Chapter 3

Chapter Three

SIYANA

“Will you just keep your head straight for one more second!” the fiery redhead I claimed as my best friend growled, stabbing me in the skull with a hairpin in the process.

“Ow, Tillie!” I exclaimed, sending her a withering look in the mirror in front of us. “Why do you have to be so cruel to my hair?”

As the second person I considered a friend and confidant, she’d always been privy to the knowledge of my training with Brenson, encouraging me on the days I had wanted to give up in the beginning. So I knew her mood wasn’t due to my morning training session.

Her hazel eyes rolled in response to my pouting as she stabbed me with another pin, cinching a long strand into place atop my head. “Oh shut it, Sia. You didn’t flinch when I cleaned off and bandaged your wound from this morning, yet a hair pin will be your demise?”

I grumbled about that being entirely different and she talked right over me.

“It’s your fault that we didn’t have time to wash and dry your hair properly. I’m having to work magic on your messy waves this morning! I mean, seriously, what did you expect when you spent your time with Mira this morning?”

There it was.

I tried to bite my lip to keep my shit-eating grin to myself but failed when she narrowed her eyes at me in the reflection. It was just too much fun to rile her.

“Do you have something you’d like to say to me, Sia?” she asked in a saccharine sweet voice, holding a pin in the air.

I mimed closing my mouth and throwing out the key, shaking my head.

Stab.

I winced. Well if she wasn’t going to drop it, neither was I.

“I just find it funny,” I mused, reaching for my cup of tea resting on the vanity. “I’ve never seen this jealous side of you.”

She leaned down to inspect her work in the mirror, picking at a few strands to give them more volume. “I told you, I’m not jealous, I just don’t know how someone managed to convince you to become your lady-in-waiting in record time, when your entire life you’ve denied the other candidates presented to you.”

I blew on the piping-hot liquid, it steaming as I raised the cup to my lips. My eyebrows rose just before I whisper-sang, “Jealousssssss.”

I’d already made it abundantly clear that Mira hadn’t asked for the job, therefore she didn’t convince me of anything. I’d freely offered the position. Harping on that fact was only going to start our argument back up, though, so I didn’t bother correcting her. In the end, all she was concerned about was my safety and being used by someone, so I couldn’t begrudge her that. I would have done the exact same as her if the situation were somehow reversed.

I let out a huff. I actually would have been an absolute menace in comparison.

Although Tillie was stuck with me by blood as my cousin, I’d claimed her soul in this life and the next. I could never replace her, but it was amusing to see her hackles rising when I filled her in on Mira and the young woman’s new appointment.

“Don’t you have a meeting to get to?” she countered with a raise of her eyebrow as she stood to her full height, popping a hand on her hip.

My mood dipped instantly. I’d mulled it over every which way while in the tub and had come to the conclusion that the meeting had to be in regards to the talk of war with the undine. There was nothing else of importance that would garner such discretion. Had my father found allies from the other kingdoms? It seemed unlikely, so I pushed away the hope that threatened to blossom in my chest.

“I don’t like being kept in the dark and walking into something I’m not prepared for,” I murmured, putting my tea down as I rose to get dressed. “Am I overthinking this?”

As she grabbed the soft blue gown laid out for me, I slipped off my robe. Her head shook as she approached and I raised my arms to assist.

“It’s unsettling,” she agreed, tossing the dress over my head. “If it is concerning a war, it could just be to protect whoever is offering us assistance as an ally?”

My lips thinned as I pondered her words, letting her fasten the dress in place in silence. It was a possibility, but there was peace on the continent with all the other kingdoms right now. Though skirmishes with their own dragons were always handled without assistance from others, none had faced what we had for the past twenty-seven years. A complete dissolution of an alliance between human and undine, due to the drackya.

The last I’d heard of there being an issue in another kingdom was last month, in regards to the Salarya territory to the south of us. An issue with the line of succession with their ember dragons was causing some civil unrest. The human council was being called upon to help them settle the matter, which was unheard of here, where the humans and dragons had their own governing rulers, with no crossover.

From what I gathered in our texts and my political studies, each of the kingdoms in Edath had an entirely different relationship with their dragons. In Salarya, the humans and dragons supposedly coexisted–and also referred to the embers as dragons, no matter if they were drackya or full-blooded dragons.

