40. Adrianna

40

ADRIANNA

" W hat in the holy fuck am I wearing?" The words tumble from my lips before I can even consider halting them, and the girl behind me chuckles, moving back a step as she takes in her handiwork.

"You look perfect," she muses, her smile growing with every word.

"I look nothing like me," I retort, running my fingers over the material that floats at my sides, and she snickers.

"You're about to meet the ethereal queen of the dragons; you're not supposed to," she states, her eyebrows raised, but it still does nothing to ease the fact that I'm dressed so…excessively.

"This seems…ridiculous," I grumble, avoiding her gaze, but she pulls at the lace tied at my back, making me stand taller. My eyes narrow, the warning clear, and she offers me a teasing salute before getting the hell out of here.

Looking at my reflection, I cringe. My long blonde curls are loose, but tamed, cascading over my shoulders. A far cry from the braids I'm used to. Fine pink material floats around me in layers, making me appear cute and angelic, while the silver heels encasing my feet feel like death traps sent from Hell.

I hate it. With every fiber of my being, I hate it, but she's right. I'm about to meet the queen on her territory as the apparent new ‘princess' and I guess I should probably look like one. I just have to remind myself to never come back here ever again because I'm only doing this once.

My cell phone vibrates on my nightstand, pulling me from my thoughts and away from the mirror with a sigh. The screen lights up and my eyes widen.

One hundred and two notifications.

That's ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as this dress, but it's up there.

The longer I leave it, the more messages there will be. Despite my better judgment, I relent, opening the group chat so I can prolong joining everyone for breakfast.

My eyes widen in a mixture of horror and disbelief as I run my thumb across the screen, scanning through the messages that await me.

Raiden: I still don't know why you left campus.

Kryll: I told you.

Raiden: Yeah, but I don't understand why we couldn't come with you.

Brody: There wasn't time. He's already told us this.

Raiden: I know, but I want Adrianna to see what we're dealing with.

Cassian: I'm muting you all.

I shake my head at Raiden's controlling nature.

Brody: Okay. It's been forever. When are you coming back?

Kryll: She's sleeping.

Raiden: A picture or I don't believe you.

Kryll: Don't be a creep.

Raiden: Please, I can do creepy if needed.

Brody: It's not needed. Honestly.

Cassian: I regret looking at this mess. I'm double muting your shit now.

Brody: Good luck with that.

A ghost of a smile touches the corner of my lips as I digest their version of chaos, even in text form, when my phone buzzes as a new message comes through.

Brody: Hey, Dagger. I see you in here. **Eyes emoji** **heart emoji** **eggplant emoji**

I roll my eyes, searching through the emojis before I hit send.

Adrianna: **middle finger emoji**

I tuck my cell phone in the top drawer of the nightstand before I hurry to the door. The quicker I get this over with, the quicker we'll be heading home and the sooner I'll be able to see them in person because the reality is…I miss them.

My nose scrunches at the thought, but it doesn't make it any less true, which only serves to unsettle me even more.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind, I focus on my surroundings and recall the directions I was given. Turn right at the end of the hall, take the second left, and the stairs will lead to the patio.

The halls are wide and tall, framed with stained glass windows looking out on one side, while pretty framed art lines the opposite wall. Even in my dress, I feel sorely under-dressed among the magnificence of it all.

I find the stairs a little too quickly for my liking, and as I descend, I find those gathered.

"And this must be Adrianna." My gaze latches onto the woman with her hand raised in my direction and I gulp. Her eyes are black, just like Kryll's, and her red hair is the same shade as his, cascading over her shoulders in a similar style to mine, but the main difference is the huge crown that sits on her head. A white gown bunches around her waist, the frilly sleeves making my gut clench in relief that I'm not wearing something of that size.

A tight smile touches my lips, but it eases as my gaze darts to Nora and my father, who are already seated at the table with her. When my eyes land on Kryll, a shy tilt to his lips warms my heart as he stands, dressed head to toe in a white suit.

Holy fuck.

I'm definitely in Heaven if he's casually looking like that.

His black ink looks darker against his tanned skin, beckoning me closer.

"It is," he breathes as I approach, answering his mother's introduction of my arrival, and it forces me to be present instead of tucked away in my head.

"It's lovely to meet you," the queen murmurs, eyes assessing me as she remains seated.

