The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 152

LIRA

Calista still did not come to breakfast.

"I saw half a dozen servants heading to her room this morning," Elora said, reaching for another piece of toast. "Carrying gowns and jewelry and who knows what else."

"She's probably been getting ready since dawn."

"Probably." Elora laughed. "I heard she requested three different hairstyles before she found one she liked. The servants were not pleased. There’ll be there all day.” 

"I can imagine."

"Sometimes I wonder if she even really wants to be queen, or if she just wants to win."

I thought about Calista, about her cold eyes and colder smile, about the poison she had slipped into my drink, about the way she looked at Cassian like he was a prize to be claimed.

"Both," I said. "She wants both. Isn’t it obvious?” 

Elora's smile faded.

"Yes," she said quietly. "I think you're right."

\---

After breakfast, Elora suggested a walk.

"The gardens are beautiful this time of day," she said. "And I want to enjoy them before the ball. Before everything gets... chaotic. It’s still quite serene now.” 

I wanted to say no.

Wanted to retreat to my room, to curl up with Luna, to hide from the world for a few more hours.

But Elora was already standing, already reaching for my hand, already pulling me toward the door.

"Come on," she said. "Fresh air will do you good."

‘She is not wrong,’ Luna murmured in my mind.

You're supposed to be hiding.

‘I am hiding. Very well. In your wardrobe. Among your dresses.’ 

Luna… 

‘Go. Walk. Breathe. I will be here when you return.’ 

I let Elora pull me outside.

\---

The gardens were beautiful.

They always were.

Roses bloomed in carefully cultivated beds, their petals heavy with morning dew. Fountains sparkled in the sunlight, casting rainbows across the stone pathways. Bees hummed among the lavender, and somewhere in the distance, a bird sang a song I didn't recognize.

Elora chattered beside me, about the ball, about her family, about what she thought the other girls would be wearing.  I nodded at appropriate intervals, murmured agreement when expected, and tried to keep my mind from spiraling into darkness.

Then we passed the courtyard.

And I saw him.

\---

Cassian stood near the stables, surrounded by guards.

He was not wearing formal clothes, just a simple tunic of dark blue, sleeves rolled to his elbows, his hair windswept and falling across his forehead. He looked tired. Exhausted. There were shadows under his eyes that matched my own.

But he was beautiful.

Painfully beautiful.

The kind of beautiful that made my chest ache and my knees weak and my heart forget how to beat properly.

His jaw was sharp, shadowed with the faintest hint of stubble. His shoulders were broad, his arms crossed over his chest as he spoke to the guards in low, urgent tones. Even from here, I could see the tension in his posture, the coiled readiness of a man waiting for a storm.

He was giving orders.

Preparing for the attack.

Protecting us, I thought. Protecting everyone. Even me.

Even after everything I've done.

He glanced up.

His eyes met mine.

For one heartbeat, two, three, the world narrowed to just us. Just him. Just me. Just the impossible, terrible, wonderful thing that existed between us.

Then he looked away.

Waved once.

A casual gesture, barely acknowledging us.

He's pretending, I realized. Pretending I don't matter. Pretending he doesn't care.

"Lira?"

I blinked.

Elora was staring at me, her head tilted.

"You're staring."

"I'm not staring."

"You're absolutely staring." She glanced toward Cassian, then back at me. "Not that I blame you. He's very... handsome today."

"I wasn't staring," I said again.

Elora laughed. "Of course you weren't."

I tore my gaze away from Cassian, forcefully tore it away, and focused on the gardens. The roses. The fountains. Anything but him.

"The selection is ending," Elora said gently. "It's natural to feel... nostalgic. I will miss the palace. I’m sure you will too…” 

Nostalgic.

That was not the word I would have chosen.

Terrified was closer.

Heartbroken was even closer.

"Let's keep walking," I said.

\---

We passed the stables.

The stable boy was there. He was mucking out stalls, his movements practiced and efficient.

I recognized him.

He was the one I had asked to deliver my letter. The letter to Callum. The letter begging him to stop the attack, to reconsider, to wait.

"Elora," I said, "I need to speak with him."

"With who?"

"The stable boy. I promised I would... I promised I would check on his mother. She's been ill."

Elora's brow furrowed. "I didn't know you knew a stable boy."

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

She looked at me for a long moment.

Then she nodded.

"I'll wait by the fountain."

\---

I approached the stable boy.

He looked up when I reached him, his eyes widening slightly.

"My lady."

"The letter," I said, keeping my voice low. "Did you deliver it?"

His face went pale.

"My lady, I…” 

"Did you deliver it?"

"I tried." He glanced around, making sure no one was listening. "I tried, my lady. I went to the place you described. I waited for hours. But no one came. I tried to find one of them… but I couldn’t…” 

My heart sank.

"The letter," he continued. "I couldn't keep it. It was too dangerous. If anyone had found it on me…” 

"You burned it."

He nodded miserably. "I'm sorry, my lady. I had no choice."

I stood there.

Stared at him.

Felt the last shred of hope crumble inside my chest.

The letter never reached Callum.

He doesn't know I tried to stop him.

The attack is still happening.

And there's nothing I can do.

"It's fine," I said, though it wasn't. "You did the right thing."

He looked relieved. "Thank you, my lady."

I turned away.

Walked back to Elora.

Back to the gardens.

Back to the beautiful, terrible day that was about to end in fire.

\---

'Lira.' Luna's voice was soft in my mind. 'What happened?'

The letter, I thought. It never reached him.

'Then what will you do?'

I looked up at the sky.

At the sun that was climbing toward its peak.

At the hours that remained before the ball.

"I don't know," I whispered.

And for the first time since this all began...

I had no idea how to find an answer.