32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Finley

F lying on a dragon's back is much better than flying in their claws. Not sure why that's the thing I'm fixated on as we soar over the water toward what I've been told is the Temple of Gold, but it really is better. Almost enjoyable.

Maybe I'm still in shock.

Last night, after the Queen answered the bare minimum of my questions—the most surprising being that Cyrus is in fact a dragon, something I'm still trying to decide if I believe—she locked me in a room and told me to sleep.

Of course, sleep was the last thing on my mind. Escape and panic came way before exhaustion. There were no windows in the room and only one door, locked and guarded. Not a lot of options, which meant lots of time for ruminating. I oscillated through a range of anger, fear, confusion, and denial before I finally fell asleep on the floor .

This morning, all I feel is numb.

After watching Kyro and the Queen's guards shift into dragons, I couldn't hold on to my doubt, and I didn't have the energy to care. Now, I'm on Kyro's back—his dragon back—as he flies out over the ocean past the Statue of Liberty.

"Where are we going?" I yell, hoping the Queen, whose name I still haven't gotten, can hear me over the wind.

She's riding on the back of one of the other dragons, wearing a summery white dress that I would ask to borrow if one of my friends wore it. Her red hair is loose, and she looks a lot more relaxed than I'm sure I do.

"Your niece's naming ceremony," she calls back, somehow sounding regal even when shouting.

"Niece?" Jess hadn't told me the sex of the baby, and here I am finding it out from an enemy. Though I can't say the Queen has treated me particularly poorly, apart from that first threat to kill me.

A small island juts out of the water, and steep cliffs welcome us coldly. In the center, there's a building like a sandstone temple. Definitely don't remember this being on any map I've ever seen. It must be magically warded or some shit. Fuck, I can't believe how quickly I'm buying into all this and already assuming magic must exist since dragons do .

When we land, the men shift back into their human forms, naked now. I avert my eyes, but within moments they've dressed in loose, white linen pants someone must have been carrying.

In front of the temple, four people wait for us, Midas, his grandmother, Jethro, and Cyrus. Our eyes meet and hold. A shaky breath leaves me as relief floods my chest. I want to run to him, but when I take a step forward, Kyro is there, throwing his arm in front of me to keep me where we stand at the top of the cliffs.

"Are you okay?" Cyrus asks, voice tight. I can see every muscle straining toward me, but he doesn't move.

"She's fine," the Queen replies before I can say anything.

I give a quick nod to let Cyrus know it's the truth. His shoulders only marginally relax. If I hadn't spent so much time with him, I might not have noticed.

"Congratulations on the birth of your daughter, Midas Ra." The Queen doesn't bow or anything, but there's a slight dip of her chin that seems almost respectful.

His gaze is fierce. I'm surprised she doesn't quiver under it. I'm unnerved, and I'm his family.

"What do you want, Adrianna? "

Huh, guess that's her name. For some reason I expected something more surprising or unique.

"You know what I want, Midas."

"You want to steal the city from us." His chest inflates as he steps forward and puffs smoke from his nose. Huh, that's new. Or at least, I haven't seen him do that before. Dragon. Right. Still wrapping my mind around that.

"I want to do business in New York," Adrianna answers, calm as ever. "I don't desire to take anything from you. I'm not my parents."

"Then why kidnap an innocent?"

"Didn't think she was so innocent." Even her shrug is elegant. "And I needed a bargaining chip. A way to get you to meet with me to discuss new terms of the treaty, since you've been refusing."

A man steps out of the temple and whispers something to Midas.

"It's time," Midas says. "Hand her over. We'll discuss a new treaty after the ceremony."

"I don't think so." The Queen loops her arm around mine. "I've grown rather fond of her, and I don't want you reneging on our agreement. "

"How dare you imply—"

Cyrus puts a hand on his brother's shoulder to stop him. "We'll swear an oath on the goddess."

"In blood?"

Cyrus nods. "I swear on the goddess and my blood. We will meet with you after the naming ceremony." He pauses and his eyes meet mine. "And my trial."

Shit, they're really putting him on trial? I'm not sure what the consequences typically are for fooling around with someone before they're twenty-three, but the whole thing still feels ridiculous.

The Queen seems placated by Cyrus's vow and walks forward, bringing me with her. Her nails transform to claws, and quick as a breath, she uses one to draw blood from Cyrus's palm. I reach for him, and this time, no one stops me.

His arms wrap around me as mine wrap around him. It's like the first sip of coffee in the morning, or jumping in a cool pool on a hot day. It's relief and comfort and a brighter awareness than I had before. Like I was just trudging through, and now I'm fully awake.

Cyrus runs his hand up my back to grip my neck and pull me into a kiss, but before he can, Midas clears his throat, and my impossible dragon stops himself. He tucks me into his side and whispers "later" in a way that makes me shiver.

Midas leads us into the temple. The Queen and her representatives follow silently behind us. The space is wide, with tall ceilings held up by massive sandstone pillars. Clearly built for dragons, not just humans.

My gaze immediately snags on my sister. She stands on a dais in front of two thrones, holding a bundle in her arms.

"Jess!" I gasp, letting go of Cyrus and running to her.

She doesn't make it down the steps before I'm on her, throwing my arms around her while she holds the baby carefully between us.

"I'm so sorry." Tears choke her voice. "I should have told you."

"Yeah, you fucking should have. You're going to grovel and explain everything to me later, but right now, I want to see my niece." I smile down at the beautiful little girl in my sister's arms, running a hand over her fluff of soft hair. "She's perfect."

