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he’d been hurt badly by the death of his wife and child. It was Jared who always backed off when they seemed to be getting close and she respected his right to do so. She wouldn’t force herself on any man, even if they did live together at this point because of their close—but separate—ties to Kelzy. Kelzy wanted them both living with her and it was usually unwise not to give a dragoness what she wanted.
    Adora squared her shoulders and strode with a confidence she didn’t feel to where the men sat. Both had goblets of mulled wine in their hands and were talking easily. Her soft footsteps went unheard as Kelzy moved her great body in the sands, so both men started when she appeared before them. With a lithe grace, she curtsied deeply to the prince in the formal manner.
    “Your majesty,” she spoke demurely, “I humbly thank you for your healing skill.”
    The prince surprised her, standing to take her hand in his. He raised her easily to stand beside him.
    “Then you feel better?”
    “Much better, your majesty.”
    The prince sighed theatrically. “If you insist on calling me ‘your majesty’
    then I’ll have to call you ‘milady’ and we’ll waste all our time on extra words that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. It’s all so tiresome.” He sniffed with regal disdain, making Jared laugh out loud. “Please, call me Nico and I’ll call you Adora, all right? After all, we’re kin.”
    She gasped. “You can’t know that for certain.”
    “Oh, I think it’s safe to say that you have the blood of Draneth the Wise in your veins somewhere. Our magics would not have meshed in such an agreeable way had you not.”
    Adora swayed on her feet and Nico’s strong arm steadied her, guiding her to sit on the couch. Settling her there, he pressed a full goblet into her trembling hand.
    “It’s impossible.”
    “No, I’m afraid it’s not. I did some research before I left the castle, and it seems there are quite a few members of the various royal lines unaccounted for through the years. The most likely scenario is that you are the Princess Amelia Jane, who was stolen from her home the same night the rest of her family was killed. The baby princess was never found, though the rest of her family was left where they were slain.”
    Adora found herself reaching out for Jared, needing his strength as the prince relayed the sad facts.
    “There was some talk at the time about a maidservant who’d gone missing as well, and many of the chroniclers believed the maid took the baby to safety, but she was never seen again.” Nico sat next to them on the long couch, taking her other hand in his. “You would be about the right age to be little Amelia Jane, I think, though you look much younger than your thirty-eight winters.”
    Adora gasped. “How did you know my age?” Her eyes sought his, her confusion plain, then understanding dawned. “Oh, sweet Mother! The princess you mentioned. She would be thirty-eight?”
    Nico nodded. “This year.”
    Adora felt a tear slide down her cheek, followed by another and another.
    Kelzy growled, crooning in her dragonish way as she had when Adora had been just a child, but it was Jared who pulled her close against his broad chest, comforting her with his warm strength.
    “Do you have anything from your childhood, Adora? Anything that might tie you to your past?”
    She sniffled, cuddling against Jared as if she belonged there. Turning slightly, she looked up at the handsome prince.
    “Only one thing. It’s not much.” With shaking fingers, she reached into the front of her shirt, separating the seams she’d sewn between the layers, reaching for something only she knew was there, just under her heart. “I didn’t even realize what it was until recently when Kelzy gave me her shed scales.” She pulled out a gleaming black panel that was wafer thin and resilient as only true dragon scale could be. Nico went silent as she handed the evidence of her heritage to