Kryll pulls my chair out, across from my father and Nora, as I clear my throat. "You too."

It's not a lie, it's nice to meet her, it's just awkward as fuck.

"I hope my son has been a gracious host," she states as I take my seat.

"Uh—"

Kryll chuckles, quickly interrupting my stumbling as he drapes an arm around the back of my chair. "She's kidding, but of course I am," he insists, and I attempt to take a deep breath. In the process, my gaze snags back to Nora and my father, who I find dressed casually. She's literally wearing jeans and a tee with a black cardigan while I'm dressed like…this.

As the queen turns to a server, murmuring for them to bring drinks and food, my eyes narrow on my sister.

"Why aren't you dressed like this?" I whisper shout, my eyebrows pinched with a slight hint of irritation, and she grins.

"What's wrong, dear?" the queen interrupts, pulling my gaze to hers, and I gulp.

"Nothing," I quickly insist as she raises her eyebrows at me, and I feel Kryll's hand squeeze around my shoulder. It's not with an unspoken warning, though; it's filled with reassurance.

I sigh, leaning into his touch as I find the right words to speak the truth as politely as possible, or as politely as possible for me, at least. "This place is beautiful, stunning even, but the attire, not so much." My nose wrinkles, continuing to display my discomfort, and a smile spreads wide across the queen's face.

She snaps her fingers, and in a blink, the glitz and glamor disappear, the dresses, the suits, everything. One blink, and I'm wearing jeans and a fitted white t-shirt, with a charcoal-gray hoodie in my lap. Kryll's white suit is gone and he's now relaxed in his seat in a black tracksuit. The queen, however, still manages to look just as regal in a pair of fitted pants and striped silk shirt.

"Thank goodness. It's the law to invite guests under such pretenses, but it's fake as shit if you ask me," the queen states, a relaxed glimmer in her eyes. Nora chuckles at her choice of words while Kryll swipes a hand down his face.

"Mom."

"What? It is," she insists with a nod.

"I like you," I blurt, my cheeks heating under her gaze, and I quickly reach for the glass of water the server brings.

"I like you too. It's Meredith, by the way. If you even think of me as the queen and not Meredith, then my personality will shrivel up and die, and we can't have that now, can we?" She winks, and I nod.

"Thank you, Meredith."

"You're welcome. But I guess this meeting is all down to my son, who seems to like you even more than I do," she muses, and if I thought it was impossible for my cheeks to grow any hotter, I was wrong.

I make use of the glass of water again, hiding my face behind it as I down half of it in one go.

"This is fun. I never get to see my sister embarrassed," Nora snickers, earning a glare from me, but she does nothing to shy away from it.

"Well, I don't mean to bring the tone down, dear, but I would really like to understand what happened. How were you harmed?"

I wet my suddenly dry lips as I place the glass on the table. Kryll's hand moves from my shoulder to my lap as he opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say a word, his mother lifts her hand, pausing him.

"I already know what you said, but I want to hear her account of the events. You played your heroic role, son," she says with a dramatic and playful eye roll as she taps him on the shoulder. "But she felt the pain, and with that crinkle in her brows, I'd say it wasn't just physical."

Wow.

That's some assessment.

I clear my throat, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind my ear. "My mother appeared," I admit, and she nods.

"Ah, that ghastly bitch." I gape at her as my father chuckles and Kryll splutters on the water at his lips. "I never liked her, August; what did I say to you? Tell her." She waves her hand in my direction with a nod as my father shakes his head.

His eyes land on mine, a new-found softness dancing in his pools as humor crinkles the corners of his gaze. "She said…that's one ghastly bitch," he repeats, making even Nora snort a laugh at the statement, but the chuckles quickly die off.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that. She is your mother, and that was in bad taste. I?—"

I wave my hand and shake my head. "Don't apologize. I just, well, she just…I don't even know."

"It's okay, dear. Take your time."

Kryll's hand tightens on my hold, offering me the strength I didn't know I needed.

"She seemed troubled, pained, and filled with regret," I state with a shrug. "But who knows if that's true when she did such a fine job of pretending so many years ago," I add, earning a hum from Meredith.

"Did she seem startled by Kenner's arrival?" she asks, and I tilt my head.

"Yes, but again…"

"Good acting," she finishes when my words trail off, and I nod.

