one else knows."
Jacinda snorted. Like a dragon. And why not? If Stacia was a dragon and Henry was a dragon, then surely Jacinda was too. Tressa's skin tingled, bumps crawling from her wrists to her shoulders. So far, the dragons she’d met were all a little crazy or cruel. She thought of Connor, his sandy hair and quiet smirk, and the way he roughhoused with his son, how he held the baby so carefully. Would he succumb to the dragon's fire as well?
"He was a tad immature, I'll grant you that." Jacinda waved a hand in the air, her golden tipped nails sparkling in the sun. "Luckily I have another son, Harib. The one who so graciously brought Tressa here. We will nab that Blue throne yet."
Jarrett cleared his throat. "Actually, Stacia is dead."
Jacinda clapped her hands together and laughed. "This is wonderful news. I'll send men right away to set up a regency before the other dragonlords can get there. Tell me who killed that horrid bitch."
Jacinda stared at Tressa, then switched her penetrating gaze to Jarrett. "No." A nervous laugh fell from her lips. "Not her. Not the whore who tricked you into bed and into a marriage proposal. Impossible. She's just a girl."
"It's true," Tressa said, shocked Jacinda was more upset about this than her son's death. True, Henry was a prick, but Jacinda was his mother. Did she care for no one?
"How?" Jacinda sank onto a pillowed settee. "Tell me." She draped her arms over the back of the bench.
Tressa took a deep breath. "I knew the dragon, I mean Stacia, was going to kill me whether or not I fought back. So I did the best I could."
Jarrett smiled, picking up her story. "You should have seen her. She fought better than most men when tested by an unknown beast. Even here, no one would dare stand up to our dragons."
"It's because they know better." Jacinda muffled a yawn. "This girl is clearly a fool."
"She's the bravest woman I've ever met." Jarrett's eyes softened as he looked back at Tressa.
Her stomach flipped. Three days away from the man, and she felt like a silly girl in his presence.
"It wasn't just me," Tressa said, hoping to take some of the attention off herself. "During the battle—"
"I stepped in," Jarrett said. He placed a hand on Tressa's arm and gave her a knowing look. "But Tressa did all the fighting. She dealt the death blow."
So he didn't want her to mention the other dragon. Maybe it was for the best. They didn't even know where he was now. Hopefully he had flown to safety.
"I will immediately send my best men to Ashoom to take the throne." Jacinda folded her arms across her chest. "And the two of you. I want you gone. Take this trash back where you found her. I have no use for either of you."
"Jacinda," Jarrett sat next to her on the settee. His thigh touched hers; his hand found its way to her knee. Tressa felt a stab in her gut. She had no claim over Jarrett. Jacinda was his lover. He was only keeping up the ruse to protect her.
"I didn't come here to flaunt Tressa in front of you," Jarrett said. "I came here to tell you about Henry and to beg for your help."
Jacinda's shoulders softened. Her face lost the pinched look she'd had since Tressa first laid eyes on her. "My help? What do you need me for? You have chosen another."
The pained look in her eyes told Tressa the truth. She had loved Jarrett. Deeply.
"I need to talk to you about the village of Hutton's Bridge," Jarrett said.
Jacinda's angry mask snapped back onto her face, her eyes blazing and her lips pursed. "Not that again. Your trollop over there tried to tell me she was from Hutton's Bridge. It's clearly a lie. Hutton's Bridge is lost to us."
"It's not." Jarrett grabbed Jacinda's hands, refusing to let her yank them back. "The fog has dissipated."
"No." Jacinda whispered. "It cannot be true."
"It is. The villagers are missing. So is the honey."
"Of course the villagers are missing. They've all been dead for eighty years." Jacinda gave up the struggle against Jarrett and left her hands in his, squeezing hard, drawing on his strength. "They are dead, aren't they?" she asked Tressa.
She simply shook her head.
"Have you been making honey all this time?" Jacinda's voice rose an octave.
"Yes," Tressa said, "but Jarrett has yet to explain to me why the honey is