Aspen: The Dragon Kings Book Two Read online

  Aspen looked down at her hands again. “I do. Obviously, I’m not in love with him, but we’ve grown pretty close.” She hoped her lie was convincing to Pearl. She now understood why the tattoos had to be kept secret.

  Pearl stood up. “I’ve waited long enough. This ends. Now. Enjoy your last days together because when I come back, you’re not allowed to see each other anymore.”

  She fled from the room before anyone else could say anything. No one moved for a full thirty seconds. Aspen’s mind was racing with the implications.

  “Sid is that true? If I fall in love with you, will they kill you?” She couldn’t let Theo know the truth. Aspen wished they were alone.

  Sid shrugged and reached for her. She scooted away.

  “I can’t believe you never told me that.”

  She crossed her arms and fumed. It wouldn’t have made any difference. She’d fallen in love with him first, but he still could’ve told her. She could’ve stayed away from him. But she shook her head, knowing that would’ve been impossible. Was there really anything she could’ve done?

  The news started, and all conversation died. To Aspen’s relief, the story was just as they told her it would be. They watched the rest and the talk show that came on after it, which analyzed the deaths. People were still suspicious of the dragons, but no one was calling for nuking their nests, so Aspen figured it could be a lot worse.

  After they turned the TV off, Aspen wanted to talk about everything, but Theo was still in the room, so she asked something else that had been bugging her.

  “You said I didn’t have to worry about the news getting my story right because the dragons would take care of that. What did you mean?”

  “When the humans became the dominant race on Earth, we had to figure out how to work with them. At first, dragons befriended humans like I did with you, communicating only with our minds, but after the dragon wars, we needed a more efficient mode. Especially because the human population had exploded. We learned how to take on human forms. Now we have ambassadors living as humans in Washington, DC and other major cities around the world. The government recognizes us just as they would any foreign government. Over the last several decades, the king has even gone to meet with the president a few times.”

  Aspen gaped at him. “I want to meet the president.”

  “Trust me, you don’t. We only meet with her when things are bad. If we hadn’t caught Marcellus, we would’ve had to. It’s not usually a happy meeting.”

  Aspen chewed on that information. “Do you think I could be one of those ambassadors?”

  “You’re not a dragon.”

  “So? I’m engrained pretty deeply into your world.” More so than anyone knew. She hated having to be cryptic. Maybe Theo would leave soon.

  Sid shrugged. “I know, but it’s not quite what you think it is. Let’s worry about that later.”

  She felt like Sid was leaving out some pretty important details. He was being intentionally vague. She wanted to believe it was because Theo was in the room, but she had a feeling he was intentionally hiding things he didn’t want her to know. She thought of how she could argue with Theo in the room. She opened her mouth to try, but Ella burst in.

  “You won. Those newsmen didn’t stand a chance against you,” she exclaimed and plopped herself down next to Aspen. “This calls for a celebration. We should we all head to Bozeman, do dinner, and catch a movie.” Ella, her boss and friend from the Purple Dragon, used any excuse to go out and celebrate.

  Sid and Theo readily agreed. Aspen wanted to keep Sid here and talk about his impending death and the human ambassadors, but she didn’t want to draw attention to the situation in front of Ella.

  “Okay, let’s take separate cars,” Aspen said.

  Ella rolled her eyes. “You get plenty of alone time with that one. Let’s go together. I’ll drive.”

  Sid grabbed Aspen’s hand and pulled her close. “Sorry. I know you want to talk.”

  She glared at him. “You aren’t sorry at all. You don’t want to talk about it.”

  He grimaced. “You’re probably right.”

  The air outside was frigid. Aspen was grateful that Ella’s Bronco had warmed up on the way over. Aspen and Sid sat in the back seat, and he had his arm around her. She was a little ticked at him, but she could never resist his affection. When they got to the restaurant, a little steakhouse where Ella knew the owner so they got half-priced steaks, Aspen held Sid back.