I don't know why, but I can't bring myself to look at my father as I speak of my mother. Things are different now, but once upon a time, he loved her. Before all the lies, deceit, and pain, there was love.

"Is this a reunion without me?" I startle at the new voice, but I take a quick glance over my shoulder to find Professor Tora striding toward us.

His arrival disburses the awkward pain that lingers along my skin, and I'm thankful for it.

"Beau," Kryll murmurs as Meredith stands.

"If it isn't my terrible son," she says with joy, and he scoffs.

"Don't wound me," he says with a pout, placing a hand against his chest before hugging his mother tight. She presses a kiss to his cheek before he steps back, running a hand through Kryll's hair, tousling the ends in an attempt to irritate him. "What's up, shithead?"

"Fuck off, Beau," Kryll grumbles with a grin as a server brings a chair from nowhere and places it between Meredith at the end of the table and Kryll beside me.

Beau ignores him, glancing around his brother to settle his eyes on me. I can sense the grin before it comes. "Did he tell you about the prince thing before or after?—"

"Stop, Beau," Kryll blurts, planting a hand over his brother's mouth as Nora laughs.

Beau waggles his brows, a complete contrast to the man we see at the academy. The moment Kryll releases his hold, Beau continues to push, despite my father and his mother being present. "Well?"

"After," I grumble when I realize he's not going to stop, and he scoffs.

"Smart, man. Real smart." Beau shakes his head, the teasing easing as he meets my father's stare. "It's good to see you, August. And Nora, causing any more trouble?"

"Trouble?" I parrot, sitting forward in my seat as my eyes narrow on my sister.

"Ignore him. He thinks he knows everything, but he forgets that he's an uptight asshole who believes breathing out of sync with him is chaos enough," she retorts, making Meredith's head snap back with a laugh as my father chokes on his breath.

"Nora," my father warns, but she shrugs.

Beau rolls his eyes at my sister, the irritation clear as he rounds his stare back to Kryll. "I'd like to say this is a visit sent with love, but alas, it's not."

"How so?" Kryll asks, his thumb trailing patterns on my thigh as my spine stiffens and I sit taller in my seat.

"I'm here for you, and you," Beau states, pointing between Kryll and me as the humor dissolves and the guy I'm familiar with from the academy sits in the same seat.

"Why?" I dare ask, already bracing for the answer.

"Word got around that a new ethereal princess has been declared."

"It did not," Kryll grunts, his nostrils flaring as he glances at his mother, but she lifts her hands in surrender.

"Did too," Beau retorts like they're both little kids, but I settle on the realization.

"Bozzelli sent you."

"Ding ding ding," he sings, all traces of humor completely gone now.

"I'm guessing her joy is at zero?" I confirm before tugging the hoodie from my lap over my head.

"Less, if that's even possible," he answers, and I sigh.

Turning to Kryll with my eyebrows bunched in confusion, his eyes find mine. "I thought you said it was a secret?" I murmur, and his grip on my thigh tightens as a soft smile touches his lips.

"The fact that I'm a dragon and my mother is who she is isn't the secret, Princess," he explains, and I nod in understanding.

"No, just the fact that he's rare as fuck. Lucky bastard," Beau states with a slight smirk before he stands, losing the teasing as he does.

"Beau," Kryll bites with a warning that feels as though it's been muttered a hundred times before.

"What? You love it," Beau retorts with a raised eyebrow, and Kryll snickers.

"You're right. I do."

Meredith stares at them with hearts in her eyes, a sense of adoration that I feel when I stare at my father. Kryll is loved. Wholeheartedly, for the right reasons, and not because they want to use him.

Not like Brody, Cassian, and Raiden's families. There always seems to be a task for them to complete at the hands of their parents.

The thought of them, and the mention of Bozzelli, has me antsy to get out of here.

Standing, Kryll's hand slips from my thigh, but he quickly laces our fingers together.

"I guess it's time to face the music," I state, and Meredith's eyes narrow.

"There should be no music to face. I will?—"

I wave her off with a tight smile and a shake of my head. As nice as it would be for Bozzelli's bullshit to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible, that's not how this works, and I know it. Instead of leaning into her aid, I take a deep breath, taking a moment to meet the eyes of everyone at the table as I savor the harmony of this moment before the chaos begins.

"Thank you, but truly, if we want to win their game, we have to be in the thick of it and playing along."