entering Elysia South—she had no doubt that Raphek would plop them back across the energy shield if ordered…
Way to throw everyone under the bus before King Dagon can even ask his first question, Amber thought in sudden disgust. God—not every act of kindness has to have an ulterior motive! Not everyone is like him!
“Raphek!”
Amber started out of her self-deprecating thoughts as a young, chestnut-haired woman dressed in a red and black garment similar in cut to her own outfit hurried towards them.
“I’m so glad I caught you before you made it to the lifts,” she said in a startlingly familiar Texas twang.
Puzzled, Amber took a closer look at the dragon-woman’s face and with a jolt, realized that she wasn’t a dragon-woman at all. She had seen this woman’s face plastered all over social media ever since the Dragon Summit. She was Briana Wright, the human woman from Texas who had married a dragon prince!
“Has something happened, Your Highness?” Raphek asked, confirming the woman’s identity.
Princess Briana nodded. “Unfortunately, and sooner than any of us expected.” She then turned to Amber and held out her hand, “I’m sorry to meet you like this out in the hallway, but I’m Princess Briana of the House of the Red Flame. It’s nice to meet you, Amber.”
Amber accepted the princess’s firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
The House of the Red Flame… But wasn’t that Raphek’s…
Amber turned her head sharply to Raphek and blurted, “You’re a royal?”
“Not in the way I think you mean,” Raphek replied slowly. “I am untitled.”
“But what—”
“I think this is a conversation better had somewhere more private,” Princess Briana interjected. “I think your home would be best, Raphek. The king will likely be tied up for a good while, so I, alone, will hear Amber’s petition for asylum. You’ll serve as her witness in my stead.”
Raphek bowed his head solemnly. “Of course.”
As if Amber weren’t nervous enough already, she could practically taste the tension rolling off her two escorts as Amber led Matty after them out of the corridor into a vast space. At least a dozen or so people were either heading for or stepping off the large, recessed circles in the stone floors that Emma had explained were the physical components of the mountain’s lifts.
While the princess nodded at all those who passed their group in greeting, no one tried to speak to either her or Raphek. They did, however, stare at Matty and her, a couple with openly curious expressions. Even from afar, their blonde hair would have given away that they weren’t Draknos. As far as she had ever seen, the firedrakes were all dark-haired. It was a bit disconcerting to realize that both she and Matty would so easily be identified anywhere and from any distance within Elysia South just because of their hair color.
“My home is located on the level just below the king’s,” Raphek said as they stepped onto one of the outermost recessed circles that was a few feet separated from the others and guarded by four men wearing the same uniform as Raphek.
The guards, too, had eyed Amber and Matty with curiosity. That no one so far had showed even a hint of hostility towards Terrans in their midst made Amber’s anxiety ease a fraction.
Amber picked up Matty and held him against her chest. “Remember, sweetie,” she warned, “these elevators are different than the ones you’re used to. Even though you won’t be able to move your arms and legs until we get to the top, you can still blink your eyes and talk. Just keep your eyes on me.”
“Okay,” Matty said, opting to lay his head against her chest as he did whenever he was being bashful.
“Probably a good idea for his first ride,” Princess Briana said with a fond smile.
Even though she knew what to expect, Amber still felt a moment of claustrophobia once Raphek activated the lift spell with a few Draknar words, and she felt the magic entrap her. Matty let out a short gasp, but that was his only reaction as the stone disc began to slowly rise.
“Still okay, sweetie?” Amber asked once they had reached their destination and the spell had released them.
“I feel itchy,” he complained.
Amber rubbed at his back and arms briskly. “Better?”
“Yeah.” He raised his head a little and looked around. “We’re still inside the rocks!”
Amber chuckled. “Yes, we just went higher. We’re going to Raphek’s house now.”
Matty turned to Raphek. “Do you have a mog, too?”
“No, little one. I’m sorry.”
Amber was