The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 23

LIRA

“I was just being kind, I didn't know they would help me out,” I said.

“No,” he said softly. “You knew they would. You're l playing the game exactly the way the others are. And you’re doing it well. But be careful. If anyone else had seen you, they could have reported you. And I'm afraid to tell you, you don't exactly have the influence to keep yourself in this competition for long enough. Also, I'd hate to see you lose yourself."

I didn’t say anything right away. His words hit too close.

He looked at me like he could see right through the walls I’d built. “Don’t become what they expect. And don’t let ambition twist you into someone you won’t recognise. I know you want to win, or at least get far but it isn't worth cheating.”

I lifted my chin. “I know who I am, Your Highness. I haven’t forgotten.”

He studied me for a moment longer, then nodded. “Good. I hope you hold onto that.”

Then he turned and walked away, leaving me staring after him.

I should’ve brushed his words off. But they clung to me as I stood there alone.

He was right about one thing, I was playing the game.

But what he didn’t understand was that I didn’t have the luxury of losing. I came here for a reason. And I was going to finish what I started.

Even if it meant becoming someone else along the way.

.....................

The next morning, we gathered again in the throne room.

My stomach twisted into knots as I stood beside the other girls, our gowns rustling softly in the silence. The air felt thick, like something terrible was about to happen. It could be another elimination.

The last time we were all here, Cassandra had been asked to leave the Dragon Queen Selection.

Then the Queen’s voice rang out, sharp and cold.

"Lady Maris Windmere, thank you for your participation in the Queen’s Selection. However, your journey ends here."

It was like the sound of a blade falling.

The room went quiet. Lady Maris’s breath caught, her face pale. She gave a stiff curtsy to Queen Seraphina, then turned and walked out, her eyes shining but her head held high.

I didn’t move. Couldn’t.

Because right before the Queen had spoken, her gaze had flicked to me.

For just a second, I thought it would be my name instead.

My name had been right there, on the edge of her lips. I could feel it. My heart was still hammering as I watched Maris disappear behind the grand doors.

I was safe. But only barely.

After the announcement, everyone scattered. But the whispers began before we even reached the hallways.

“She was too soft for this place,” someone muttered.

“She couldn’t even finish her flower arrangement. Did you see her bouquet? It looked like a pile of weeds.”

Later that evening, I walked into one of the common rooms and froze. The other girls were already there, huddled around the fire, talking in low voices.

“Oh, of course she was eliminated,” Lady Juliette said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “Maris was a mess during the floral challenge. She almost cried when the instructor corrected her.”

She tossed a glance at me, a cruel smirk playing on her lips.

“Though I do think her failure was slightly overshadowed by Lady Lira’s… unforgettable tea-pouring performance.”

I said nothing. My jaw tightened.

“She seemed sweet,” Lenora said quietly, her fingers fidgeting with her skirt. “I thought she might stay.”

Juliette let out a laugh, but it was Saphira who answered, her voice smooth as honey.

“Oh please, you don’t win this kind of competition by being sweet, Lenora,” she said. Then she turned toward me, her smile like a knife. “Isn’t that right, Lira?”

I stared at her.

She didn’t blink.

“You’re next sweetie,” she said softly.

Something cold slid down my spine. My lips parted, but no words came out. I couldn’t defend myself. Not when it might be true.

I was barely hanging on.

And they all knew it.

If Maris had not performed so horribly at the last challenge, it might have been me who would have been sent home.

Later that night, back in my room, I couldn’t sleep. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my chest tight. The Queen’s eyes. The way the girls had looked at me. That smug, perfect smile on Saphira’s face.

I sat up suddenly, gasping for air like I’d been drowning.

I couldn’t let this happen.

I couldn’t come this far just to fail. Not when I was finally starting to gain footing. Not when my father's blood still cried for justice.

“I won’t let this slip away,” I whispered.

I threw the covers off and reached for my cloak. Quietly, I opened the door, glancing both ways down the dark corridor.

Then I slipped out.

The halls were silent at this hour, the torches burning low along the stone walls. My feet moved on instinct, down the stairs, past the portrait gallery, and toward the one place I could think clearly.

The library.

It was empty, just as I hoped. The scent of old parchment and ink welcomed me like an old friend.

I moved to the far corner, where the chairs were soft and the shadows deep.

I sank into one and let out a long breath.

Everything felt heavier at night. The walls, the silence, the expectations. And the truth I carried like a dagger under my dress.

I didn’t come here to play their little games. I came to destroy the people who destroyed my father.

But to do that… I had to survive.

And tonight, survival felt just out of reach.

I don’t know how long I sat there in the library, lost in my thoughts.

But then I heard it.

A voice, soft and low, whispered my name.

“Lira…”

I froze. My eyes darted toward the shadows, but the room was empty. Silent. I stood slowly, heart thudding.

“Lira…”

Again. Clearer this time. Not out loud, but inside me. In my chest. In my bones.

I turned toward the library doors.

I should’ve run in the opposite direction.

But my feet began to move on their own.

I walked.

Out of the library.