  “We need to talk,” she said, resting on Ella’s car. The cold metal made her shiver.

  “I know,” Sid said, leaning in to kiss her. She moved her head.

  “I mean it.”

  “So you’re withholding kisses until we talk about this?” He raised his eyebrows.

  Aspen dropped her eyes. “No, but I want to know that you won’t just avoid the subject.”

  Sid rested his forehead on hers. “I know you need answers, but this is not the place. Let’s enjoy our time with our friends. Celebrate our victory. Then tomorrow I’ll answer any of your questions. I promise. Now can I kiss you, please?”

  She thought about saying no but couldn’t think of good reason to.

  “Sure.”

  He kissed her hard, like he hadn’t kissed her in ages. She forgot all about what she was irritated about and wondered why she would ever deny him a kiss.

  It was their first day back to school after the funeral. The hallways were eerily quiet. No longer could Sid hear laughter. Faces all had the same expression. Eyes were downcast, and no one smiled. Sid, himself, was sad. To lose two friends and a teacher in a matter of a few weeks was more than anyone should have to deal with, but Aspen had even more on her mind. Tori still wasn’t speaking to her, and Sid knew Aspen was worried about him. She was knee deep in problems she couldn’t even begin to fathom. Sid managed to avoid the topic over the last couple of days, since someone else was always around. But he knew eventually he’d have to come clean.

  Aspen sat in front of him in homeroom. The substitute, Mr. Hudson, finally showed up. He had been a sub for math a few weeks prior, and he and Aspen had gotten off on the wrong foot. He checked the seating chart and narrowed his eyes.

  “Aspen, that is not your seat.”

  “I know,” she grumbled and moved up to the empty front row without a look back at Sid. Homeroom was only fifteen minutes. Sid hoped that the rest of the day wouldn’t be like this. Mr. Hudson was going over announcements, and Sid let his thoughts wander. He was surprised when a voice entered his mind.

  Hey, Obsidian. He’d know that voice anywhere.

  Skye?

  Surprise!

  What? Sid’s mind raced to comprehend what this meant. Where was she? Outside on top of the school? Why was she here?

  I get to be human.

  Sid only had a second to comprehend that information before she arrived in the doorway. Skye waltzed into the room every bit as gorgeous as a human as she had been as a dragon. Her platinum curls hung below her waist. She wore a lacy pink tank, and her denim skirt stopped in the middle of her tanned thighs. On some girls, it would look like she was trying too hard, but Skye appeared as if she just stepped out of a movie. She beamed when Mr. Hudson indicated to take the seat in front of Sid. Her long legs moved gracefully as she walked.

  Sid had no idea what Skye was doing there. As only a half-royal, she was not supposed to have the human experience. She put her bag down next to her chair, and instead of sitting down, leaned over her desk and kissed him. Without thinking, he kissed her back and pulled her close. She smelled like the ocean. He’d missed her. Her kiss was so familiar, so comforting. So not Aspen. Sid broke away when Mr. Hudson spoke.

  “Excuse me, Skye, I don’t know where you came from. However, here in Gardiner we do not display our affections in school.” There were titters and murmurs around the room.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled and slid down in her chair. Sid could not process what just happened fast enough. He flashed his eyes to the front of the room.

  Aspen met his gaze for only a second before she turned her head away from him. He could see the tears on her cheeks. He opened himself up to feel her emotions. She was furious and hurt. He dropped his head so he didn’t have to see her, shame burning his cheeks. He’d deal with her after homeroom. He couldn’t do anything else here.

  Skye, what are you doing here? Sid asked.

  I came to keep you company, silly. Pearl told me all about your sealing issue and hoped that I could help you fix it.

  School was a horrid, wretched place. Aspen didn’t hear a word the teacher said in biology. She got to algebra early, in the hopes that she could get there before Sid and not have to see him. But she was out of luck. He was already in his seat. Aspen slid into her desk and didn’t look back, but there was still two minutes until the bell rang. Maybe she should leave.

