Page 4

CHAPTER 4

T he rest of the ball passed in a whirlwind of dancing, but my original plan to flirt shamelessly with every man remotely close to my age in order to embarrass Father suddenly seemed pointless and unappealing. I couldn’t stop thinking about Griffin throwing the chess match. Squires were no doubt privy to the servants’ gossip that royalty didn’t hear. Would he know about the many men I’d kissed over the recent years?

The tube of lip stain with wyrmsleep mixed into the liquid suddenly felt heavy in my purse, as did the antidote-coated mints. Griffin was likely clever enough to figure out my methods, and shame made my cheeks darken. Would he be put off by my past antics? My “kissing bandit” days had seemed harmless enough at the time, but now the slightest twinge of remorse was mingled in.

Not that it should matter, of course. No squire would ever be allowed to court a princess. But if I ever met a prince or knight like Griffin, he might care that his future wife had kissed more men than a dragon had stolen sheep. Still distracted, I ran my thumb across my bottom lip. Would I care if the tables were turned and I found out that my future husband had kissed innumerable women?

“Rapunzel? Rapunzel!”

I snapped out of my stupor. The ballroom was nearly deserted, and Father was calling me.

“What?”

He tilted his head. “I asked if you wished the squire were nobility so he could challenge the dragon.”

I stiffened. Had I been that obvious?

“No,” I said, much too quickly. I wasn’t going to subject someone who was actually halfway decent to being roasted alive.

“He certainly seemed to catch your attention.”

“Why would you say that?”

“He unsettled you.” Father’s sly look was much too knowing. “I think you like your men like you like your chess games—a little challenging.”

“I don’t need to listen to this,” I told him haughtily. “I’m going to bed.”

“Sleep well,” Father called after me. “The first group of dragon hunters will be setting out within the week. You could be married by the month’s end, so if you want to request someone join the hunt, I suggest you do it now, bearing in mind they do need to be nobility. We can’t have a commoner taking the throne.”

Married by the month’s end? Dread crept into my stomach. I knew what awaited me once I took the throne. Father was pelted with enough tomatoes that it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that my future would be a messy fusion of irate citizens, dragons poaching livestock, and marriage to a man I would undoubtedly despise. Unless it was a man like Griffin, anyway.

I waved away Beatrix, telling her I would prepare for bed myself and to go enjoy an evening off, then leaned on the balcony railing. I glared at the innocently twinkling stars. The massive dragon swooped overhead, belching a column of flame into the sky as its wings beat the air. How I longed for complete solitude. Dragons had it easy. They didn’t have to answer questions about trade tariffs, export negotiations, and water restrictions. They didn’t have to adhere to etiquette.

Silhouetted against the moon, the dragon dove into one of our pastures and rose moments later with a sheep clutched in its taloned feet. I rested my chin in my hand and stared as it flew back toward the mountains. Why couldn’t we just turn a blind eye to the dragon like the citizens did? It was a menace and stole livestock, but there were also diseases that would wipe out whole herds. Losing some animals was expected and as far as I knew, the dragon never harmed humans. If Father were less stingy, he could have offered to replace whatever animals had been stolen, but I also sympathized with Father. His wealthy friends were ever lamenting about how frequently the dragon visited their herds and depleted their possessions. My father was just the same, only looking out for himself and viewing every person and interaction as a way to bolster his own standing. Was that all I was to Father? Just another possession to be used as a bargaining chip?

Ugh. I wouldn’t mind having a break from being treated like a disposable pawn on the giant chessboard of life. Maybe if I offered myself up to the dragon, I could get it to agree not to kill whomever came to challenge it. Perhaps I could strike a deal with it, just as my great-great-grandfather had done. Or…perhaps the dragon would simply eat me. Either way, I would be free of a father who no longer cared for me and free from a loveless marriage to a stranger who saw me as nothing more than a greedy Dragon Princess.

If only a dragon would kidnap me the way it had my great grandmother. That would be far more exciting than sitting around wondering which knight would succeed on their quest and which would end up roasted alive. But no dragon would ever be able to know the best time to snatch a princess and carry her away. If only I could kidnap myself.

If only I could kidnap myself…

A wicked smile curled my lips. I was done being used. If I was to be portrayed as a villain regardless of what I did, I may as well wholeheartedly embrace the role and enjoy some of the spoils of war while I was at it.

Perhaps my future wasn’t so bleak after all.