The images ceased. I sat blinking at Mettalise, who blinked at me. Then a gust of emotion, greater than any gale from a storm, slammed into me.
*You ARE in love with him!*
I nearly passed out. So much excitement, but none of it mine, I was drowning—it diminished and I gasped.
*Sorry about that. I’ll teach you to block—oh, this is perfect!* Another surge of glee crashed into me. *Sorry!*
I gripped the arm of the sofa so hard my nails scraped the wood. Where were my own feelings? “You can’t tell him.”
Offense. *I told you, your secrets are mine. Except, I think he suspects. He does love you, all of us have picked up on it. You can mate at any time.*
At the word ‘mate,’ I coughed. She laughed. Then she sobered. *You are absolutely terrified of him knowing. I don’t understand.*
I tried to explain the difference of our births, how courting would lead to exposure and ruin. Explaining took forever. Mettalise knew less of human culture than I expected.
*A human’s a human, so I don’t see the issue. You both have the Gift, thus you’re compatible. And I don’t understand why your mother’s identity matters. However...* Mettalise lowered her head to look me in the eye again. *I do see that it matters to you. So while you’re being a silly human, I’ll not tell a soul.*
I thanked her, and she began to explain how to set up a block so I could temporarily keep emotions, thoughts, and sensations from being shared between us. Halfway through her explanation, she went silent and cocked her head.
*Oh my. I’m not the only confused dragon today. Ahayla says Paige is about to—* A bell rang in my new cave. *She’s here.*
Paige had bonded with Ahayla? The lavender dragon was sweet, a good match for my friend. I smiled as I went to open the door. My smile died as Paige stormed inside.
“Did your dragon tell you? Because I’m going to kill him.”
“What?”
“I mean, he’s done dumb things before, but this?” Paige threw up a hand. Her pale face had turned solid red. “How could he?”
I closed the hall door with bewilderment. Paige only cared about two men: Jerroth, whom she secretly liked, and Shamino. “What did Shamino do?”
Paige’s jaw fell open. “You don’t know. Damn. Um. Sit down?”
Something Shamino had done had caused Paige to show emotion, and it required me to sit? I gestured to the cave door. “In here. I just bonded with Mettalise.”
After curt greetings between the two, Paige wrung her hands while I took a seat.
“Is Shamino leaving?” I asked, my chest tight. “Permanently, because of his estate?”
Paige blinked. “No. That’s not it. Shamino is, well, he’s going to dinner. With Tressa.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I went numb all over. “Tressa.”
“Yes.” Her teeth clacked, but she managed to stay calm, if biting. “Ahayla overheard him ask her. During the bond, she noticed Shamino and I were friends, so she thought she’d tell me the exciting news.”
*It is certainly not exciting!* Mettalise interjected with a flare of her nostrils. *All of us want him with you. Surely she’s wrong. Tressa didn’t get a dragon—Shamino cannot love a dragonless girl.*
“It’s not about love,” I murmured, still numb.
A wave of angry confusion. It was the oddest sensation, someone else’s emotions crashing into me. I heard myself ask, “What about Jerroth?”
“Abandoned.” Paige climbed onto a nearby chair and wrapped her arms around her knees. “The latest heartbroken man in a long chain.”
Mettalise snorted. *Well, Jerroth is an idiot. He accepted Maolmuire’s offer to bond.* A pause. Mettalise cocked her head. *How in the endless sky are you doing that numbing thing?*
“It’s just dinner,” I said, ignoring her. “Maybe he feels bad because she didn’t bond?”
I sounded completely sheep-brained.
Paige stared, as if I were worse than a sheep. She leaned forward and touched my hand. “Adara, I’m afraid he plans to marry her.”
“What?” I pulled back.
*Finally, a reaction. Quick, go punch her and kiss him. You can steal her dessert, too.*
“Will you just—hush,” I told Mettalise. And then to Paige, “You can’t know that. It’s just dinner.”
“It’s dinner with the fiancée of his dead brother.” Paige still spoke gently, as if treading on dragon’s teeth. “Adara, you know how Shamino avoids women. He’s taking her to eat at The Cliffs in the Social Mountain. Tomorrow, the entire Kyer will talk about it.” She shook her head. “Tressa didn’t bond, so she can run the estate for him. And she can’t marry any higher—he’s the best that will ever offer. Two weeks is a proper courtship for these things. I promise, he’s proposing in two weeks.”
*Which is why punching her now is the best way to avoid a bunch of nonsense.*
Paige watched me carefully. Mettalise became more exasperated. That was the problem with not being able to block; she felt my acceptance as it happened. Because I could not claim Shamino as mine, even if I wished to.
“Yesterday he asked if I’d represent the Kyer at court,” I said slowly.
Paige put her forehead in her hands. “And of course you took him literally and said no. Well...” She grabbed my arm. “This is easy to fix. Come on.”
I jerked away and stayed sitting. “There is no ‘fix.’”
She joined me on the sofa. “Adara, I’ve stayed silent about you two, but we don’t have time anymore. Do not let him ally with
