The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 131

LIRA

Lady Marcheline swept into the room like a storm front.

She was one of the senior instructors, that we barely saw because she reported directly to the Queen, grey-haired, sharp-eyed, and utterly unflappable. Behind her walked two other instructors I was familiar with and a scribe I didn't.

"Ladies," she announced, "you will forgive the intrusion. There are matters to discuss."

Elora straightened in her chair. Calista set down her spoon. I folded my hands in my lap and waited.

Lady Marcheline didn't sit.

She stood at the head of the table, arms folded, expression grim.

"As you are aware, Lady Vivienne formally withdrew from the Dragon Queen selection yesterday morning. Lady Amara and Lady Evadne were dismissed after their failure to pass the combat trials."

"We were there," Calista said.

"Yes." Lady Marcheline's gaze didn't waver. "You were. Which is why I will speak plainly."

She unfolded a letter from her sleeve and laid it on the table.

"Word has spread beyond the palace walls. The noble houses are asking questions. Difficult questions. About the fairness of the selection. About the treatment of the ladies who have left. Apparently, Lady Amara's injury has caused quite a stir, even though she has been warned not to speak about the circumstances... About..." her eyes flicked to Calista briefly before flickering to me "...the circumstances surrounding Lady Lira's poisoning. Which we thought was well hidden, but it seems the news had been leaked, and also references have been made to Lady Lenora's poisoning too which led to her voluntarily leaving too."

My throat tightened.

"The Crown's advisors have recommended a course of action," Lady Marcheline continued. "One that I am inclined to support."

She paused.

"The final ball of the Dragon Queen selection will be held in a weeks' time."

Elora inhaled sharply.

"A week?" Calista's composure cracked. "But the trials..." 

"Will proceed as scheduled, immediately after. However, in the interest of transparency, the palace will extend invitations to every noble house in the kingdom. The ball will be open. Public. Witnessed by all."

I stared at her.

"You're throwing a party," I said slowly, "to prove nothing improper has happened in the Selection?" 

"I am giving the people what they want," Lady Marcheline corrected. "A chance to see the selection for themselves. To meet the remaining candidates. To judge with their own eyes whether the process is fair."

She turned to face the three of us fully.

"You will attend, of course. You will smile. You will dance. You will be perfect. You will speak of nothing that will put the Crown or the selection in a bad light." Her voice softened, just slightly. "And then, the following morning, you will face the Dragon Trials."

\-———————————

The Dragon Trials.

The final stage of the selection. Of course I never knew I could have made it this far, or I thought I would have destroyed the Crown by then, so I had no plans for it. All I knew is that I wouldn't survive the dragon trials. 

I had no magic. 

Dragons didn't bond with people that don't have magic. You had to have enough magic to survive the bond in the first place. 

Calista would win. Her fire powers made her an excellent choice, to be bonded by a dragon. 

I had made it so far, but this was one trial I was convinced I could not pass. 

"The trials will test your worthiness to stand beside the Crown Prince," Lady Marcheline explained. "Your courage. Your power. Your connection to the legacy of dragons that built this kingdom."

"And if we fail?" Elora asked.

Lady Marcheline's expression didn't change.

"Then you go home. But it doesn't mean you're less worthy. Just not worthy enough to be a Dragon Queen." 

\-———————————————

She left us with instructions.

Prepare. Rest. Make peace with your gods.

The ball would be here before we knew it. And after that....

After that, everything would change.

\---

Calista caught me in the corridor.

"Lira."

I turned.

She stood beneath a tapestry of the first Dragon Queen, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders, her pale eyes gleaming in the torchlight.

"You think you're very clever don't you," she said. "I knew what you were trying to do. You got the other girls to speak against me. As if that would matter." 

"I don't know what you're talking about. Didn't you do what you were accused of? And more?" 

"So now you're the self appointed judge?" She stepped closer. "You've made it this far, so it's possibly you believe yourself to be worthy of this. But let me tell you, you won't win. The trial will change things. You'll finally see what I've always known about you." 

"And what's that?"

She smiled, slow and cold.

"That you are nothing."

She walked away before I could respond.

\-————————————————-

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

Elora tried to talk to me, about the ball, about the trials, about the fear she couldn't quite hide. I answered in monosyllables, distracted, distant.

Because I could feel it.

A pull in my chest. A whisper at the edge of my thoughts.

Luna.

Something was wrong.

\---

I waited until nightfall.

Until the corridors emptied and the guards changed shifts and the palace settled into the deep, breathing silence of sleep.

Then I locked my door. Drew the curtains. And knelt beside my bed.

"Luna," I whispered. "Come out."

The small white dragon emerged from beneath the bedframe, her silver eyes glowing in the darkness. She moved differently now—l, less hesitant, more deliberate. Stronger.

She climbed into my lap and pressed her head against my chest.

And then.... 

She speaks.

The voice wasn't Luna's.

It was deeper. Older. Threaded with centuries of grief and fury.

Veyraxis.

My blood turned to ice.

"You're here," I breathed.

'Through her, yes.' 

The great dragon's voice rumbled through Luna's small body, making her tremble. 

'The bond grows stronger every day. Soon, I will be able to reach you directly.' 

"Why?"

Luna's silver eyes glowed brighter.

'Because the time has come, little liar.' 

' The Dragon Trials will be my stage.' 

' The world will be my witness.' 

'And on that day, I will attack.' 

My heart stopped.

"You can't," I said. "There will be thousands of people to watch the dragon trial. I heard it's a very public event. Innocent people..." 

'Collateral', Veyraxis hissed. 

'The crown took everything from me. My freedom. My name. Now I will take everything from them.' 

"The hatchling..." 

'Will survive.' 

'The bond you share with her will protect her. But the rest?'

A pause. 

'The rest will burn.' 

"Please..." 

'This is not a request, Lira. Is this not what you always wanted? To finally take your revenge?' 

"But innocent people! Promise you won't hurt them. Cassian too. You can't hurt him, he didn't know!"

I was crying now, the tears dropping involuntarily. 

'This is a warning Lira. When the trials begin, I will come. And you will have a choice.' 

"What choice?"

Silence.

Then. 

'Stand with me. Or burn with them.' 

\-———————-

The presence receded.

Luna collapsed against my chest, exhausted, her small body heaving with the effort of carrying a mind so much larger than her own.

I held her close.

My eyes wet with tears. 

My hands were shaking.

My heart was pounding.

And somewhere in the darkness, I could feel Veyraxis watching.

Waiting.

Counting down the days.

\---