The Twiceborn Queen (The Proving Book 2) by Marina Finlayson Page A

hair. “ Sources close to the coroner have suggested there could be a link between the mystery woman pulled from the harbour in the early hours of New Year’s Day and the dragon battle that took place on and around the Harbour Bridge that morning. Sources close to the coroner? What does that mean?”
    “Don’t know.” My thoughts flashed to Detective Hartley. The death of the “mystery woman” would be treated as a murder investigation. Would that one cross her desk too? But nothing tied Valeria’s naked body to me. I was jumping at shadows. “I guess cause of death is pretty obvious. She’d have a giant hole through her chest. But I don’t see how the coroner can link that to the dragons, even if he can prove that she died at roughly the same time as the dragon hit the water.”
    “He’d have to officially recognise the supernatural first,” Ben said. “And that’s not going to happen, especially with Elizabeth doing her damnedest to convince people it’s all a giant con trick.”
    If only everyone would be convinced. The spectre of the Middle Ages loomed over me. If people died, it would be my fault, but what choice had I had? Once Valeria had turned dragon there’d been no other way out.
    In other news, the Prime Minister announces the formation of a special taskforce to investigate allegations of supernatural activities in Australia. Taskforce Jaeger will begin its investigations with a review of evidence and eyewitness accounts of the alleged dragon sightings over Sydney Harbour in the early hours of January 1st.
    I sighed and rubbed at my face. Alleged dragon sightings. Right. Not even one o’clock in the afternoon, and I was already exhausted.
    Ben dropped a kiss on my hair. “Don’t sweat it. They’ve got nothing. Let’s focus on more important things.”
    There sure were a lot of those. We had to find more men, and I desperately needed allies in the shifter community. I had to keep Detective Hartley at bay, keep my nose clean and keep Ben alive. I had to find out who’d tried to kill him and where Jason had got to.
    “Which ones?” I asked, feeling the weight of all those enormous and often-incompatible responsibilities.
    He turned the chair around and drew me gently to my feet. For once we were alone, which was pretty unusual these days, though my enhanced hearing picked up other voices elsewhere in the house. A bright square of sunlight lay on the carpet, and dust motes danced through it, swirling with the movement of our bodies. He stood a head taller than me, though I wasn’t a short woman, and I lifted my face to his.
    “Lachie will be busy for hours with his Lego. I thought we might have a little nap. Afterwards, of course.”
    “Afterwards?” He stood very close. I gulped in a deep breath, full of his fresh woodsy aftershave and a warm Ben-smell. My pulse sped up. “But your arm …”
    “I have an injured arm. I’m not dead .”
    “True.” I pressed against him and felt his body respond. “In fact, you seem … rather lively.”
    Amusement glittered in his eyes. His good hand slid down my back, producing little shivers of delight, and cupped one cheek firmly. “Come upstairs and I’ll show you just how lively.”
    I wound my arms round his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. The world would just have to burn without me for a while. “Thought you’d never ask.”

CHAPTER NINE
    Sex is a wonderful stress release. Dr Ben was prepared to prescribe a great deal of it, but even his enthusiastic assistance couldn’t produce more than a temporary relief. I had an appointment with Trevor, the leader of the Sydney werewolf pack, the next morning, and my nerves grew as the time ticked away till the meeting.
    Garth and I waited in the study. Leandra had preferred to call it her office, but come on—who was she kidding? Sure, she had the big antique desk, the plush carpet and visitors’ chairs so padded you could lose yourself in them. She had state-of-the-art computer equipment