Page 54 of The Rose in the Shadows

“Miss Moore, do come in.” He greeted me as I entered and automatically dipped in the customary curtsy.

The Dragon’s private office stood in sharp contrast to the rest of the castle’s light and golden design. Dark tapestries covered the windows so that the only light was the dim sparks of the fire torches hung on the walls. He sat behind an enormous mahogany desk, feet kicked up, a chilled glass of whiskey waiting at his side.

“Sit,” he commanded, pointing to the velvet couch on the far side of the room. “Nice of you to dress up for the occasion.”

I felt his eyes on my back as I crossed the room and sat, tucking my ankles politely. I expected he was used to women wearing their finest fashions to see him, with jewels dripping over handsomely exposed breasts. But I had purposely picked my most simple gown to wear today. A dress with a high enough neckline to hide the Mark on my chest that he so loved to see. His eyes narrowed over the space where it rested, and he smirked, likely guessing the reasoning for my choice.

“You made quite the splash last night,” he commented, pulling up a stack of papers and perusing through them.

“Did I?”

I suspected I knew exactly why he had called for this little meeting.

He grunted, folding the papers and sitting them in front of himself on the desk. “Four marriage proposals already.”

“And here I thought I would have been present for those.”

The Dragon grinned, lifting an eyebrow. The movement made the resemblance between him and Clay uncomfortably obvious. “That’s a formality, of course. But, I assure you, once I decide on the best match, we’ll arrange for an extravagant public proposal.”

Just the kind of thing I wouldn’t enjoy. Just the sort of thing heknewI wouldn’t want.

“And have you?” I asked hesitantly, voice betraying my fear. “Decided on a match, that is. I presume that’s why I’m here.”

He stood, crossing the room in three long strides to look at the world maps plastered across the wall. Then, as he folded his hands behind his back, he jerked his head silently for me to join him. Once I had, he placed his finger on the easternmost coast of the deserts of Tenebris.

“This is Fort Charu,” he explained, pointing. “It was a stronghold for Tenebris during the Great War but has been largely unoccupied since. Until about four months ago, that is, when Emperor Long started moving some forces to it. Now, why might that be a concern to me?”

He turned to me with narrowed eyes. A test, then. Sighing, I looked over the maps once more. Tenebris wasn’t a particularly powerful enemy of Athenia, but it was geographically the closest landmass to us, separated by only a slight stretch of ocean on our southern border. I pursed my lips, turning my attention to Fort Charu. The fort wasn’t within attacking distance of Athenia, so that was an unlikely explanation for mobilization.

“Where’s the rest of this map?” I asked.

The Dragon grinned, pulling out another sheet of paper from a desk drawer and hanging it to the right of the existing sheet. That’s when it all made sense.

“Fort Charu is the closest base to Promissa,” I observed, running my finger from the fort, across the water, to Promissa. “If they’re gathering forces, it could be because Tenebris hasallied with them. They could be preparing to house Promissan soldiers.”

The Dragon nodded, apparently happy with my answer. Then, with a sweep of his arm, he ushered me back towards my seat on the couch. As I sank into it, the stench of burnt ash and pine needles enveloped me and I crinkled my nose against it. Rather than returning to his place at the desk, he sank next to me, crossing an ankle over his knee.

“Emperor Long is a fickle woman,” he criticized with repugnance. “She goes where power is. Once she sees that Athenia is far too formidable to buckle, any alliance between Tenebris and Promissa will be squashed.”

“Athenia’s full Council,” I guessed.

My earlier suspicions had been wrong. He hadn’t decided to marry me off. Not yet, at least. This meeting was about the Council.

He nodded. “You’re a clever girl, I admit. I’ll send you on a coronation tour in Tenebris once you pass your trials before ascending to the Council. We’ll wait to announce any engagement until after then to give them the hope of securing your heirs as their own.”

I tried to hide my sigh of relief, but I feared it was all too obvious as I finally sunk back into the cushions. I might not have been able to claim my fate and marriage, but at least, it seemed in that moment, that I could delay it for a bit longer.

For once, it seemed like the politics were on my side.

“That seems like a reasonable plan of action.”

“Glad you approve of my ruling, Miss Moore,” he snorted. Then, slowly, purposefully, he edged closer to me, running his fingertips suggestively across my knee. My eyes focused in on the movement immediately. “I won’t be marrying you to someone in Tenebris though.”

My blood ran cold in a sudden rush and though the air in his office was warm, I shivered. I locked my attention on his hand on my leg, entirely unable to ignore the feeling of his body inching closer to me. A sense of precognition warned me that this meeting was about to take a turn in a direction I didn’t want to follow it.

And yet, I was a girl alone in the office of her king. I felt powerless for the first time in a long time.

“Oh,” I mumbled, unsure of what to do as those fingers slid higher up my thigh.

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