so important. I keep telling him there is nothing special about it."
Jacinda's nostrils flared. "You're such an ignorant child." She looked to Jarrett. "I swear, I do not understand why you have chosen her. If I had an inkling that you didn't care for her, I'd..."
"You'd what?" Tressa planned to draw Jarrett's sword from its sheath if she had to. She may not have been born a fighter, but over the last few months, that was what she'd become.
"I'd kill you." Jacinda said.
"I've killed one dragon," Tressa said through gritted teeth.
Jacinda laughed. "I am not afraid of a little girl. And I am nothing like Stacia. She was young. Weak. Barely able to control her power. The only reason she remained queen for years was because Hutton's Bridge cut her off from the rest of the Dragonlands. The Sands has the most powerful fleet. We control the seas. No one went in, or out, of the Blue without my permission."
"Jacinda, please," Jarrett said, coaxing her to look at him. He shot Tressa an angry look. "We have to focus on what's important. The honey. It's gone."
"We must know where the honey has been taken," Jacinda said. "For one to have so much control...they must be stopped."
"And my people must be found," Tressa said.
"Your people are not of my concern," Jacinda said. She sprang to her feet. "I must arrange for an envoy investigate in Hutton's Bridge and look for clues to the honey's whereabouts."
Tressa stood. "When do we leave?"
"Leave?" Jacinda's eyebrows rose. "You're staying here with Jarrett. As my guest until such time as you can be married."
Guest? Tressa kept her anger closely guarded. She was no guest and they all knew the truth of it. "Jarrett?" She appealed to her only ally. "We should go. No one knows Hutton's Bridge better than I do. I must be allowed to help."
His dark brown eyes were sad. "No, I think Jacinda is right. You saw as well as I did what lurked in the village. I don't want to risk anything happening to you."
Tressa wanted to yell, stomp, scream, but she knew the last word had been given. There would be no changing their minds. Resigned, she sat down in the nearest chair, sinking into the silken finery, her heart aching.
Chapter Twenty-One
This was worse than any day Tressa had spent in Hutton's Bridge, hidden in the magical fog. She could have left of her own volition, even though she believed it likely meant death. Here, the exit was blocked by three guards who stood sentry outside her doors all day and all night.
She knew because she'd periodically tried leaving. Once in the morning after Jacinda and Jarrett had left her there. Not long after eating her supper. And again in the middle of the night when she'd woken from an unremembered nightmare. It had left her in a cold sweat, panic racing through her veins, but she couldn't recall even a moment of the horror that had forced her from sleep. Something joyous had been ripped away from her, but that was all she knew. No matter how hard she tried to remember, the details slipped away.
In a panic, she'd rushed the door, flinging the heavy gold-plated door open, only to see three very wide-awake guards standing outside her room, their arms crossed over their naked chests, their muscular legs stemming from short skirts. Sandals bound to their ready feet. Instead of charging them, she slunk backward into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
What was the point in fighting? They'd only overpower her. Leo had taught her to walk away from a fight she couldn't win.
Tressa had snuggled into the pillows, pulling the silken sheet up to her chin, letting it catch the silent tears that streamed down her cheeks.
She'd never felt so alone. Even Jarrett hadn't come back. She'd assumed he'd join her at night to keep up the guise of their relationship. Instead the night only greeted her with a dark silence, the sky pinpointed with starlight.
In the morning, Tressa broke her fast with an assortment of fruit brought in by a silent servant, some she could now name, like pineapple and kiwi. Others tempted her with luscious juice and brilliant colors. She hadn't even seen some of the colors before and marveled at how strange and beautiful the world outside of Hutton's Bridge could be.
When the door opened, she didn't jump to her feet to thank the intruder for the visit. Instead, she glanced up with