I suppose that’s exactly why I was so curious about our continent as a whole. Each kingdom and their dragons had such unique ways of life together, and being forever sequestered to Andrathya as the precious princess, I knew I’d never have the chance to satisfy that thirst for exploration.

A knock came at my door a few minutes later as Tillie and I exchanged a hug.

“Are you ready, Princess?” a guard called, reminding me just how bizarre the situation today was. I’d never needed a guarded escort within our own castle walls.

Who was here that I needed protection from? Distrust for the situation was understandable, but why did mine feel so deep-seated?

Tillie squeezed my shoulders as she took a step back and gave me a once over. “Whatever is waiting for you in that room, they have no clue what’s coming for them. Remember exactly who you are, Sia.”

Her words chased away the tingling bundles of anxiety in my stomach. I nodded at her and raised my chin, letting my shoulders fall back.

Slipping my dagger into the sheath wrapped around my thigh before I headed to the door, a blanket of comfort washed over me as the familiar coolness of the hilt pressed into my skin.

I dared someone to threaten me or my kingdom.

The walk down to the council room was quick, not allowing me the time to second guess the confidence I wore like a suit of armor. As the guards stationed at the door gave me a nod of greeting and opened the doors, I blew out a breath.

“Announcing Princess Siyana of Andrathya,” the guard on my left called out to the room, “heir to the throne.”

The council room was filled with the scent of freshly polished mahogany, the lingering smell of incense and candles, and the subtle hint of expensive cologne and leather from the men's attire.

Countless men gathered around the long table, standing to their feet with my arrival, but one pair of eyes drew me in amongst the sea of the rest.

Eyes like navy blue flames, radiating with a dangerous magic that ensnared my very being. But it wasn't just the shimmering color that held me captive—it was the left pupil, slitted like a serpent's and the skin encircled by shimmering, silver dragon scales that trailed from his temple to the inside of his nose. Strands of his wavy white hair were tucked behind his ear in a lazy attempt, considering they were too short to stay in place as his head tilted. A slender scar ran from the top of his face and over his eyelid, ending at the top of his cheekbone. I noted more silver scales running the length of his neck and peeking out on his collarbone.

There was no hiding exactly what he was. A royal drackya, with his curse on display.

It was all true. The curse was true.

His lips curved into a smirk as my gaze traveled down, igniting a fierce anger within me at his dismissive response to my open scrutiny. My nostrils flared with irritation as I tore my eyes away from him and sought out my father at the head of the table, though not before taking in every detail of the infuriatingly handsome man. His sharp jawline and towering stature were no surprise, considering he could transform into a massive dragon at will—yet it still left me breathless and on edge.

Considering his looks, I placed him to not be much older than myself. He was likely their prince, if I had to guess.

I must not have been hiding my agitation well, for when my eyes locked onto my father’s brown ones, they all but screamed ‘ behave .’

It took every ounce of strength and patience that I could conjure to not tell him to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.

How dare he blindside me like this?

There was an open seat on his right that I presumed was for me as I made my way over. He pulled it out for me to sit, grazing my cheek with his lips in a quick greeting before whispering into my ear, “I have indulged your desire to wield a blade and never forced you into a marriage proposal, but today I will be asking you to do your duty for this kingdom, Siyana. Do not let us down.”

I could have sworn the drackya prince let loose a breath of ice with the way my blood instantly chilled from my father’s words.

Giving me no time to react, he squeezed my shoulder, turning me toward the rest of the room that waited for me to sit. Giving the room a small curtsey, I inclined my head. “Please be seated,” I called out, ensuring my voice was strong and loud, before taking my own seat.

Pain lanced through the inside of my cheeks as I bit down on the tender flesh to keep myself from demanding answers here and now. I barely recognized the warning in my father’s tone. Despite not being as progressive as I wanted him to be, he’d shown me small bouts of kindness growing up. I believed he loved me in the way he could, as someone struggling to be both a ruler and father in one. Apparently, he’d just been waiting to hold those things over my head until it suited him.

