Shakari frowned at me, her eyes brimming with accusation. I felt the sting. I had no right to mock them, not with the secret that flared between us and left me exposed. Shame and longing twisted inside; I looked away, afraid of what she saw in me. I turned my attention to Tran.
“You look beautiful, Princess,” Tran said, a smile on his face as usual. Then I noticed the red rose in his hand. I glanced between the rose and his face a few times without moving a single muscle. Was that a rose for me?
“Don’t freak out, Princess,” Tran said. “It’s not for you.”
I let out a shaky exhale I hadn’t realized I was holding. My chest ached from a wild burst of confusion and relief. The others laughed, but for a moment, fear flickered, a fragile dynamic, nearly shattered by a misunderstanding I’d never live down.
“It’s for Camelia, obviously,” Tran grinned. “Of course it is,” I said with a nervous laugh.
Tran left to look for his conquest, saying he'd catch up later. Without saying goodbye, Rowan and Shakari slipped into the crowd, already dancing again. Shakari and the twins truly lived like Dragontails to the core; they never looked beyond today, living each moment as if it were their last.
“They really do know how to live life to its fullest, don’t they?” I asked Soehl.
“It is acceptable that you don’t think like that. Royals cannot afford to,” she said with a serious, flat expression.
If there was someone I wouldn’t expect such advice from, it would be her. Soehl was from the corn fields and grew up far from the cities, the court, and the nobles, yet she was very well educated and quite resourceful. I looked at her and just nodded.
“I’ll look for Jan, will you be OK alone?” she asked.
“Yes, just go. Isn’t love and offering the main focus of this celebration anyway?” I teased. She smiled and left for the crowd.
I stood there for a moment, examining the students dancing, drinking auroric potions, offering to the Gods and accepting or giving flowers. There were already second years in the celebrations that had returned from the Auroric Veil today. Many except Lorik Draventh and his group.
My gaze drifted, and then from the crowd, I saw a female emerge, and she walked toward me. Poised and composed, wearing a high-neck white dress, her face covered with acomplex golden mask with feathers. The mask was clearly noble, like those I wore in the Glass Castle.
When she was in front of me, I finally recognized her. Camelia Aric.
“I see you chose green today,” Camelia said, not with any edge of superiority or hate, just stating the facts.
“I am to wear the color of the legion I was assigned to by the Siren,” I responded with respect.
“I know the rules,” she said, adjusting her mask. “I just came here to wish you good luck for tomorrow. I truly wish you would pass the Dragontail trials for the sake of the kingdom.”
I swallowed hard and nodded to Camelia, fighting down a surge of old resentment and shame. Only months ago, I would have spun away from her in a rebellious attack, needing to prove and loudly that I was different, that I never wanted the crown or its poison. But now an ache had replaced my bravado, a yearning to belong and to protect, no matter the cost. When I walked through the doors of Solstice and Dusks all those months ago, I almost saw the Dragontail Legion as my way out of the throne. I hated politics and despised the wicked people who were in it, such as Camelia’s mother. I didn’t want anything to do with a broken and cruel system. But after seeing the threats beyond the veil, my mother, drained of
power, was trying to protect the island, while the Dragontail warriors defended the veil each day with their lives. My unwillingness to rule was diminishing. Maybe having to rule and attempt to make the changes in the unfair and cruel system I was born into might not be so bad after all.
“Things are not getting easier now. But I have faith in Rionis and in the Solenhart throne,” Camelia added. “And more importantly, I have faith in you.”
The words landed hard. Right that second, I recognized something. She wasn’t a friend, but a clear ally for the future.
A voice cut from the crowd, calling her name. Tran. She looked over her shoulder, seeing his suitor from the corner of her eye.
“Thank you, Camelia,” I said. “You might want to run already.”
“I suppose I should,” Camelia said. “A Dragontail suitor. My mother would kill me.”
“I think you can form your own opinion. An opinion beyond the consent of the court.” And there was the rebellious princess again. Camelia just grinned, her golden eyes shining with mischief for a second. Then, she walked in the opposite direction from Tran. Perhaps some concepts will be very hard to change in this island. Royal Emberkeep relationships with Dragontail warriors were not illegal but looked like lesser unions.
I wandered around for a few minutes as the night fell over the celebrations. When I was at the dessert table, eating chocolates, I saw them. It had to be them, all wearing green tunics.
It was hard to tell in the darkness, with masks covering their faces. A tall figure with dark skin, with a golden mask. Ugo. And two strong pale Moonveils with obsidian and braided hair, Marla and Rory, wearing silver masks. But no Lorik Draventh. A myriad of thoughts cluster in my head. Perhaps he let go of his promise and finally gave me space. Disappointment crawled through me.
“Wondering where I am?” A deep voice cut from behind. I gasped in surprise at the voice being so close. Lavender honey scent was inundating my senses. Lorik Draventh had portaled again to be close to me.
“You need to stop portaling behind me,” I said, turning around, showing my angry face. His mask covered his face, and his short, dark honey hair fell over it. His silver eyes shimmered with the fire behind me.
“I thought you would be happy to know I am alive,” he said with that gorgeous smile.