Page 105 of Wrath of the Dragons
“Her name is Calithea.”
“Incredible.” He smiles. “If you’d like to see more of the castle I can take you on a walk through the gardens before dinner.”
We’re here for an alliance,I remind myself. Cordelia loves her son, and I snubbed their informal marriage offer at the alliance ball. There’s so much you can hide behind a smile, and I’m realizing that it might be my sharpest weapon when facing a court. Not every battle can be fought with a blade; some require weaving the correct words together to form a web to trap your prey. “That would be lovely.”
Cordelia seems pleased as she gestures for a servant to lead us to our chambers. Every room and corridor of the castle is bathed in warm tones and regal touches, and I look down at the river running below the bridge that leads to our rooms as the servant unlocks the door. Similar to the rest of the structure, the windows don’t have glass, and sheer orange curtains flutter in the breeze. The sitting area is circular, leading to a balcony overlooking the ocean, and our bedroom is behind gilded doors.
I spot Delmira swooping in the skies just in front of the balconyand I step through the opening to greet her. Seagulls squawk in the distance, and waves crash against the base of the tower.
“Hello, Delly.” I lean forward, dropping my arms to the banister, and watch as she flips and turns for me. Her sky-blue wings should blend in with all the shades around us, but she stands out despite that. Cayden presses a hip into the railing and tucks his hands into his pockets. The dragons must sense him because in a blink four more are added to the show.
“You give them too many treats.”
He shrugs. “I needed to get into their good graces somehow.”
“No, you just love to spoil me and them by extension.”
“I make no apologies.”
“Mhmm.” I straighten up to face him because he clearly has something to tell me.
“I don’t like the way they look at you,” he says, but he doesn’t have to specify who.
“You don’t like the way anyone looks at me. I think you’d be happy to consider it a criminal offense.” He narrows his eyes but doesn’t deny it. “I didn’t like the way Cordelia looked at you either.”
“Why?”
“She stared at you as if you didn’t deserve to be here, to wear the crown, to stand beside me. You’re more deserving than any of them. You won your crown; theirs were given to them. I—”
“El.” He frames my face with his hands, running his thumbs over my cheekbones. “I’m a bastard—which I don’t doubt they know—a criminal, and referred to as a demon. I’m not unused to people glaring at me or being unnerved by my presence. In fact, I prefer it because I don’t have to pretend to care about who they are or what they’re saying.”
“I care,” I whisper, clearing my throat. “I care about how they treat you.”
He lifts my chin when I try to drop it, and my heart pounds so fiercely I’m sure he can feel it. I don’t know why it makes me nervousto admit things like that. I told him I loved him and yet it feels like I’m ripping myself open all over again, no matter how simple the confession. Perhaps because my feelings have been weaponized against me throughout my life, I’ve never felt like they truly belong to me. “What you think of me is the only opinion I care about,” he replies.
Be that as it may, I don’t want people looking down on him just because of where he comes from. I lick my lips before pressing them to his quickly and step into his arms to watch my dragons. He stiffens at first, but then he relaxes and tightens his embrace. There’s not a single place in the world that’s ever felt more like home for me than his arms. I’ve been lost for so long, but when he looks at me, it’s like I’ve finally been found.
Chapter
Fifty-one
Elowen
“I must admit, part of medidn’t think the dragons were real,” Zale says as I lean down to smell one of the flowers. They paint the earth in shades from the deepest pinks to the lightest yellows. The garden is thick and lush, no doubt from the amount of rain this kingdom gets. “I was there when the seer issued the prophecy and they hatched around your cradle, but I was too young to remember anything.”
I straighten up to look at him. “Do you know the seer who issued it?”
“I do.” He faintly smiles, and the wind billows through his light, elegant vest. His pants are made of the same mustard material, embroidered in a mixture of red and orange. “Mae is like a grandmother to me. She keeps to herself mostly, and there are some days when she’s indisposed, but I can take you to see her if she’s well enough for visitors.”
“That would be wonderful.” Maybe I can finally get some answers to the questions I’ve asked for years. “Thank you, Prince—”
“Just Zale,” he cuts in.
“Zale,” I finish. “You can call me Elowen. Do you know any of Mae’s symptoms? I can try to help.”
He sighs, tucking his hands into his pockets. “It’s the visions. They deteriorated her mind over the years and sometimes she doesn’t know what’s real and what’s in her head.”
“I’m sorry.” My lips turn down. There’s nothing I can do for that. “That can’t be easy to watch.”