The betrayal from that realization cut deeply, and I wished my mother was in attendance so that I could see if it extended to her as well. She wasn’t one to dabble in politics willingly and often told me she didn’t understand my desire to be involved. We might have looked identical with our tanned skin, dark waves that fell to our hips, and general stature, but we couldn’t have differed more in our minds and hearts.

I felt a gaze burning into the side of my face, from my father’s left, as everyone took their seats, but I refused to meet his eyes. I had assumed this meeting would likely entail discussing the situation with the dragons, but I’d never dreamed they would ever actually be at this meeting.

It all made sense now, why my father had kept the meeting entirely private. Our people would be furious to know we welcomed the dragons into our walls willingly.

I focused on the weight of my dagger against my leg to ground me and stop my hands from trembling with rage as I folded them in my lap.

“Thank you all for coming today on such short notice,” my father began, staying on his feet as he addressed the room with his booming voice. “The past twenty-seven years have been hard for both of our peoples, and it is time that we put our struggles behind us, in order to forge a path to peace and prosperity for the whole of Andrathya.”

Hard on our people? That’s what we were going to call the abduction and likely murder of our citizens at the hands of the undine drackya? An interesting choice of words that I wouldn’t have personally used, but here we were.

I kept my face blank as I digested his statement, not wanting to give anything away with our enemy at his side. Perhaps my father was setting a trap for them, luring them into a false sense of security with the promise of a treaty, to keep them unaware before we attacked them.

“King Takkar, please,” my father said, urging the undine drackya I assumed to be their prince to stand and take over the conversation.

King.

My spine stiffened at the distinction. He seemed far too young to be the king. What I read of their current political structure was apparently outdated, because he looked nothing like the king I’d read about, who I now realized must have been his father.

Still, I refused to look at him as his chair screeched against the floor before he stood. He’d done nothing to earn that respect from me.

My father elbowed me lightly as he sat down, jostling me slightly, forcing me to incline my head just enough to appear like I might be giving the dragon any of my attention.

“I look forward to ending the senseless struggles of both of our peoples through this marriage.”

His words sent my heart into overdrive, and I felt as if I was going to collapse at the sudden rush of blood to my head.

I couldn’t have heard him right, being distracted by the deep timber of his voice.

His calculated gaze shifted to settle on my face before he smiled and announced, “I know I can speak for Princess Siyana, and myself, when I say that we will work dilligently toward a new path forward.”

How dare he.

The tips of my fingers dug into my thighs, through the fabric of my dress. “The curse will be our number one priority, and we will not stop until we find a way to lift it and restore the life the generations before us speak of with fondness.”

My blood boiled beneath the surface, and I couldn’t stop myself from surging to my feet and staring him down as my hands flattened against the table.

I didn’t recognize the cold, venomous tone of my voice as I looked him in the eyes and seethed, “You most definitely cannot speak for me.”

“Siyana, sit down this instance!” my father roared as he attempted to pull me down by the sleeve of my dress.

The fabric ripped at the force in which I tugged my arm out of his grasp. My burning gaze swiveled to focus on the man who was shipping me off to our enemies, without even having the decency to discuss it with me beforehand.

Never before had I realized just how little my voice, wants, and needs mattered to my father. The bar had been low in my mind, but to be happily handed over to the beasts that have historically terrorized us, for the off chance that it may eventually bring peace?

My head shook of its own accord as a dark laugh bubbled out of me. “Is this an order from my king, or my father?”

His lips thinned, and for the briefest of moments, I thought I saw a flicker of shame or remorse in his gaze, but then it was gone. “Both.”

The room was completely silent as I turned to look at the beast my body had been promised to. I found him studying me with open curiosity as I asked, “And what if I refuse?”

A chuff came from him, sounding almost as if his beast was trying to laugh from within. His broad shoulders shrugged, his voice tinged with amusement as he answered, “You can’t. The marriage certificate was already signed by myself and your father, prior to your arrival.”

It was like a bag of stones had been tossed into my gut.

The fight bled out of me and my eyes fell to the table as I struggled to wrap my mind around his words. Marriage certificate. Signed.

My eyes drifted back up toward the monster my fate was now tied to, and the predatory grin that I found on his face had my blood icing over.

“Hello, wife.”