The Dragon Queen Selection Chapter 81

LIRA

I slipped out of the general hall before the murmurs could coil tighter around me.

The announcement still rang in my ears, Isla’s name, the hush that followed, the way eyes had darted instinctively to me afterward, as if they’d been waiting for my fall instead. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.

“Elora,” I called softly as I turned down the side corridor.

Nothing.

I checked the alcove near the windows where she liked to sit when she was overwhelmed. Empty. The small bench by the tapestry of the First Pact, bare. I moved faster, skirts brushing the stone floor.

“Elora?” I tried again, louder now.

Still nothing.

My stomach twisted. Of course she would avoid me. I deserved that much.

I turned a corner sharply and nearly collided with a servant carrying a small leather satchel.

“Oh! Lady Vale,” he said quickly, bowing. “A letter for you.”

My heart skipped. “For me?”

He nodded and held it out. “Delivered not ten minutes ago. From your grandfather."

I took it with trembling fingers.

My brother.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

I didn’t wait for him to leave before I turned and headed straight back to my chambers.

The moment the door closed behind me, I pressed my back against it, breathing hard. Then I crossed the room, sat at the small table near the window, and broke the seal.

The handwriting was Lord Vale's. But it was my brother who wrote the letter.

'Lira,

Things have changed. I’ve done what we spoke of, but not how we planned.'

My breath hitched as I read on.

'I’ve made contact with Norwyn. Not the merchants. Not the diplomats. The others. The ones who want the crown gone as badly as we do.'

My hands began to shake.

'They know things, Lira. About the crown. The dragons. About Aurelia.'

My vision blurred.

'They are willing to help us. Revenge. Safety. A future beyond Aurelia’s reach. They want information, and they want it now.'

I swallowed hard.

'Continue as you are. Learn everything you can. Send it through the same channels. If you do this, when the crown falls, we will have passage to Norwyn. Gold. Protection. A life where no one can touch us again.'

At the bottom, in ink pressed harder than the rest:

'Trust me.'

I stared at the page, my heart pounding so loudly I thought it might wake the palace.

Norwyn.

He had allied with Norwyn.

“That wasn’t the plan,” I whispered aloud. “That was never the plan.”

Norwyn wasn’t just a rival state. It was a viper’s nest of factions and hidden blades. They didn’t help without carving out their price in flesh.

I pushed back from the table, pacing the room.

He’d gone too far. Too fast.

I needed to write back. I needed to stop this before.....

The lunch bell rang.

The sound cut through my thoughts like a blade.

“No,” I muttered.

I grabbed the letter, my fingers smudging the ink, and crossed to the hearth. I hesitated only a second before feeding it to the flames.

There could be no evidence of it.

Then I turned sharply and crossed to the chest near my bed.

The box.

I opened it carefully, pushing aside the folded gowns.

The egg lay nestled within them, dark and smooth, its surface faintly warm beneath my fingertips.

“I’m still here,” I whispered. “I haven’t forgotten you.”

A low, aching pulse stirred in my chest in response.

'Bring it to me.'

The dragon’s voice slid through my thoughts, raw and pleading.

Soon, I promised silently. Just… not yet.

I closed the box, locked it, and straightened.

Lunch.

I couldn’t be late again.

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

The dining hall buzzed when I entered.

I spotted Elora almost immediately, sitting stiffly at the end of one of the long tables, her posture rigid, her gaze fixed on her plate. Relief surged through me, followed quickly by dread.

I took a step toward her...

“Careful,” Evadne’s voice chimed sweetly from behind me. “I don't think she wants to talk to you.”

Amara snickered. “That didn’t take long, did it?”

I ignored them and kept walking.

“Elora,” I said softly, stopping beside her. “Can we...”

She didn’t even look up.

Evadne leaned forward across the table. “Honestly, Elora, I warned you. Getting close to someone like her? You were bound to get burned.”

Elora’s head snapped up. “Don’t.”

Amara raised her brows. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Elora said sharply. “You don’t know her.”

Evadne scoffed. “But you do? You've known the girl a couple of weeks. What do you really know about her?"

"I'll tell you what I know though... I know she's selfish and pretentious and only cares about snagging a prince. No matter which one."

I flinched.

Elora stood suddenly. “You’re cruel. Both of you.”

She turned to leave, then paused, glancing at me for just a heartbeat.

My chest tightened.

“Lunch,” she said quietly, “is not the time.”

Then she was gone.

I sank into my seat, appetite gone, the noise of the hall fading beneath the roar of my thoughts.

The dragon’s voice rose again, more insistent now.

'Come.'

I closed my eyes.

“I know,” I whispered under my breath.

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

That night, I dressed in black. Watched the guards movement carefully before slipping out.

I waited until the bells had finished their final toll before slipping from my room and into the shadowed corridors. The palace slept uneasily, its breath shallow and slow.

The secret passage opened as it always did, stone yielding to my touch as if recognizing me.

The air grew warmer as I descended.

'You have the egg,' her voice thundered. 'And still you hide it from me.'

“I came,” I said firmly. “Didn’t I?”

The chamber opened before me, vast and dark.

The dragon surged upward from the shadows, its eyes blazing, the massive form coiling with barely restrained fury.

"You dare keep what is mine!"

“Yes! If you don't keep your end of the deal I'll hold on to it!" I snapped.

The dragon's growl shook the stone.

'You insolent human scum!'

She lunged.

Stone cracked. Heat blasted against my skin as her claws swept toward me.

I screamed...

and the air exploded.

A force slammed between us, invisible but absolute, throwing the dragon back with a furious roar.

I stumbled, gasping.

“No,” a familiar voice rang out, fierce and commanding. “You will not touch her.”

Light flared.

I turned, heart pounding....

“Cassian?”