Page 3 of A Bond of Fire and Roses

“Uncle, you’re back! I heard rumours but I wasn’t sure if they lied or not.”

“Nytar blessed my horse, and we rode well,” he murmurs, kissing me on top of my head. I’m terribly short compared to him. I pull away first and smile up at him. The light shines in his dark blue eyes when he looks down at me. “How was your morning, my little maeflower?”

I sigh, and the edge of his lips tilt with mirth. “Boring, as always. Tell me all about your… hunting trip.” My voice is laced with sarcasm. I can’t hide it when I’m around him.

Dasinth told me repeatedly that he was going away for two weeks for a hunting excursion, but we both knew he was not telling me the truth. Food is never scarce here, not with a forest full of bountiful game. Even in winter there’s still an abundance. Not that I should know of any of this since I’m forbidden to hunt. I’m not even allowed into the king’s wood without trespassing.

My uncle waves to the path that leads up to the dinner hall. The bitter cold air, laced with snow, somehow finds its way in to freeze me.

“It was… interesting. Plenty of deer.”

I roll my eyes at his answer as we get to a table set out with food, including dozens of my favourite honey cakes. Although Dasinth isn’t my uncle by blood, he’s all I have left. I know him better than anyone. He was stationed here to protect me once he recovered from his injuries after the invasion. I think someone thought it would be a good idea to have someone I knew around me so that I didn’t go insane. It might be too late for that, though. I pick up two of the cakes, sliding one into my pocket before my uncle sees. His grin gives me away though.

“Will you ever tell me where you truly went?” I ask, sliding another cake into my pocket.

He glances down at me, a strand of slightly greying blond hair falling into his eyes. “When you are the queen of this land, you can command me to tell you anything you wish to know. Until then…”

He trails off, and a shiver works its way down my spine. Everyone is well aware that I don’t want this marriage to go ahead. The king murdered my parents. I don’t see how I can forgive him for that, let alone grow to like him.

I’d rather kill him.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, Maelena.” My uncle’s voice pulls my attention back to him as he gives me an apologetic smile. “Forgive me.”

“You’re forgiven, Uncle.” I offer him a smile, mostly because he didn’t say that to upset me or be cruel. It’s just a fact. I’m the last remaining descendant of the Dyminien reign and I’ve been promised to the king of dragons since I was ten years old. There’s no escaping it.

This is my fate.

He clears his throat. “The dragons don’t usually leave much of the large deer around for us, so it was a treat to find the ones we did.” There was a time when I dreamed about dragons being real, like the old stories of dragon riders who fought a great evil centuries ago and won. Those stories, everyone thought they were that—just stories. The dragons had merely been hidden away from us until now.

Until he found them again.

Now they are an ever-increasing reality. I see them every time I look out the window of the tower, their scales glittering against the sun or pale moonlight as they soar across the sky. They mostly fly around the ruins of my old home which can be viewed from everywhere.

It’s like I’ve been locked in a tomb, sealed shut for eternity.

When I haven’t said a word in far too long, my uncle tries again. His tone is slightly chipper.

“Any afternoon plans, Maeflower?”

“You’re asking what I’m doing on my last days of freedom?”

Other than planning my escape.

An awkward silence settles between us. I blow out a breath, noticing him tensing ever so slightly. I can’t imagine he wants any of this for me, either, but his hands are as much tied as my own. He’s just a pawn to them—a knight set to guard the queen and make sure she doesn’t run off the board. That’s all my uncle has ever been to them, and it hurts to know that he wants me to play their game.

“Nothing much other than reading, enjoying these cakes, and maybe some painting,” I say, breaking the silence.

I just manage to hold back what I really want to say. I don’t want to risk giving him a heart attack after he almost had one a few years ago, but most of all, I don’t want him to intervene. I know my uncle. He will try to stop me from running away.

He smiles like he can almost see what my secret plan is. He whispers low. “Just don’t do anything foolish, my dear.”

“Like what?” I innocently answer. “I never do anything foolish, Uncle.”

“If the nuns managed to catch you…” He keeps his voice near silent. They are always people listening in this place, and more than once, I’ve been punished for just speaking out about the priestess or the king. “I’m not sure what I could do, but I won’t see them torment you anymore.”

His expression hardens, and I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I know,” I whisper back. “I really do know.”

He touches my elbow outside my room, pulling me to a halt. “The Dragon King will not let you go so easily. I don’t think I’ve met a man more intense and protective over what he deems to be his. The old stories spoke of dragons that hoarded gold and were fiercely protective of it. You are gold to this king, Maelena, who is more dragon and beast than he is man.” He somehow manages to speak even quieter. “There is still unrest throughout his kingdom—those who call out for the old ways. Your marriage will unify the people to his side that still call for you to be their queen, so be careful. His kingdom and you are tied to a bond that cannot be severed. The bond must be made.”

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