My consciousness returned to the sound of murmuring voices.
“Why does the washroom look like a bomb went off?” The king’s growly voice invaded my mind but I was too weak to open my eyes.
“My lord, I cannot explain it. She… exploded with power,” Dr. Elsie said. “I’ve never seen so much dragon fire in my life. Luckily, Narine and I are partial dragon-folk or we would have burned alive. I was able to use my elf magic to shield us from most of the blast.”
My heart raced with what I was hearing. Were they talking about me?
I finally managed to open my eyelids and peered down at the end of my bed. King Valdren stood with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. Dried cuts and scars littered his arms, and there was black charcoal along his neck. He was fresh from battle.
“What does it mean?” he asked the doctor. I closed my eyes in case they were going to look over at me. I too wanted to know what it meant. Last I remembered, I’d been burning up, literally, and then Dr. Elsie had dunked me into some water and I passed out.
When the doctor spoke, her voice was so soft I barely heard her. “My lord, she reeked of spellwork. As if someone had done a spell to conceal her powers and the spell suddenly fell away, unable to contain it anymore.”
Hades. This was not good. Everything my mother had said was turning out to be true.
“Why would someone conceal her power?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“I do not know, but if you’re looking for someone to carry a child for you… she should be a top contender.” I heard her shuffle closer to him. “She smelled pure-blooded.”
I stiffened, feeling his eyes on me. My heart beat so loud and so frantically that I was sure the entire room could hear it.
Top contender for royal womb?
No. That’s not what I was supposed to be doing. My mother said to lay low and hurry home. Then I exploded with dragon fire in front of the king’s personal physician and had just moved myself up to top rank.
“Pure-blooded isn’t possible,” he said dismissively.
“A healer elf’s nose doesn’t lie,” she retorted.
“You’re half elf.” His voice held a dangerousness that scared me.
“Well, she’s close to pure-blooded,” the doctor amended. “I’m sure of that. Have the sniffers check her now to confirm it if you like.”
A silence fell over the both of them, and then the king spoke barely above a whisper. “Do you really think she’s powerful enough to carry and deliver a baby to term? I can’t bury another child.” The king’s voice broke, and the icy wall I’d built around my heart melted in an instant.
The sorrow in his tone consumed me. I had to swallow a whimper.
“Let’s let her rest,” the doctor said suddenly, and I feared that I actually had whimpered. My eyes snapped open just in time to see her pulling him out of the room.
Once I heard the door shut, I rolled onto my side and stared at the gold-stamped dragon emblem wallpaper.
He was just a man who wanted a child, and his magic was so powerful that most women’s bodies could not carry one for him. Would it be so bad if I were to? I wanted children eventually—but I wanted to fall in love first and then have a baby born out of that love. What this whole spectacle sounded like was that the king wanted the heir and not the woman. I wasn’t signing up for that.
I just needed to pray that my magic stayed in my body for the rest of my time here and that he chose someone else to be his next queen. I wanted him to have his heir, just not with me, not in a competition. I wouldn’t be a prize.
I fell back asleep with thoughts of Nathanial and the kissing tent. The way he looked at Ruby Ronaldson meant that even if I did go home, they’d already be engaged.
IT TOOK me two days to recover from my fever and accidental dragon explosion incident. I played dumb to the doctor, saying that I had no idea about any magic, and that as far as I knew I was a watered-down dragon-folk. Doctor Elsie and Narine had sustained some slight burns that had already healed, but all in all were okay. The washroom repairs would take a week, but in the meantime I could use the second guest washroom. Something rich people had.
The next morning I awoke to hear Narine whistling. My eyelids sprang open and I peered at her. She was bopping on her heels, hands behind her back.
“What?” I mumbled. Narine didn’t display this sort of happiness for no reason.
“You have a lunch date with the king in a few hours!” she squealed.
I bolted upright, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “What?”
Narine nodded. “And a dress has come for the occasion.”
Oh, that’s why she was excited.
I dipped my head. “Good. Take the dress and sell it before I’ve even worn it. I don’t want to get anything on it.”
She frowned. “But… my lady, you have only simple day dresses not suitable for lunch with his royal highness.”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, reaching my arms over my head to stretch. “His royal highness saw me kill a man while I rode on his back. He doesn’t expect a lady. Fetch my trousers and tunic.”
If it was lunch alone with him and not a big event with the other women, I wanted to be myself. I was worried it would be an interrogation about my heritage now that Dr. Elsie had told him she’d smelled a spell on me.
