Chapter 13
I knew this bargain was a terrible idea. But it was the only sure way to get what we both wanted. What we both needed for our kingdoms.
Mother was no fool. She would see right through our ruse.
But the kingdom wouldn’t. To them, it made sense for a royal to accept a marriage contract with a princess from another kingdom. Even if that kingdom had been our enemy for centuries.
I did this for them. It would improve my image to my people. And perhaps one day they would refer to me as the prince who saved them instead of the prince notorious for seducing women.
Aurelia kept shooting me scathing looks as she packed our belongings, attaching them to a clip on the saddle strapped along Mal’s back. I’d managed to grab my saddlebags from the stable. Somehow, Romulus, my horse, was still awake—clearly, the sleeping enchantment only worked on people, not animals—but Aurelia insisted flying would be faster.
“We’ll need horses once we reach the border,” I pointed out, remembering her claim that the dragons had to stay in the Summer Court.
“Yes, and I have a contact in Florien who can get us horses,” Aurelia said in a clipped tone.
My eyebrows shot up. “You have contacts in the Autumn Court? I thought you hated the other courts.”
She snorted. “No. Just your court.”
Fair enough .
“Here.” She shoved a warm, lumpy towel into my hands. When I glanced down at it, I saw several slices of fresh bread wrapped in a small cloth.
I blinked at her. “What’s this?”
“You know, for a royal, you aren’t very smart.” She smirked. “I would have thought you’d recognize bread when you saw it. Unless you don’t have that in your kingdom.”
I rolled my eyes and bit into the warm, soft bread before groaning in satisfaction. My stomach rumbled in acknowledgment.
“I figured you were starving,” Aurelia muttered, her gaze fixed on the ground.
“Why would you care?” I asked between mouthfuls of bread.
“I may not like you, but I’m not heartless,” she snapped. “Besides, it was going to waste anyway. The kitchen staff had just baked it before… well, before all this happened.”
“This is warm,” I pointed out, my tone accusing. Between our visit to the witch lands and our blood bargain, there was no way the loaf had stayed warm for that long.
A blush bloomed across her cheeks. “I might have put it in the hearth for a few minutes. But it was purely selfish. I wanted it warm before I ate my share.”
“Hmm.” I tore into another bite of bread, enjoying the way the buttery softness dissolved on my tongue. “Well, it’s very good. Your staff are quite talented.”
“I know.” Sorrow crossed her features, and her brows knitted together. “Are you ready?”
I swallowed the last bite of bread and nodded. Aurelia climbed atop Mal, but when I moved to join her, she shook her head. “You’ll be flying Jorey.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
A loud, indignant snort sounded to my left. I turned and found the silver dragon pawing at the ground, his sharp talons piercing the soil. On his back was a saddle identical to Mal’s.
I felt the blood drain from my face as I gaped at Aurelia. “You can’t be serious.”
“If he’s to be your dragon, you need to learn how to fly on your own. ”
“Not now !” I said weakly. “I thought we needed to move quickly! How do you expect to travel to the border at a decent pace when you have to coach a bumbling idiot to fly on his own?”
She arched an eyebrow at me, clearly amused. “Bumbling idiot? You? Never.”
“I know. I’m normally the picture of charisma and grace. So you must know that if I’ll go so far as to say I’m a bumbling idiot around dragons, then I mean it.”
The corners of her mouth twitched, but she wouldn’t look at me. Instead, she focused on tightening the straps of the buckle on Mal’s saddle. “What did you mean when you said you came into the forest to dance?”
I was silent for a moment, still fixated on the horrifying notion of riding a dragon on my own. “What?”
She finally looked at me, her eyes solemn. “When we first met, you said you came into the forest to dance. Clearly, that wasn’t true, but I can’t figure out how you were able to say it if it was a lie.”
“Oh.” I swallowed around a tight lump in my throat as I was reminded, once again, of the deception of our first meeting.
Except it wasn’t a deception. Not on my part. As much as she wanted to believe in my duplicity, I hadn’t known her identity then.
Perhaps I could demonstrate as much with a kernel of truth.
With a deep breath, I said, “I didn’t say that was my purpose for being in the woods. I said I often went into the forest to dance. Which, in my kingdom, is the truth. Every week we hold a Nightfire fete, which involves food and dancing and merriment. It’s a celebration of stars and the resources that make it possible for the fire to burn brightly.”
Aurelia’s brows knitted together in confusion. “And you do this… in the forest?”
“The entire event takes place outdoors. On the balconies, the verandas, the gardens, and, yes, the forest. It’s a celebration of nature and nightfall, so it’s best enjoyed where we can see the stars. The Crescent Glade is my favorite place to dance during the fete. It’s just outside my castle.”
She made a small sound in the back of her throat, and it wasn’t until I looked at her and noticed her lips twitching again that I realized it was a small laugh. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m just having trouble picturing you dancing on your own in the forest. It seems rather silly.”
“Well, of course it would be silly to dance alone. But I always have a partner.”
Her expression cleared, and she nodded, ducking her head as she continued fiddling with the saddle. “Right. Of course.” She cleared her throat. “And, with your dwindling resources, what does your court do now? Do you continue with these Nightfire celebrations?”
