Free Burn (Dragon Souls) by Penelope Fletcher

vaguely aware of Koen making attempts to talk, but even his presence couldn’t disperse her cluttered thoughts. Sitting next to her Dragon King was less enjoyable than she thought it would be. Eyes were upon them at every moment and it was kind of stressful.
    Shovelling tasteless meat into his mouth, Koen grew irritated with Marina’s emotional distance. He eventually became more frustrated with his inability to draw her out of it. He had ideas, but the quandary was how to drag her across his lap and kiss her senseless without drawing additional attention to their end of the table. Not really possible. Worse, he couldn’t offset his desire to feel her mouth pressed to his with seductive teasing or lingering glances. Their chairs were too far apart, and the table too low for any sly caresses.
    He ended up satisfying himself by inhaling the delicate notes of her scent, enjoying the richness of her laughter when the youngling to her other side made witty observations about the pretentiousness of the Drackai Court.
    Koen had nursed suspicions Marina developed a fascination with the Ice Realm for a while.
    Her pointed questions about the land and its ways confirmed it.
    Truly, he didn’t know how to feel about her preference. He’d come from a House of fire breathers. Though he was a Phoenix with the combined abilities of fire and ice, he knew he primarily relied on dragonfire . While his Dragon knew every dip and curve of the Fire Kingdom the Ice Realm was completely unknown to him. He could barely remember the last time he visited the Wyvrae Court or paid address to any of the noble Houses. Daniil kept him informed of any serious issues from that part of Tzion.
    He’d never seen a problem with the arrangement until Marina showed interest in the Wreath.
    Could he live so far from the Kingdom he considered home? All the Dragon Lands were his territory, so his Dragon should thrive in the Realm as well as in the Kingdom. Could he be so unfeeling as to ask Marina to vie for the Crown instead of the Wreath? She already did so much for them, for him . To ask anymore would be heartless. But surely she didn’t wish to live on a flat of ice where there was nothing but freezing water and frigid wind?
    Koen peered into his goblet and mulled over his future. He abruptly fought a smile. Come fire or ice, he’d follow his Treasure anywhere.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    M arina paced her chamber. Her gaze repeatedly darted to the transparent screen that led to her private hallway.
    Disapproving, Cathryn crossed her arms under her bosom. “I find all of this suspicious. Have you ingested any strange substances? Did the Dragon King give you any strange foods? Have you blacked out for interminable periods of time?”
    “Koen isn’t drugging me, Cat.”
    “Well, can’t say I feel sorry for you then. You brought this on yourself.”
    “Don’t preach to me. Didn’t you pop your cherry five years ago?”
    “That’s different.” Pink dusted her cheeks. “Geoffrey and I were in love.”
    “ Please .” Marina rolled her eyes then stiffened. “Wait. And you think I’m not in love with Koen?”
    “I think you’re besotted.”
    “And him?”
    “Infatuated. Blindly.” She paused. “The man looks at you as if the sun shines out of your arse.”
    “Oh, but it does.”
    “You’re funny. I would have said he wants to get in your pants, but you didn’t exactly make yourself unavailable. You kind of stalked the bloke across dimensions.”
    “Is it against the law to want someone so badly you’d do anything?”
    “Not where we’re from. Apparently it is here when that includes forgetting common sense and doing the nasty on the side of a mountain like a pair of randy goats.”
    Marina opened her mouth to deliver a bitchy retort. Stilling, she snapped it shut. Cathryn had struck upon an utterly simple and brilliant truth.
    Missing Marina’s epiphany, Cathryn fussed with the silver embroidery decorating the overlarge sleeves of her dress. “I