Chapter 12
All I could do was laugh in that arrogant prince’s face.
He was insane. He had to be. There was no other explanation.
I laughed and laughed, my voice ringing out in the forest. The other dragons continued to twitch and fidget, and even Mal cocked his head at me in concern.
When I was wiping tears from my eyes, my breathing leveling out, I finally said, “They said you were a rake and a jester, but I never expected a joke like that .”
Fenn stared at me, his expression flat and unyielding. “It’s not a joke. I’m completely serious.”
I shook my head, refusing to believe he could even entertain the idea. “Then, you’re not a jester, you’re an idiot.” I turned away from him, striding toward Mal. I wasn’t sure what I planned to do, but taking off into the sky seemed like a good idea. Perhaps we could go to the Star Court and extract stardust ourselves.
Fenn tugged on my arm, whirling me to face him. I bared my teeth, prepared to shove my dagger into his gut, but the plea in his eyes stopped me. He released his hold on me, lifting his hand in a placating gesture.
“Just let me explain,” he said, his voice eerily soft. “Please.”
My nostrils flared, but I offered him one stiff nod.
He exhaled with relief. “Both our kingdoms are weak, Aurelia. We need allies. We need defenses. You need stardust, and I need Dragonfire. The only logical reason for us to acquire both is through a union of marriage, where our kingdoms can share resources. ”
“Or we could sign a treaty,” I interrupted.
He arched an eyebrow. “After centuries of animosity, what would prompt this treaty?”
I scoffed and crossed my arms. “What would prompt a marriage contract?”
“Well…” Fenn drew out the word, offering me a lopsided smile.
I scowled. “You expect the entire realm to believe you seduced me ?”
“No one knows you. Even my mother didn’t know what to expect from you. And it’s safe to say you completely caught me off guard when we met in the woods.”
I let my arms fall, my chest loosening at his words. Yes, he had certainly caught me off guard as well. For one brief second, I allowed myself to yearn for that stranger, that dashing man who had swept me into the most glorious dance of my life.
But he was an illusion. He wasn’t real. Because the man standing before me was not the same person at all.
“It will be easy to let other people believe you are prone to my… irresistible charm,” he said, still grinning, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Even if you very clearly aren’t.”
I shot him a glare that told him exactly how much I loathed this idea. “What do you get out of this? You seem a bit too fond of the notion of pretending we are courting.”
He laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself, princess. I’m just presenting an opportunity for our situation.”
“Bullshit.” I crossed my arms. “Why are you pushing this? Be honest with me, or the deal is off.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We need strong allies right now. With my court under attack from unseelie tribes, it’s the perfect opportunity for our enemies to swoop in and take the city while we are defenseless. If the realm knew that the Midnight Court allied itself with the only court who possessed deadly dragons…” He trailed off.
“Then, they would leave you alone,” I continued.
“Exactly.”
I couldn’t fault him for this. It was similar to my own situation; we were weak and under attack, too, if in a different manner. To have a strong ally would deter our enemies from moving in as well .
Which was strange, considering the court I was most worried about invading was the Court of Midnight.
“You are about to take the throne,” Fenn went on. “It’s the perfect opportunity. I couldn’t very well seduce your father, now, could I?”
At the mention of my father, my gaze flicked to the emerald spires of the castle—my home—just visible between the trees. I thought of Father, asleep at his desk, and Mother and Gigi, unconscious in the tea room.
I could do this. If it meant freeing my family and my people, I could pretend to be engaged to this bastard.
“It’s also the only reasonable explanation for why we are traveling alone,” Fenn added in a low voice.
My gaze shot to his, my heart lurching. “What does that mean?”
“You know what it means,” he said in exasperation.
I swallowed. “Even if we are engaged, it would still be highly improper to be traveling without a chaperone.”
“Not with me. I have a reputation for being… well, as you said, a rake.”
“Oh, really? So, you’re notorious for escorting highborn royals without an envoy, guard, or chaperone?”
He winced. “Not exactly.” He drew closer to me, his smirk returning. “But it won’t be hard to imply that we were so enamored with one another that we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and we had to dismiss our escorts.” He tilted his head at me, his eyes darkening with a fire that made my stomach clench. He wasn’t even touching me and my skin felt hot from his nearness.
He lifted a hand, brushing his knuckle against my cheek. My breath hitched.
“Ah, see?” he said. “That’s all we need.”
I cleared my throat. “What?”
“This blush right here will tell the lie for us.” He stroked my cheek once more.
I slapped his hand away. He was only pointing out my blush. Nothing more. “Even if I did go along with this ludicrous plan, what about my dragons? You really expect me to just give you one?”
“Not me,” Fenn said. “My kingdom. And I’ll be safely escorting you to my court, introducing you as my bride, deceiving my people and my family, all to give you your precious stardust. Not to mention I’ll be bringing you to the only person who has connections to the Dream Mage. I will need quite a big favor in return for all this, Aurelia.”
