"—Seriously wearing that—red suits you better—want to look—it'll be—"

  Words and memories swarm around my mind, clouding my thoughts.

  "—perfect—"

  "—forg—a lot—"

  "—h—prince—"

  "—can't tell—from a—"

  "—pri—"

  "—Ash—"

  "Hello? Prince? We have arrived."

  I jolt awake, rubbing my arm. I've been leaning on it for hours, and it's begun to ache fearsomely.

  Alcina's huge brown dragon eye peers into the window. We're still flying. She falls away from the carriage.

  Jayle's voice booms from somewhere nearby, "Look! The castle!"

  I blink the last of the grogginess out of my eyes and lean toward the window. I'm not sure if it's the height or the view that takes my breath away.

  It's not like the palace back home at all. A series of trees are wound together to form the main structure, growing larger and taller near the center. Vibrant leaves highlight balconies and towers constructed from stone bricks. Surrounding the palace, I can make out smaller abodes built into the forest, half hidden by the thicket of deciduous trees. A snowcapped mountain towers over it all.

  Although beautiful, the unfamiliarity of the architecture makes my skin crawl. These disconnected balconies, stretching towers, and huge doors weren't built for humans. Weren't built for me.

  Jayle circles the carriage, momentarily blocking my view. "What do you think? Better or worse than yours, huh?"

  I'm not sure what to say. "It's prettier," I offer.

  "Pretty doesn't cut it. I'd call it magnificent!" He does a flip in the air while we descend, his long body forming a near perfect circle as his tail brushes his snout.

  "Don't feel pressured to give your opinion." Alcina floats in front of the window again, peering at me. "Not everyone is as pushy as he is."

  Truthfully, I've had my fill of loud, boisterous men. I'm pretty sure I can handle Jayle, even if he is a dragon. At least it's one thing that hasn't changed.

  The palace looms over us as we land, and the carriage hits the earthen floor with a thump.

  When I look at Jayle and Alcina, they're humanoid again, though the third dragon remains in monster form. Jayle opens the door, and I grab my suitcase and climb out.

  Alcina leads the way. "As you can see, this is our outer court." She gestures to the land around us. Although there are only a few pathways of scattered stone, the ground is kept even and soft with well-tread clovers. There is no wall keeping this court from the outside world, only seeming to end with the dip of the hill. Patches of bright flowers line the walls ahead of us, filling the air with overpowering sweetness.

  "Here we make announcements, have festivals, greet visitors, and more." She begins walking toward the palace, and I follow. Jayle trails behind me, his head held high. He seems more like a guard now that we're in dragon territory.

  The first walls of the palace are formed from tree trunks woven together, and its round doorway sports huge open gates constructed from their branches. We walk through.

  Most of the ground is still covered in clover and grass, but the pathway is defined with cut stone. Thick leaves line the inside wall, stretching high in their fight for sunlight. "Here is the inner court," she continues. "It's not very large, but we still use it for a few things..."

  Her words fade in and out as she explains. The deeper we make it into the castle, the less like my home it is. Bigger, plant-like, filled with magic. I focus on the scenery, tracing my eyes over each and every crevice in the wall, memorizing the path we take to distract myself.

  Finally, we reach the last set of thick doors. These ones are closed. A pair of armed guards in bipedal form wait for us, though I can see the wide stone platforms they would stand on as dragons. They nod to Alcina and Jayle before opening the doors.

  The inside of the palace is dappled in sunlight, though mostly lit by what appears to be bright yellow bulbs growing from alcoves in the walls. The ground is entirely stone now. I look at the trees above us, seeing how their canopies meet one another to form a sturdy roof, albeit with gaps.

  "Here we are," Alcina says. "The inner castle. I'm sure you know the kind of business that happens in a place like this."

  I manage to nod.

  She looks at me and tilts her head. "Do you have anything you'd like to say? You've been awfully quiet."

  Jayle butts in, "Come on, give us your thoughts!"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Um..." I look around again, as if searching for my words. The castle is huge, and some might even call it grand. But for me, it's large in a way that makes me feel like a gnat that wandered in. "The plant architecture is impressive."

  Alcina beams, her professional attitude falling away for just a moment. "Our mages are responsible for that. My grandfather designed this entire section of the palace." She waves a claw. "Right now, I'm building a tower on the east side that will become our new bathhouse. I'm experimenting with redwood!"

  "Sounds lovely."

  As soon as it left, Alcina's professionality returns, and the tour resumes. We continue down the hallway, passing rooms and navigating forks, everything large enough for a full-size dragon.

  Guards and servants pass us, speaking to one another in draconic, the native tongue of this land. Most are in their small forms, which I find odd, though a couple in dragon form emerge from rooms and hallways. When they see us, they quickly transform, then bow before scurrying away.

  "Looks like we have some slackers," Jayle comments.

  I give him a questioning look.

  He covers his mouth. "I-I mean, everything's normal here! We definitely stay in this form all the time, yes."

  Alcina sighs and turns to me. "The past few times we've brought a human, our queen has instructed us to stay in our bipedal forms to help them feel more comfortable. It seems not everyone expected another so soon."

  I look down. So, I'm not the first human who has volunteered. I wonder briefly about the others. What they were like, where they were from, what got them sent home, then I shut down the thought before I can ruminate. "S-she didn't have to do that. Being around dragons doesn't bother me at all." There's only a small chance I'll get stepped on, or flicked by a stray tail, or mistaken for an animal and eaten.

