The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 108

LIRA 

I did not think, I reacted.

The moment I saw the guard take the letter and step aside for Cassian, something inside me snapped.

“Give that to me,” I said, my voice sharp, already moving forward.

Cassian didn’t even flinch.

He stood there, tall and infuriatingly calm, turning the sealed parchment over in his hand like it belonged to him.

“It was addressed to me,” I snapped, reaching for it.

His hand lifted just out of my reach.

“Everything that enters your room is now my concern,” he said coolly.

My jaw clenched.

“It is from my grandfather.”

“Which makes it even more my concern.”

I lunged.

Actually lunged.

My fingers brushed the edge of the parchment, but Cassian caught my wrist mid-motion, his grip firm, not painful, but unyielding.

“Lira.”

“Let go of me.”

“Not until you stop acting like a thief in your own room.”

“It is my letter!”

“And you’re under watch.”

His voice dropped slightly.

“You don’t get privacy right now.”

The words hit harder than I expected.

For a moment, I froze.

Then I yanked my hand free.

“You have no right…” 

“I have every right,” he cut in. “After everything that’s happened.”

My chest rose and fell, anger bubbling dangerously close to the surface.

“Then read it,” I said bitterly. “Since you already think the worst of me.”

Something flickered in his eyes.

Hurt?

No.

I refused to believe that.

Cassian broke the seal.

I watched him read.

Every second stretched like torture.

What if my brother had written something careless?

What if he mentioned Norwyn?

What if…

Cassian’s expression didn’t change.

Not once.

He finished, folded the letter neatly, and held it out to me.

“Take it.”

I hesitated.

“…That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

I snatched it from him quickly, unfolding it with trembling fingers.

It was harmless.

Carefully written. Safe.

No mention of rebellion. No mention of alliances.

Just enough to appear like concern.

Relief flooded me so suddenly my knees felt weak.

I exhaled slowly.

“Happy now?” I muttered.

Cassian didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he stepped further into the room, dismissing the guard with a subtle gesture. The door shut behind him.

And suddenly…

It was just the two of us.

He leaned slightly against the table, arms folding as he studied me.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

I frowned.

“What?”

“At home.”

My fingers tightened around the letter.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.”

His voice was quieter now.

Too calm.

“I sent men to your estate.”

My stomach dropped.

“And?” I asked carefully.

“They weren’t even allowed to see your grandfather.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“They said the place is falling apart. And he’s terribly sick, he can’t even receive visitors.”

Silence.

I looked away.

“That’s an exaggeration.”

“It didn’t sound like one.”

I swallowed.

Still said nothing.

Cassian pushed off the table, stepping closer.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I let out a short laugh.

“Tell you what? That my home is in ruins? That my family is struggling? What exactly would that change, Cassian?”

“It would change things,” he said.

“How?”

His jaw tightened.

“I could help you.”

I shook my head immediately.

“I don’t need your help.”

“You clearly do.”

“I don’t.”

“Then why agree to marry my brother?”

The question hit like a blade.

I stiffened.

“That has nothing to do with this.”

“It has everything to do with this.”

His voice sharpened.

“You think I don’t see it? You think I don’t understand why you’d suddenly accept Evander’s proposal?”

My pulse quickened.

“You don’t understand anything.”

“Then explain it to me.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation.”

Cassian stepped closer again.

Too close.

“You owe me more than silence.”

My breath hitched, but I refused to step back.

“Why?” I asked, my voice low. “Because I spent one night in your bed?”

Something dark flashed across his face.

“Yes,” he said bluntly. “Because of that.”

My heart twisted.

But I crushed the feeling immediately.

“That night meant nothing.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Cassian went very still. His pupils dilated. 

“Nothing?” he repeated.

“Yes.”

I forced myself to hold his gaze, even though I was trembling beneath. 

“It was a mistake. A moment of weakness. That’s all.”

His eyes searched mine like he was trying to tear the truth out of me.

“Say that again.”

I lifted my chin.

“It meant nothing.”

Silence.

Then, one second there was space between us, the next, his hand was on my arm, pulling me closer.

My breath caught.

His fingers tightened slightly.

Not enough to hurt.

Cassian stared at me like he didn’t recognize me anymore. And when he finally spoke, his voice was quiet.

“Say it again,” he murmured, stepping closer once more.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“What?”

His gaze locked onto mine.

“That it meant nothing.”

The air between us tightened.

And for a moment—

I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to lie again.

But I had to. I had no choice. I opened my mouth,  And, hid fingers traced the line of my jaw, featherlight, and I hated how my skin burned beneath his touch.

Hated how my body remembered him.

Every ridge of muscle. Every whispered word in the dark. Every place his mouth had found and claimed.

“You’re lying,” he said quietly.

“I’m not.”

“Your heart is racing.”

“That’s anger.”

“Is it?”

His thumb swept across my lower lip, and the sound that left me was small. Betraying.

Cassian’s eyes darkened.

“Tell me to stop,” he said.

I didn’t.

“Tell me,” he repeated, his voice dropping lower, rougher. “Say the words, and I walk away forever.” 

My mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

His hand slid from my jaw into my hair, fingers tangling at the nape of my neck. Not pulling. Waiting.

“You can’t,” he murmured. “That’s the problem, isn’t it?”

“There is no problem,” I managed.

“Lira.”

“I am marrying your brother.”

The words hung between us like a blade.

Cassian’s grip tightened, just slightly, and something fractured behind his eyes.

“Say it again,” he said. “Look at me and tell me you want to marry my brother.”

I should have.

I should have said yes. Should have pushed him away. Should have done anything other than stand there with my heart slamming against my ribs and my breath coming too fast.

But I couldn’t.

And he saw it.

The shift in him was immediate, controlled tension snapping into something rawer. Something hungrier.

His mouth crashed against mine.