My gaze slid to Mal, who still stood behind Fenn, his golden eyes fixed on me as if asking if I was all right. A hard lump formed in my throat, and I found it hard to breathe.
Not Mal. I couldn’t give him up. I couldn’t.
“Which one?” My voice was strained, and I couldn’t take my eyes off my dragon.
Fenn’s eyes softened. “We need whichever dragon has the strongest fire.”
My chest swelled with relief, though I hated myself for it. I loved all my dragons. I really did.
But Mal held my heart.
“That would be Jorey,” I said. “His silverfire is the most powerful flame.”
Fenn’s eyebrows lifted, and the corners of his mouth tilted up in a genuine smile. Not a teasing smile or an arrogant smirk, but a soft, gentle smile that seemed to transform his features into someone else.
Into someone who resembled that stranger I met in the woods.
“Good thing he already seems quite fond of me, then,” Fenn said.
I nodded once. Yes, I could do this. Jorey did like Fenn. He could be happy with him. I straightened, squaring my shoulders. “You need to swear that you’ll protect him. No chains. No cages. No whips.”
Fenn’s expression sobered. “Yes, of course. I will ensure he is protected and looked after.”
I chewed on my lower lip, my stomach in knots. This still didn’t feel right.
“Aurelia.”
Fenn had his hands on my shoulders, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I will swear by my blood if I have to. Not one of your dragons will be hurt. Not on my watch.”
I exhaled, my breath shaky. Tears blurred my vision, and damn, but I didn’t want to cry in front of this man. I blinked rapidly to clear the fog in my gaze, trying to focus on mundane things to distract myself. The lush leaves of the trees. The smell of hydrangeas around us. The shuffling and groaning of Kade as she shifted her position, making the ground rumble.
“All right,” I said at last. “Let’s strike our bargain.”
Fenn released my shoulders and took a step away from me. “Very well. In blood?”
I nodded. Verbal bargains were binding, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Blood was the only guarantee. A bargain in blood was the most dangerous kind of magic because it resulted in instant death if broken.
Technically, a verbal bargain also resulted in death. But it was slower, and it began with a burst of pain in the mind, slowly increasing with every passing second.
If Fenn betrayed me, I didn’t want him to have any time to save himself. I wanted him to die immediately.
Fenn drew his short sword from his belt and offered it to me, but I shook my head.
“I’ll use my own.” I pulled it from the sheath at my thigh.
Fenn dragged his blade along his palm, and I did the same. Then, we clasped hands together. Already, warmth bloomed along our hands, making my skin tingle.
“I’ll go first,” Fenn offered. He took a deep breath and said in a steady voice, “I, Fennick Mardion of the Court of Midnight, swear by my blood to uphold this bargain with Aurelia Perdis of the Summer Court. I swear to escort her to my kingdom under the pretense of our royal engagement, to protect her to the best of my ability, and to supply her with as much stardust as she needs. I swear to assist her in locating the Dream Mage. I also swear to do everything in my power to protect the dragons of the Summer Court, and to ensure that whichever dragon is given to my kingdom lives the most comfortable life my people can offer.”
I mentally sifted through his words, ensuring they were to my liking, before I said my part. “I, Aurelia Perdis of the Summer Court, swear by my blood to uphold this bargain with Fennick Mardion of the Court of Midnight. I swear to travel with him to his kingdom as his intended and to play the part of his future bride… at least until I acquire the stardust I need or the Dream Mage is located. I—I vow to gift the Midnight Court one of my dragons…” I stopped to clear my throat, finding it difficult to breathe again. “…to gift the Midnight Court the dragon with the strongest flame, only after his part of the bargain is fulfilled.”
Fenn frowned for a moment. “I’d also feel a lot better if you swore you wouldn’t try to kill me.”
I scoffed. “Really?”
“I mean, I swore to protect you, so it’s only fair.”
With a groan, I added, “And I swear not to hurt, maim, or attempt to kill Prince Fennick. I also swear not to instruct my dragons to hurt or kill him, at least until our bargain is fulfilled.” I glared at the prince. “There. Satisfied?”
He smiled. “Very. Consider our bargain struck.”
“Our bargain is struck,” I echoed.
Heat burned between our palms, singeing my skin. I hissed in pain but clenched his fingers more tightly in mine, knowing it was only sealing our bargain. Steam rose from our clasped hands, and the blood between us scorched my flesh. I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out, and Fenn’s grip tensed in mine as he fought the pain as well.
At long last, the heat subsided, and I dropped his hand, lifting it to inspect my palm. I’d never struck a blood bargain before, but I’d heard of marks appearing when the bond was solidified.
Sure enough, as I flipped my hand around, I saw a small black swirl circling my middle knuckle. My breath caught in my throat as I inspected it. It was so faint it almost wasn’t visible. But it was there, forever etched into my skin.
A permanent reminder of this dangerous agreement between me and the Midnight Prince.