Chapter 12
Cercies
DELILAH
Calpurnia burst into my room at sunrise. I immediately felt the pounding headache from a night of poor choices. I rolled over, covering myself in the blanket like a burrito.
“Lila, I’m so sorry, we overslept. Oh Guardians! This is why I never drink. You will be late for training if you don’t get up right now!” she cried.
I noticed her panic was tinged with fear, and I did not want her to get into trouble.
So, to the best of my ability, I placed my feet on the floor.
When I stood, a twinge of soreness shot from my lower abdomen, and that was my fault too.
I was ashamed of myself. In fact, I felt like the shittiest wife in the history of the universe.
The worst part was that I could not even explain what had come over me or why I had thought about Titus. The entire night was such a blur.
“Don’t be sorry, Cal. It’s my fault. I’m a bad influence,” I whined.
“Are you kidding? That was the most fun I’ve had in years. I have no regrets. Let’s just try to hurry,” she replied.
She zipped around me, using her magic to gather items of clothing. I found it very odd that, amongst her kind, she was considered low on the power scale. To me, the things she could do with her magic were baffling.
The outfit was a strappy black leather bodysuit.
The material was flexible. The bottom portion was ankle-length, with strategic cutouts held together by thin black leather straps that bound the fabric along my thighs, hips, and abdomen.
The top half was snug and forced my breasts up, accentuating my cleavage.
The cutout, strappy theme continued through the arms, and the back was completely open except for thin straps that tightened like a corset.
Even though I was pulled in tight, I did not feel constricted.
Calpurnia then braided the sides of my hair and added them into my messy high ponytail.
It could pass as an intentionally teased, messy ponytail, but in reality, it was just slept-on hair.
She camouflaged the dark circles of my fatigued eyes with heavy eyeliner.
To my surprise, I looked like a sexy badass straight out of a demon-slaying video game.
“This is what female warriors wear?” I asked. It seemed more sexy than practical. She turned her attention back to me, and I could see the disappointment written all over her face.
“There are no female warriors in the Kingdom of Flame, not even female dragon riders. This is the only pants outfit I could find. Sorry if you don’t like it. It’s more like party attire, but I didn’t think training in a dress would be feasible,” she replied.
I nodded and reassured her that I was pleased with my appearance. To be honest, I did not hate it entirely. It was just more revealing than I was used to. Sister Martha was probably rolling in her grave right now.
I had become confident with the layout of the castle, at least the areas I frequented.
There was a fruit arrangement in the hall, so I snagged a banana, which was strangely better here.
Soon, I found my way to the main doors, where I was told someone would fly me to the training grounds.
My leather-heeled boots clicked against the black granite tiles as echoes rang through the grand hall.
Two male guards standing at attention by the main door looked at me as if I had two heads. Their eyes widened. Then it dawned on me that they had probably never seen a female in pants before. They opened the grand doors for me.
A silver-haired male stood with his back turned, petting his dragon. I knew that silver hair and tall, lean, muscular build anywhere. It was Aurelius.
He turned as I approached and looked at me curiously. I peeled my banana and took a bite. His gaze burned into me. I knew today was going to be awkward between us. He had come remarkably close to kissing me last night, dangerously close.
“What?” I asked him defensively.
“What in the Realms are you wearing Delilah?” He snapped.
The harshness in his tone completely caught me off guard but what bothered me more was how he addressed me, as just Delilah not Lady Delilah, was this because of last night?
I didn’t love being called lady, but he didn’t know that, did he respect me less now, after what almost happened?
“Apparently females have two options for clothing here, dresses or sex outfits, these are the only pants for females in the kingdom,” I defended fiercely.
“You cannot go to a training camp full of brutes dressed like that, please, go put a dress on.” He demanded.
I shifted my weight and placed a hand on my hip.
“I will do no such thing, I like the way I look, besides why do you even care?” I asked, my tone saucy and bold.
