Chapter 2 #2
“I am loyal to all of the Aquila line and the great land of Stormfell. I only happen to serve Prince Dragor because it was his army to which I was assigned when I joined the battlefield for the first time. He earned my respect and loyalty in person through every act of courage and valour I witnessed and–”
Prince Evard waved my words aside like the rehearsed blathering we both knew them to be. “Alright, forget my brother. Let’s focus on the point of this little tête-à-tête, hmm?”
“Please,” I agreed and his smirk deepened.
“Until now, my siblings and I have been on a fairly level standing so far as my father is concerned. Until now, it was rather difficult for anyone to accurately guess which of us he might select for the crown.”
“Until the Dragon?” I surmised, cutting to the point because I was already late enough for the ball and I wanted this conversation done.
“Until the Dragon,” Evard echoed, his fingers flicking and a silencing shield forming around us to conceal the rest of our conversation from the potential of any prying ears. “Do you want to visit him?” he offered, tone casual, eyes gleaming.
I blinked, having expected some demands over where I’d found Bastian and how I’d captured him, perhaps an interrogation into whether there might be more of his kind out there or at least a show of his hand, but that question had thrown me.
“The Dragon?” I clarified, glancing out of the courtyard towards the tall eastern tower where I knew Bastian was being held.
“He spits your name like a curse,” Evard supplied. “There is something between you which has harboured deep hatred. And yes, I’m certain he isn’t thrilled to have been captured but it feels…personal when it comes to you.”
“We travelled alone for weeks. I think he had hoped I might not truly deliver him to this fate. But my loyalty to Stormfell is–”
“Yes, yes, Stormfell is of course the greatest love any of us will ever know. But I think we might be able to help each other.”
“How?” I asked sceptically.
“Dragor might have brought the Dragon here but he can’t get him to cooperate, or talk or even eat, so far as it stands.
But you…well you not only know the Dragon more intimately than the rest of us but you have an insight into his desires.
Tell me what it is he wants and perhaps I can do something for you in turn. ”
“Like?” I asked.
Prince Evard looked me over with that piercing stare of his, probing for my secrets and hunting for the perfect one to tempt me.
I knew his style, I could feel his desire to gain my allegiance and I supposed I should have been flattered to find myself worthy of the attention of a man as powerful as him.
With two princes vying for my favour it was clear that I was in a far more prominent position within the court than I’d ever been before but that didn’t fill me with the satisfaction it once would have.
“You aren’t married. I could secure you a good match?” he tried but I snorted.
“I want a man even less than I want to continue this conversation,” I muttered and his smile sharpened, noting the lack of formality.
I didn’t know this prince and it wouldn’t serve me to get on the wrong side of him so I tried to soften my words with a shrug. “My only love is Stormfe–”
“Love isn’t what we’re discussing.”
“Fine. But there isn’t going to be a match made for me any time soon. I’m Crossborn. Not even the capture of a Dragon can change that.” I gilded my words and refused to feel the burn of them as they simmered in my gut. This was the way it had to be.
“Ah – then perhaps I should spoil the surprise? My dear brother plans to re-name you this very night. You won’t be Crossborn any longer.
After tonight you’ll be an air-named warrior with a house and title all of your own.
Lady Vesper Dragonsbane, first of your name and head of your line.
He’s very pleased with himself over that one, I might add.
Though I think it’s a little on the nose. ”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, the joy, the excitement, the sense of worth that should have come at such an unthinkable gift completely absent as I took it in. I blinked dumbly and Evard’s smile widened.
“So, a match?” he pushed but my ears were still ringing with his last declaration.
I started to shake my head.
“Not even one to an Aquila?”
I blinked at him again, taking far too long to realise what he was offering and I snorted.
“You think I’d make a good match for you?” The words hadn’t meant to come out scathing but somehow they did and his eyes flashed in warning.
“Not really,” he admitted. “But I think you’d be a powerful one.
In truth, I have no interest in taking a wife or a husband or partaking in any of the physical pursuits your kind is famed for.
But I can appreciate what you are far better than I think my dear brother does.
