Page 30 of Curse of the Midnight Dragon (The Moonlight Dragon #2)

Celestina

The haughty, overdressed, backstabbing lifestyle of court life in Fein felt more like home than the quaint village life the dragon clan lived. And yes, I did recognize how troubling that was. It wasn’t as if I enjoyed court life. I didn’t. But growing up in a court that operated in one similar to the Fein court meant I understood what was expected of me.

When Soren and I reached his bedroom chambers, Goldie, the royal maid who’d helped me prepare for events in the past, was already waiting in the chamber. Impeccably dressed in a golden gown, the gray-haired woman looked more glamorous than most of the ladies who’d ever stepped foot in a royal court. She’d brought with her a collection of dresses and shoes for me to choose from. She took one look at Soren and pushed him back out of the room.

“She doesn’t need you distracting her,” she scolded when he protested. “This is important business we’re undertaking. Not that you need many enhancements for your already lovely face, my dear princess. But we do want to put our best foot forward to silence any gossips who want to find a reason to think less of you simply because you’re not of the same species as the royal family.”

“No, Goldie, I’m not leaving this chamber. I need to clean up and change as well.” Soren charged back into the room while giving her a fierce look that would have frightened the rat-viper back into the carriage.

“Not here, you don’t.” With an impressive shove, she pushed Soren out of the bedchamber and slammed the door in his face.

“Was that wise?” Although I’d rarely seen Soren lose his patience with insolent staff or his seconds in the army, he was the crown prince and a powerful vampire. If this had been Earst, Goldie and I would have been waiting outside the room until Soren finished preparing for his audience with his father.

“I’m not worried about that boy. He’ll go to his brother’s chambers and get ready there.” She puffed out a loud breath, reminding me once again how the royals in this country weren’t nearly as fierce as they liked the world to believe. “And, princess, I know what happens when the two of you are around each other. If he’d stayed in here, no one would have seen either of you for days.”

Heat raced to my cheeks. She wasn’t wrong. I didn’t want to face his father in front of the court or confront the reality of our relationship. All I wanted was to be with Soren. In every position possible.

“Things seem to go best between us when we’re ignoring the real world,” I muttered.

Goldie patted my cheek. “Challenges can be the spark that keeps a relationship interesting. Sometimes you’ll want to chop his head off and other times you’ll ache to be under him, like you’re aching now. Neither one of those things fully defines either you or your relationship. Since the beginning of time, relationships have always been an ever-changing river, rife with rocky hazards. But there are also calm shores.” She straightened her shoulders. “Listen to me prattling on when I should be dressing you. Turn around, let’s get you into the bath.”

An exhausting hour later, I looked like I belonged in a royal court. I wore rich blue silks that shimmered with silver embroidery. The formal gown had a scalloped neck, cinched tight at the waist, and flared into a long, full skirt with tiny dragons stitched into the hem and down the sleeves. It was quite a daring statement. I wouldn’t have chosen it.

But all the gowns Goldie had presented had been embroidered with similar dragon designs. According to Goldie, Soren had requested these gowns be made for me with that specific dragon motif before we’d set sail for Tiburnia.

I was on the verge of telling Goldie to find Soren’s sister and ask her if I could borrow one of her court dresses when Soren returned.

“Gods,” he breathed. His face lit up when he saw me. “How did I get so lucky? You, my princess, are fucking radiant.”

He’d washed and changed into a black court suit trimmed in silver, which matched my gown’s stitching. His dark hair was still damp and pulled back into a neat queue. He wore a silver open crown with a simple geometric design etched into the metal.

By all accounts, he was the radiant one.

“Are you sure about this dress?” I gestured toward the dragon stitching on its sleeves. “Aren’t you worried this will send the wrong message? We might be fighting the dragons within the next day or so.” I prayed we wouldn’t be, but I wasn’t na?ve.

“You look gorgeous.” He stepped closer to me. “Especially with my bite marks decorating your neck.” He crushed his lips to mine and started ushering me back toward his private bedchamber.