“Because I’m responsible for you while the High Lord is away and I don’t think he would appreciate the entire camp eye fucking his future mate!” He snapped.
“So they can’t, but you can?” I sneered while taking a purposely large bite, finishing my banana.
He took a deep breath, lowered his face to his hand pinching his eyebrows together in defeat.
“Look, I’m sorry, none of that was supposed to happen, I lost control, it won’t happen again.” He replied, voice heavy with regret.
“Let’s just go and get this over with,” I said, walking straight past him to greet Zephyros.
She greeted me the same as last time. Oddly enough, I felt calm around her.
She reminded me of a horse my grandparents used to have on their farm.
Slowly, I approached her with my hand stretched out to pet her neck, that tingling sensation in my palm returned.
I stroked her scales and she made a grumbling sound of approval.
I told her that her scales looked extra shiny today. Her eyes said thank you.
Aurelius stood behind me, observing my interaction with his dragon.
“Stunning, isn’t she?” he asked rhetorically. I nodded yes, but I was not entirely sure if he was talking to me or the dragon.
He climbed up first, then helped me up. He secured me in front of him, latching the saddle buckles.
His arms were on both sides of me as I leaned forward, holding the front passenger handles.
I felt his chest press against my nearly naked back, and my memory flashed back to last night, to the way he had cupped my face in his warm hand.
I gulped, shook off the memory, and we took off into the sky.
We landed at the base of a mountain not far from the castle itself.
Before us stood the main garrison, a base known as Dragon’s Maw.
It was named for its location in the mouth of a massive, rocky canyon where lava flowed viciously.
The rock face glowed with an internal, hellish light from the magma rivers that coursed just beneath the stone.
The Kingdom of Flame’s military base was a sensory overload, a constant hum of heat, noise, and dragon activity.
The air, perpetually thick with the scent of sulfur and scorched earth, stung my eyes and coated my tongue.
Above me, thousands of dragon nesting platforms dominated the upper tiers, each one a scorched and cratered expanse of rock. They were living arsenals, waiting for the call to war. The base itself was a marvel of rough-hewn military ingenuity.
The center of the camp was dominated by a massive forge, its smoke billowing up and out of the canyon like a permanent cloud.
This was where the smiths worked, crafting new harnesses, forging dragon-scale armor, and repairing anything a dragon’s claws or a rival’s magic might damage.
The rhythmic clang of hammer on anvil, along with the booming roars of dragons, became a constant background noise.
As we followed the main path, I felt thousands of eyes on me. Now I understood what Aurelius meant. I was drawing a lot of unwanted attention. I felt like a rabbit thrown into a den of wolves, all muscle, and teeth.
Aurelius handed me off to a captain who seemed to be one of his friends, which, for some reason, put me at ease.
He told the captain to have Cercies fly me home when he was done with me.
Aurelius acted differently toward me, so detached, as if I were nothing more than a package to deliver.
Was this because of our argument, or because of his friend?
He left on Zephyros without a single glance back, and something in me ached at his cold departure.
My training began with a tour, led by a stern-faced Fae captain who seemed to barely tolerate my presence.
We walked past warriors moving with a speed that blurred, their practice blades humming with an unheard frequency.
The captain pointed toward a grand, open-air pavilion where General Cercies was already waiting.
My heart began to pound a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
I remembered reading about him in the library.
God, I would love to be there right now instead of here.
It was unbearably hot, between the sun and pools of lava.
Why would anyone choose this location for a military base?
My head was already pounding from the hangover, and the heat only made things worse.
The book said General Cercies was a fierce and unflinching leader, a master strategist whose victories were whispered across all the lands.
Nothing, however, prepared me for the sight of him.
He stood with his back to us, observing a group of trainees with an easy, casual power.
His hair was long, black, and wavy, and as he turned, his face was revealed.
It would have been a masterpiece of perfect, inhumane symmetry if it were not for the gnarly scar through his right eye.
Somehow, it only made him more attractive.