Page 13 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
My stomach flipped unhappily as I’d realized what he’d done.
He hadn’t invited me here just to witness and learn from a Council meeting. He had chosen this meeting specifically, orchestrated everything so that I would have to sit next to Clay while they decided my future engagement. The Dragon wasn’t ignorant of his son’s affections for me, and he would stop at nothing to tear us apart–he had made that abundantly clear to me.
When I first came to Athenia, he had been determined to secure my ascension to the Council. As the last Descendant of Hyrax, my induction would make Athenia the only government with complete representation from all the houses descended from the High Gods. I had thought that status was his greatest ambition.
I had been wrong.
Something mattered to him far more than a complete Council: preserving his bloodline.
Clay’s feelings for me threatened that. Were we to be together, truly, it’s possible that our children would inherit their powers from me, making them heirs to Hyrax rather than Zion. The Dragon couldn’t risk such a deviation from his legacy.
This meeting had been just another way for him to remind Clay and me of all the reasons our relationship needed to stay strictly professional.
“Gods, I hate him,” I muttered under my breath as the Dragon turned and exited.
Clay glanced at me suspiciously, eyebrow raised, but I only shook my head. No need to explain. “Let me walk you out,” he commanded, standing.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Do you think I’m asking?”
Of course not.
We exited the chamber and stepped into the ornate halls of the Dragon’s wing. Golden furnishings, detailed with dragon wings and scales, lavishly adorned the chamber like the rest of the palace. Sunlight poured through large windows overlooking the forests beyond the palace. At the end of the hall, a marble sculpture of Zion stood, sword in hand. Paintings of past Dragons lined the walls, their stern gazes a reminder of the dynasty Clay would one day inherit.
“So that was… interesting,” I mumbled as we turned the corner into the grand foyer of the castle.
I didn’t know what to say to him. Were we supposed to talk about what had just happened in the room? Was he as disgusted by my marrying his cousin as I was?
The entryway, as always, bustled with courtiers. I wasn’t sure how many had a permanent residence at the palace, but it was quite common for wealthy merchants or visiting Dukes who oversaw provinces within the Kingdom to stay within the palace during their visits to the capital. Their constant stares had been unnerving when I’d first started walking these halls, but I’d long since adjusted.
“I’m surprised you expected anything else,” Clay murmured, his deep voice sending warmth radiating down my belly.
I ignored that particular feeling as I kept my eyes plastered on the path ahead.
“You had breakfast with Iris this morning?” he asked.
Apparently, we weren’t going to acknowledge the engagement at all.
“How was she?”
“Different.” I shrugged. “More reserved, I guess?”
He sighed. “I’m worried about her. She’s gone through phases like this before – locking herself away, skipping meals, sometimes not getting out of bed for days.”
I shivered, hating to think of her that way. “What usually helps?”
“Lorelai,” he admitted, shoulders sagging under the weight of the name. “Lorelai helped.”
The mention of Lorelai tightened my throat. Of course, Lorelai had been the one to help Iris. Lorelai had been everything to her.
“All we can do is to be there for her,” Clay said, his voice resolute. “No matter how bad it gets, she needs to know she can count on us.”
“Of course she can.”
“There was one other thing I wanted to discuss with you.” Clay reached for my elbow to stop me, pulling me aside so a group of courtiers could pass. “I’ve been continuing to look into your background.”
My heart stuttered. “And?”
