The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 119

LIRA

Evander found me just as the morning light began to spill into the courtyard.

I had barely stepped out of my chambers when I saw him waiting, already dressed for travel, his cloak fastened at the shoulder, his boots dusted as though he had been pacing for some time.

“Lira.”

There was something softer in his voice than usual. Not the confident, almost performative charm he wore so easily, but something quieter.

“You’re leaving?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

He nodded. “My brother is quite persuasive when he wants to be. I have been sent on an assignment.” 

I tried to smile. “He usually is.”

Evander studied me for a moment, then stepped closer. “I wanted to see you before I left.”

My chest tightened slightly.

“That wasn’t necessary,” I said, though my voice lacked conviction.

“It was to me.”

Silence lingered between us for a heartbeat.

“I won’t be gone long,” he continued. “A few days, perhaps a week. And when I return…” His gaze sharpened slightly. “Things will move forward.”

There it was again.

That certainty.

That pace I could barely keep up with.

“Evander,” I said carefully, “we talked about this. We should take things slowly.”

He smiled faintly, but there was stubbornness behind it. “I am taking it slowly.”

I almost laughed.

“This is slow to you?”

“I’m not asking you to marry me tomorrow,” he said lightly.

“No, just… soon.”

“Soon is not tomorrow.”

“It’s not far from it either.”

He sighed, reaching for my hand. “Lira, you worry too much.”

If only you knew, I thought.

Aloud, I said, “And you don’t worry enough.”

He squeezed my hand gently. “That’s why we balance each other.”

I didn’t answer that.

Because I didn’t believe it.

Not really.

He leaned in slightly. “I’ll write to you.”

“That might not be wise,” I said. “Given everything happening in the palace. What if it gets into the wrong hands?” 

“Then I’ll find a way,” he said simply.

Of course he would.

Evander always found a way.

His gaze softened again. “Will you miss me?”

The question caught me off guard.

“I—” I hesitated.

The truth tangled in my throat.

“I’ll notice that you’re gone,” I said finally.

He laughed softly. “I suppose that will have to be enough.”

Then, before I could stop him, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“Stay safe,” he murmured.

My breath hitched slightly.

“You too.”

He lingered for just a second longer,  then turned and walked away.

I watched him go until he disappeared beyond the courtyard gates.

And only then did I let out the breath I’d been holding.

*******************

The lessons that followed gave me no time to think.

If anything, they demanded everything I had, and more.

The instructors were harsher now.

Sharper.  Less forgiving.

“Again!” Master Dorian barked as I barely managed to deflect a strike.

My arms ached. My grip faltered.

The wooden practice blade nearly slipped from my fingers.

“Your stance is weak!” he snapped. “If that were real steel, you’d be dead.”

“I’m trying,” I said, breathless.

“Trying is not enough.”

He circled me slowly. “Your opponents will not try to kill you, Lady Lira. They will succeed if you let them.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Again,” he repeated.

I raised the blade.

Swung.

Missed.

“Again.”

Blocked, too slow.

“Again.”

Pain flared in my wrist.

“Again!”

By the time the session ended, my arms felt like they might fall off.

And I wasn’t the only one struggling.

Around me, the other girls were equally exhausted, though some hid it better than others.

Evadne collapsed onto the bench beside me with a groan. “If this is what becoming queen requires, I may politely decline.”

I let out a weak laugh. “You’re not the only one.”

Amara scoffed from across the yard. “Speak for yourselves. Some of us are actually improving.”

Vivienne smirked. “Some of us didn’t need improvement to begin with.”

Calista stood nearby, silent but composed, barely winded.

Of course she was.

She caught my eye briefly.

And smiled. The kind that made my skin crawl. 

The next day was worse.

And the day after that, worse still.

We were no longer just learning. We were being trained. Should we ever need the training. 

Every movement scrutinized. Every mistake noted. And I was making too many of them.

“Too slow.”

“Too hesitant.”

“You think too much.”

Each criticism landed heavier than the last.

Because they weren’t wrong.

I did hesitate.

I did think too much.

Because every time I raised a blade…. 

I saw more than just a practice opponent.

I saw consequences.

I saw danger.

On the third day, everything changed.

We were gathered in the training courtyard, sweat-soaked and weary, when Master Dorian stepped forward.

“Enough.”

“This is no longer a lesson,” he said. “It is an assessment.”

A ripple of tension moved through the group.

“You have been trained,” he continued. “You have been instructed. Now you will prove what you have learned.”

My stomach dropped.

“Over the next three days,” he said, “you will engage in combat trials.”

“You will be paired,” he went on. “You will fight. And you will be judged.”

A cold weight settled in my chest.

“And those who fail…”

He paused.

Let the silence stretch.

“Will be dismissed from the Dragon Queen Selection.”

The words hit like a blow.

My fingers tightened around the hilt of my practice blade.

No.

I couldn’t leave. Not now.

Not when I was this close.

Not when everything depended on it.

“Elimination will not be based on strength alone,” Master Dorian added. “But skill, adaptability, and resolve.”

That should have comforted me.

It didn’t.

Because I wasn’t sure I had enough of any of those. I didn’t even have powers to behind with. I was going to be sent home.. 

“Prepare yourselves,” he said. “Your first matches begin tomorrow.”

*********************

The courtyard buzzed with tension as soon as he dismissed us.

“This is ridiculous,” Evadne said, pacing. “We are not soldiers.”

“No,” Amara replied coolly. “But the palace is in a very precarious position. We must be prepared.”  

Evadne laughed. “How does one fight a dragon exactly?” 

Elora found me quickly, her expression tight with concern.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded automatically. “I’ll manage.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“You don’t have to pretend with me,” she said softly.

I exhaled.

“I don’t know if I can do this. You all have powers you can use in combat. I don’t.” 

Elora’s brows knit together. “That’s not the only thing they’re loooking out for.” 

“Really?” I asked quietly. “Look around, Elora. I am the only expendable one here. Nobody would bat an eyelid if I was removed.” 

“That doesn’t mean they’ll win. Master Dorian is fair.”

“Let’s not pretend it’s all boils down to Master Dorian.”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You’ve survived worse than this. We’ll find a way. Don’t worry.” 

She wasn’t wrong.

But this felt different, because failure didn’t just mean going home. It meant losing everything when I was so close.