The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I: Volume I

deep-red tunic was rich with gold embroidery that highlighted his ruddy hair and fair complexion. He stood nearly as tall as Darville, as broad across the shoulders, but thicker in the hips and thighs. Not yet forty, Krej was in his prime. A powerful lord and warrior, able administrator and leader.
    “If no magicians are allowed, then you must excuse yourself, Lord Krej.” Darville glared at his cousin.
    “You dare insult me!”
    “I seek to eliminate your hypocrisy!”
    The royal rivals continued to glare at each other.
    “Your Grace, my lord, the time has come to depart,” Sir Holmes reminded them in embarrassed tones.
    Darville breathed a sigh of mixed relief and trepidation. Which was worse, sparring with Krej, the endless waiting, or actually having to meet the Perfect Princess from Rossemeyer?
    A brightly uniformed captain released the boarding ramp. His scarlet tunic stretched tightly across shoulders broadened by a youth spent at the oars of the barges that plied the mysterious currents of Coronnan River. The representative of the Guild of Bay Pilots graciously allowed the royal party aboard his vessel. Even a king could not board a vessel without such an invitation.
    The Bay Pilots were proud of their duties, ranking themselves with the magicians in keeping the kingdom safe from invasion. No one else dared navigate the random changes of the river channels through the mudflats to the bay proper.
    Darville placed one foot on the ramp, only to discover his cousin already there. “A bit presumptuous, Krej. I believe I am the ranking royal in this farce today.” Darville assumed his mask of bored sarcasm. Otherwise he might just shove his ceremonial dagger deep into Krej’s ribs.
    “A position you do not deserve. I am regent. I should be first aboard.”
    “Correction. You were regent when you thought you had safely confined me in the body of a wolf. I am restored now, body and mind, through no action or wish of yours.” Darville glared with mistrust and dislike.
    Stargods! Why did he allow Krej to goad him into hot replies that did nothing to improve his relations with the Council?
    Angry with life and himself, Darville shouldered Krej aside and mounted the ramp. He kept his spine stiff and unyielding, his chin high, and his emotions deeply buried.
     
    Rosie watched the bright yellow banners of the Coronnian royal barge as the vessel followed a zigzag approach to the island. She clung to the safety of a deck chair beneath a canopy on her own ship. Janataea sat beside her, cooling her smiling face with a lace fan.
    The island wasn’t the forbidding chunk of rock Rosie had been led to believe, but a series of smaller islands connected by massive bridges. Nearly as large as a sizable town, the outpost of Coronnan supported a bustling population atop those bridges. Jetties trained the river currents between the lesser islands so that the rest of the shore built up silted mudflats nearly a mile wide.
    One large stone building dominated the inside curve of the half-moon group of islands. All travelers and cargo must pass through that building to gain access to Coronnan. Only Coronnite barges plied the shallow channels between the island and the capital city.
    “ ’Tis an insult, Highness. They deliberately keep us waiting to make us appear vulnerable.” Ambassador KevinRosse paced the deck beside Rosie’s seat in growing fury. The planes of his gaunt face appeared sharper than usual, his cheeks more pinched, and his thin mouth was pressed so tightly together it appeared nearly lipless.
    “Not surprising, since Rossemeyer has pushed the marriage and the treaty from the beginning. We stand to gain as much as Coronnan from the alliance,” Janataea reminded the tall man. She had sobered since her laughing fit this morning, but a strange flippancy lingered in the governess’ manner.
    Rosie watched both of her guardians closely, trying to determine her own attitude from theirs. She didn’t mind waiting, as long as the sunshine slipped beneath her sheltering awning. The warmth was more intense here in the lowlands north of Rossemeyer, the winter was slower in coming. She liked that idea. Cold darkness only made her sleepy.
    “I give them five minutes. Then we withdraw!” KevinRosse stalked over to the captain of the ship.
    Good. Then Rosie could return to her familiar home and safe routine. She wouldn’t have to allow strangers—a strange husband in particular—to touch her, force her to make