Chapter 3 #3
“Only with certain partners.” He grins down at me with that charming face of his, and I smile back.
We walk in silence for a few moments through the long, orb-lit corridors, courtesy of fire elementals and their convenient inventions. Once the world permanently went a several shades darker, light became everything.
Finally, Adrian clears his throat, the sound of it echoing through the empty, high-arched hallway.
“So, I saw you talking to one of the dragons.”
“Ah, yes. Prince Asshole.”
Sir Greenwood looks down at me with a mix of shock and bewilderment on his face. “Was he rude to you? I thought you said they were our friends?”
“No, no. He’s just a little… surly.” If you call holding a knife to my throat surly.
“Well, he’s no prince. They don’t have a king or a prince.”
“Right. He’s Lord Vaelor’s son, though, I believe. So, whatever he calls himself down south.”
I hear a very faint, indecipherable noise behind us, but I don’t turn or react. Adrian doesn’t seem to notice.
“Well, he better watch himself. You’ll tell me if you have any problems with him? He really should be kissing your feet as the princess of this kingdom.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff. “And I’ll be just fine.”
He looks at me with trepidation.
“Well, I think this is far enough. Goodnight, Sir Greenwood. Thank you for walking me to my quarters.”
He lets out an exasperated sigh. “Of course.” He bows and places a kiss on my hand, then retreats back down the long stretch of hallway. I watch patiently until he turns a corner.
“You can show yourself now, dragon,” I call out into the wide, dark expanse in front of me. It’s just a hunch, but I’m proven right when a towering figure emerges from the shadows, not far from where I stand.
“You know, you really can stop all of this nonsense. I don’t know what you think I know or who you think I’m going to tell.”
“But it’s almost too easy,” he says in a smooth voice. “Shouldn’t the princess have a guard escorting her, at the very least?”
“What would I need that for? We’re a peaceful kingdom. No one would try to hurt me in our own castle.”
A cruel ghost of a smirk touches his lips. “Wouldn’t they, though?”
I tilt my head, rethinking my answer. “Okay, well… up until a few days ago, no one has dared. Perhaps we should’ve employed more guards for your arrival. That was our mistake in thinking you’d be civil.”
“Ah, yes. We’re the savage beasts from the south.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. Why I still haven’t told anyone about our first encounter is a mystery I haven’t fully figured out yet.
“Despite whatever you may think, I’m not your enemy. All I want is peace for this kingdom.”
“Peace for your people,” he says coldly.
“No. Peace for all.”
“Well, I don’t know if you know this, but many species, including the dragons, have been suffering for hundreds of years while you sit here in your cozy castle.”
“I do know that.” I spend much of my free time in the library, learning what I can about the world. It seems like I’m the only one who does, actually. Our scholars gave up on figuring out the mysteries of the curse long ago.
Under the magic of the haze, the world changed from coast to coast. Though clouds and weather still dropped below the veil, seemingly unaffected by it, temperatures still dropped a small amount, and the lack of direct sunlight affected many living things.
Fairies became even more elusive than they already were, their habitats changing drastically.
Many species had to shift their entire diets, forcing them to adapt, their biology slowly changing with the world.
It’s said that the humans, who thrived with sunlight, went entirely mad and became violent, even among their own kind.
They were the first species to die out. Other species and plants that depended on sunlight failed to thrive or died off altogether.
There was a particular type of species that I like reading about called birds that used to fly high in the sky…
most of them died, but the rare ones still exist that simply don’t fly anymore.
But this asshole of a dragon doesn’t deserve that explanation from me.
“And yet, no one cares. No one is doing anything about it. Of course the king wouldn’t want that. It’s how elves have stayed in power all these years. It’s easy when all who oppose you are barely surviving.”
Wrong again. Not the part about the king, though.
“And is that why you’re here? To plead your case? You said yourself the king wouldn’t want to help, so why are you here?”
He eyes me with suspicion, weighing his next words. “My reasons are my own business.”
“Okay,” I say, taking a step back. “Then don’t go blabbing all your business out loud in random rooms where anyone could potentially hear you.
” I smirk, turning on my heels as I take the last few steps to my door.
“Goodnight, lordling.” The glare he gives me just before I shut my door is murderous.
I’m not sure why I find it entertaining to taunt a volatile dragon shifter who’s already threatened to kill me, but it seems to just slip out involuntarily.