Chapter 16
Iget up early, then climb to the dormitory and to the bathing chambers, where I wash myself, then set this dress aside as my outfit to spend time with the hatchlings, making sure it doesn’t touch any of my other clothes.
When I return to the bedroom, Celine sits up and greets me. “Had a nice night?”
I shake my head. “Too much star nectar. Is it normal to see things? Weird things?”
She shrugs. “I’ve heard some people saying that, but it never happened to me.”
“I wasn’t… Did you see me leaving the beach?”
She tilts her head. “We walked together. With Alayel and Flavio. You don’t remember that?”
Her words undo a knot in my stomach. At least I know I wasn’t snatched through some strange portal back to Alayel’s room. “You walked with me?”
Celine bites her lip, thinking. “You looked normal, Mayara.”
It’s what Alayel told me, so he wasn’t lying. “But I don’t remember any of it.”
“Oh. Odd. Hang on.” Her eyes widen. “Did you do it with him and forget it?”
“No. I came back to myself, and it was all so strange that I left.” Wanting to change the subject, I ask, “Where’s Nelly?”
Celine smiles. “I think she had a good night.”
“I did.” Nelly walks into the room, yawning. “But didn’t sleep. So tired. Hungry too. Shall we go downstairs?”
We head to the refectory together, where few recruits are eating. Among them, I don’t see Alayel or Marcus.
Celine and Nelly have flying classes, so I’m on my own, and I go to that silly library. The book that I get is the one about the Kingdom of the Riders. My reading is not the fastest, but from a quick scan, I see nothing about magical objects or magical powers.
And yet Mallor wasn’t surprised when I mentioned magic to him. It means that Dracolius knows about it, and yet they don’t tell the recruits. There should be more books elsewhere. The question is where.
And where is the staff?
My heart is beating fast, my palms are cold, my chest is warm. Alayel’s hand in mine brings me some comfort, but not much, as he walks me toward his room.
The day went by in a blur, as I spent some time trying to study dragons with Celine, still unable to find any useful information. We had dinner at the refectory, and now I’m here, like I promised.
I might yell Your Highness.
Next time, I’ll remember not to make any promises under the evil effect of star nectar, but the truth is that there won’t be any next time, as I’m positive I’ll never take that vile drink again.
The rider and that staff haven’t left my mind, the bizarre image making me cringe from time to time. To be fair, most of the time I don’t cringe, I just…
The thought of admitting, even to myself, in the sacred space of my mind, what kinds of thoughts the rider conjures feels strange and scary and dangerous. Dark depths calling me. Depths I need to forget.
Well, I’m here.
With Marcus, it was different; we spent a lot of time getting to know each other, but it’s true that it was before the academy, when we thought we’d have an eternity before us.
But I don’t want to regret my decision to come here and I have no desire to walk back on my word. I even applied golden oil, to be sure I was prepared. I’ve wanted Alayel since I first laid eyes on him—but knowing that does nothing to ease my nerves.
When he opens the door, his room feels different.
A scent of warm wax cuts through the numbness still lingering in my nose. The lumos jars are covered and candles crowd every surface, an orange glow filling the room as shadows flicker on the walls.
I’m stunned. “It’s beautiful.”
“Not half as beautiful as you.” He eyes me up and down. Devours me. This time, I like it. “Want something to drink?” he asks.
“Nothing.” A nervous chuckle leaves my lips. “I’m still traumatized.”
Alayel laughs and walks to the counter, candlelight accentuating the muscles in his forearms as he reaches for two cups and fills them from different jugs, then returns with them cradled in one hand.
“Water,” he says. “I wouldn’t want you to forget such a special moment.”
“Remember you need to be nice.”
He tilts his head, a corner of his mouth pulling up. “When am I not?”
I look down at my cup. “When you ignore me.”
“It goes both ways.” He takes a long sip of his drink, which my dulled sense of smell identifies as wine. “There’s something I need to tell you. And ask you.”
“What?” I take a sip of my water.
“I’m going to become the king of Dracolius.” He pauses, watching me over the rim of his cup. “You know that, don’t you?”
By now, what I do know is that Alayel is extremely presumptuous, but I still want to understand his logic. “Why do you think your father won’t choose one of the princesses?”
He chuckles. “Trust me that I just know, Mayara. I’ve spent too long having to watch my back to let a spoiled princess take the throne and kill me. I won’t let that happen.”
“You think your father favors you?”
He pauses, holding the cup mid-air. “I’m pretty sure he thought I was going to die in the Kingdom of the Riders.
