniffling slightly at the sight of Ken happy again.

Bee leaned into Constantine, who had an odd expression on his face. “And what about you? Are you going to be happy knowing Bael is stuck here?”

“Yes.” He was silent for a moment, at last giving her a smile. “He will hate every second of it to the utmost of his being. I call that penance for all the suffering he’s brought the world.”

“Indeed it is,” Rowan said, then tipped his head a little and nudged me. “And what is your second question?”

I leaned close and said softly, “When you were in dragon form, what did it feel like?”

He took a long, deep breath, his eyes closing for a moment. I felt his fire stirring deep within him, and an answering burn inside of me coming to instant life. “Run,” he said.

Chills ran down my spine despite the heat of his fire. “Really?” I asked, glancing at the other dragons. “Right now?”

“Run,” he repeated, opening his eyes. They glittered brightly with passion and desire… and yes, love.

I felt as if I were drenched in fire. “Okay, but this time, let’s have a game plan. Where exactly do you want me to—”

“RUN!” he yelled, and I didn’t wait; I took off.

But as I skidded through the door, I heard Gabriel say, “A chase! What an excellent idea. We haven’t had one of those in far too long, little bird. Rowan, what say you take the lowest level of the ship. I’ll take the middle for our chase, and Constantine can have the upper…”

Twenty

Fall in St. Petersburg may have been Kostya’s idea of lovely, but it certainly wasn’t balmy by any stretch of the imagination. I shivered in the small anteroom that had been assigned as my dressing room. Aisling (heavily pregnant, but downright glowing with happiness), Ysolde, and May bustled between the three rooms given over to us brides, each updating the other.

“All the grooms are present and accounted for,” Aisling announced, her demon dog padding after her.

“As are their assorted hangovers,” Jim said with a snicker.

I glanced at them in the mirror, which I sat in front of while a stylist fussed with my hair. “Oh, dear. Even Rowan? He’s not really a drinker, although I know he would have had a few drinks last night during their joint stag party.”

“He looks like he was dead, got run over with a heavy cart loaded with oxen, was resurrected, and then the oxen trampled him to death again,” Jim said, sniffing at the table that held a plate of snacks, evidently provided by the caterers to keep the brides from fainting away with hunger. “You gonna eat that cheese and bread?”