Narine swayed on her feet, grasping the window ledge as if she were going to faint. “My lady… you can’t… wear trousers to have lunch with the king.”
“I can and I will,” I informed her. I wasn’t going to be someone I was not for a man who might end up killing me if he found out about my magic.
No thanks.
Narine took a few steadying breaths. “This could look bad on me with Annabeth,” she said.
I waved her off and walked out of the room into the washroom. “I’ll tell her you are amazing and I forced you to allow me to wear my preferred clothes.”
She let a small smile slip. “Do you even want to see the dress before I sell it?”
I started to brush my teeth and nodded. She left the room and returned holding a silky pink and purple gown with hand-stitched flowers and frilly sleeves.
I spit into the washbasin and then looked at her. “It’s beautiful.”
It was. It would look amazing on Kendal.
She seemed hopeful, gesturing for me to take it.
“Sell it. I’ll let you do my hair.”
With a groan she nodded. “At least wear a corset over your tunic to accentuate your waist. Hiding that figure under baggy clothing won’t land you a husband.”
Thinking of my mother’s advice to seduce the king if things looked like they might not be going in my favor made me realize Narine was right.
I nodded.
It was a good compromise.
A few hours later, I peered into the mirror with a smile.
I wore tight black suede hunting trousers, a royal blue silk tunic that was short and tight—nothing like I’d ever seen before—and a small black leather waist cincher that ended just under my bust. I made sure Narine didn’t tie it tightly, and even did a squat to make sure I could move about easily.
She’d curled my hair and braided it over one shoulder. I even let her fuss over me with makeup.
“I think you may have just invented a new style.” Narine stared at me, rubbing her chin. “I like it.”
I put my hands on my small waist. “I love it.” Reaching out, I slipped my hunting blade into a thigh holster on my waist and Narine shook her head.
“For lunch with the king! Are you mad?” She yanked the blade out and stashed it in a drawer nearby.
I spit out my tongue at her. She already had a buyer for the dress. Ten jade coins, sight unseen.
There was a knock at the door.
Narine answered it, and then looked at me, stricken. “It’s Annabeth, here to take you to your lunch date.”
I nodded, knowing she was worried how me not wearing the dress might look.
I walked into view of Annabeth and watched as her gaze ran over my outfit. “Don’t you love my stylish trouser suit? I insisted on wearing it. I think it will be all the rage at court once I am queen,” I said with a Jade City accent.
Annabeth shared a worried look with Narine.
“I tried to persuade her to wear the dress,” Narine said nervously.
Annabeth stared at Narine with pity, and then at me. “It looks… like something Regina might wear.”
I grinned. That was truly a compliment. “Thanks.”
After wishing Narine a good day, Annabeth led me down a network of hallways to a smaller set of double doors. “The king’s private dining hall,” Annabeth said, and opened the door. She took one last look at my outfit and shook her head. “Good luck.”
I tried not to let my nerves get the better of me. Had the king requested this lunch with me to probe about my magic? Or was he meeting all of the women privately to assess their wifeliness?
I stepped into the hall as she closed the doors behind me. Spinning around, I surveyed the room. It was covered in black plush carpet; the walls were black as well, with a gold dragon emblem print. It would have been too dark if not for the magnificent chandelier and giant open window facing the garden. It was masculine, and fitting for the dragon king.
In the center of the room was a small four-person dining table. I suddenly felt weird being here. Had he eaten here with Queen Amelia?
A thwack drew my attention to the window and I wandered over to peer outside. The king was shooting a bow and arrow in the garden.
Now that was what I called a date. I looked for the door that led outside to join him, but he stowed the bow and began walking towards me. The back doors to the room opened and a man stepped in rolling a food cart.
“Oh, hey.” I walked over to the table but didn’t yet sit down. I didn’t want to sit in the king’s favorite chair or anything.
A second later, the man of the hour stepped inside. He wore a nice black silk dress tunic that fell past his knees, and suede trousers much like mine. His gaze landed on me and did a slow inventory of my body, before a halfcocked smile dragged across his lips.
“Did Annabeth see you dressed like that?” he asked.
I nodded. “She loved it,” I lied, knowing he could smell it.
“Liar.”
I grinned. Okay, he was in a joking mood. This was good.
“Thank you, Ferlin,” the king told the man who had set two plates full of warm food at the table.