I’m not sure that’s favoring… But… I’m winning him over.
Plus, Princess Ledeia won’t leave that goon.
” He lifts his cup, his gaze never leaving mine, a subtle threat in his dark eyes.
“What’s the deal? Marcus and you? He said you were betrothed. ”
“There hasn’t been anything between us for over a year, and we were never betrothed. He delivered fish at the restaurant, and we got acquainted.”
His jaw tightens. “Closely acquainted?”
I don’t like his veiled threat, his odd jealousy. “Why should I tell you?”
Alayel sets the cup aside, on a low table, and leans forward. “Because I want to get more than closely acquainted with you. When I’m king, what will that make you?”
I look down at my water, the surface glowing faintly under the candlelight, and I watch it for a moment before I raise my eyes to him. “You tell me.”
He reaches over and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “The most beautiful and enchanting queen in the world.”
He’s exaggerating, I’m sure of that. “But see, if Marcus is a problem for Princess Ledeia, I’m also—”
He places a finger on my lips. “Hush. I’ll make the rules.
And there’s a difference between queen consort and king consort.
All a queen needs to do is smile and be pleasant.
A king consort, they’ll fear he’ll seize the power for himself.
Nobody will let Ledeia take the throne and risk a fisherman for a king.
” He sighs. “It’s a pity, as I can’t even consider killing him. ”
The word killing twists my stomach, but I keep my face composed. “Why would that even cross your mind?”
“I wouldn’t kill him, no. Let him and Ledeia live their true love.” He snorts.
“You don’t believe in love, then.”
He blinks slowly, his long eyelashes fanning his face. “Of course I do. Why do you think I hover around you like a fool, even after you reject me time after time?”
I set my cup aside. “I never rejected you.”
“Twice now you’ve run away from my room as if it was catching fire.”
“So now you made sure your room is full of real fire.”
He puts a hand over his chest. “Fiery like my heart, Mayara.”
I laugh, then look down. “Last night… was very strange. It had nothing to do with you.”
“I’m not complaining. I’m here,” he murmurs, his voice low, comforting, caressing something inside me. “Still can’t let you go. Still can’t forget you. Tell me you’ll be my queen. Tell me you want this.”
For some reason, I hesitate. “We don’t know each other that well. I’m not saying no.”
He leans even closer, enveloping me in his inebriating scent as he runs a hand through my hair.
“I know more than enough about you. How many other women would have walked into a dragon nest? I don’t want a pretty fool.
I want someone who can handle me. Someone who’s not afraid of being strong.
Someone who can be a queen. That’s you. I’ve made my choice—and I get everything I want. ”
His words make me tremble, but I stare at him as if in a challenge, and keep my tone playful. “You think your arrogance is endearing?”
“Not at all. I think it’s intimidating, and that’s how I like it. May all the weaklings run away. I want someone strong. I want you.”
I’m so flustered that an unrelated thought comes to mind. “What happened to your roommate?” I’m thinking of the young man Mallor told me was murdered, wondering if by any chance Alayel who killed him.
Alayel tilts his head and grimaces, visibly puzzled, the mood in the room shifting at once. “You want to know that now?”
Fine, it’s a weird time, but I need to know. “One of your roommates, he disappeared, did he not? Was he the one who was going to accompany you to the Kingdom of the Riders?”
“Oh. Yes. I think… he ran away. With all the talk of negotiating with smugglers, I suppose he found a way to escape Dracolius, escape the academy. In the end, he never planned to help me. Maybe he even conspired with those smugglers who betrayed us.” The slight rasp in his voice makes me believe him.
“Maybe.” I don’t want to mention that his roommate was murdered, as I don’t want to reveal how I got that information. Perhaps I should tell him that his friend didn’t run away, but something makes me stop.
Alayel looks at me. “You thought I had tricked him or something, didn’t you?”
“No. I didn’t know. After he disappeared, were you planning to steal the eggs on your own?”
He nods. “At first, yes, then I saw you, saw what you did. I figured Foros was watching out for me.”
“Right. And yet I failed at the Foros table.”
“That wasn’t my fault.” He traces the line of my jaw. “And now you’re where you wanted, aren’t you? Sometimes we need to be patient.”
His thumb finds my lower lip, and I let it part me open as I close my eyes, basking in his touch.
The candles blur at the edges of my vision, my heart beating fast in my chest, when the image of the rider comes to mind, as if my vision had been real.
The rider, the rider. Stupid obsession.
Alayel’s right here—and I make up my mind. I don’t need to complicate things, don’t need to think. All I need to do is surrender.