I've never been a baby person, but my niece might change my mind. She's got cute pouty red little lips and plump cheeks and the longest eyelashes I've ever seen. As she looks up at me, she makes a soft cooing noise that almost has me squealing .

"Is Cyrus really your mate?" Jess whispers, interrupting my moment.

"How the fuck should I know? I'm not a dragon."

"But you like him? Feel inexplicably drawn to him?"

"Y-yeah." I can't stop the blush from creeping up my cheeks. Her smile is knowing as she looks past me. I follow her gaze to find Cyrus and Midas watching us with soft expressions. I swallow back the well of emotion that threaten to spill out of me in fresh tears.

"Just because I might have found a dragon mate of my own doesn't mean you're off the hook for keeping this a secret. And…" My throat tightens, voice almost closing up. "Jess, I called you so many times."

"Oh, Fin." Her arms wrap around me in a tighter hug than before, the baby carefully cradled between us. "I'm so sorry. I was just so scared. And then, the birth… we had some complications, and afterwards we were so relieved we just—" Her voice cracks and I feel wet tears slip between our cheeks. "I wanted you to be there. I really did."

I'm not sure I would have believed her a few days ago, before I found out about all this, but I suddenly realize that Jess has had a lot more to deal with than I've ever imagined. She had her own battles she was fighting. Her distance wasn't a lack of care, it was a misguided attempt at protection. She's been carrying a lot more on her shoulders than I ever knew.

I pull back just enough to look her in the eyes. "It's okay. I believe you." I swipe the back of my hand over my wet cheeks. "You're still gonna need to explain some things to me though, because—"

"Ra'a," someone interrupts. I turn to see Cyrus's grandmother.

Hands on my hips, I glare daggers at her, but she just gives me a tiny nod, maintaining her stoic expression.

"The priests are ready," she says.

Jess gives my hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry I couldn't explain more before the naming ceremony. It's… probably going to be a bit of a shock."

"Eh, I've had so much shock in the last twenty-four hours I don't think you can make it any worse."

She studies me for a second and then steps away. Cyrus puts his arm around me and pulls me down the steps to stand just in front of the dais.

"Welcome, Court of Gold," Midas bellows.

Everyone in the room grows silent. It's the first time I've really noticed how crowded the space is. Men and women, all fucking beautiful of course, are standing in clusters around the large room. They're all wearing white, leaving me feeling out of place in the floral dress I wore to the ballet yesterday. Thanks to the gauzy fabric, it's not exactly wrinkled, but it's definitely worse for wear.

"It's my honor to welcome you to the naming ceremony of my firstborn." Midas's jaw ticks and he looks to Cyrus for a moment. Cyrus nods in a way that almost seems to say, go on. "And I extend a special welcome to our guests from the Silver Horde."

There's a bit of a bite to his tone. Quiet gasps come from a few people in the crowd as they look around and spot the Queen of the Silver Horde and her entourage at the back of the temple.

"I will now present to you proof that your Ra'ia is my heir."

"Ra'ia?" I wonder aloud, confused. Isn't that what Jethro calls me?

"It means princess," Cyrus whispers. "As our queen's sister, you are a princess of the Court of Gold, doubly as my mate, but right now, he's referring to your niece."

Princess . I hadn't thought of that before. It's gonna take some getting used to. What do princesses do? Are there responsibilities that go along with being mated to Cyrus that I don't know about ?

Midas takes the child from Jeslyn and unwraps the blanket around her. He holds her up to the crowd in a way that reminds me of when the monkey held up baby Simba in The Lion King. Sunlight shines through the slits in the wall and hits the baby, illuminating bright swirls of gold along her chest, down her round little belly, and across her upper thighs.

"You tattooed a baby!" I gasp and backhand Cyrus as if he had anything to do with it.

A few people glare at me before returning their attention to Midas and the child.

Cyrus chuckles in my ear. "No, my flame. It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark of sorts, given by the goddess to the royal line. Proof of legitimacy."

"Legitimacy? Archaic."

I can feel Cyrus's shrug against my back.

"The child is our Ra'ia." A man who seems to be a priest or something anoints the child's forehead. "Her name?"

Midas looks to his wife, who smiles and steps forward. "Her name is Athena."

A cheer goes up from the crowd, but it's quickly followed by Midas quieting everyone down.

"And now, I present proof that your Ra'a carried my child, that she is your true queen, and has a legitimate claim on the throne should anything happen to me or Athena."

Midas hands the baby to his grandmother, and steps behind Jeslyn. Her eyes flash to me for just a moment. There's a nervousness behind the look and something like an apology, but then her spine straightens and her attention lands on the crowd. At this moment, she looks exactly as I imagine a queen should.

With Midas's help, she shucks off the silk robe she's wearing and stands in front of the room, completely bare.

Okay, maybe I'm not completely un-shockable. My reserved sister undressing in front of a crowd of people is… mind-boggling. But then I see why. Intricate golden lines shimmer on her skin. They wrap her breasts and belly before vanishing between her legs.

The priest steps forward. "The queen is Ra'a indeed." He anoints Jeslyn and the crowd cheers again.

"More heirs!" someone yells teasingly from the back.

Midas's eyes darken and flame as he helps Jess back into her robe.

"Usually," Cyrus says, leaning close enough to whisper, "the party would begin now, but…"

"Cyrus and Finley," Midas calls. "Step forward."