Legend of the Forbidden (5 page)

Then again, under the new Inero Lord's leadership, a lot of changes were in the process of being made. One of them was the way Inero dragon marriages were performed, as well as the expectations for such a relationship. Programs were being put into place to help marriages last and for the women to be more respected as people instead of simply being breeding tools. Inero men now had the option of waiting and falling in love instead of being forced into marriages for fear of losing respect. Her grandfather, Lord Oliver, made her so proud to be related to the Inero hierarchy line. After all of the drama from the war, and all of the tyrannical things her Great-uncle Lynx had tried to do, it was good to see so much hope for her people. Change would be slow. Lord Oliver constantly worked on smoothing over the relationships within the country, as well as the Inero's relationships with the other nations.

For the most part, the consequences from the Great War between the Oceina and Inero had been manageable. The Inero were not allowed to keep a military faction greater than a few hundred soldiers. This was probably one of the biggest changes, and it put a lot of dragon men out of work. New jobs weren't hard to find, outside of the city at least. There were other repercussions of course, but most were things Dani didn't quite understand. Politics had never been her thing. Her father loved to keep up with what was going on. He would have made a great leader if he hadn't gotten tangled in his Uncle Lynx's web of lies. The man had posed as his father for so long and manipulated him into doing terrible things.

This was another reason Dani's marriage to Tyson was so important. It would be a good way to bridge some of those gaps between the nations. It sent a message of peace and unity. Even though it was a promise made in war to bring about some horrible things, the wedding would be spun as a way for the Inero and Terran people to submit to the Aero and the Oceina. Everyone was going to be there. It was also why her relationship with Ethan and his family was so important. He would be a part of the wedding. There was no way around it, and that would also send a huge message, especially of forgiveness. Ethan's father, Lord of the Oceina, may not have forgiven Dani's father for his crimes, but it would look like he had to the rest of the world.

Tyson was a good man. He was one of the gentlest people she'd met. They hardly ever fought, and he was so respectful. The hang-ups Ethan was causing for her had to be subdued. Silly crushes caused from rebellion were not something she needed.

That's all it is. Rebellion.
Dani didn't like being told what she could and couldn't do. When Dani came down the stairs to eat breakfast, the first thing she saw was Ethan teasing Maya at the kitchen table. Dani's jaw tightened at the sight. She wasn't allowed to flirt with Ethan, but she didn't want him to flirt with anyone else either.

“I told you I don't like fruit on my pancakes.” Maya giggled and tried to scoop the berries that Ethan had put there off her breakfast.

“They're good for you, and trust me, they're delicious. They're not like anything we have back home. Come on,” he said, and dumped another load on top. Only he miscalculated and the contents of the entire bowl fell onto her plate. “Oops.”

Maya sighed and flung a berry at his head. “Now you've done it.”

Let it go,
Dani thought, as she sat down at the table and focused on Tyson. He ate, watching Maya, and Dani noticed how he looked at the girl. Someone put off the scent of lust, because it smelled an awful lot like cinnamon at the table, but there was none to be found. Her father must have noticed it too because he frowned a lot. The boys might not have known what the smell meant, but she did. It was one of the first things her parents had taught her about boys to help her protect herself from them.

Dani smiled at Tyson in what she hoped was a flirtatious manner. They'd never done that before, and maybe that was part of the problem. They were so comfortable with each other, they didn't try to spark any kind of passion. Watching Maya could give Dani a few good tips, that was for sure. If there was one thing the girl did well, it was flirt. Maya knew how to bat her eyes, pout her lips perfectly, and touch in just the right ways. They had to be right, because when Maya did them to Ethan, he didn't tense up and pull away. He responded. Even Tyson responded, because he watched with an almost jealous fascination.

“Ugh, I got berries down my blouse,” Maya said with a sigh, and dabbed at the dark purple splotches on her collarbone. “I'm going to go change quick. Hopefully I have something clean.”

Dani stood again, taking this as a good opportunity to get her alone. “You can wear something of mine.”

“Thanks,” Maya said quietly. The two went upstairs silently, and Dani got the feeling Maya did not like her much.

“Can I ask you something?” Dani asked as she opened her bedroom door. She then motioned for Maya to go ahead and search through her dresser drawers for whatever she wanted.

“Okay?” Maya raised an eyebrow and pulled a drawer open. It didn't take long for her to find a new, light blue blouse that brought out the color of her eyes. The shirt also fit her curves perfectly, and Dani was even more jealous. She'd inherited so much of her mother's petite figure. Her curves, compared to Maya's, were like a hill to a mountain.

Dani chewed on her lower lip, trying to find the right way to ask what she wanted. “Can you teach me how to be girlie and cute and desirable?”

“What?” Maya blinked.

“I want to be flirty. For Tyson. Make him excited. For the wedding, I mean, not…” Dani could feel her cheeks growing hot at the idea of making love to Tyson. Not something she felt ready for just yet, but hopefully that feeling would pass.

She shook her head. “I'm asking because you seem to do it so naturally. I grew up with only brothers, and I never picked up on the whole being girlie thing from my mom. The guys both seem to enjoy it. Maybe you don't notice, but I do.”

Maya smiled. “It's not something I do intentionally. I'm not one of
those
kinds of girls, but good to know.” She paused. “Even Ethan?”

“Especially him,” Dani said, trying to sound encouraging. It was better for him to return Maya's affections. This was a good thing.

