Dragon's Heart

by Michelle Rabe

The double doors swung open, and she paused, taking in the long hall filled with men, women, and children. A collective gasp went up from the crowd as Serena’s wings settled into their resting position on her back. Her eyes scanned the crowd, locking gazes with the occasional person until they glanced away. She walked, a slow, regal glide, through the center of the crowd, feeling the weight of every eye on her. Sometimes being a member of the nobility is about statesmanship, the rest of the time, it’s about… theater. Killian’s voice filled the silence in her head, and she closed her eyes for a moment before shutting him out, focusing instead on what was happening in the chamber. Murmurs rippled through the assembly. Every so often, she heard her father’s or mother’s name mentioned.

  Most of the crowd shifted, those toward the middle jostling for better position. A few steps ahead of her, a small child stumbled into her path, and Serena moved without thinking, closing the gap and bending to one knee helping the child to his feet. Whispers moved through the assemblage, but Serena paid them no mind.

  She tipped the child’s chin so she could see his face. “Are you hurt?”

  “N-n-no, Highness,” the little boy stammered.

  Serena giggled and stood, bringing him with her. “Very well, back to your family.” She pressed a quick kiss on the boy’s forehead before handing him to his mother.

  She raised her gaze to the throne at the end of the hall and started walking again when the whispers rolled off her like water as she mounted the three steps to the elevated dais. Stopping in front of the throne, she gathered up one side of her skirt and turned to face her people.

  Altus stepped forward. “My lords and ladies. Good people of the clans. Presenting, her royal Highness, Serena NicArryan.” His voice rang out through the hall, each word a hollow echo in her ears.

  The princess looked out across the sea of men and women, and her mouth went dry as she tried to remember what she was supposed to do next. She drew a blank. No one moved to resume their seats. In fact, all but the youngest children were still bent in various types of bows.

  Theater indeed. Serena swallowed hard, trying to detach her tongue from the roof of her mouth. She sat and said, “Please, rise.” Her voice was soft but somehow filled the hall.

  Altus waited until the assembly had settled into their seats and the room had quieted before he spoke again. “Her Royal Highness Princess Serena will be hearing and ruling on your petitions. Please rise and approach when your name is called. The princess will hear your plea and make a decision based on the information you present.” He took a deep breath. “All decisions made by the princess will be binding and final.”

  Serena stood before the mirror in her chambers. Staring into the polished surface, she picked up her skirt, feeling the smooth material between her fingers, and then she let it fall. Her wings settled behind her as the maids finished their work and disappeared with bows and whispered compliments. She looked at the young woman in the mirror and in an instant felt as if someone else was looking back at her. The heavy white and crimson embroidered dress was one of the concessions to human customs because of Killian’s blood and station. She raised the skirt and turned when someone knocked on the door.

  “Come,” Serena called out, expecting to see her father or mother but not all four of her brothers. “What are you doing?” She walked forward about halfway through the room, dropped her skirt and put her hand on her hip. Waiting for an answer, she tried to figure out why her brothers had Killian standing in the middle of them, blindfolded.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” her betrothed said from the center of the group.

  Dalton, her eldest brother, stepped forward. “He’s all yours, little fireball, and we’ll be outside when you’re ready to throw him out.”

  Serena rolled her eyes and kissed her brother’s cheek. “I’m not so little anymore.”

  “True.” He dropped a peck on her cheek and walked out of the suite shaking his head, Kirin falling into step beside him.

  Baylenn and Sloane closed the distance between them and their sister, each kissing one cheek before they spoke, in unison. “You’re sure about him, fireball?”

  She laughed, as pink flooded her cheeks and she shook her head. “Yes. I am.”

  “Because, if he hurts you…” Baylenn said.

  “If even one tear falls on account of him,” Sloane finished.

  “He knows exactly what will happen,” Killian said with a sigh, “the consequences have been explained in great detail… More than once.”

  “Good.”

  “As long as we’re clear, the twins said one after the other as they sauntered out of the suite, closing the doors behind them.

  Serena let the silence stretch, content to take in the sight of Killian standing before her in his black and silver wedding finery with an out of place blue sash tied over his eyes. He licked his lips and shifted his weight from one foot to the other while adjusting the grip on the hilt of his sword.

  “Serena?” His voice was uncertain as though he didn’t expect a response.

  “What are you doing here? I thought…”

  “With everything happening, I started to feel cut off from you. I know this is our day but…” he answered.

  “There are so many things we had to accept because we’re both royals.”

  “I would have preferred a small ceremony. I just want you to be mine.”

  “I am yours.” Serena caught him around the waist and brushed a kiss on his lips. “Always. However, that doesn’t explain this.” She reached up and started to slip the blindfold off.

  “No.” Killian reached for her wrist, keeping her hand in place. “It’s a human custom and superstition that the groom can’t see the bride on the wedding day.”

  “That’s going to make the feast following the ceremony difficult.”

  He chuckled and drew her arm down, slipping his hand into hers. “I’m not supposed to see you only until the ceremony, but I couldn’t stay away.” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I know that very little will change about our lives after this, but I just wanted to hold you. To tell you that even if there wasn’t a treaty, even if this hadn’t been planned since we were kids, I would still want to marry you, only you.” He swallowed hard and licked his lips, “Your crown and title mean nothing to me. I love you.”

