A Crafty Mind (Anastasia the Nonbinary Dragon)
Her voice had a strange, honey-sweet quality that sounded violent at the same time.
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It was stunning how quickly their “pleasant” breakfast turned into a deadly trap.
“What are you doing?” Anastasia cried out.
Ten dragon shifter guards surrounded the table where Ana sat with Revi, Bei Feng, and Byron. The stone-faced guards moved until they stood right behind their chairs, hemming them in.
Revi snarled, looking like he wanted to shift to his gold dragon form if they weren’t indoors.
Not that he could fend off ten trained dragon guards on his own, even with Ana’s help.
Bei Feng, the treacherous woman, displayed a plastic smile. “Anastasia, my sovereign, I am truly sorry. I wish the best for your reign and have nothing personal against you. But Revi must stay with me. I promise that I’ll treat him like a proper guest.”
Her voice had a strange, honey-sweet quality that sounded violent at the same time.
“Like a proper prisoner, you mean,” Ana hissed, smoke curling up from zir nostrils. Unlike everybody else, ze was already in dragon form, thanks to being small enough to fit indoors. Ze may not have the power of the other guards combined, but ze would breathe fire to save zir friend.
“Why are you threatening the sovereign?” Revi demanded, his eyes flashing as his hands gripped the table, as though he wished to grow out his claws and rip the wood apart.
Bei Feng casually stroked her smooth, brown hair. “No harm will come to Anastasia. Ze can come and go as ze pleases. But you, Revi, must abide by our house rules.” Her grin was sharp. “Don’t worry. I was in earnest when I said that I would treat you well. The house is luxurious, with myriad delights that a young man like yourself could find entertainment in.”
The gold dragon shifter grew red in the face. “What do you take me for? I’m not some — dissolute rake.” He shot a pointed glance at Byron. “My Lord, surely you can’t just allow your friend to abuse and detain your guests like this!”
Byron looked unnaturally pale. His gaze darted to Bei Feng, who frowned at him, and then he glanced at Anastasia.
Bei Feng chipped in before anyone else could speak. “Byron, I’m sorry, but this is an arrangement I made with Lord Clementine, and you know my situation. I swear on my life that I will treat Lord Revi well. He will not be in want of anything.”
The man of the house still appeared stricken. His eyes were wide, but he was mostly looking at Anastasia. Byron finally cleared his throat. “My sovereign, may I talk with you privately?”
“Byron!” Bei Feng protested.
“Let him speak,” Revi interrupted. “This is his house.”
Anastasia assessed their surroundings, noting where the dragon shifter guards stood. Ze had to make a quick decision. “I will grant your request for a private audience,” Ana said as ze glared at Bei Feng. “But in return, I request that your guards retreat. Revi won’t flee when I’m still here, and I do not appreciate having my friends threatened.” The dragon’s nostrils flared with warning smoke.
Despite Bei Feng’s baleful expression, Lord Byron nodded. “That is a reasonable request.” He waved his arm in dismissal. His guards looked hesitant, and some shot furtive glances at Bei Feng. But after a moment, they deferred to their master and retreated until they were invisible again.
Ana felt like ze could finally breathe as ze gazed back at Revi. “Will you be all right here while I’m gone?”
Revi dipped his head, his face forlorn. “I will be fine, and no, I won’t run. I wouldn’t risk it.”
Anastasia heaved out a sigh, then followed Lord Byron down a long hallway to a private room.
Anastasia was wary as Byron led zir into a chamber with a desk and some chairs. It looked like an office, though it was more confined than ze expected given the size of Byron’s mansion.
Byron combed a hand through his short black hair. “Please, take a seat, Your Majesty.” He gestured with his arm, and his smile was amiable. Not that Ana wanted to trust any signs of friendliness after what Bei Feng did to them.
When Ana didn’t immediately sit down, Byron sighed. “If you’re more comfortable standing, then I will take a seat myself, if you don’t mind.” And he did. To Ana’s surprise, he didn’t take the big chair behind the mahogany desk. He took a smaller chair in front of the desk, in clear view of Ana.
The red dragon settled slowly on a thick rug close to him. “What have you got to say to me that you couldn’t say in front of Bei Feng?” ze growled.
Byron leaned back and wiped a hand over his face. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry. That was so embarrassing.”
Anastasia blinked, not comprehending.
Byron continued, “Technically, I’m the master of the house. But Bei Bei is a close friend, and the guards sometimes listen to her more than they do to me. Oh well. She has told me about her involvement with Lord Clementine, and I believe Revi must have shown you his father’s letter?”
Ana grunted in the affirmative. Ze tapped the floor with an impatient claw. “Yes, I read it. But Bei Feng has no right to detain Revi.”
“I apologize for that too,” Byron said. “For the record, I don’t condone what Clementine is doing. But Bei Bei truly has some hard circumstances.”
“What are those circumstances?” Ana asked. Seeing Byron’s pinched face, Ana added, “You can tell me. I won’t let anyone else know, not even Revi.”
“Oh, I wish I could, Your Majesty. But that’s Bei Feng’s secret to tell, not mine.”