“Oh, no you don’t, boy.” Goldie swatted Soren’s backside with a wooden hairbrush. “It took me too long to achieve this level of perfection. I’ll not have you ruin it for a quick poke and grab.”

Soren peeled his lips from mine. His pupils were blown wide from lust. He turned his head toward Goldie, bared his fangs, and hissed.

Goldie wasn’t the least bit intimidated. She didn’t say a word. All she did was lift her wooden hairbrush like she was brandishing a sword.

“Very well,” he said softly as he straightened. “My father is waiting. Impatiently, if I know him.”

“Gray?” He held out his hand toward the open door.

Gray, who’d also cleaned up and changed his clothes, hurried into the chamber. He wore a neatly pressed King’s Guard uniform with a single sword hanging from his belt.

“I thought you were no longer a King’s Guard.” Gray and Raya had stood with Soren against the king. To protect them from retaliation, Soren had moved them out of the King’s Guard service.

“The king wanted Raya and me to wear the uniform while we stood beside you and Soren as a show of unity.” Gray scowled and tugged on the uniform’s ornate collar as he said it, which made me smile. He then handed Soren a plain black box.

Soren peeled back the lid. Inside, nestled in a blanket of black velvet, sat a second silver crown. A shiny, sparkly crown that had my fingers trembling to touch it.

“For you, my beautiful dragon princess.” Soren lifted the crown out of its box.

“Me?” I squeaked, deliriously happy to have the shiny object touch my body. Instead of geometric patterns, the crown he placed on my head had been etched as if a flight of dragons soared around the shiny, metal circlet.

So many dragons. How would the court react to my blatant reminder that I wasn’t one of them? I was a dragon. I was the vampire’s mortal enemy. My stomach lurched at the thought of representing the one thing the vampires seemed to fear the most.

“I don’t see how this is going to go over well,” I muttered. Not that I’d willingly take the shiny off my head. I liked how the pretty metal vibrated and sang up there.

But what kind of statement would I be making to the court by keeping it on? Would the court view my choice of clothing as a threat?

“The statement you’re making is that you stand with me, and that we hold the power. It’s a reassuring message of unity. At least, that’s what Priscilla tells me. She’s the one who told me to order the gowns and this crown. And you and I both know she’s much better at navigating court life than I could ever aspire to be.” Soren loathed political games and wasn’t afraid to admit it. “I’d much rather show those popinjays how proficient I am with a sword and leave it at that. But swinging my sword around in the middle of court would make my family howl at me—as we already know—so I won’t be doing that. At least not this evening.”

“There’s no need to fret,” Goldie said as she adjusted my hair around the crown. “You, my dear Princess Celestina, look as regal as a natural-born queen. And, besides which, you should be proud of who you are. There’s no reason to hide your true, powerful nature.”

I wasn’t sure if that was right. In Earst, anyone in the court who was the slightest bit different would be picked apart for it. My mismatched eyes caused no end of torment because I was the only one who had them.

Soren took both of my hands in his. “Come on, Sky Girl, be my princess. Be my helpmate. Stand by my side and show everyone how lucky we are to have you in our midst.”

The Fein court fell silent as we entered, which was quite a feat considering the size of the crowd.

“Why is everyone acting so weird?” I murmured.

“There’s never been a dragon in the court before,” Soren answered.

“I’ve been here before,” I reminded him.

“But they didn’t know you were a dragon then. It’s all new and different now. You’re all new and different to them.”

“You say it like it’s a good thing.” I fought an urge to turn around and walk back out the doors. I shouldn’t have worn clothes with dragons plastered all over them.

“It’s a very good thing, Princess.” He kissed the back of my hand.

The courtiers, dressed in what looked like their silkiest and most ornate court outfits, parted as we made our way through the crowd and toward the dais where Soren’s parents sat, waiting for us.

Gray and Raya, wearing the formal black and gold King’s Guard garb, flanked us as we went. My heart started to pound, which was ridiculous. I had nothing to be worried about. Soren had bonded with me. Our lives were linked in a way that couldn’t be undone. His parents couldn’t steal that from us. No one could.

