Chapter 33 My Room Comes With A Dragon
The room is… nice. Actually, scratch that. It’s ridiculous. There’s velvet on everything: curtains, cushions, the bloody headboard. There’s gold trimming along the floorboards, a chandelier dripping glass like tears, and a carpet so soft I keep curling my toes into it to make sure it’s real. For a second, I just stand there, blinking at it all. I’ve never had a room like this before. Hell, I’ve never had a room before that wasn’t also a cell, a tower, or a temporary hideout. But I’m not stupid. I make sure the windows open. There’s a balcony beyond them, white marble and wide enough to walk on. I push the panes out until the breeze rushes in. It smells like snow and ash out there. Then I check the door. No lock. Not on the inside, not on the outside. Just a handle.
Good. If anyone ever thinks they can keep me somewhere again, they’re going to have to deal with the new and improved Bella, the one who knows how to freeze her way through a problem. I let out a small breath and sit on the edge of the bed. The mattress dips, sighing beneath me. It’s so soft it feels wrong, like I’m going to stain it just by existing on it.
“Okay,” I murmur to Gilfred. “We've got a room and a dragon king with questionable social skills. I also have you, who thinks you're my emotional support therapist. Things could be worse.”
Gilfred pokes his little head out from the neckline of my shirt, blinking at me with those tiny golden eyes. “Don’t look at me like that,” I tell him. “You almost drowned. I almost drowned. Let’s call it even and try not to anger the local royalty.”
He chirps something that sounds suspiciously judgmental.
“Yeah, well, he’s technically my landlord now,” I mutter. “And also maybe… kind of into me? I don’t know, I’m still processing the whole imprint thing.”
The thought makes my stomach twist. It’s not that I don’t believe in magic, clearly, I’m living proof of it, but the idea that someone could just decide I’m theirs without asking? That’s a lot to unpack.
I stretch my arms over my head, trying to shake the tension from my shoulders. The last few days have been insane, and now this? A castle with its own brooding dragon man who looks at me like I’m something rare.
“Maybe it’s time for a nap,” I tell Gilfred. “Or a mental health coma.”
That’s when I hear a voice echoing down the hall. It's loud, shrill and unmistakably dramatic.
“WHERE IS SHE?”
I freeze. There’s the sound of boots, the thud of a door slamming, and a male voice, probably Damien’s, trying to reason with someone.
“Madam, please—”
“Don’t madam me! You tell me where my friend is before I set this fancy castle on fire!”
I’m on my feet before my brain catches up. I pull the door open and lean into the corridor just as a whirlwind of blue silk and fury barrels into view.
“Ashlyn?” I blurt, because who else could it possibly be?
She spins, skirts flaring, hair wild, eyes wide and then she spots me. Her mouth drops open. “Oh my gods,” she gasps. “I thought you got eaten!”
A laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it. “Nope! Still intact!”
Behind her, Damien looks frazzled, and that’s putting it mildly. His hair’s a mess, his jaw’s tight, and he’s clearly rethinking every decision that led to this moment. Before he can say anything, there’s a deep, rumbling voice, and I know instantly it's my dragon's. Mine? Weird...
"I would never eat Snowflake."
Ashlyn blinks, looking back at him. “What was that?”
I clear my throat, trying to suppress another laugh. “Uh… that would be the dragon.”
“The—” She gestures vaguely at Damien. “Him?”
“Kind of. It’s complicated.”
Damien exhales slowly and looks at me instead of her. “Are you all right?”
I nod. “I’m fine.”
He studies me for a heartbeat longer, then nods once. “Good. I’ll give you two some space.”
Then he’s gone, quick, as if proximity to Ashlyn might give him heartburn.
The second the door closes behind him, Ashlyn turns to me with wide eyes and the kind of grin that usually precedes chaos.
“Okay,” she says, flopping dramatically onto the nearest chair. “What the fuck is happening?”
I can’t help it. I laugh a fully blown belly laugh, and then I flop backward onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Well,” I say, “it looks like I found a place to stay.”
She raises an eyebrow. “And apparently a pet dragon?”
“Yeah, that part’s new. I think he’s technically the king. Which means I’ve accidentally moved into government housing.”
She snorts. “So you’re telling me you got rescued by a dragon king, offered a castle, and you’re just casually okay with that?”
“I wouldn’t say okay,” I mumble into a pillow. “I’m adjusting. It’s been… a week.”
Ashlyn leans forward, elbows on her knees. “You really weren’t eaten?”
“Nope. Just imprinted on.”
“Imprinted?”
“Yeah.” I wave a hand. “Apparently, it’s a thing. He claims he’ll go mad if I leave.”
Her eyes go wide. “That’s… romantic?”
“Disturbing,” I correct. “Possibly both. He’s been surprisingly polite about it, though.”
Ashlyn tilts her head. “And you’re sure you’re safe?”
I glance toward the door, remembering the dragon’s deep voice, the way he’d melted the frost without fear. “Weirdly? Yeah. For the first time in a while.”
She smiles, softening. “Then that’s something.”
Gilfred chirps from his perch on the windowsill, apparently agreeing. Ashlyn notices him for the first time and points. “He didn't eat the lizard either?”
I groan. “He’s not a lizard. He’s a gecko.”
Gilfred puffs up indignantly.
“Same thing,” she teases.
“Tell him that,” I mutter.
We both laugh. Ashlyn sobers first, looking at me. “So what happens now? You’re just going to stay here? In a castle? With him?”
I think about that for a long moment. About the windows that open, the unlocked door, and the dragon who calls me Snowflake.
“Well, technically, before this, I was homeless, broke and a fugitive on the run. So this kind of looks like it has some perks. I mean, who would say no to living in a castle?"
She sits and cocks an eyebrow before pointing to herself, "Uh, hello?"
"Right, sorry." I laugh, but when I think about it more...Maybe fairy tales don’t start with once upon a time. Maybe they can start with bad decisions and free housing.