"You do that."

Gwenvael continued to stand there, staring down at her, until she was forced to ask, "Well ... ?"

"Don't know where he is."

"Find him."

"A proper hostess would show me the way."

"A proper hostess wouldn't have your kind in her home."

"That was mean."

"Yes."

"So you're not going to help me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I already explained this. I don't like you. True, I don't like most people, but I especially dislike you. I could start my own religion based on how much I dislike you."

Out of ideas on how to handle this wench, Gwenvael went with one of his tried and true methods. He sniffed ... and then he sniffed again.

The Beast blinked, her expression confused, but then her eyes widened in horror when she saw that first tear fall.

"Wait ... are ... are you ... crying?"

It was a skill he'd taught himself when he was barely ten years old. With brothers like his, he needed it in order to get his mother to protect her favorite son as much as possible. He rarely used the technique now, but he was desperate.

"You're so mean to me," he complained around his tears.

"Yes, but-"

"Why won't you help me?" he wailed.

"All right. All right." She held her hands up. "I'll take you to my father."

He sniffed more tears away. "You promise?"

"Do I ..." She sighed and stepped down from the fence. She didn't jump down, nor did she step down daintily. It was a carefully, plotted step. He bet she took lots of careful steps in her life.

She came out of the gate and closed it behind her. "Canute, here." The tasty morsel that had almost been Gwenvael's afternoon meal immediately went to her side, his yellow dog eyes watching Gwenvael closely.

"And you," she said to Gwenvael. "Come along."

Gwenvael watched her walk away. Her clothes were bulky and plain. He couldn't make out a bit of her body, and he couldn't help but wonder what she looked like under all that. Was she thin like a rail, or did she have some curves? Were her b.r.e.a.s.t.s big handfuls or things to be tweaked? Was her a.s.s 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 a.s.sure 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. "d.a.m.n," 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-G.o.ds, 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 amus.e.m.e.nt 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 real you. Look at those eyes. If they were knives, they'd cut me to ribbons."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, my lord."

"Of course you don't. You're just a silly woman. Without a brain in your head." He walked around her and she felt a hand swipe across her a.s.s. She jumped, and he had the nerve to look startled. "Come on then, silly woman. Introduce me to the more important men."

Gwenvael followed the lying Lady Dagmar-did she truly expect him to believe that story?-into the Reinholdt fortress. It wasn't as miserable as he expected, but he'd seen uninhabited caves that were a lot more warm and friendly.

The first floor of the building was mostly one big room with a sizable pit fire in front of rows and rows of dining tables with several boars roasting over it. There was a small group of women sitting at a table chatting, and if they saw the man asleep under their table, they made no mention of him. Dogs that didn't look at all like the ones The Beast was breeding for battle ran free around the hall, eating whatever was left on the floor.

By the time Gwenvael and Dagmar reached the center of the room, all activity stopped and every eye focused on them.

A large human carrying a pint of ale in his hand stepped in front of them, his suspicious gaze locked on Gwenvael.

"Dagmar."

"Brother."

"Who is this?"

"This is Lord Gwenvael. I'm taking him to see Father."

The Northlander examined Gwenvael closely before saying, "He must be from the south. So brown."

"I prefer golden," Gwenvael corrected. "It's a tragic curse really since I live in a part of the world where the two suns actually come out during the day and don't cower behind clouds, afraid to be seen by the scary Northmen."

When Dagmar's brother only stared at him, Gwenvael glanced down at the female. She was smirking, and he knew he'd been right. Any intelligence in this group had gone to the woman.

"Lord Gwenvael, this is my brother and oldest son to The Reinholdt, Eymund. And I don't think he understood your joke."

That was sadly true. He didn't. "Lord Eymund."

The Northlander grunted, but kept staring. Gwenvael had no idea if this was an unspoken challenge so he said, "The men of the north are very handsome. Especially you."

It took a while for his statement to get through the immense skull surrounding that excessively slow brain, but when it did Eymund eyed him intently.

"Uh ... what?"

"If you'll excuse us, brother"-Dagmar motioned for Gwenvael to move toward the end of the ma.s.sive hall-"we're going to see Father."

When they reached a plain wood door, she knocked.

"In."

She pushed the thick door open and ushered Gwenvael in, signaling for that tasty morsel of dog to stay behind. After closing the door behind them, she walked to her father's desk. She kept her hands folded in front of her and her demeanor as nonthreatening as possible.

"Father, there's someone here to see you."

The Reinholdt lifted his gaze from the maps in front of him, glanced at Gwenvael, and immediately went back to his maps. "Don't know him."

"I know. But you've met him."

"I have?"

"He's the dragon from this morning."

Grey eyes similar to his daughter's slowly lifted, and the widely built man leaned over in his chair, looking around Dagmar to see Gwenvael.

"You havin' me on?" he asked his daughter.

"Because I'm known for my rich and well-developed sense of humor?"

Actually, the dry way she said it, Gwenvael thought she was extremely funny.

"Good point," her father said. "But still ..."

"I know it's hard to believe. But it's him."

The Reinholdt let out a soul-weary sigh and sat back in his chair. "Yeah, so ... What's he doin' 'ere?"

"He asked to meet with you."

"Last I remember, we weren't tellin' him nothin'."

"True. But I had little choice but to bring him here. He asked for shelter and as an outsider alone I had to give it to him at least for the night as per Northland etiquette law, which he's obviously studied."