Chapter 16 Skylar
Inside Skylar’s room, the king paces in front of her.
She sits on the end of the bed, tracing his progress back and forth.
Her arm feels bruised from where Axel dragged her from the king’s office all the way up to her room.
Now he’s standing so close to her it’s like she can feel his emotions rippling from him, his muscles held so taut she’s surprised they don’t snap.
It’s not that she thought she’d get into the office on her first try, but she had to start somewhere—and where better to search for information on the conscripted? Okay, she found out the hard way that the room is warded, but that only adds to her theory that there is something important in there.
“Completely insubordinate,” the king is saying. “And you”—he whirls on Axel—“I thought I told you not to let her out of your sight.”
Axel grimaces but says nothing—because Arach forbid he stand up to the king.
“You are not to go anywhere near my office—is that clear?”
“Or what, you’ll kill me?”
The king whips around and his icy blue eyes narrow. Skylar does her best not to recoil. This is the man her mother slept with. It’s also the man her mother ran from. Hid from. The man who murdered her. Skylar feels that crackling within her, and she clenches her hands into fists at her sides.
The queen, who has been hovering by the door until now, steps farther into the room.
So far, she’s been relatively impassive, but right now she is looking at Skylar with a definite expression of dislike.
Only one of her guards is with her today, standing just behind her.
Skylar wonders what this one can do—though she’s not sure she wants to find out.
“I might not be able to kill you,” the king murmurs, his voice as cold as Bruma’s breath, “but there must be people out there you care about. Those people can be found.”
Cold settles into her veins as she does her best not to blink. Cam. If they find out about him, if Axel tells them she’s looking for someone…
“My love,” the queen says gently, moving to rest a hand on his arm. He glances at her, almost like he can hear her thoughts. Maybe he can. She has no idea what those mate marks on their foreheads enable them to do.
The king takes an audible breath, then runs a hand through his graying hair. “I’m canceling the parade.” Right. She’d forgotten about the parade, where the heirs are put on show for the city to gawk at. “With the rebel activity increasing—”
Axel straightens. “We’re doing everything we can to—”
“I know that.” The king waves a dismissive hand. “But I can’t risk having an untrained heir out in the open. Some people may look at it as an… opportunity.” Aldric will be disappointed, Skylar thinks grimly. A parade would have been the perfect place to let Izzo loose.
“So we’ll use that moment to send her to the island instead,” the king finishes.
Skylar frowns, trying to catch on, while Axel shoots her a look. She’s not sure she likes what she sees on his face—is that horror?
The queen stiffens. “You want to send her to Isla Draka? Is that definitely… wise?”
“Without a dragon, we risk losing to the witch,” the king says, voice firm.
A dragon. The island. They want to send her to the island, to claim a dragon.
“Anyone going to ask what I think?” she says, and watches the muscle in Axel’s jaw twitch.
What do you think, Lar? Don’t you want a chance to go there, get one?
She has a brief, glorious image of charging in on a dragon to save Cam, wherever he is being kept.
Of pulling him up with her, flying both of them to safety.
It’s a pipe dream, though. Only bonded riders can fly their dragons, everyone knows that.
If anyone else were to try and get on, they’d be dead.
There was one particularly cruel royal, once.
Rumor has it he liked to drag unsuspecting lovers onto the back of his dragon. It never ended well.
“Axel has informed me that you have some basic fighting skills,” the king states, looking out the window but clearly talking to Skylar.
“And we know you’re handy with a dagger.
But it’s going to take a lot more than that to kill a witch who has been training for this since birth.
Especially as you’ve still shown no sign of a useful Blooded power.
” He glances at his mate, who gives a subtle shake of her head.
Like the continuation of a previous, private conversation.
Skylar wonders what exactly they’ve talked about. If the queen has been desperately trying to discern some latent power in her.
You are not Blooded, Skylar.
“All things considered,” the king continues, “you can see why I’m insisting on the island.”
“She could die,” Axel points out, sounding like he doesn’t care one way or the other.