  Sid tapped her on the shoulder, and she ignored him. She took a drink out of her water bottle, her hands shaking. Why the hell had he kissed that girl? He tapped again. She leaned forward. Finally, he got up and sat in the empty desk in front of her. She dropped her eyes so she didn’t have to look at him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Aspen glared at him. “You kissed her.”

  “She kissed me.”

  Aspen rolled her eyes. He was trying to get off on semantics.

  “Yeah, I didn’t see you in any hurry to break away.”

  Aspen tried to still her shaking hands. The water in the bottle sloshed a little. Her anger was getting the better of her. The seats around them were filling up. Class would start soon, and he wouldn’t be able to talk to h
er anymore. If she could just last thirty seconds without losing it, she’d be fine.

  “I know, it’s just, I…”

  “Don’t you dare say you thought she was me.”

  His eyes flashed. “That’s not what I was going to say.” He got a weird smirk on his face. “I knew she wasn’t you.”

  Yeah, that was worse. Aspen upturned her water bottle all over his head just as the bell rang. He sputtered. She stood up and gathered her books.

  “Mrs. Weber, can I go to the nurse?”

  Her teacher didn’t even look up from the papers she was grading. “Sure.”

  Aspen managed to convince the nurse that she was really sick and needed to go home. She made it to her bedroom before totally losing it and lay down on her bed, pulled a pillow to her chest, and cried. How could Sid do this? She should’ve learned her lesson with Marc. This was almost worse because she should’ve been in control with this relationship. She withheld so much until she knew she could trust him, and then she’d given him everything. All of her heart and love.

  Who was that girl? Was she a dragon too? Aspen had this nagging feeling she’d seen the girl before. She had to be a dragon. There was no way she could compete with beauty like that. Who knew the dragons would hurt her so bad?

  “Hey, Aspen, you okay?”

  Aspen’s eyes flew open. Rowan stood over her. She sat up and pushed him back. “No, I’m not okay. What are you doing here anyway?”

  “Tori told me what happened with Sid. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really. No offense or anything, but you’re my brother. I don’t particularly want to share my love life with you. I wish Sis were home.”

  He sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her. She knew he wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Yeah, me too. She always handled this stuff better than me. I still remember what happened down in Yosemite. I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t been home.”

  “You’re making it worse.” Rowan and Sissy had no idea what really happened in Yosemite. But they knew she’d had her heart broken. Her sister had been nursing her own broken heart by some surfer, so they spent the rest of that summer holed up in their cabin watching extremely violent movies to drown away their sorrows.

  “Sorry. Come on, get dressed. I think I know how to make this better.” Rowan tugged at her hand.

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I’m not. Tori is on her way over. She said something about shopping therapy.”

  Aspen jumped up. “Tori’s coming over?”

  “Yeah, she’ll probably be here in fifteen minutes.”

  Aspen stood on her wide front porch and tried to think of what she would say to Tori. It was really too cold to wait outside, but the chilly air cleared her mind. She needed to apologize to Tori but didn’t know how.

  Tori’s Beetle pulled into the driveway, and Aspen climbed into the passenger seat. She was the one who’d screwed up.

  “Tori, I’m really sorry about Sid. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I know. You’re forgiven. Friends are allowed to act foolishly where boys are concerned.”

  She knew she should be mad at Tori, but because she had no other close girlfriends at school, she wouldn’t call Tori out for waiting until she was hurt to come back.

  They drove into Bozeman and pulled up in front of Tori’s favorite funky boutique. Tori knew all the good ones. Ella’s friend owned it and took in donations like a thrift shop and then would modify them. She had serious talent. Of course her clothes were also crazy expensive, but Aspen wasn’t looking to buy anything anyway.

  Tori made a beeline for a rack of denim mini skirts that had patches of flannel sewn on them. Aspen’s stomach clenched, thinking of that new girl at school. The one who stole Sid. Tori held one up to her and looked at Aspen, who grimaced.

