Vixen Read Online Free

species.
    So I’m basically the most qualified person on the planet.
    “All right, then.” Ion holds the door open wider and stands back. “Come in.”
    Jala and I both step inside.
    He meets my eyes again as I step in, as close to him as I’ve been yet, no more than three feet apart. He holds my gaze for what feels like an extra-long moment. “Jala’s warned you about what you’re getting into?”
    “Yes.” I try to smile my most pleasant, confident smile, but my tiny, nervous voice betrays me.
    Something twitches at the corner of Ion’s mouth. “Very well, then. Vivica.” He puts a little extra stress on my name. I have no idea why, but it sends goosebumps prickling down my neck. “You can stay. Jala, you may go.”

Chapter Three
     
    “I thought I’d stay and show Vivica—”
    “You said she’s been studying?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then we don’t need to take up any more of your time. Run along. I’ll send Vivica back to you when we’re done.” Ion’s speaking in an entirely pleasant voice, as if Jala leaving me here alone is perfectly normal and rational and maybe even a favor to everyone. He somehow steered Jala toward the open doorway without us realizing it. Now he’s got his hand on the door, ready to close it once she’s outside.
    Jala’s eyes are wide, and she looks at me with obvious concern.
    This wasn’t part of the plan. This was never part of the plan. She was supposed to be here with me the entire time. It’s not like she’s a trained bodyguard, or anything, but you know, safety in numbers.
    Ion looks from Jala’s face to me. His eyes narrow the slightest twitch as he studies me. “Unless you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to be here after all. I’d completely understand. You’re under no obligation to stay.”
    His eyes never leave mine as he speaks. There’s a note of challenge in his words, but also—especially as he hints that he’d understand if I didn’t want to be there—a trickle of sadness.
    He’s all alone up here, isn’t he? Alone in this vast castle, and he doesn’t even expect me to stick around for one minute now that I’ve had a peek inside.
    I’m not going to run away. I’m not afraid.
    Besides that, I want to look into these eyes longer. Much longer. And study this face. It’s expressive—all dragon faces are, even when we’re in human form—but I don’t know how to read him yet. It’s as though all his words have hidden meanings, a second layer of significance I could understand if only I could figure out how to peel back the façade on top.
    I don’t lose his gaze, and somehow, I keep my voice from shaking. “I want to stay.”
    Jala’s eyes go even wider—an alarmed sort of wide—but Ion tips his head and closes the door after her.
    We’re alone. I’m alone with the beast in the castle.
    Except he’s not a beast. He’s a prince. All dragons are—or historically used to be. Every dragon used to reign over people who loved and supported them and hid them from anyone who might attack them. Both my father and my grandfather have entire mountain villages who can trace their roots back through the centuries, their ancestors guarded by the dragon kings and queens of old.
    What happened to Ion’s kingdom? Neither Jala nor Xalil have ever seen another human being here. Doesn’t Ion have people who love and support him as we do? What, did he eat them?
    Maybe he is as evil as they say he is.
    “The massage treatment room is right this way.” Ion leads me across the vast, multi-storied foyer and heads down a well-lit hallway. Everything I’ve seen of the castle interior has been surprisingly bright. There are big windows everywhere, letting in natural daylight. You’d think, with all its vast stoniness and drafty windows, being in Siberia and all, this place would be dark and freezing.
    “It’s warmer here than I expected,” I observe aloud, hoping to start a conversation. I don’t know anything about wooing or romance, but