  “Killian.” Serena was glad he couldn’t see the blush that spread over her cheeks and neck.

  “And now you’re blushing,” he whispered, sliding his hand up her arm to her cheek. “I know you.”

  “I love you.” Serena turned her head and kissed his palm.

  He took a deep, shaky breath and let it out. “I think you’d better help me back to your brothers.”

  “If I don’t?” she answered, the heat in her cheeks spreading throughout her body.

  “A lot more than this blindfold will be coming off.” His voice dropped to a lower register that sent a pleasurable thrill through her whole body.

  Serena chuckled, thinking of the nights they’d spent wrapped in each other’s arms under the stars. A blanket underneath and over them had been their only protection from the elements. “That is not something I want my parents, or worse, yours, walking in on.” She feathered a light kiss on his lips and whispered, “My prince.”

  “Then perhaps my lady will escort me to the care of her brothers?”

  She stepped back and took his arm, looping it with hers. “I believe it would be for the best.” She led him to the doors but paused before opening them.

  “I want one thing before you step out of these doors.”

  “What’s that, my love?” Killian asked.

  “This.” She breathed a moment and her lips brushed against his. A featherlight touch, asking for more.

  He chuckled and slid one arm around her waist, the other finding its way up to the back of her neck. “Of course, my lady.” His lips found hers and the kiss stretched out, full of passion and the promise of many years to come. “I will see you soon, beautifu
l,” he whispered when he broke the kiss. The prince reached out with his right hand and found the door. It took only a few moments to locate the handle and pull it open. “Gentlemen, if you wouldn’t mind helping out,” he said to Serena’s brothers.

  Serena woke to the dim glow of a dying fire in her hearth and the first blushes of dawn creeping into the night sky. She sighed as an ache swept through her. The dreams are coming every night now. I won’t be able to fall asleep again. Even if I manage to, now it will be dreamless. She stretched and sat up and swung her legs off the mattress. Her feet touched the cold stone floor as she stood, and tugged at the cuffs of her shirt, fingertips brushing the embroidered vines. Whispering a prayer to the Gods, she asked them to keep Killian safe and to bring peace to his wounded heart.

  She picked up her heavy, velvet robe and slipped it on, her wings settling against her back, their weight familiar and comforting. While strolling to the balcony, she tied the belt at her waist. When she reached it, she leaned on the railing. Serena watched the sun rising from that vantage point, using the time to rebuild the walls around her heart, to put on the mask of a carefree, yet caring, young ruler still learning her place in the world. She lost track of the time, but the sun had risen, clearing the peaks of the Nightsong mountains before she heard the door to her suite open and shut. Serena closed her eyes and ignored the newcomer.

  “Your Highness?” Bronwynn said from the sitting room.

  “I’m on the balcony,” Serena called back, a slight smile pulling at her lips. The young Dragon Fey woman made her feel comforted, like a sister she’d never had.

  “Is something bothering you, Highness?”

  Serena shook her head in answer. “Why do you ask?”

  “Every morning for the last month or so I’ve found you here on the balcony.” She stepped up to Serena’s side. “Today you were so distracted you didn’t notice that I’ve been here for several minutes, waiting.”

  Serena sighed and turned back to the view of the fields and the encampments dotting the landscape. Smoke curled into the air from cook fires as her people began their day. A sense of peace settled over her though she knew something was missing.

  “Your Highness, Serena, forgive my candor. However, I believe you would do well to get away from the keep and court for a while. Perhaps a few days of solitude?”

  “As appealing as your suggestion is, I’m afraid I cannot. The clans are all here, and each one has some issue or another they simply must bring to my personal attention.” She dragged a hand through her hair and sighed. “How did Altus manage all of this without a member of the royal family to call upon?”

  “He didn’t, your Highness.” Bronwynn leaned her hip against the balcony railing and crossed her arms over her chest. “The clans have governed their own affairs, and quite ably I might add.”

  Serena sighed and rubbed her temples. “So why are they all demanding my attention now?”

  “They’re testing you. They want to see what kind of monarch you’ll be.”

  The princess nodded, understanding but hating the politics. “So their leaders can make a decision about challenging my right to rule?”

  Bronwynn nodded. “Yes, Highness.”

  You were right, Killian. “Nothing is ever as simple as it seems,” Serena muttered.

  “What was that my lady?”

  “Something Killian told me more often than I’d like to admit after I took over governing Lakeshire province.”

  “What was that?”

  “He said, ‘Nothing is as simple as it seems, especially when it comes to the day to day governance of people and land.’”

  “He sounds like a wise young man.”

  “He can be though he can also be a fool in some ways.” Her voice softened and eyes lost focus as though the princess saw something that wasn’t there. Serena’s fingers drifted to the cuff of the shirt beneath her robe.

  “You miss him.” Bronwynn moved so she stood at the other woman’s side, resting her forearms on the balcony railing.