My stomach twisted at the reminder that my people were suffering. The last I’d seen, one of the Nightfire braziers had gone out, and the southern sector had been attacked by unseelie beasts.
How many other sectors had lost their Nightfire? How many people had we lost to the unseelie tribes?
“No,” I said at last. “No, I believe my mother would have discontinued the fete for the time being. But I’m hopeful that our arrival can start it up again.” Something warm tickled the back of my hand, and I jumped, my heart lurching in my chest. Jorey had drawn closer and pressed his snout into my hand as if searching for treats. His warm breath tickled my skin.
Aurelia laughed. “Saddle up, prince. It’s time for your first flying lesson.”
Even though Aurelia had instructed me on how to tighten the saddle, I still felt like I was about to fall off.
But, to his credit, Jorey was a smooth flier, and, unlike Mal, his movements were slow and careful, as if he knew how nervous I was. My body was rigid, my arms wrapped around Jorey’s neck as his silver scales dug into my flesh, but I didn’t care. It kept me more securely on his back.
“He can sense your distress,” Aurelia said as she and Mal glided alongside me. “He won’t fly so fast if he thinks you are uneasy.”
“I am uneasy,” I snapped. “I can’t just turn off the emotion, Aurelia. ”
She chuckled. My terror amused her. “Relax, prince. I wouldn’t have put you on my dragon if I thought he would kill you. That would go against our bargain.”
I frowned, mulling over her words. She was right. She wouldn’t risk allowing the blood bargain to claim her life. Not over this.
I took a deep breath and loosed my hold around Jorey’s neck. He grumbled softly as if to reassure me. I patted the top of his head. “You’re a kind creature, Jorey. I think we’ll get on splendidly.”
His right ear twitched, and his body jerked as his tail swished back and forth. He truly was just like a playful canine.
“You dig in your heels when you want to slow,” Aurelia said. “Otherwise they will take off at their own speed. Generally, you can trust their pace, but… with some of the more unruly dragons, you have to be more careful.” Her mouth quirked in an endearing smile, no doubt as she fondly recalled this experience with some of her other dragons.
“Dig in my heels,” I repeated. “So, like, the opposite of riding a horse.”
“Yes.”
“Perfect,” I grumbled. “That’s not confusing at all.”
“If you put your trust in Jorey, he will take care of you,” Aurelia said. “He is the tamest of all the dragons. I even let my sister ride him once.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
“Really.”
I nodded, focusing on a steady exhale before dragging one finger along the smooth surface of Jorey’s scales. The silver sparkled in the sunlight, momentarily distracting me from my fear. “All right, then. Off we go, Jorey. My life is in your hands.”
Jorey let out a sound that seemed a lot like an excited bark. A laugh bubbled in my throat, but before I could react, Jorey jerked forward, taking a nosedive straight for the ground.
A scream tore through me, the wind lashing my body as we descended. Just when I thought we would crash into the treetops, Jorey leveled, arcing smoothly in the air, his wings folded back as we gained speed. The momentum carried us, the trees a blur beneath us. My eyes burned, and tears streamed down my face. The scream still felt lodged in my throat, and my chest felt ready to burst from the tension coiled within me. Jorey’s muscles pumped from under my legs, and his wings flapped once, giving us another burst of speed. My heart raced, thundering against my rib cage as I waited for the inevitable fall, for my body to slide easily off the saddle and into oblivion.
But it never happened. I stayed atop the dragon, secured by the saddle. A whoop sounded from behind me. I shot a quick glance over my shoulder to find Mal swerving and spinning in the air with Aurelia laughing, her arms spread wide.
Like the firebird she was.
A grin formed, and I found myself wanting to laugh along with her. But Jorey flapped his wings again, and the movement jostled me. Startled, I faced forward again and scrambled for purchase, my hands instinctively searching for reins that weren’t there. Jorey seemed to sense my disorientation; he leveled out, angling his body so I was perfectly lined up with the saddle. Somehow, he could sense which direction my body was wobbling. He knew exactly how to tilt himself so I could right my balance.
A single, surprised chuckle burst from my lips. Jorey’s ears twitched as if he, too, were laughing.
“Amazing,” I murmured, patting his head again. I noticed there were three triangular ridges along the back of his neck. When I poked at one, a low, rumbling hum vibrated through him, almost like a purr. “Are you ticklish there?” I teased, then nudged the ridge more firmly. He stiffened, his left wing twitching, and flicked his ear in agitation.
“Probably best not to do that when he’s focused on keeping you steady,” Aurelia said from my right.
Despite her teasing, I couldn’t help but shoot her a wide grin. “This is incredible.”
She smirked. “I know.”
“How much farther until we get to the border?”
But Aurelia was frowning, her gaze distant. Her hand stroked the side of Mal’s neck, and only then did I notice the dragon was flexing his talons, his nostrils flaring wide.
“What is it?” she murmured to him.
Mal made a low growling sound, and Aurelia’s head jerked upward, her eyes scanning the trees below us .
“What did he say?” I asked, unease trickling through me. From beneath me, Jorey’s muscles flexed, his head turning slightly to the left. One ear perked up as if he heard something I couldn’t.
Aurelia shot me a dark look. “There’s a clan of goblins waiting for us at the border.”