Page 37 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
So why wasn’t he here?
Kent’s face darkened as he stared at his boots. Rankor shifted with an irritated huff.
“Apparently not here,” Rankor snapped.
“Alright, that’s it!” I said. “What’s going on with you two?”
Before I could press further, the sound of a knife against glass echoed through the ballroom. The Dragon was rising from his throne.
“Friends, family, and honored guests,” he called as the room quieted. “It is my honor to welcome you into my home. Some of you have traveled very far, and I speak on behalf of the Council in expressing our sincerest gratitude.”
A hand tugged my arm, and I tensed, power flaring in my fingertips.
“Calm yourself,” Rosalia hissed, linking her arm with mine and pulling me forward. “When he speaks on behalf of the Council, we’re expected to join him.”
Right. I wasn’t just Theadora Moore anymore. I was a Council member.
Rosalia deposited me at the Dragon’s right, completing the line of five for the first time in years.
“Lady Moore—Thea,” the Dragon corrected himself, his smile practiced. “Your arrival in our kingdom was unexpected, but it has been a joy to watch you blossom. We are lucky to have you on the Council. To Thea, to the House of Hyrax, and to the kingdom of Athenia!”
He raised his glass, and the crowd followed suit, shouting their praises. But as he leaned close, his smile twisted.
“I warned you not to continue this dance with my son,” he whispered. “Now the Court has seen him openly defy me foryou.”
Panic rose in me.
“We are so lucky you call Athenia home,” the Dragon continued to the crowd. “And tonight we have so many reasons to celebrate you. Not only has Lady Moore ascended to the Council, but she has given me her permission to deliver a very special announcement!”
And in two days’ time, Lady Moore will set sail for Tenebris to meet her fiancé, my nephew Veric Starsen of House Zion.”
The blood drained from my face. The crowd waited in silence. Time slowed.
“As of this morning, Lady Moore is engaged to be married to my nephew, Veric Starsen of House Zion. In two days’ time, she will set sail for Tenebris to celebrate her engagement in her fiancé’s homeland before they return home to Athenia!”
The Dragon smiled, lifting his glass toward me in mock congratulations and I did the best I could to paint a pleasant expression on my face..
This game he insisted on playing with me would have consequences—for the rest of my life.
Chapter Ten
Ihated to admit it, but walkingthrough the cold, dusty caverns of the Underworld felt like a welcome reprieve from my waking life after the announcement of my engagement. Dealing with my lying ancestor was somehow preferable to watching the Dragon revel in my misery.
I had known the engagement was coming, of course. I’d known it for some time now. Once I joined the Council, it was only a matter of time. Still, the announcement had caught me off guard. It had felt like the very floor had fallen out from under me. Undoubtedly, that had been the Dragon’s intention all along. He’d wanted to see my shock, frustration, and despair. He’d wanted to see me blush. And I had given him exactly what he wanted.
I disgusted myself by letting him win.
As I swept open the doors to Hyrax’s throne room, I braced myself for another patronizing, evasive conversation. Sighing, I stepped inside and froze.
He wasn’t here.
That was odd.
Hyrax was always here. Every time I entered this realm, he sat waiting for me with wine in hand and that dreadful melancholic music playing. But now, the room was empty. The fire burned low in the hearth, casting fleeting shadows across the room and filling it with an eerie chill.
The silence was unnerving.
I had rarely been alone in thisrealm. My first visits had been clumsy and disorienting, marked by near-disasters and one too many brushes with danger. But now…
