Page 56 of Betrayed By Dragons

"Focus," I remind everyone. I tap Cael on the shoulder specifically. "Conscriptions?"

The Fire Kingdom has always kept a standing army--the strongest one in the dragon world, if I do say so myself. I'm a member of it, technically, but royal family members don't exactly clean latrines or show up for routine drills.

The force has been all-volunteer since the end of the Great War, though. We've fought skirmishes at the border here and there, and we maintain strong defensive positions to deter our enemies. But we've been more than capable of filling our ranks with strong dragons.

"He's just keeping numbers up," Dorran insists.

Cael shakes his head. "He's planning something. Something big." He turns further in his seat, facing me as directly as he can within the confines of the car. "I'm working off second-hand sources here--without you, I can't get in the room. But word is, he's got this new advisor goading him toward escalation."

I frown. That's the first I've heard of any new advisor. Atina usually keeps me up to date about that sort of thing; it's weird that she wouldn't have mentioned it.

Regardless, Dorran dismisses the idea. "Gethen's weird, but he's not that bad."

"Also," Cael continues, speaking over Dorran and shooting a sharp glance at Jianyu. "King Haoyu's rhetoric isn't helping."

Jianyu crosses his arms over his chest. "You're not wrong about that."

I shake my head. I can't listen to any more bickering. "None of that explains my dad getting ready to go to war. Isn't anybody trying to talk any sense into him?" I ask. I clear my throat pointedly and hit my brother on the arm. "Anybody?"

Dorran takes one hand off the wheel and holds it up, proclaiming his innocence. "Not my monkeys, not my circus."

Like hell it's not. "You're the fucking prince."

"Seventh of nine." He waves his hand back and forth. "You know, if you count the princess, too, which I'm assuming we are. Women's rights and all."

"Preach," Ember says weakly, but this is a distraction.

"Well, you and all the other princes and the princess should be storming down his door."

Dorran laughs outright. "And what do you think he would do if we did? You know full well he doesn't give a shit." He drops his hand back onto the wheel. "Eagan, maybe he'd listen to, but he's got his head so far up Dad's ass, no one can hear him."

I sigh and scrub my fingers through my hair. Eagan is our oldest brother--the crown prince, set to inherit the throne if Dad ever dies. He's been in lock step with our father since before I was born, while the rest of us...

Swallowing, I turn my head to look out the window. Off in the distance, I just make out the castle, standing proudly at the top of the plateau, looking out over The Crimson City.

How much of my life did I waste away there, oblivious to what was going on around me? I was the screw-up and the useless ninth heir, and I'd been accused of murder once. It wasn't my fault, but I was one of the sparks that ignited the last war.

So I drank and I slept around. I didn't want to start another war. I didn't want any power at all. I ignored all possible responsibilities until one day, after one of my escapades ended up splashed across the front page of a newspaper, my father dragged me into his office and told me to wake the hell up. I was an embarrassment to the crown.

The worst part of all was that he wasn't wrong.

I made some vague attempts at getting my life together, but it wasn't as if I had a lot of role models. My brothers and sister--Eagan excepted, of course--were basically fuck-ups, too; they just kept their bullshit quiet, for the most part.

Still. No one was more surprised than I was when my father picked me to go to the peace summit with the Air Kingdom.

I glance over at Ember, and my heart swells.

In hindsight, his sending me was the greatest gift imaginable. It hurts, even thinking about the fact that I might never have found my mate if I hadn't gone.

But at the time, the assignment had felt like a test I was doomed to fail. A punishment, even. I went, determined to do my best, but I was shit at diplomacy. I probably still am.

Outside of Eagan, my siblings and I received no diplomatic training. We had no stake in anything outside our castle walls, so we just plain didn't care.

Now?

Thanks to Ember--and, begrudgingly, I have to admit, Jianyu--I care so much it kind of pisses me off.

"Drive faster," I direct my brother.

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