“Oh good, because I couldn't tell. He's so hard to read,” Maya said, then glanced Dani over. “You should put something else on too. Your t-shirt is okay, but your jeans are so baggy. Let's see,” she went to Dani's closet and pulled out a white sundress trimmed with small red flowers. She handed it to Dani.

“Are you sure?” Dani asked.

“Positive,” she said. “Besides, aren't you doing wedding stuff today? You need to look like a bride who means business. I mean, you want people to take you seriously, right?”

“Right,” she said softly.

“And I think this is Tyson's style too. What else do you know about him? Like, what is he into?”

“Skateboarding and hiking and—” Dani started.

Maya laughed. “You're so clueless! It's cute. No, I mean, what does he like about girls?”

“We haven't talked about that ever.”

“Oh.” Maya tapped her chin with her index finger. “We'll figure it out. I'll do some research for you and let you know.”

“Thanks,” Dani said.

Though she couldn't help but wonder how Maya knew so much about guys. From what she remembered, Maya spent so much time at home, when would she have ever learned how to do any of this?
I guess she has an active imagination? Or maybe she watched a lot of movies? Or her Mom.
Dani didn't know much about Maya's parents, but she'd heard a few comments from her mother about Miss Navi. Most civil, but the impression Dani got was that Navi knew
a lot
about men.

She went into her bathroom to put the dress on, then came back out and twirled. “Better?”

“So adorable. Come on. Your mom said something about an appointment with a florist?”

“Yeah, I guess those need to be figured out fairly quickly so there can be enough ordered,” Dani said with a sigh. They walked down the stairs, and as soon as they stepped into the kitchen she noticed how everyone stopped what they did and stared at her.

“What?” she asked, playing with her hair.

“Nothing,” her dad said and shook his head, but he still frowned.

Cedar laughed. “You look like a girl!”

“She is a girl,” Tyson pointed out, and his eyes fixed on her.

She felt her cheeks grow hot again, which was a first when it came to Tyson, but the way he looked at her was different. In fact, it was the same look he'd been giving Maya, and still gave her for that matter, because once his eyes left Dani, they were all over the other girl. Then his gaze bounced between the two, as if he couldn't make up his mind at whom he wanted to gawk more. Finally, they settled on Dani.

Ethan stood from his chair and walked over to them, fumbling for his shoes by the door. “We should, um, we should go.”

Tyson nodded, doing the same, and then the two young men almost ran into each other as they tried to get their shoes on as well as help the girls. In fact, both stumbled to help
her
. The smell of cinnamon was more overwhelming than before, and Dani couldn't figure out which guy reeked of it more.

Maya also faltered slightly, but Dani noticed how the girl's otherwise tan skin paled in shade.

“Ethan?” Maya whimpered, and then her knees gave out from underneath her, knocking her into Dani, who also started to fall.

Dani braced herself against the wall, and she watched as Ethan caught Maya before she hit the ground. She was unconscious.

“What happened? Is she okay?” Tyson asked.

“I think so. She might be overwhelmed is all,” Ethan said quietly. “She's not cold or clammy. If anything, she's warmer than usual. Maya? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

Maya's eyes fluttered open for a moment. “Sorry, too much excitement all at once, I guess. You're not going to squeal and tell my parents, are you?”

Both of Dani's parents glanced between one another, no doubt having a private conversation through telepathy—one of the gifts dragons had with their spouse after they mated. Her mother looked worried; her father, on the other hand, did not.

“We'll see how she is after a rest,” her mother said. “Your dad will stay back here while we look at color schemes, and then we can check out some flowers together after meeting up for lunch. Assuming things are better by then, of course.”

“Brad's out anyway,” Ethan said. “Running some errands. Not like he's going to be gone long, but we can't go anywhere right now.”

“I promise I'm fine,” Maya insisted.

“We'll meet with you for lunch,” Ethan said. He then helped Maya sit at the table.

Tyson shifted his weight from foot to foot, as if he were hesitant to leave. Dani sighed and grabbed his hand, ready to drag him to the door.

“Come on,” she mumbled.

“What?” Tyson asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

Her girlish charms had worked for all of a minute, but it would take a lot more for her to be anything like Maya. Dani could handle Ethan being affectionate to the girl, barely, but if she couldn't win Tyson over, then there had to be something wrong with her.

 

 

Ethan stayed with Maya until she fell asleep. She was more tired than he expected. The girl was even better at faking well than he was. Once she fell asleep, he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He went down to the living room, figuring he'd also take a nap on the couch. Then he spotted Dani's father in there. The man wasn't reading or watching the television, almost as if he were waiting for Ethan to enter.

Without a word, he gathered up his things so he could go find another place to rest, not wanting to intrude.

“You can stay in here. I wasn't going to stay long. There's some gardening out back that I need to do,” Matthias explained. “I did want to talk to you though.”

“About?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Her.” He pointed toward where Maya slept. “She did that on purpose, you know.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “No she didn't. She's sick.”

“I'm aware of this. I've seen her sick before. That's how I know she faked it. When you've been around for a while, you'll pick up on different smells and understand better what they mean. Especially when it comes to a woman. She didn't smell like death, not like she usually does. She smelled like jealousy.”

With a sigh, Ethan stopped what he was doing and simply stared at Dani's father in disbelief. He opened his mouth to call the man out on his idiocy, but was cut off.

Matthias took in a deep breath. “I'm not telling you this because I think she's a bad person. She's a nice girl. In fact, I like her a lot, which is
really
saying something, because I'm not a fan of her parents. And see, that's part of the thing. I know her parents, more particularly her mother. The woman knows how to lie and manipulate, and we emulate our parents. If there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's definitely that.”