  Has a dragon ever eaten a human? I'd better not ask, or even think too much about that.

  "Well, she is a bit of an overachiever," Jayle says. "But that's okay. It makes her an excellent queen."

  The hallway stops at a grand door. It's formed out of wood and attached to the twisting trunks by thick metal hinges. Guards are stationed on each end. I stare at the mural carved into it. It depicts two different monster species, some from the forest and some from the sea. Two monsters with crowns meet at the center. Their heads are elegantly bent, snouts touching and eyes closed.

  "Here is the throne room," Alcina explains. "She should be in here. Are you ready?"

  I realize I've been staring at the mural for a long time now, and they're both looking at me. "I suppose."

  "Why are you still carrying that?" Jayle grabs my suitcase. "You should have nothing in your hands when you enter. That way she can bound elegantly into your arms!"

  "Jayle, you are being most inappropriate," Alcina scolds. "Please ignore him." She looks at me again. "Now, I present to you, our wonderful Queen Lantana."

  Alcina pushes the door open.

  A scroll crunches beneath her foot, and she pauses. I peer past her, trying to look in. There's a massive throne in the back of the room adorned with flowers and built from living wood, but nobody sits on it. The ground must be made of stone, but I can't tell because the floor is completely covered in paper. There are scrolls, books, and documents of all kinds. Some are human sized, but others are taller than me and large enough to fit in a dragon's claw.

  I catch a flash of gray somewhere in the back. "Just a moment!" A voice calls. "Oh dear, where did I put—? Was it here?" I hear papers shuffling. "No, no, no! Misplaced again?! Skies above..."

  "Perhaps this is a bad time." Alcina looks at me apologetically. "My Queen? We have arrived."

  The shuffling stops. "WHAT?" her voice booms across the room, and I can't help but flinch. Is she angry? Or just surprised?

  Alcina steps aside, revealing me, and revealing her. The Queen stands in the back of the room in her dragon form, a scroll in each claw. Unlike any of the browns and blacks I've seen from dragons so far, her fur is a shining silver. And rather than delicate antlers, she has a pair of cobalt blue horns, one of which has another scroll impaled on it. A small silver crown sits on her head among her spines, nearly lost in her reflective fur.

  Jayle steps forward, grimacing at the mess. "We had the throne room cleaned when we left! What happened? Did you summon a hurricane?"

  "I—I'm so sorry!" The Queen throws down her scrolls. Instantly, she begins to shrink, and the scroll stuck on her horn goes fluttering to the floor. She paces toward us, then stops a few feet short. "I thought I had more time. You're so early!"

  Her eyes lock with mine. The first thing I notice is how tall she is. Even compared to the other dragons, which are only a little taller than I am, she seems huge. She must be at least seven feet.

  Her ears and tail retain their silver fur, though her skin is muted and gray, like fall clouds just before rain. She keeps her blue horns, which stand out against her long and wavy hair. Her clothes are far from fancy, a simple blue tunic and dark pants.

  So, this is her. This is who I need to marry.

  Jayle breaks the silence. "Well, this one couldn't wait to meet you! Isn't that right?" He nudges me.

  "Ah...um...yes...your majesty..." I can't quite hold her gaze, and I look away. Her piercing blue eyes still stay in my mind. The Queen is undeniably beautiful, bar the dragon qualities I don't know how to feel about yet. My awkwardness comes from more than just being intimidated.

  She puts her claws together. "Well, I apologize for the mess. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Lantana. What's yours?"

  "Ashura."

  "What a lovely name!" She places her claws behind her back professionally, yet her tail whips behind her. The Queen bows. "It is an honor to have you here, my prince."

  "It's an honor to be here," I parrot. Desperately, I try to gauge the tone of her voice. Is she friendly? Kind? Expectant?

  She stands up straight again. "I know what this calls for! Jayle, ready the cooks. We're having a feast! And make sure they prepare plenty of food a human can eat this time."

  He salutes, "On it, My Queen," then dashes down the hall.

  "A feast?" I look up at her. Has she done this for every human? "Oh, you really don't have to."

  "But I want to," she counters. "I like feasts!" She leans down to my eye level and tilts her head. "Or would you rather celebrate in a quiet manner? I'm terribly sorry, I've gotten ahead of myself. I can call it off if you'd like."

  "No, no. It's fine." I wave my hand. "I just wasn't sure my presence really warranted this."

  "Of course it does! If all goes according to plan, we are to be married, after all."

  "But what if you decide you don't like me?" I cringe at my words. What am I doing? I should agree with everything she says! She can't send me home, not like the other humans.

  She tilts her head, processing my words. Then, she grins. "Well, a feast is worth it by itself, isn't it? Besides, this is how we get to know one another. I can't decide I don't like you if I don't know you." She passes by me, and I back away. "Until the feast is ready, we'll show you to your room. Come along, Alcina."

  Alcina had picked up one of the books from the ground and begun skimming it. She drops it and follows us, grabbing my suitcase.

  In draconic, Alcina asks, "Are you sure we should leave Jayle in charge of the feast?"

  In Suthic, the language from my castle and the one everyone's addressed me by so far, The Queen responds, "Jayle will do splendid, I'm sure!" Her accent is thick. She must be trying to correct Alcina for speaking the "non-human" language around me. I'm not sure anyone realizes I can understand draconic.

  I don't really want to correct them.