“Ladies first,” the king said, gesturing to the table-sitting closest to me. I nodded, taking my seat, and pulled my napkin onto my lap.
Ferlin wheeled his cart out and I looked at the delicious plate before me. Crab, potatoes, and some kind of green salad.
“I’m starved. I skipped breakfast,” I informed him and grabbed my fork, digging into the deliciousness. I made sure to take small bites and chew slowly so that he didn’t think me a total pigin, but still he seemed to watch me with careful eyes.
He reached over and grasped his fork, pretending to write on the table. “Refuses to wear dresses, eats like a starved child… anything else I should know?” he asked, half smiling.
I had to hold in my shocked laughter. The king is funny. I liked seeing this side of him. I grabbed my fork and mimicked him by pretending to write on the table.
“Is currently dating a hundred women at once, only wants me for my womb.” I gave him a challenging smirk.
His eyes absolutely glittered with mirth at my jab.
He pretended to scribble on the table again. “Can take a joke and hit back with one.”
I laughed. “I didn’t take you for a funny guy.”
He shrugged. “You’re different than the others. I like that. I feel I can be relaxed around you.”
It was a very sweet thing to say. It made me wonder if he had people in his life that he felt he couldn’t be himself around.
“I do not covet the dresses and flowers and makeup as much as the other women, that’s true.” I nodded.
He took a bite of his food. “Are you enjoying the crab? Have you ever had it before?”
“It’s wonderful. I’ve only had crab one other time, on a visit to Jade City a few years ago.”
He looked surprised at that. “You’ve been to Jade City before?”
I nodded. “Back when Queen Amelia was—for the royal wedding.” I stopped myself, realizing what I’d done. “I had a wonderful time.” I left it at that, regretting saying her name, unsure how painful it was for him to hear.
He gave me a wan smile, taking a bite of his own food, but a darkness had cast itself over our meal. It was silent for a moment and I felt awful.
“I’m sorry for bringing her up. I wasn’t thinking,” I finally said.
He waved me off. “It’s fine. I just miss her. She was my best friend.”
“How long had you known her before you got married?” I asked, wondering if asking these questions was okay.
He swallowed hard. “It’s not a well-known thing, so please keep this private, but Amelia and I were betrothed at birth by our parents.”
I gasped. “Betrothed at birth? You always knew you were going to marry her?”
He nodded. “Always.”
An arranged marriage. They were more common with the fae than here but they did happen. Still, I wasn’t sure how I would feel knowing my whole life had been mapped out for me. He’d called her his best friend, but did that mean that’s all they were? Or was there a romantic love too? My tongue burned with unasked questions that I forced myself to swallow down.
“So when did you start hunting?” He changed the subject and I was grateful.
I swallowed hard, the lump of crab falling into my stomach like a stone. “After my father died. I was nine.”
His hand stilled. “The men in your village didn’t help out your family? I thought the Cinder community was close?”
I nodded. “We are. They helped as long as they could, but with my little sister there are three mouths to feed, and my mom didn’t want to remarry just for food. So I took on the responsibility. Kept us fed.”
His hand reached out, draping over mine, and heat pooled in my belly as I looked up into his sincere green eyes. “That’s incredibly admirable of you, Arwen.”
It was as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. His hand on mine caused my chest to heave. He must have realized the effect his touch had on me, because he yanked it back a second later.
“So have you been feeling well? No more fevers?” He changed the subject again. He seemed to be an expert at that.
I picked at my dinner roll, no longer trusting my body to stick with the plan.
What was the plan? Oh yeah, don’t fall for the king! He didn’t want love, he wanted my magical womb, and might kill me if he found out who my birth mother was. Yet I couldn’t help but admit I’d judged him wrong. He was not what I thought. “Nope. All good.”
“Did you know you had a spell on you to keep your powers hidden?” he asked nonchalantly, but I saw his body stiffen. He didn’t fully trust me, and he could smell a lie, so I had to be careful.
I shook my head. “I had nothing to do with any spell put on me.” It was the truth, but didn’t fully answer his question.
He seemed pleased with that answer. “I’ll need to teach you to control your powers as they fully come forward. You don’t want to get angry and breathe fire all over someone.”
My eyes widened. “You think I can breathe fire?” I was genuinely shocked to think of being capable of such a thing.
He shrugged. “It’s possible. Over the next few days I’ll have you work with myself or Regina to see.”
