"You slept in Cindy's room."
"Exactly."
He narrowed his eyes. "Did something happen with the dragon?"
"No."
"That no had a bra on backwards. Eat your roll."
Before he could betray me further, Julius entered with a black scroll sealed in red wax. My stomach dropped. Nothing good came in black scrolls.
"Lady Belinda," he said.
"I already hate whatever that is."
"Understandable." He broke the seal. "By council authority, witnessed by the major houses, the claimed bride of Lord Malric shall prepare the oath cake for the formal marriage ceremony."
I blinked. Then I laughed. Not because it was funny. Because my last nerve had snapped and started doing comedy.
"I'm sorry," I said. "They want me to bake my own wedding cake?"
"Oath cake," Julius corrected.
"Oh, forgive me. They want me to cater my own magical dragon marriage that I accidentally entered because your lord paid for a cake with cursed pocket change?"
Melon whispered, "Technically, antique pocket change."
I pointed at him without looking. "Not now."
Julius continued carefully. "It is tradition."
"Tradition can kiss my ass."
A shadow filled the doorway. I did not look. I knew that heat. Melrick. My body knew too, a traitorous little disaster that it was. Every nerve in me sat up and started taking notes.
"Who ordered this?" Melrick asked. His voice was calm. That meant someone was near death.
Julius glanced at him. "The council accepted a petition from Ember House."
Sheba. Of course.
I finally looked at Melrick by accident. Bad idea. He stood in black, hair loose around his shoulders, scale markings dark along his face, gold eyes fixed on me like he could smell every thought I wished he could not. Maybe he could. Dragons were rude like that.
I looked back at Julius. "So, this is an insult?"
"It is meant as one," Julius said.
Melrick stepped forward. "It will [clears throat] be refused."
"No," I said. He stopped. Everybody stopped. Even Derek paused mid-chew.
I took the scroll from Julius and read the lines again. Bride. Prepare. Oath cake. Formal ceremony. Witnessed by all clans. Something shifted in my head. Wait.
"Julius," I said slowly, "explain this to me like I'm not from Murder Lizard Society."
He adjusted his cuffs. "Food at an oath ceremony is not decorative. It is witness. Those who eat from the bride's hand acknowledge the union. Refusal is a public insult. Acceptance is public recognition."
My anger cooled into something sharper. "So, if I make this cake... they must eat it or declare opposition openly. And if they eat it... they recognize your place at Lord Malric's side before the final oath."
Sheba had tried to shove an apron on me. The stupid woman had handed me a weapon. I smiled. Derek leaned away from me.
"I know that smile."
Cindy, entering late with a robe over her clothes, stopped at the door. "That is the Sweet Mercy Lawsuit smile."
Malric watched me with interest now. I set the scroll on the table.
"Fine. I'll make the cake."
"My queen," Malric said, "you do not have to."
"I know." I met his eyes for half a second, regretted it, and looked away. "That's why I'm doing it."
His gaze sharpened. Julius's mouth curved.
"You understand."
"Oh, I understand." I tapped the scroll. "If they're going to make me queen, they're going to taste my work."
Cindy sat down hard. "Now, that sounded expensive."
"It will [snorts] be." I turned to Julius. "I want a contract. Royal supplier terms. Sweet Mercy gets paid in modern money, not cursed marriage coins."
Malric's brows lowered. "The coin was not cursed."
"It proposed without consent. It was cursed adjacent."
Derek nodded solemnly. "Cursed adjacent is valid."
I continued. "My workers get hazard pay. My bakery repairs continue. Fireproof glass, reinforced kitchen, dragon-safe ventilation. No council inspectors in my workspace unless I approve them. No raw meat near my mixers. No live ingredients. If anything screams, it is not going in my cake."
Julius wrote quickly. "Reasonable."
Malachi looked offended. "I would have granted all of this."
"I know, but now they will."
His expression shifted. Pride again. Dangerous on him. Sexy, too, unfortunately. I stood before my body could make more bad decisions.
"I need my bakery."
"It is not fully repaired," Malachi said.
"Then I need a kitchen."
"You may use the royal kitchens."
I pictured dragon chefs handing me a bleeding animal and calling it flavor. "No."