Mere Temptation by Daisy Harris

opened it to find Kai on Sidon’s doorstep. The dragon launched into his interrogation immediately.
    “Where is Sidon?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “He left at midnight, correct?”
    “Yes.” Isa felt defensive. If he wasn’t back, there was certainly nothing she could do about it.
    “And did he share with you when he expected to return?”
    Isa bristled. “I’m not his house cat. Of course he told me when he thought he’d return. He said by mid morning.”
    “So he is late?”
    Wow, dragons might be hot, but they weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. “It seems so.”
    “Then we will wait here for his return. Mere girl, please fetch me some food.”
    Oh, she really hated this guy. “I’m not his pet, and I’m not his maid. And it’s not my job to feel his co-workers.”
    Kai’s eyes became colder, like shards of glass. “So if you are not here to serve the dragon, what is your role?”
    Isa pondered that for a second. Ex-high-school-sweetheart-current-captive-everything-but-sex-buddy seemed like too much information. So she aimed for simple. “I’m his girlfriend.”
    The dragon’s jaw hardened. “His girlfriend?”
    “Yes, is that surprising?”
    A vein in his forehead pulsed, and Isa worried he’d blow a gasket. “Dragons do not mate or form attachments with part-humans.”
    Isa had half a mind to tell the jerk that Sidon had probably “mated” with half the female mere in Key Sirena. She doubted that the observation would help her case.
    “Well, I’m sure dragons who live in all-dragon areas mate with other dragons. But Si grew up here and lives here. I mean, there aren’t even very many female dragons on Sirena. The district is a small area, and almost no one lives there year-round.”
    “True, but there are plenty of eligible females at court.”
    She laughed out loud at the thought of her Sidon at the dragon court.
    “Yeah, well, if he ever goes there, I’m sure he’ll clean up with the ladies.”
    “No need. He’s already met his betrothed.”
    “His what?”
    Kai regarded her without a hint of sympathy. “His betrothed. Were you not aware that Sidon was promised?”
    “No.” Her voice was softer than she hoped. She bit hard into her lip. There was no way this smug prick would see her cry.
    “Well, it’s neither here nor there as far as you’re concerned. Once he is married he’ll be re-assigned to a post in Washington. He really should have taken it already, but Sidon’s always been a bit unconventional.”
    Breaking through the haze of hurt at the idea that Sidon was engaged, Isa took in Kai’s words.
    “Do you mean Landworld Washington?”
    Kai didn’t smile, but his face relaxed into a paternalistic expression. “Yes, little mere. Washington DC, not state. I forgot how your kind refers to places outside your little habitats as ‘Landworld’. It’s quaint.”
    “So,” Isa said, trying to ignore the insults piling up. She wanted, no needed, to understand. “So the Dragon Council is located in Washington?”
    “No, of course not! The Council just has representatives in Washington. Lobbyists, politicians, environmental lawyers. We have representatives all over the world. After all, protection of the oceans is the Empire’s most important mission. We can’t leave that to the humans.”
    Isa felt like she’d been slapped in the face, punched in the gut, and hit by a car all at once. Excusing herself, she launched down the stairs and into the water, swimming fast as she could. She ignored the sharp pinching as she shifted this time and swam till she reached the boulders at the Key’s eastern end. Pulling herself up on the rocks, she shivered against the harsh winds. Isa allowed each new piece of information to shuffle through her mind like flashcards, and started to cry.
    She hadn’t even admitted to herself that she was considering staying forever until this minute. Now she knew. This time she would have stayed with Sidon, given in eventually, and become