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ANNI GRIMACED AT HER first good look at the town square and the area surrounding it. Too many people by far. Most of the townsfolk had already arrived and were amassed in large, barely organized crowds. The expectation permeating the air only soured her mood further.
Janaa shook their interwoven arms as if to get her attention. “It’s so beautiful.”
“It’s fine.”
The splendor of the village square would’ve taken Anni’s breath away if she weren’t so preoccupied with just getting through this whole wretched event with a shred of dignity intact. Flower garlands adorned lampposts, and all the sidewalks and streets had been carefully swept. Banners stretched from one side to another.
All that was missing was the feast that one would usually expect during any grand visit. That would come later in the evening. Though the dragon fae would partake in the festivities, they always refused any invitation to stay more than one night. In the meantime, her father was to give them a cursory showing of the village. She could imagine how exciting that would be to the fae, with their supposedly ethereal cities.
She and Janaa weaved through a crush of people and worked their way toward the front. Her father and the council really had spared no expense to deck out the square and the surrounding area. What they hoped to accomplish, she didn’t know. Though the dragons of Aglensia might “rule” over them, they were mostly content to leave them alone. In that same vein, Lord Eacion, their liege lord, was benevolently distant. After hundreds of years, he seemed inclined to remain that way. So why try to impress him and his people? Even more, why did he bother with these visits? Whatever reason that had established these official calls had been lost to time. Now it was just tradition—an expensive one for her people that tended to empty the larder to an alarming degree. So, really, what did the village get out of it?
Sure, they got to have a huge festival, but as soon as the dragons left, everything would go back to how it had been. Boring and normal. She liked boring and normal. Too bad those coveted qualities had to be interrupted.
Anni sighed, reminding herself that most of the townspeople didn’t have much else to look forward to. Their simple, often hard lives were spent in the same daily toils. Though her family was fairly well-to-do, many others weren’t. Even if they did whisper about her, she shouldn’t begrudge them their pleasures. They received far less of them than they should.
For their sake, she’d put on a happy face and then slip away when she could. Such a plan had always worked quite well in the past, so what could go wrong with it now?
She and Janaa found the perfect spot—off to the side but still toward the front. It would even be enough to pacify her parents. Now, the waiting began.
***
EACIAN SNIFFED THE air current. A most enticing smell drifted upon it. He flew a bit farther ahead of his entourage, and the aroma made his snout twitch in anticipation.
His son drew near. “Father, what is it?”
He didn’t glance at the other adult dragon fae. “Not now, Tancion.”
The scent kept pulling him forward. His heart sped with hope. Was it possible after all these years? There was only one way to be sure. He’d search for the owner of the scent and find out. By the great dragon, to think that all these centuries, he might find her!
His talons flexed. No, he couldn’t allow himself to go too far down that mental path. He’d been disappointed before, so much so that he’d given up hope of ever finding the one who would be his true mate.
Still, if these visits of frustration and tedium finally ended, he’d be eternally grateful. They were wearisome events that tired his soul and mind. He’d waited so long that he sometimes thought he couldn’t stand to see another year pass. But pass they did. He’d always carried on for his people—and his son and extended family. Duty was a motivator of its own kind, though, admittedly, it was a cold bed partner.
A voice reached his ears. “My lord Eacian, please hold up.”
Eacian made a grumbling noise at his bothersome advisor. “Not now, Anvin.”
He didn’t care if he was being abrupt. Apologies could be made later, if need be. All he could focus on right now was that scent and what it might mean—for him and his human mate. Most humans were all too ready to bind themselves to a fae, so surely she would be of the same mindset.
The sooner, the better. He couldn’t wait long to claim her.