Page 50 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

Father’s head jerked in her direction as my heart stopped.

“Heshould be leaving.” Mother pointed right at the dragon prince to ensure everyone knew exactly who she meant. “But not with Lira. Lira stays here. We haven’t agreed to modify the timeline of the promise, nor will we. The way you’re trying to change the terms isn’t how agreements are modified, and you know that better than anyone.”

“I didn’t say I would marry her ahead of schedule.” Prince Pyralis glowered. “The only agreement we came to is when we’d wed, not where she’d live. As a child, she would obviously stay with her parents, but you handed her off to guards and sent her to Earth. Now that she’s returned as a woman, there is no reason she can’t come with me, especially since her future is set by my side.”

Agony shot through the bond, indicating that Tavish had gotten injured. Between the pain, rage, and fear emanating from him, I had no doubt he was trying to escape from his chains.

I won’t leave with him. I’d rather die than go anywhere with that scaly ashbreath,I connected, wanting Tavish to understand my resolve.

Neither of those options works for me, sprite,he growled through our connection, his anger boiling hotter than ever before.

“Hestia and Brenin,” Father commanded. “Prince Pyralis has overstayed his welcome. Please escort him from Gleann Solas.”

I inhaled sharply. I hadn’t expected Father to do this. I would’ve bet he’d hand me over in fear of angering the dragons. If we went to war with them, I wasn’t certain we would win. Their population was slightly smaller, but in beast form, they were fifteen times bigger than in human form, had razor-sharp talons, and could breathe fire for miles.

Still, Pyralis didn’t have a choice since he was the only dragon here.

The dragon prince fisted his hands. “If you force me to go, I will return with larger numbers.”

Father pivoted around the desk toward the prince and extended his wings at his sides. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, but this conversation is over. You need time to cool off, and I want to spend more time with my daughter. As you pointed out, she’s been gone for the last twelve years, and I want to use these two and a half years to get to know her again before she leaves for Tìr na Dràgon.”

If the moment hadn’t been so tense, I’d have run over and hugged Father. Everything he’d done to piss me off since I arrived vanished.Father is forcing the dragon prince to leave without me. He just commanded the guards to escort him to the kingdom’s edge.

The uncontrollable rage mellowed, but Tavish’s fear held on strong.

Thank Fates, but this is a temporary reprieve. He’ll be back with his own guards, hoping your father won’t risk a battle with them within his kingdom.

That made sense, and Prince Pyralis had already stated as much.At least the imminent threat has passed.

Despite the deep scowl, the prince bowed his head. “You’re right. I must be on my way.” If I hadn’t seen the expression on his face, I wouldn’t have known there was a threatening edge to the words. But between the flush and the faint scales thickening his skin, there was no doubt he wanted to eat us all.

Wings fluttered behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to find Eiric standing next to Mom. Eiric’s head tilted back as she took in the dragon prince.

I wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen a dragon in person. Seeing one like this, on the verge of a shift, was almost more fear-inducing than seeing one in full dragon form. The merge had the hair on the nape of my neck rising with uncertainty about what the prince’s next move would be.

She needed to get away from this and find safety.

“Eiric, call the most experienced guards. We need them to line the halls,” Mom whispered, and Eiric looked from the prince to Mom.

After a second, Eiric nodded and rushed off toward the prison, where most of the guards were stationed with Tavish and Finnian there.

I watched the dragon prince stroll from his spot in front of the window toward me. I sidestepped, allowing him access to the door, not wanting to slow his exit in the slightest.

Yet he paused at my side.

“Until we see each other again, my gem,” Prince Pyralis said with a toothy smile.

I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to step away. Bile inched up my throat, but if enduring his patronizing gaze prevented him from becoming angrier, I’d do it. His scowl vanished, and his brows furrowed.

Good. My nonreaction caught him off guard. I needed to not flinch at his proximity to help reduce the urgency of my needing to relocate to his kingdom.

“Hestia, please remain here with the royals,” Dad said and kissed Mom on the cheek. “I’ll get a few other guards to go with me.”

I mashed my lips to prevent myself from smiling. Mom hated Dad telling her what to do, but when she moved to stand next to me without arguing, I realized there was something more going on.

“After you, Your Highness.” Dad bowed to the prince and gestured to the hall.

Prince Pyralis’s back tensed, and my pulse pounded against my skin as I wondered what the dragon might do.

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