Sensing my growing alarm, Soren threaded his fingers with mine and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Tonight,” he promised, his soft voice rumbled deep through my body. “Tonight, you will be mine and mine alone, and I’m going to”—he licked his lips—“bury my face so deep between your legs you’ll be screaming my name.”

My body responded to his words even though my brain was still panicking. “Do you promise?”

“Try and stop me.”

A half smile tugged at my lips. “Now why would I do that?”

We reached the double golden thrones at the front of the room. Soren’s parents, dressed in shades of gold and wearing golden crowns, looked down at us with severe expressions.

“You’re late,” his father admonished.

“I beg your pardon,” Soren said as he bowed deeply. I quickly remembered my court protocols and curtsied. “We were delayed by a rat-viper in our carriage.”

The court gave a collective gasp.

“You’re joking.” The queen had a soft-spoken voice that made her sound so serene and innocent. She wasn’t. Not that long ago, she’d tried to have me killed because I was some nobody from a foreign kingdom, and not the high-born vampire she would have chosen for her eldest son.

“I wish I were.” Soren straightened. “You didn’t send the rat-viper as a test for Princess Celestina, did you, Father?”

“Goddess no. She’s too important to risk like that. Besides, the Tiburnians aren’t our trading partners anymore. Not after we supported Earst against them.”

Important ? The king thought I was important?

Soren’s grip on my hand tightened. “No tests, Father. She’s more than proven herself. We’re lucky to have her back with us. Agreed?”

The two men held each other’s glare for several moments before the king relented. “Agreed.” He cleared his throat. “We’re lucky to have a dragon, especially with the troubles on our border.”

“We’ll leave for the front immediately after tomorrow’s ball,” Soren confirmed. “I hear there’s news to be shared.”

I frowned.

They were lucky to have a dragon?

We were heading to the front?

What did they think I could do?

“Good.” The king finally smiled. “I’ve already had our spies leak the news we’ll be adding a dragon to our defense. Hopefully, that’ll make Queen Beatrice rethink her aggressive attacks.”

“What exactly is happening at the front?” I asked, hoping I’d finally get some of the answers Soren kept promising would come later.

“You don’t know?” The king leaned forward to peer down at me.

Since the answer was obvious, I stared back.

One of his advisors whispered in his ear. The king nodded before taking a deep breath. “Your queen—”

“Your wife?” I interrupted.

“No, not my wife!” The king violently shook his head. “ Your queen.”

I’d known who he’d meant, but I didn’t want the court to think I held allegiance to Queen Beatrice. The collar was gone. I had the freedom to speak however I wanted. “Queen Beatrice, then?”

“Yes, Queen Beatrice,” the king snapped.

“I see.” I refused to back down. I understood court life well enough to know when a little insolence was needed to prove you deserved to hold a position of power. I gave him a rolling gesture. “Go on. What is Queen Beatrice doing?”

Soren watched with widening eyes.

The king’s cheeks reddened. “The queen is attempting to invade our southern border. Her human troops should be no match for our vampire warriors. But Queen Beatrice is using a magic we’ve never encountered before. It enhances her army’s ability to… Survive isn’t the correct word.” His advisor whispered something else in his ear. “The men fighting for the kingdom die when we kill them. But I’m told that they keep moving even after they’re dead. Worse than that. They become more dangerous after being killed. They’re being sent out on missions where they’re certain to be slaughtered just to turn them into these unkillable abominations.”

“That’s gruesome.” The nonmagical Tiburnians used blood to conjure powerful magical spells. I wondered if Queen Beatrice had used blood to augment her already strong magic. Was that the reason for her bloody spectacles? Was she testing out ways to strengthen her powers?

No, she might have stumbled upon the side effects of gaining stronger power from bloodletting, but that wasn’t the reason she tormented her subjects. Ever since she was a child, she’d enjoyed making others suffer.

