Page 5 of Beautiful Beast

The shining metal matched the gown, and what everyone would think about. Silver was the color of war and weapons. And to some, the color of defiance.

I would wear blue tomorrow.

Blue for our new alliance with Craisos. Blue for the sky which they claimed we ruled now. Blue, which was the opposite of a dragon’s flame. Blue for the power to quench that fire out. Smother it and control it at all costs.

But tonight I would wear silver, if only to show them that I wasn’t a fool, nor was I a woman who would bow her head on principle.

“Oh, good,” Helena said, coming back and immediately lacing me into the dress.

“Thank you for the silver.”

“I’m not any happier about this than you are,” she murmured, previous anger gone. “We do what we can.”

“We do what we can.” I swallowed hard against the pain of the familiar words.

My grandmother spoke them every day as she taught me what she knew of the truth: that dragons, though feared and hated through all of Gleira and the world, were not our enemies. There was once a time when humankind and dragons lived in peace. And the fact that we were enemies was not the dragons’ fault.

The rest of the world had forgotten, save the few who had the blessing of someone to tell them differently.

When the whole world was against you, and you were surrounded on all sides, there was little to be done, but you did whatever you could, for whoever you could, with faith that the Fallen would one day bless those efforts and help the world come back to wholeness.

“Sit. Quickly. You look like you just spent two hours in the rain.”

I rolled my eyes and sat at the dressing table. It wasn’t nearly as bad as all that. I’d kept my hood up the entire journey. There had been plenty of times I’d come back looking worse than this. But I sat and let her tame my hair into something resembling a court hairstyle, complete with a silver circlet touching my brow.

“It never ceases to amaze me how you do this so quickly,” I told her. No matter that I’d tried, I’d never been gifted with the art of hair. It never seemed to bend to my will the way it bent to Helena’s.

She snorted. “Bask in my glory later and get to the throne room so your father doesn’t have me beheaded.”

“He likes you,” I said, smoothing down the skirt of the gown. “He’d honor you with poison, at least.”

“Stars, you are going to be the death of me. I’ll prepare the ink for when you return.”

With a wink, I left my chambers, two guards falling into step behind me. I nearly rolled my eyes. If they knew where I’d been not even an hour before, they would be both horrified and finally aware that I didn’t want or need their protection. My grandmother ensured I knew more than just the truth about Gleira’s past. I might not be a soldier worthy of the Craisos army, but I could defend myself.

The herald spotted me coming down the corridor and hurried to have them open the doors. His voice boomed through the space, even though I was entering from the side entrance and not the main one. “Her Royal Highness, Katalena Isabel Arslan Savea, Crown Princess of Gleira.”

I made a face at the herald. We’d had many a discussion over the years about him announcing my full name. It was just as unnecessary as the actual length of my name, but he never wavered, claiming it was his sworn duty to announce me as I was named.

He smiled as I passed.

As I entered, I was vaguely aware of the court bowing, but my eyes were on my father. His expression was carefully neutral, but I saw his displeasure at my absence. I sank into a curtsey. “My apologies for my tardiness, Your Majesty. An ill-advised walk in the garden and rain earlier today left me feeling out of sorts. But I have recovered now.”

“Thank the Fallen for that,” he said, eyes dragging down the very intentionally not appropriate gown I wore. My father might have instructed me how to appear this evening.

Too bad I seemed to have misplaced that memory.

“Now that you have finally graced us with your presence, you may meet our guests. His Majesty, the King of Craisos, and his son. Prince Andaros.”

I turned and curtsied to the assembled party, taking them in through lowered lashes. The prince was everything a prince should be. Well built with golden hair and a face most would consider handsome. He wore well-loved armor, proving that his talents in battle weren’t a mere story.

And, of course, he was the Crown Prince of Craisos. A powerful, brutal land known not only for their hatred of dragons, but their prowess at slaying them. People said Prince Andaros had personally slain more than a dozen along the borders between human and dragon lands.

I hated that he’d been allowed to cross our borders, let alone that he stood in front of me. Oh, how lucky I was to be in his presence.

As soon as the idea had been given breath, I’d fought it tooth and nail. I’d screamed and railed. I’d begged. I’d gotten on my knees, and it still hadn’t been enough. I was powerless in my own life. A tool to be wielded instead of a person to be loved. So, even as much as I hated him, I had no choice.

I smiled as I stood once more, meeting the eyes of the man I was to marry in the morning.

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