The king shrugs. “Without a dragon, she’ll be dead in the duel. So it’s worth the risk.”
Maybe it would suit them better if she died before the duel—the witch would be dead, thanks to the Blood Binding, and Zryan would be next in line to rule. Maybe that’s the aim here. They can’t kill her themselves—but they can get the dragons to do it for them.
“It’s decided, then. She’ll go to the island at the three-week mark. Any longer than that, she won’t have time to cement the bond before the duel.”
Axel tries to control the flicker that passes over his face—but Skylar sees it. And she knows—he doesn’t think she can do it.
If she refuses to go, what will they do? She opens her mouth, shuts it again uselessly. No one seems to notice.
“Zryan can train with her tomorrow,” the king is saying. “Help prepare her.” Axel hesitates, then nods.
The king strides to the door, then glances over his shoulder at Axel. “When you’re done, come to my office. There are a few more things I’d like to discuss in relation to the republicans.”
She’s beginning to get an idea of what Axel’s job is here. Something to do with the rebels, clearly. How high up is he? Did he order that woman killed, the one she saw hanging on the street?
The king leaves without offering a goodbye. The queen briefly hesitates, then moves swiftly out of the room behind her mate.
There is a beat of quiet between Skylar and Axel. Then Skylar feels panic descend. She gets to her feet, spins to Axel.
“So that’s it, is it? You’re just going to send me to the island to be eaten?”
Three weeks. She’s supposed to go and claim a dragon in just under three weeks—and what does that even mean?
She is breathing too fast. She knows she is, but she can’t seem to stop.
She needs to get out. She needs to run, get some space, think.
She needs to get rid of this pressure, building inside her.
She turns, then shoves at Axel as he moves in front of her. He grabs her shoulders, pinning her against her bedroom wall in one swift movement. The room is still blurry, but his face is inches from hers and his green eyes are laser sharp.
“Calm. Down.”
She takes a breath. Then another. Feels an oddly soothing sensation ripple through her, chasing away the panic. He watches her as it happens, like he’s waiting for something.
And it’s gone. The panic is gone. He told her to calm down—and she did.
She understands now why he was assigned to her.
“You’re an Influencer.” And it’s not her actions he’s controlling—it’s her emotions.
His lips press together, but he doesn’t deny it as he eases back from her.
And, oh, this is so much worse than an Influencer who can control your actions—because at least then you know it’s happening.
But her emotions. You’re supposed to be able to trust how you feel—and he’s taking that away from her.
It explains why she felt so calm the first night.
She feels sick. It’s an invasion, and all this time, she hasn’t known he’s been doing it. She knows the disgust must be evident on her face from the way his expression tightens.
“Whatever it is you’re about to say, get over it.
” His gaze holds hers, and although she wants to, Skylar finds she can’t look away.
He takes one step back toward her, forcing her to tilt her head to look up at him.
His eyes scan her face, and he looks for a moment like he’s considering offering some kind of explanation or even—Arach forbid—an apology.
Then he shakes his head, and his eyes find hers once more. “All that matters now is proving you are worthy of a dragon.”
Early the next morning, while the sun is still low and red in the sky, Axel leads her through the castle grounds.
It takes them a full thirty minutes before they reach their destination—and neither of them say a word to each other the whole time.
She hasn’t forgotten what he can do—what he’s been doing.
She doesn’t know how she’s ever supposed to trust her feelings around him again.
Axel slows as they reach a line of Dreki up ahead.
Skylar can’t make out what’s immediately behind them, but in the near distance she can see the castle wall, towering above them.
So, they must be close to the outermost grounds.
The wall is so high she has to crane her neck to see the top of it.
Small parts of it are crumbling away, probably due to damage from the dragons over the years.
It’s impossible to climb, unless you have a death wish.
Axel nods to the Dreki and they part, creating a corridor to walk through.
Skylar looks up. In between the Dreki and the wall is a large, open space, stretching out in all directions. Arena seating spreads upward, encircling them, stretching up nearly as high as the wall itself. It’s eerily quiet, though something about the space seems to pulse with energy.