  “What?” Tori asked, looking down.

  “Skye wore a miniskirt this morning.”

  Tori’s face fell. “Oh, I’m sorry. Let’s try something else.”

  “I’m not going to be good company today.” Aspen thumbed through a rack of t-shirts, but she didn’t really see them. This was probably a bad idea.

  “Well then, we’ll just have to figure out how to put you in a good mood.” Tori just started grabbing various items off the rack and shoving them into Aspen’s arms. “Come on, let’s go try those things on.”

  “Why? It’s not like I’m going to buy any of them.”

  Tori dug into her purse and waved a credit card in front of Aspen’s face. “I have my mom’s credit card and no restrictions. I’ve got to make up for ignoring you for the last couple of months. Let’s find you something that will make Sid regret ever going back to that bitch. She hung all over him today. I even heard—”

  Aspen held her hand up. “Stop. I don’t want to hear anymore. Just give me the clothes.”

  Aspen pulled the curtain of the dressing room closed and took off her shirt, examining the choices in front her. She grabbed a blue t-shirt and got started on the pile of clothes.

  Tori didn’t try anything on, just kept pushing things at Aspen. They finally decided on a pair of skinny jeans that had been torn in various places and a Yale sweatshirt that fell off one of her shoulders.

  Aspen was grateful for the distraction. Tori talked enough to make her forget everything else. It had been so long since they’d had girl time.

  On their way home they stopped at the Purple Dragon.

  Ella was putting chairs up on the tables. When Aspen asked for mochas, she groaned, but she started the espresso anyway.

  “Where’s your other half?” Ella asked.

  Aspen tried to keep her voice from cracking as she spoke. “We broke up.”

  Ella dropped the milk container. “Crap. What happened?”

  Aspen started to cry. What was wrong with her? She never cried before Sid came along, and now she was a freaking faucet.

  Thankfully, Tori answered for her. “Some old bimbo girlfriend showed up. They made out in homeroom. Hudson had a tizzy. I heard she’s even living at his house.”

  This was news to Aspen. “What else did you hear?” she asked.

  “Oh, loads. She was in my math class, so I talked to her for a while. She’s way sweet. I don’t think she has any idea Sid has a girlfriend.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

  Tori leaned down to pet Wiggles. “I tried, but you said you didn’t want to hear it.”

  Aspen crossed her arms as she processed this information. Suddenly, shopping for an outfit that would make Sid jealous seemed like a stupid idea. Skye was probably in some sexy piece of lingerie right now.

  “I thought you were on my side.”

  “I am. I’m just telling you what I know. Anyway, they’d been together for a looong time. She said she’d missed him so bad that her parents arranged for her to come live here.”

  Ella mopped up the milk. “Are you sure things are over? Sid’s totally smitten with you. Maybe she just took him by surprise.”

  Tori piped up. “He didn’t leave Skye’s side all day, unless they didn’t have the same class. Trust me. Things are over.”

  “This seems out of character for him.” Ella started the espresso.

  Aspen clenched her fists. “Whatever. I can’t work with him.”

  Ella handed over the mochas. “Don’t worry, hun, I’ll change the schedule. But I think you should talk to him.”

  Ella’s words lingered in Aspen’s mind. She had to admit this wasn’t normal for Sid. Aspen didn’t say much on the way home. When she got out of the car, she found Rowan on the porch. He waved to Tori, and she ignored him.

  “You are pathetic. You know that, right? Tori’s never gonna notice you.” Aspen said and sat down next to him. “It’s freezing out here. Why aren’t you inside?”

  “Mom and Dad are fighting.”

  Aspen grimaced. Rowan couldn’t stand it when they fought. It didn’t happen very often, though, and it usually dissipated quickly. Aspen thought they were probably safe to go back inside by now.

  “So you figured you’d wait out here and get a glimpse of your illusive crush.”