What a Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken

to be tweaked? Was her ass flat, or would he be able to grip it tight while he rode her? Did she moan, or was she a screamer?
    She stopped and glared at him over her shoulder. “Well … Are you coming?”
    And she didn’t seem to appreciate it much when he started laughing at her again.

Chapter 5
    As soon as they stepped within the main courtyard, Dagmar felt every eye on them. People stopped in their work; the soldiers and warriors stopped in their training. And the women … Dagmar was surprised fainting wasn’t involved. She knew she heard sighing. Deep, longing sighs. When a servant girl carrying a large basket of bread to the soldiers’ dining hall walked into a wall because she was busy staring at the dragon pretending to be human, Dagmar could only roll her eyes.
    “Are those men naked?”
    Dagmar squinted across the courtyard toward one of the many training rings and nodded. “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “Learn to fight in this cold naked, chances are you’ll be able to fight no matter what you’re wearing.”
    “Are there a lot of naked fights among the Northland men? Is that something they enjoy doing?”
    His teasing tone almost made her laugh. “If it is something they enjoy, I assure you not one will admit it.”
    “I thought you would have asked me questions by now.”
    “What would I ask you about?”
    “About Queen Annwyl. About her affiliation with dragons. Or even ask me about my name.”
    “It’s no concern of mine.”
    “That’s a lie. And my name is Gwenvael the Handsome.”
    “Fascinating. And I know my place, Lord Gwenvael. I know my role.”
    “Oh, come on. You can ask me something.”
    “All right.” She glanced at his chest. “That crest on your surcoat.”
    “What about it?”
    “I’ve read that the nation it represented was destroyed more than five hundred years ago.”
    He stopped walking and scrutinized the crest. “Damn,” he said after a few moments. “I hate that.”
    “Kill them yourself, did you?”
    “I’m not that old, thank you very much. And I think it was one of my uncles. But it’s so awkward.”
    “Is it?”
    “Imagine standing there, having a very nice chat with some human royal and then he gets a good look at your crest. His face gets all pale and sweaty, and you suddenly realize—gods, I wiped out the entire male line of your family, didn’t I? That’s awkward.”
    “I imagine so.”
    They began to walk again, and, not remotely surprising to Dagmar, he asked, “So how did you get the name Beast?”
    Dagmar stopped at the large front door that would lead into the Main Hall. She lowered her eyes, kept her voice soft. Wounded. “The wife of one of my brothers nicknamed me that because I am plain. She wanted to hurt me, and she did.”
    A long and large finger slid under her chin, tipping up her face. She kept her eyes averted, did her best to look nearly destroyed by it all. She’d lost count of all the stories she’d made up over the years about how she’d obtained her nickname. She didn’t lie about it simply for amusement but because the truth was something she would never share with anyone. The guilt of her actions from that day and the subsequent outcome was still fresh even after all this time.
    Yet molding the story to fit whoever asked was an indulgent form of entertainment on her part and had gained her either pity or fear, depending on what she needed. She kept the tales simple and unadorned, avoiding possible traps should her memory fail her at a later date.
    “My sweet, sweet Dagmar,” he said softly, seductively. “That would have been almost perfect—if you could have just managed the tear.”
    Dagmar made sure she only appeared confused, rather than annoyed. “Sorry, my lord?”
    “You have to learn to cry. Otherwise the whole thing falls apart at the end. Just that single tear works wonders. Right here.” He drew his finger down her cheek and Dagmar immediately pulled her head back.
    The Gold smiled. “Now that’s the