  “With every beat of my heart and fiber of my being. I’m not whole when we’re parted like this.” She took a shaky breath and nodded as her eyes sharpened. Then, drawing herself up to her full height, she pulled her shoulders back and tilted her chin just a hair’s breadth. “But it has to be this way. He’s married, and I’ll need to do so, as well.” She closed her eyes and a scowl etched lines on her forehead, around her eyes and mouth. “The counselors are already talking about that… and heirs.”

  “A Dragon Fey marriage would be pointless,” Bronwynn blurted out before she could stop herself.

  “What?”

  “Dragon Fey can only have children with their mates. I believe that even though, by human law, Killian is another woman’s husband… he is your mate.”

  Serena groaned and rubbed her temple with one hand. None of this makes any sense. “So, I can marry a Dragon Fey lord, but there will be no heirs unless they are Killian’s, and thus bastards.”

  “And your Dragon Fey noble husband would know.”

  “I suppose he can then use that as a reason to call me unfit and try to take the throne?”

  “It can be used as grounds for a challenge, not only against you but your daughters too.”

  “So I destroyed what Killian and I shared for…” She closed in on herself, wrapping arms around her torso. She sank to the ground and tucked her knees up against her chest. “For nothing.”

  “Your Highness, there may be a way. I may be able to help.”

  “How?” So many things were left unsaid, so many desires and dreams in the princess’s reply that Bronwynn felt a tremor of fear run through her.

  “Ryan is organizing a hunting trip for the prince. I know when he’ll be at one of the king’s hunting lodges. You could go. See Killian, talk to him, maybe you two can come up with some kind of understanding or arrangement.”

  “This is why you wanted me to get away for a few days? You and Ryan have been planning this?” She scrubbed her hands over her face, not sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. Maybe both.

  “Yes, Highness. We’ve seen how miserable you both are.”

  “So you decided to make it worse?”

  “You two need to talk. You’re not going to be happy if you stay apart.”

  “What do you expect to happen?”

  “The two of you talk and find some way to make things work.”

  “He’s too honorable. He won’t take a mistress, and I will need to…” She frowned and rubbed the back of her neck, giving a soft laugh. “What? Find a lord who won’t care if there either are no heirs or he’s raising another man’s children?”

  “We can find an acceptable, amiable lord. One who, perhaps won’t care whether or not his wife has a lover on the condition she doesn’t begrudge his.”

  Serena tilted her head to one side, and her brows drew down. “You have someone in mind?”

  “If it comes to that.” Bronwynn smirked. “He even resembles your Killian.”

  Serena sighed. She knew the other woman was right. The thought of seeing him again, hearing his voice, warmed her, made her feel as though she was whole once more. It’s almost worth ripping my heart out again when we have to part.

  Sensing Serena’s mind was set and, given enough time, the princess would find ways to talk herself out of it, Bronwynn asked, “Will you go?”

  “Yes.”

  “Very good. I will begin making the arrangements. We need to depart in three days. Would you like me to explain the situation to Altus?”

  “No. We’ll tell him I require a few days of solitude.” She paused to think of a plausible lie. “That the pressures of the court are beginning to weigh on me, and I need to get away.”

  “As you wish.”

  “I don’t trust him where Killian is concerned. He didn’t tell me about the bonding. I know he’s keeping other things from me too.” She shook her head and raised to stand. “I need to be smarter about how I handle Altus and the other mem
bers of my council.”

  “You know my sisters, brother and I are at your service, your Highness,” Bronwynn said with a slight bow.

  “Yes, and I thank you.” The princess’s gaze turned back to the horizon, and a genuine smile curled her lips. “I’m going to see Killian in three days.”

  “Five days.” She giggled. “It takes two to travel to the lodge.”

  “Gods,” she said, “it’s been months. How is he going to react?”

  “I cannot say. However, I think this is something you must do. Not only for your peace of mind but his too.”

  “At the very, least I owe him an explanation. It’s very possible that in the future we will need to deal with the kingdom of Illedria, and it would be wise to make certain he knows the truth before it comes to a diplomatic situation.”

  “Do you think he won’t forgive you. For the letter, I mean.”

  “I don’t know. I suppose I will have my answer, either way, in five days.”

  “Are you ready to begin your day, my lady?”

  “Only if you remember to call me Serena when we are in private.” The princess turned and started to walk back into her suite, paused and looked back over her shoulder. “And tell me what’s going on between you and Ryan.”

  “Your Highness?”

  “Don’t think because I have been… distracted, that I don’t notice the look you get in your eyes when you’re talking about my friend.”

  “What look?”

  “The same one I’m certain I get when someone mentions Killian.”

  The lady cleared her throat as a pink flush appeared on her fair skin. “Your Highness, your presence is required in the audience chamber.” The proper, courtly Bronwynn was back.

  “Very well. We will go back to work, however, do not think this conversation is over, Lady Bronwynn,” Serena warned before conceding to the change of subject. “What is on my agenda for the day?”

  “You have an audience with petitioners both court and common in the morning. Training takes place with Zanna this afternoon, and in the evening, you wanted to visit the clans in their camps again. Would you want to make any changes, your Highness?”