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I fought every urge to run after Zachary and beg him not to go, but he was right—I had to figure out how to heal my own kingdom’s hearts and minds before we could be happy together. Instead of heeding my heart, I turned to the window, taking deep breaths so I didn’t cave in to my desires. The sky beyond my ornate window had just started its daily waking process. The black of night had already transitioned into that deep morning blue. Distant rays played on the horizon, rising toward the heavens like a celestial stretch. Soon all the colors of dawn would paint the sky.
With a heavy sigh, I crossed to the mirror and gasped at my image. My hair was a knotted mess. Thankfully, there was a brush on the counter.
“May I get you anything?” Anna stuck her head in the door.
I pulled the last of the knots free and then glanced at her. “No, thank you.”
She frowned as though I had robbed her.
I sent her a warm smile to soothe her obvious unease. “I’m sorry, but I have never had a lady-in-waiting. I don’t know how this works.”
The furrows in her brow smoothed out. “I am here to help with anything you may need.”
This was going to take a tremendous effort to get used to. Having a servant was almost as uncomfortable as the grandness of this castle when so many impoverished people were in such proximity.
“Why don’t you go enjoy what’s left of the food. I will be out in a moment.”
“Thank you, m’lady,” she said and curtsied before she ran out of the room.
I sighed at my image and set the brush down in its place before I headed back to the ballroom. I didn’t want to stay here with all that had happened. I just wanted to be at our cozy cottage which was closer to Zachary than this cold castle.
Both Zachary and I almost died, and the undertone of doom still hung in the air.
I came around the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of Zachary flying out of the palace with the limp corpse of his mother gripped in his talons. He was magnificent in dragon form, and the farther away he flew, the more his coloring blended with the breaking dawn.
My gaze dropped to the dance floor littered with those who had been crushed by the dragon when she fell. My stomach did a slow roll at the carnage, and I swallowed the burn of bile.
Musicians had already packed up and left, along with most of the guests. All that remained were my fae family, the king’s guards, and the castle staff. The latter two were attempting to clean up the mess. Neither the king nor the queen were still in the ballroom.
Felicity turned toward me, as if she sensed my presence. She nudged Autumn and Marabel before she sauntered over to me with a solemn expression. As she came closer, she tilted her head and looked me over as if something had changed. Marabel and Autumn came up behind her, wearing the same curious expression as Felicity.
I shifted under their stares but when they stepped in for a hug, I gladly accepted the warmth of their love. If I couldn’t be with Zachary right now, all I wanted was to be back in my warm bedroom in the forest. But I knew that was impossible.
Anna scurried over to my side. “Can I get you anything, m’lady?” she asked while wringing her hands. Her gaze kept going to the dead strewn over the floor.
I pulled out of the hug with the fae. “Is there anything you can do to help?” I waved at the bodies.
“We cannot bring them back to life,” Marabel said with a voice so filled with sadness that my throat tightened in response.
“I know. But can you help clean up? Maybe move the bodies to wherever they can be viewed or turn them into dust that the families can save. Or better yet, crystals that could be kept in their homes?”
The three fae looked at one another and then closed their eyes. Magic swelled on the air and a small tornado captured each body, turning it to ash before it reformed in the shape of a beautiful vase of flowers. Each vase was etched with the deceased’s name and different vibrant colors captured their essence.
People gasped and then clapped through their tears as their loved ones became something lovely and bright.
I knew they were strong, but I never guessed how powerful they really were. I should have known when I woke up from the curse. The dragon queen had cursed me to die along with the entire kingdom, and the fae made it so we all just fell asleep in a deathlike state who true love’s kiss could undo.
I blinked and my gaze shot out to the horizon where Zachary went. I knew there was something between us, but it never dawned on me that he was the one that the fae had prophesized. I glanced at them. “Did you create the bond between Zachary and me with your magic?”
Their mouths popped open and their eyes widened. “The dragon prince?” they asked in unison.
I nodded. “Yes. The dragon prince. Was that your doing?” I pointed at them.
They adamantly shook their heads. “No. We just wished for true love’s kiss to banish the curse.”
I believed them and headed for the throne pedestal. I took a seat on the stairs as the entirety of all that happened last night pummeled my muscles. The castle staff still rushed around to clean up the rest of the mess, but at least they weren’t transporting corpses off the dance floor.
Marabel, Autumn, and Felicity sat next to me on the stairs and we silently watched until most of the activity dwindled to just a few people tidying up the last of the remnants of the ball. The sun was high enough in the sky to highlight the gold and silver accents in the ballroom.
I looked up and the mural on the ceiling captured all of my exhausted attention. I laid back on the steps to get a better view and nearly laughed out loud. It was almost comical to see a mural with humans and dragons living side by side on the ceiling of the castle of the Kingdom of Light. I wondered how many times my father looked up at that ancient mural and cringed. After all, he had been the one to cause the last twenty years of hostilities.
“The dragon prince?” Autumn asked after the last of the staff had left the room, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I shrugged and my cheeks heated as I sat back up. “Yeah.” I couldn’t meet their inquiring gazes.
“There have been rumors that he is a cruel, cruel prince.” Autumn crossed her arms.
I scoffed at her. Of course the rumors would paint the royal dragon family as horrible, but with the wall, there really wasn’t any viable source of information beyond speculation. “Does anyone have proof of that?” I glanced at each of them. They all slowly shook their heads but opened their mouths to speak. I put my hand up to stop whatever further arguments they were about to launch. “He saved my life. End of story.”
I let out a heavy sigh and stared at the giant hole the dragon queen had carved in the castle wall.
“Do you think...” I waved to the destruction.
“We need some rest before we do another large spell,” Felicity said.
I gave them a tired smile. “Well, if that’s the last casualty of the night, we should count our blessings.”