Anastasia gritted zir teeth. “Or even a little hint. We — I can help her with whatever it is. Surely she doesn’t want to be beholden to Clementine for a lifetime.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” Byron said. He crossed his legs. “But her case truly is difficult, and I don’t wish to harm her by disclosing it, even if you have the best of intentions, Your Majesty.”
The man continued, “But I wanted to discuss this issue of separating Lord Revi from you.”
Anastasia sat taller, zir wings raised in alarm. “No one gets to separate him from me unless I allow them.”
Byron grimaced. “Yes, I know how disrespectful this must look to you, my sovereign. But this might be for the best. As much as I don’t believe in separating friends, it could work in your favor. You are our ruler now, but you haven’t had a formal coronation or taken a stronghold yet, right?”
Anastasia growled. Secretly, ze wondered how long ze could keep up zir “ruler” bluff, if it was even a bluff anymore. “I don’t need a formal coronation or stronghold to be sovereign. Freya named me as her heir.”
“And she is dead?” Byron prodded.
The red dragon nodded reluctantly, grief welling up in zir at the reminder.
“My condolences, Your Majesty,” the man murmured. “But I will help you to the best of my ability. And I mean that. To be frank, Lord Revi is not viewed highly among the dragon nobility. While I personally don’t have an issue with him, you would lose favor from potential allies.”
“I don’t need them as allies if they can’t respect my friend,” Ana replied haughtily.
Byron shook his head, his silky hair shivering as he did so. “I understand what you mean. Yet even as the ruler, you won’t be all powerful. The more allies you can get, the better, especially since you’re still new to the throne. It is cruel to ask friends to stay apart for so long, which I had told Bei Feng about.” He paused to brush some lint off of his shoulder.
“However,” Byron went on, “Lord Clementine only wanted his son to keep his distance from you, didn’t he? He didn’t say to keep you apart forever. Nor did he specify the frequency or circumstances of your meeting.”
Anastasia arched a brow. “Meaning…”
Byron huffed out a breath. “You and Lord Revi could meet up occasionally. We’ll just make sure he stays away most of the time.” He raised a hand as Ana prepared to protest.
“I’m aware of how absurd this must seem, that we would dare to control what a sovereign does with their friends. We’ll work something out so that you and Revi still get quality time together, while being apart enough so that Lord Clementine won’t be too uneasy. Moreover, it doesn’t have to be so bad. You wish to see your cousin, Ero, right? I imagine you’d want time alone with him, without Revi nearby.”
Byron’s voice had softened by the end of that sentence. Anastasia felt manipulated, yet he was right. Ana did want to see Ero, and as much as ze wanted to defend Revi, ze figured it would be better to spend time with Ero alone. Especially as Revi seemed to dislike Ero, if ze remembered right.
Byron went on, as he rested his cheek on his palm, “You can see it too, right, Your Majesty? You can still see Revi, you can spend time with your cousin Ero, and we can keep Clementine off of our trail at the same time.” He smiled slightly.
This sounded like a good arrangement, Ana admitted. Ze stared at Byron’s face, imagining how it’d be like to work with a man who plotted like this, if he was indeed going to be zir spy. At long last, ze said, “Revi will still be in my court. We don’t have to be together constantly, but nobody can dissuade me from having him advise me. Yes, I will spend alone time with my cousin, and Revi, and whoever else I wish.”
The man gave zir an amiable smile again. “Of course, we don’t want to control what Your Majesty does, but — ”
“I already said that I will have Revi in my court no matter what. And that’s final.” Ana stomped, claws outstretched, to make zir point.
“I concur, my sovereign,” Byron said in a soothing voice. “No one gets to choose your inner circle other than you. Not even Lord Clementine has the power to deny his son’s appointment if you’re determined to take him on.” He uncrossed his legs. “That said, others may be concerned if you give Revi special treatment or extra time compared to your other advisors.”
The term “special treatment” rankled Ana. “Revi is my friend. Why would I not spend extra time with him? He doesn’t just work for me. We are companions and allies.”
Once again, Byron made an acquiescent gesture. “Perhaps this is because you are still young and unpracticed in matters of court. But there are clever ways to get what you want without breaking the rules, you know?”
Anastasia gazed at him with uncertainty. “What rules? What do you mean, exactly?”
A cunning glint appeared in Byron’s eye. “What I’m saying is that Lord Clementine is only seeking to control his son — and Bei Feng. Clementine, as arrogant as he is, wouldn’t dare command you, Your Majesty. You, as the ruler, can always order Revi to work with you on assignments, missions, and other things.
“As your liege, Revi has no choice but to accept. He and Bei Feng have no power to oppose your orders. Even Clementine would have to admit defeat here. Being a member of the sovereign’s closest circle is a source of immense power. While Clementine is bitter and has no faith in you as a ruler, he wouldn’t be so daft as to make his son give up on such power and prestige, as that would sap Clementine of his influence too.”
Anastasia was awestruck, and a bit terrified, of Byron’s maneuverings. Even though he was on zir side, ze hoped that Byron would never become their enemy.
Unease and coldness rippled through Ana, even as ze whispered, “All right, Byron, I’ll accept your proposal for now.”
