Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,32

to make love to him again. She needed an answer about her own feelings: did she love him, or did she just lust after him?

Or both.

She found herself assisting the Queen and Alix with decorations for the Great Hall on the morning of the celebration. Garlands of exotic flowers Casey had never seen before draped the tables and walls. Long banquet tables stretched from one end of the room to the other, laden with breads and fruits and vegetables. A small stage was set up to allow for live music.

Casey was grateful to have something to do, something that would keep her hands busy and her thoughts away from Brady. It wasn’t as if she was purposely avoiding him. She just sensed that a little time apart would be good for them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

The only problem seemed to be Alix. Brady’s younger sister absolutely despised Casey, or so it felt. She had shown up for decorating with an attitude—apparently, her friends were going swimming at the lake, but the Queen was forcing her to work like a common servant—and it only got worse once she spied Casey.

Casey kept a respectful distance from Alix whenever possible, choosing to help the kitchen workers bake bread and cakes rather than be on the receiving end of her ire. It wasn’t until she was in the Grand Hall arranging flower garlands that Alix decided to let loose.

“What are you doing?” Alix asked as she approached Casey.

Casey glanced down at the flowers. “Working on a garland. What are you doing?”

“What do you want with my brother?” Alix stared her down.

Casey realized that she and Alix were around the same age. She had initially thought she was much younger—a teenager, maybe—due to the petulance and bad attitude. Shifter or not, Alix wasn’t too different from the mean girls Casey had known in school. She was beautiful and she knew it. Being the rich and powerful daughter of the King only made it a million times worse.

“Brady and I are…” Casey paused a moment. “Friends. We’re friends.”

“What was the pause for?” Alix asked suspiciously.

“Nothing.” Casey forced her expression to remain perfectly blank. “We’re friends. Period. End of subject.”

“Why are you with him?” More side-eye.

“He’s helping me get away from a stalker.” Casey met Alix’s direct glare head on. “What else do you want to know? I’m a Capricorn, my favorite color is blue, and I have a serious addiction to chocolate. Are we cool now?”

“Do you like him?”

“Why do you want to know?” Casey couldn’t help her own attitude slipping out.

Alix took a step closer to her and Casey could see the dragon rage in her eyes.

“I love my brother,” she said quietly. “Losing his mate nearly killed him. I don’t want it to happen again.”

“What about what Brady wants?”

“If you hurt him,” Alix said quietly, “I will hurt you. Do we understand each other?”

In human form, Alix seemed about as threatening as a chipmunk, but Casey knew better. She nodded, extending her hand to Alix, who simply stared at it.

“Truce,” Casey said with a faint smile. “You’re supposed to take my hand and shake it.”

“Why?”

“It’s just something we do in my world.”

With exaggerated distaste, Alix barely touched Casey’s fingertips and gave her hand a quick, single shake.

“Truce, I suppose.” Alix wiped her hand on her tunic. “But I will kill you if you hurt him.”

Casey nodded. “Understood.”

The rest of the day passed peacefully. Whenever she had a chance, Casey made her way to one of the windows overlooking the grounds. Throughout the afternoon, she would catch glimpses of Brady chopping wood or helping bring in the harvest, shirtless, wearing only his loose-fitting trousers. His chest was fully healed now, and she unabashedly stared as she watched him work: the muscles of his biceps and back rippling under the strain of lifting heavy cords of wood, the tightening of his pecs and abs as he wheeled heavy barrows of dirt and vegetables. It all served as a painful reminder of her frustration. Love or lust?

As she watched from an upper window, Brady stopped and took a moment to wipe at his forehead with a rag. He glanced up and caught her watching. Casey didn’t bother to try and act like she wasn’t ogling him. She smiled and raised a hand. Let him see that I want him, she thought. No use trying to hide it. She’d wanted him since the first moment they met, and that desire had only grown