The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 38

LIRA

The moment Elora left my room, the dress she had brought still spread across my bed like spilled moonlight, I pulled the ledger back into my lap. My hands trembled as I undid the clasp and opened it, the old leather creaking in protest.

The pages were filled with neat, careful handwriting, row after row of names, numbers, titles. I flipped through until my eyes caught on the one name that had haunted me my entire life.

Lord Aidan Sutton.

My father.

I froze, the breath caught in my chest. I traced the letters as though touching them might make him real again. The entry was long, longer than most others. It listed the lands he had owned, the wealth he had gathered, the connections he had made in service of the Crown. A comprehensive record of his life, or rather, of his usefulness to them.

But the longer I read, the more bile rose in my throat. Every item, every acre of land, every heirloom, every coin, it was all marked as seized by the Crown. They had stripped us bare, down to the last thread.

And then my eyes reached the bottom of the page.

Cause of death: Natural causes.

I blinked, rereading the words over and over. Natural causes.

That couldn't be. The official statements and letter had said my father died mysteriously. But the palace guards had said my father had committed treason. And everyone knew the punishment for treason was execution. They threw us out of our house, they seized everything!

So why? Why would the ledger say natural causes?

Why didn't it mention treason?

I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to make sense of it. They had taken everything from us, treated us like criminals, cast my family into disgrace. Why record natural causes instead of treason? Unless… unless the truth was something else entirely.

I thought of my brother, of the letters I had left unanswered. I wanted to write to him now, to tell him what I had seen, to share this tiny thread of hope. But the dragon’s words rang in my mind.

The real truth lies within the Valemont family’s chambers.

I shut the ledger with a snap. My hands still shook, but I felt a thread of resolve coil tight inside me. When I saw Evander again, I would ask him where those chambers might be. If anyone knew, it was him.

But for now, the truth of the ledger confused me.

The next morning, I was still heavy with those thoughts when the instructors gathered us in the lounge. The air smelled of ink and parchment, and every girl sat with perfect posture, waiting for the announcement.

“The Queen’s birthday is in a week,” one instructor said, her tone clipped and precise. “There will be a banquet in her honor, and you are all expected to contribute.”

Murmurs rippled through the room.

The second instructor stepped forward. “Her Majesty has requested nothing material. She wishes to see how her potential daughters-in-law would honor her with their skills and gifts. Therefore, you will create something suitable as a group. A performance. An offering of magic and craft.”

Lady Calista immediately lifted her chin. “We can combine our talents,” she said smoothly. “Something grand, something unforgettable.”

“I agree,” Lady Vivienne added, though her voice carried that familiar edge of disdain. “The Queen deserves more than mere trinkets. It should be a display of artistry and power.”

Amara leaned forward, her eyes gleaming. “I can weave illusions of light. We could create a vision of her reign, of her time as the Dragon Queen, her triumphs brought to life.”

“And I can use song,” Lady Evadne offered, her tone dreamy. “Something to bind the magic together. If we all bring our powers together, we can weave something magical."

The girls began tossing out ideas, their voices layering one over the other until the room buzzed with ambition. I stayed quiet, watching them argue over who would lead, who would take center stage.

Finally, Calista clapped her hands once, and silence fell. “We need order. I’ll oversee the plan and play the Queen. Amara, Vivienne, Evadne, Saphira, your powers are essential, so the three of you would be important in this production. The rest of you will support our performance."

Juliette rolled her eyes. “Always the leader, aren’t you, Calista?”

“You're welcome to play the Queen if you want, as long as you wouldn't butcher the performance with your horrible acting,” Calista replied smoothly.

The tension in the room spiked, but Amara quickly shifted her focus. Her eyes slid to me, sharp and mocking. “And what about Lira? What exactly will you contribute? You’ve been here all this time, yet no visions, no glimpses of the future. What good is your gift if it gives us nothing? Can it even help in this regard?"

A few of the girls tittered, their laughter like little knives.

Heat rose to my cheeks, but I forced a cool smile. “You’d like a vision, Amara?”

Her smirk widened. “Yes. Show us something useful for once.”

I let the pause hang long enough for her smile to falter. Then I tilted my head. “Very well. I see your future, Amara.”

The room stilled, every pair of eyes turning toward me.

I leaned forward slightly, lowering my voice. “Bleak. That’s the word. A future so dull and gray it hardly seems worth the trouble.”

Amara’s smirk shattered. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t take it too hard,” I said sweetly. “Not everyone is destined for greatness. Some of us are just… background noise.”

The girls erupted into laughter, some muffled, some loud. Amara’s face turned scarlet as she folded her arms and looked away, seething.

“Nicely done,” Elora whispered beside me, her eyes twinkling.

I only shrugged, but the corner of my mouth curled upward.

As the planning continued, Elora stayed near me, she seemed more comfortable when the louder voices drowned each other out. During a lull, I asked softly, “Did your parents encourage you to join this?"

Her cheeks pinked. “It was theirs. My mother said I had the right temperament to be queen. But honestly… I think she's just being nice."

"Why didn’t you say no?”

She gave a small, sad smile. “Because maybe somewhere in me, I believe her. Besides, I've always listened to my parents."

"But when I'm here, next to all of these girls, I think to myself, how could he ever pick me?" She said softly.

"How can he not?" I asked.

She looked at me like she wanted to believe it, but wasn’t sure she could.

The meeting dragged on for hours as the girls argued over details, whether the Queen would prefer soft magic or something grand, whether the performance should be reverent or dazzling. Through it all, I stayed quiet, my thoughts far from the project.

Every time I thought about the ledger hidden in my room, I thought of the lies inked into its pages. Natural causes. Not treason. And the dragon’s voice lingered still, like smoke curling in my mind.