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The wind whips through my hair, wild strands pulling on the sensitive part of my scalp and making my teeth grit together from the force of it. I squeeze my legs tighter around the small divot on the back of the dragon, Lan, that my brother and I ride on, that movement making me grimace too. Fuck , how far had I fallen from the ship? I bring my fingers to my head, checking for blood and thankfully finding that my healing abilities have finally sealed the wound.

“On another one of your missions ?” Navin shouts from in front of me, the wind just barely carrying his voice past me. His black hair snaps at my face, and I swat it out of the way with an exasperated sigh.

“You could say that.” I feel more than hear his responding chuckle, his shoulders shaking with it.

“With all the secrets you hold, it’s a wonder Lan here can carry your weight.” He trails his hand over his dragon, the dark blue iridescent scales shimmering under the sun as Lan tips his wings forward a small degree and we glide to a lower altitude. Navin’s shoulders shake again.

“What?” I yell, kicking him in the boot.

“Lan finds you amusing!” Regardless of the fact that the beast we fly on comes from the savage Nila line—dragons of varying shades of blue with leaf-shaped scales—all it takes is a bit of food and all of your attention, and Lan will become as docile as a pup. His coltish energy matches that of his rider, so I suppose it makes sense that they’ve bonded.

“You can tell Lan that he is nothing more than an overgrown rat.” The dragon growls as Navin hunches, the sound reverberating down his massive body as it rattles my bones.

“He didn’t like that,” Navin yells. I smirk, my grip tightening on the leather strap that wraps around the beast’s neck.

My mission , as my brother had called it, was supposed to be a quick endeavor. I had snuck onto the ship, intent on questioning the male I had been tailing for a few days before slicing a blade across his throat and tossing him into the sea. Yet my interrogation had been ruined by the siren attack, and with none of the males in their right mind to steer the ship, it had veered too close to the jagged rocks lining the seafloor off the coast. With the hull shredded, the ship began to sink as I scrambled towards its deck. Unfortunately, in my desperation to get there, my attention had been diverted and I must have been hit with falling debris as the ship tipped. While I’m grateful to be alive, to now owe a life debt to a siren sets my teeth on edge.

“What did Father want?” I shout to Navin as I banish the thoughts of the ruby-haired siren from my mind.

“Apparently, you were absent from a mandatory teatime with the queen consort’s ladies.”

I groan, his shoulders shaking again as he laughs at my expense. I had completely forgotten about fucking tea with my mother .

My life as the royal princess of the Fae Kingdom was shrouded in secret. Both by design of the Crown and because of the alternative lifestyle I had chosen for myself.

By day, everyone assumes that Princess Myla Ryuu is nothing but a servant to her status. As is custom for our kingdom, nearly all of my face is shrouded by an opaque veil most of the time, only my onyx eyes left uncovered. With the exception of my mother, father, brother, and a handful of servants, no one knows what I truly look like. To the kingdom, I am but a precious jewel to be guarded until I wed. Only then can my face be revealed. My value is whittled down to nothing more than what I can provide between my legs to whichever suitor my father deems worthy .

By night, however, I trade in my colorful, tailored gowns and veil and, instead, don my preferred outfit of all black. With weapons sheathed on my thighs and hidden in compartments at my ribs, I am what the sinister shadows of Khargis have come to both revere and fear. While my father does not rule with an iron fist, neither does he provide adequate provisions to those in the kingdom who need it most. He revels in his status, keeping only to the upper crust of society while his lower-level subjects are left to fend for themselves—unless they slight the Crown. Only then do they gain his attention, and it’s not the kind of notice anyone would want, as it usually ends with a trip to the dragon fields. No one returns from there.

So, when the sun sets, I prowl the streets looking for those that believe themselves to be exempt from justice. Anyone who preys on the defenseless finds the end of my blade instead. That’s what I had been doing on the ship—enacting a deft punishment upon a male who thought it his right to corner a female in an alley and take advantage of her.

Navin whistles, drawing my attention back to the present as we soar over Khargis. The architecture of the city consists of gleaming dragon stone and harvested wood from the mountain’s many forests. Though our kingdom is mostly one of black mountains and gray mist, patches of brightly colored wildflowers and forests of deep green trees stand out in stark contrast between the capital and its surrounding cities. Lakes and streams, their color an icy blue, look like the veins of the mountain from up here.

“So,” Navin drawls loudly.

I kick his boot again, already suspecting what he’ll say. “ Don’t .”

His laugh is teasing as he yells over his shoulder. “I was just going to say, if you were stuck making a deal with a siren, that female wasn’t the worst looking—”

“ Navin —” This time, I send a punch into his side, my brother grunting from the impact. Lan growls, and though he’s too big to tilt his head back to look at us, he tries anyway, the dragon’s anger radiating from the single yellow eye that I can see. “I will find a way out of it. She wasn’t smart enough to choose her wording carefully.”

Navin nods his head, his hand reaching back to pat my knee. “If anyone can work their charm, it’s you,” he coos sarcastically, earning another kick, this time to his calf. His chuckle works its way past me again as Lan’s powerful wings beat and the looming palace nears.

The siren is the least of my concerns. I’m a being made of many secrets, and one does not go as long as I have protecting them without learning a thing or two about how to manipulate situations to my advantage. I’ll meet with her, and when our agreement has been fulfilled, I’ll do what I told her I wanted to: slit her throat and send her remains to her horrific queen. Maybe then the sirens will feel a fraction of the pain they have caused my family.

I don’t consider myself a sentimental fae, but gods help me, I thrive on the feeling of vengeance. That little siren might just satiate it.