Page 15 of Daman

Milena’s pale cheeks darkened with a blush, and she shoved away from me. “Whatever. I don’t even like Lev. He’s a brute.”

A brute she had crushed on for the past five years, yet I held my tongue.

“I heard your fiancé is on his way.” Milena skipped beside me down the corridor. “Is he as beautiful as people are saying?”

“Who’s saying it?”

“Father and some of the soldiers who accompanied you to Japan for the water dragon’s wedding. They speak of his bronze skin and pale green eyes. Are all of the brothers that beautiful? Are they all coming for the ceremony? Perhaps I can find a husband too.”

“You’re too young.”

“I’m sixteen.”

“Yes, and I’m six hundred and only now getting married. Give it another five centuries before you think about finding a husband.”

“You’re so overprotective, just like Father.” She attached herself to my arm again and sighed. “What about Lev? Would you let me marry him?”

“I thought you didn’t like him.”

Milena curled her nose at me. “I don’t!” She hopped up on the railing and waved at me before sliding down the staircase.

Shaking my head at her, I continued down the corridor. Nikolai and Kira had four children: three sons and Milena. Two of them were visiting the wind dragon clan, and the other son commanded his own force of warriors under me.

Once I was in my room with the door closed, I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm the nerves jumbling in my stomach. The news that Daman was on his way had shaken me. I rarely got nervous. So why was I now?

I stripped out of my coat and the armor beneath it before starting the water for my bath. As it heated, I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Silver hair, blue eyes, and alabaster skin. Scars marked my torso and my back, one from an arrow that had barely missed my heart. Another came from a dagger to my gut. Other scars were from deep slashes from swords. Smaller round ones were the result of bullets—guns were weapons we didn’t often use but some of our enemies had. All were proof of the battles I’d fought.

I wore them all with pride.

But as I remembered Daman’s beauty, I couldn’t help but experience a hint of insecurity. No one had ever touched me. Intimately, anyway. Would he find me attractive? Did I care if he did?

The purpose of our marriage was to secure an alliance. It wasn’t for passion or love. Not even lust. Perhaps we wouldn’t be sexually intimate at all. I wasn’t yet sure where I stood on the matter.

“Prince Warrin?” Armen asked from the other side of the door. “Is there anything I can bring you for your bath?”

“No.” I tore my gaze from the mirror and stepped into the claw-foot tub, shutting off the water.

“Okay. I’ll be back later to help you get ready for the feast.” The sound of his footsteps retreated as he walked away.

I sank down into the hot water and closed my eyes.

Breathe.

It was all I could do at the moment.

***

A car drove down the narrow road toward the castle, the headlights shining like a beacon. A signal that our guests had arrived at last.

Our home deep in the forest lacked the light pollution from the city, so the stars shone bright above us, the night cold and clear. I stood on the steps, hands behind my back, and waited. Nikolai and Queen Kira stood behind me, along with royal guards on each side of us.

The car stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and the driver we’d hired to pick them up at the airport exited the vehicle and opened the passenger side door. My legs carried me down the steps, steady despite my nerves.

“Prince Warrin,” Alastair greeted me. The avatar of Pride. He looked the part with his designer clothes, pale blond hair styled to perfection, and the cool demeanor in which he carried himself.

“Welcome to Russia.” I nodded to him. “I hope the journey wasn’t too arduous.”