I shrank into myself, suddenly uncomfortable with him trying to get me to display my power. “I… don’t know how I feel about that. I’ve never displayed dragon magic before.”
He waved me off. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Relief rushed through me and we settled into an easy conversation. What my biggest animal kill was, what his was, our favorite weapon.
“I’m a fan of the bow.” I tipped my head outside to where he had been practicing.
“I prefer a spear,” he said, finishing his last bite of crab.
He followed my gaze to the archery set-up outside. “Do you want to have a go?”
I stood eagerly. “I thought you’d never ask.”
He shook his head with a smile, and then indicated I follow him outside. Once we were on the lawn, he handed me a medium sized bow. I recognized the elven gold immediately.
“Gift from the elf king when I was a teenager,” he told me. “It should be about your size.”
I lowered the bow and reached out to hand it back to him. “I shouldn’t use such a special gift.”
He waved me off. “It fits you,” was all he said before he took a larger bow of his own.
I let my fingers trail the smooth alder wood, running my fingertips over the filigree engraving on the gold. Plucking an arrow from the basket, I set the notch into the string and pulled it a few times to test the tightness and get a feel for the weapon.
I could feel the king watching me as I raised the bow up and locked my elbow, drawing the string back. I lined it up with the center dot on the wooden target and took in a deep breath. I readjusted my aim and then held my breath, releasing the arrow.
It sailed through the air and sliced into the wood with a thwack.
Right on the dot.
I glanced over at the king and he nodded. “Impressive.”
I stepped to the side and then he strode up to the shooter’s position.
He pulled one arrow, barely took a half second to line it up, and then released it. It landed an inch above mine. Before I could comment, he grabbed another arrow, released it, another and another. Within thirty seconds he’d loosed half a dozen arrows and drawn a circle around mine in the center.
When he looked back at me with a smirk, I rolled my eyes.
“Showoff.”
Deep throaty laughter erupted from him and it warmed my belly. “Would this be a date without a little showing off?” he asked.
A date. He called it a date. My whole body coiled in response to the word. I suddenly wasn’t so mad about being in the running to be his wife. Would it be so bad? He seemed like a nice guy, he was handsome, funny, and a good shot with a bow. I did find myself wondering if he had asked me to lunch because Dr. Elsie had told him I was one of his best shots to getting an heir. I didn’t want to be chosen for my child-bearing abilities.
“It’s not a proper date unless I get dessert,” I added playfully.
He tipped his head in agreement. “To the kitchens.”
“I FEEL A BIT SICK… but I can’t stop!” I exclaimed an hour later.
The king watched me lick melted chocolate off my fork and his eyes hooded as I swiped my tongue out again to get the last crumb of cake from the utensil.
We were sitting at a small table in the kitchen, and the Jade Castle chef had just given us an entire chocolate raspberry cake to share with two forks.
I looked at the king quizzically, enjoying this day that we’d had together. It wasn’t what I had expected—and to be honest I wanted more of it. “What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?”
He scrunched up his face at my question. “Ratin.”
“No way you’ve eaten ratin!” I pointed to him. “Liar.”
He smiled easily, something he seemed to do a lot of in my presence. His teeth were bright white and straight. When he smiled hugely there was a slight dimple in his right cheek. “I have. The Drayken and I were stuck in a cave for three days fighting off the Nightfall queen two summers back. They tried to starve us out.”
Wow, I hadn’t thought his royal highness would eat ratin, but he was a warrior too, so it made sense.
“Ratin was the first kill I brought home after my father died,” I told him.
His face took on a somber mood and he nodded. “The pangs of hunger are not picky, I have learned.”
I dipped my chin. “They are not.”
He looked into my eyes then and a conflicted feeling came over me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy his company. I didn’t like the sense of duty providing an heir entailed but I couldn’t lie to myself anymore… I liked him.
He reached out and grasped a stray lock of my blond hair, tucking it behind my ear, and chills ran the length of my back. His hand stilled and he stroked two fingers across my cheek. My eyelids fluttered closed and the door burst open, causing both of us to jump. The king yanked his hand back and my eyelids snapped open.
“My lord, we have an emergency in Grim Hollow,” a guard said.
The king took one more look at me. “Thank you for meeting me, Arwen.”
I nodded, still feeling him tracing my cheek even though he was no longer touching me. I wanted to thank him too and to ask him what was going on in Grim Hollow, but by the time my wits returned to me, he was gone and I was left feeling all kinds of confused.
