Page 54 of Court of Rivals
His expression shifts. “Gorgeously intelligent?”
“That’sthe part of what I just said you’re focusing on?”
He smirks. “I’ve never been called gorgeously intelligent before, but I like it.”
I smack his shoulder lightly. “I did not call you that. You’re missing the point.”
“I think I got the point,” he says, and there’s amusement in his gaze.
It’s strange. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Prince Gareth looking happy before. He’s always all doom and gloom, like the lone rain cloud on an otherwise sunny day. Not that my time here has been a sunny day.
I’m about to call him some very colorful names to replace the ones he thinks I called him when someone rings a bell. The band stops playing, conversation dies, and all eyes turn toward the king. Prince Gareth glances down at me, his grip tightening for a minute, before he seems to reluctantly let me go. I shift away from him, feeling like I can breathe for the first time since coming to this ball room.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” King Stormvale begins cheerfully. “Thank you for coming here today to celebrate our dragon riders and all their hard work. They are the only thing that stands between us and the Hollowborn, and we thank the gods every day for all they do to protect us.”
Everyone begins clapping and cheering, and I’m not sure how to feel. They’re not exactly celebrating me. I’ve just barely joined the academy. I know just as well as every dragon rider here that I haven’t earned that kind of respect just yet.
“But today is also special for another reason,” the king says, and I tense when his gaze finds me. “I know many of you have heard the rumors, and they’re true. We now have a male dragon at the academy, along with his female dragon rider, Harper Nightborne.”
There’s more clapping and cheering as everyone turns to look at me, and I feel my cheeks heat. I was not at all expecting this kind of attention. Some attention, yes, because Roland had said as much, but not for the king to talk about me. Not for every eye in the room to focus on me.
As the cheering dies down, King Stormvale continues, “Since the arrival of Harper, our Memory Keepers have been working feverously to gather all mentions of male dragons and female dragon riders in the archives. Our research has already provided some interesting revelations.” For some reason, I hold my breath, wondering what this could possibly mean for Ebron and I. “We found references of three different dragon riders ofthis combination. Well-known dragon riders to us all. Rowena Thalor, and her dragon Morrath, Tamsin Eryss, and her dragon Skareth, and Thessaly Renna, and her dragon Zyphira. All three went on to change the course of the war against the Hollowborn, bringing about a time of peace until the end of their lifetimes.”
There’s more clapping, but I’m barely paying attention to them.Ebron and I are supposed to bring about peace between the Hollowborns and our people? That’s a hell of a lot of pressure.
“What’s more, the arrival of the female rider, male dragon combination will mark a large change within the dragons. Male dragons tend to join in the battle for one primary reason, because their solitary lives are coming to an end. They want to find their mates among our dragons. Once they do, dragon babies will be born within the academy walls.” There are gasps and murmurs. “Additionally,” his gaze focuses on me. “In the past, if a male dragon made several females his mates, the female dragon rider would then end up as the mate to those female dragons’riders. This is an extraordinary thing, and very rare, so I’ve made a decision. I will bestow upon Harper Nightborne an honorary title, making her Lady Nightborne, along with appointing her lands and wealth. This will do two things. It will ensure that her status reflects her importance within our great nation, and it will make sure she can stand as an equal to the men that become her husbands.”
My head spins.What?It’s overwhelming, but it’s also incredible. If I end up with lands and wealth, how will this affect my family and Arthur? I’ll be able to help them in ways I never imagined. But as much as I just want to celebrate that fact, I’m kind of freaking out about these random husbands that will be selected for me by my dragon. It sounds like I won’t have any say in it at all.
“How many husbands will she have?” Someone calls out.
The king grins. “According to the history books, any number is possible. It all depends on how many mates her dragon chooses. Apparently, because of the dragon-human bond, Harper will grow to love the dragon riders of her dragon, Ebron’s, mates. There’s no way to fight it. It will simply happen. Then, we will have a lady of the dragons, and her husbands’ position will match hers.”
I’m going to have multiple husbands? I’ll be elevated to the status of a lady?This is too much. I need to talk to Ebron. I need to figure out how much control I still have over my own life, because my instincts are screaming that I should say, the hell with this, and do whateverIthink is best for myself.
It takes effort not to let my knees buckle.
My gaze darts around the room, and I find that all the dragon riders are staring at me.Fuck.As much as they hate me, will they want me now, just because of what I can do for them? I’ve had a mark on my back since I got here, but the mark has changed. Become something else. Something worse.
“Harper,” the king says my name softly. I look at him. “Come here,” he says, holding out a hand.
I go to him, unable to refuse a king. Climbing up the stairs to his throne, I take his hand, and he turns me to face the crowd. “This is our Lady of the Dragons. She will bring about peace to our kingdom. She will bring baby dragons, born within the academy grounds. And she will be united with powerful men from noble families, making them even more powerful.”
Everyone around us is cheering. Cheering and staring. Maybe I should be happy. Maybe I should be excited. But all I feel is dread.
What does this mean for my future?
21
Harper
The days are flying by at the academy, but I’m no less disturbed by the king’s announcement, and I think his words are haunting more than just me. It’s not that the men are being nicer, they’re most definitely not, it’s more like I’m catching them constantly staring at me. When I come closer, they take a step back. They almost seem afraid of me, until the princes start their bullshit, and then they’re right behind the three assholes, making my life miserable.
It’s like even the possibility of me “bringing about peace to the kingdom” is still not enough for them to pull their heads out of their asses. I guess I know what’s more important to them, their pride or their people.
The princes want to scare me off, but it’s not working. No matter what they do, it just makes me want to be a dragon rider more. When we first came here, I felt more like I was being dragged along by Ebron, but now this feels like where I’m meant to be. Every time I’m on Ebron’s back, seated in a saddle made just for us, I feel alive in a way I’ve never felt before.
Lying on my bed, I read over a page about the Hollowborn. The page talks about how the Hollowborn are on an island ofnothing but death, ash, and volcanoes. Their usable land is so little that they have to make use of the ocean as much as possible to find food and resources. It also talks about this being the reasons behind their constant desire to steal our fertile lands. And their desire to be close to life, when everything around them is just death. To me, it’s kind of sad. Sad they live like that, and sad there has to be a war between us rather than some kind of trading system.Wouldn’t that make more sense?