“That’s not all,” the king continued. “The queen now knows what we are. She knows what we can do, what our blood can do. Her army—the ones who aren’t mindless killers—have been capturing our warriors and draining them.”

Gray swore softly but viciously. Raya, I noticed, had tensed up. Nervous murmurs rose in the room. This must have been the new information the king needed to share. It made me wonder why the king had decided to talk with Soren about these matters in such a public forum.

Soren—I looked up at him—hadn’t reacted. He kept his expression carefully neutral. He hadn’t tightened his hold on my hand. Was he acting this way because he already knew that Queen Beatrice was harvesting vampire blood? Was this yet another piece of information he was keeping from me?

Goddess, I wished my mind could trust Soren the same way my body trusted him.

“How did she find out?” I asked.

As if feeling the press of my stare, Soren slowly turned his head toward me. The look I saw in his eyes made my heart sink.

“It doesn’t matter how she found out,” Soren said. “All that matters is that she knows, and that she has plans to enslave us.”

“We have to stop her.” I don’t know why I said “we.” There wasn’t anything I could do.

“I’m glad you’re on board with the plan. Soren wasn’t sure if you’d willingly agree to assist us.” The king settled back, making himself more comfortable on his large golden throne. “As soon as you get to the front, you’ll use your powers to—”

“I don’t have access to my powers.” He had to know that. It wasn’t something we’d kept secret.

“But you do, Dragon Princess.” The king looked beyond me. “Isn’t that right?”

I turned and watched as Prince Cullen, still dressed in his dusty battle leathers walked up through the center of the court. “She does,” he said as he adjusted his glasses. “Moonlight dragons have the power to control other dragons. And I’ve seen Celestina use this power.”

“I don’t—”

“I’m sorry, Celestina. You do,” Soren said quietly. “And if we’re going to stop Queen Beatrice, we need that power. The only way to stop her dead warriors is to burn them.”

“Then use fire. You don’t need dragons.”

“Queen Beatrice isn’t our only threat. The Kingdom of Tiburnia is angry about everything we’ve done to them. Where do you think that rat-viper came from? Tiburnia would be my first guess. And according to our spies, the Tiburnians have started to rebuild the army we defeated so they can move in after Queen Beatrice’s dead-but-not-done warriors have weakened us—that is, if we manage to defeat Queen Beatrice’s forces. And not only that, the dragons will try to get you back by any means necessary.” Soren opened and closed his fist. “You can use your compulsion to stop the dragons from attacking us. You can also compel those same dragons to fight Queen Beatrice’s army for us.”

“Why do you think I risked both of my sons to fetch you, Celestina?” the king asked. “We need a powerful dragon if we’re to survive this conflict.”

Oh.

My.

Gods .

My mind froze. My body turned to ice. I untangled my fingers from Soren’s and took several steps away from him.

“This makes sense now,” I said, my voice flat.

“What makes sense?” Soren asked, wary.

“This.” I gestured to the court dress covered in tiny, embroidered dragons. I reached up and pulled the dragon-etched crown from my head, tugging loose the elaborate hairstyle Goldie had spent so much effort on. “This!” I tossed the crown at him. It bounced off his chest and clattered as it hit the black onyx floor.

Soren had dressed me in clothes that shouted “dragon” not because he loved me and wanted to shower me with beautiful gifts. No, Soren and the rest of his royal family wanted to show the court how they controlled a dragon.

And Soren claimed he didn’t know how to play the court’s games. I bet he was playing me every time he said something like that.

While I was wearing a slave collar, he’d never made me feel like I was an object to be owned and used. But I sure felt that way now. Wouldn’t Queen Beatrice be pleased?

“Celestina.” Soren sounded calm, too calm. I wanted to rage at him. Hurt him.

In a flash, my heart went from frozen and barely beating to thundering. The sudden change made my chest burn. Or perhaps that pain was from my heart tearing apart.

I was a fool. The biggest fool to ever walk this world.

But that didn’t mean I needed to stay that way.