You’re a symbol of both hope and despair.
You strike fear into the hearts of our enemies and show even the lowest of our people how far they might rise should their dedication be true enough.
No doubt you could bear us heirs when the time comes too but I won’t waste your time on practicing the endeavour.
You could take lovers if you wished so long as you were subtle about it.
And best of all, our union would make my big brother sick with rage. ”
I couldn’t help but release a breath of laughter, shaking my head as I looked back towards that darkened tower.
“Your father would never favour you if you took me for a bride,” I pointed out but Evard just scoffed.
“My father doesn’t give a shit about bloodlines.
He was the sixth born and looked nothing like his siblings.
It was an open secret that my grandmother was fucking her personal guard and I know for a fact that her lover had ice white hair and pale blue eyes.
So no, the bastard-born king won’t give a fuck that you were sired in another land.
He won’t care that the people might hate you for it either.
He has only ever cared about one thing and that is power.
That’s why the Sinfair exist after all. You are given the chance to reclaim power for yourselves despite the shame that has fallen upon you.
And you, Vesper Dragonsbane, are the epitome of that goal. ”
“Well, I can see what’s in it for me, but you’re offering an awful lot for very little if all you expect me to give you in turn are insights into the Dragon’s motivations,” I said carefully because there wasn’t going to be an easy way to say no to his offer.
And it surprised me how certainly I knew I wanted to say no.
He was offering me more than I’d ever dreamed of claiming in this place.
He might have even been offering me the chance to become queen. But…I didn’t want it anymore.
“I never said that was all,” Evard purred.
“And I never said yes,” I returned. “But let’s leave it at maybe and I’ll offer you this – all that Bastian ever desired whilst in my company was one thing and it’s the one thing you cannot offer him.”
“Yes?”
“Freedom.”
Evard released a frustrated breath but stepped back to allow me to leave.
I dropped into a curtsey, smiling through the contempt in my eyes and he grinned as he watched me play my part.
I turned and vaulted the low wall which deposited me back into the corridor I’d attempted to escape once already then raised my chin and strode straight towards the double doors which led into the ballroom.
If the guards standing there had noticed my detour or had any thoughts on it they kept them to themselves as I swept past them without a glance.
Courtiers paraded and swirled before me as I entered the brightly lit room, the huge statues of the three zodiac symbols which were devoted to air magic all seeming to stare at me as I entered.
I looked the part, I played the part, and yet standing among these Fae only ever made it clearer to me how far apart from them I truly was. I’d never be an aristocrat no matter the name they called me by and Sky Witch was far more honest than Lady Dragonsbane could ever hope to be.
The king sat in the centre of the long table which watched over the festivities, Prince Roarson and Princess Laurena at their places to his right. But Dragor wasn’t with them.
I scanned the crowd, reaching out with my gifts and finding his desire to locate me and chastise me for my lateness within the throng.
I strode through the crowd, not caring that I moved across the dancefloor and made several of the Fae there stumble their steps to avoid me.
Prince Dragor was a tall man and easily recognisable once I made it past the heart of the crowd. He spotted me too, probably in part because one woman looked my way then shrieked a desperate plea of devotion to me before ripping her dress down and revealing her breasts to the room at large.
Some of her friends managed to contain themselves and haul her away but others called out more lewd and desperate promises to me.
I hardly even noticed them in crowds like this anymore.
It was as if they were background noise; they might have been the rain or the wind instead of a man crying out for me to suck his toes while another begged me to choke him and call him a little bitch.
Prince Dragor barked commands at the guards who lingered in the shadows and they dragged the most vocal of my admirers away.
“You’re late,” the prince said as he strode towards me, taking hold of my arm and guiding me out of the crowd towards the tall doors which led out onto the balcony.
“I didn’t realise my attendance was so important,” I replied, though he had made it more than clear to me that he’d wanted me here on time.
Dragor’s fingers bit into my arm as he tugged me outside but as the cold air struck us he released a deep breath and relaxed his grip once more.
“Remind me, dear Vesper, who is it you have sworn yourself to?”