Mira's POV
"Stop glowing!"
I shook my hands furiously, but the blue light only grew brighter. Snowflakes swirled faster around my fingers, each one perfect and frightening.
Kaelen grabbed my hands. The moment his skin touched mine, warmth flooded through me—not burning, but like stepping into sunshine after years in shadow. The blue light flickered and died.
We stood there, frozen, his hands wrapped around mine. His dragon eyes searched my face like he was trying to solve an impossible problem.
"How did you do that?" I whispered.
"I didn't. You did." He released me quickly, stepping back. "Your magic recognized mine. Responded to it. That shouldn't be possible unless—"
He stopped, his face shutting down like a door slamming closed.
"Unless what?"
"Nothing." His voice went cold again. "Iskra! Get in here!"
The silver-haired general appeared instantly, as if she'd been waiting outside. Her eyes widened when she saw the broken window and frost patterns covering the walls.
"Shadow creature," Kaelen said shortly. "It knew about her birthday. Knew what she was."
"Which is?" Iskra's hand went to her sword.
"I don't know yet." He turned to me. "But we're going to find out. Now."
They dragged me through more corridors—these ones going down, down into the depths of the castle. The temperature dropped with every step. My breath came out in clouds. My teeth started chattering.
"Where are you taking me?" I tried to keep the fear from my voice. Failed completely.
"The Archives," Kaelen said. "Where we keep records of every magical creature that's ever existed. If you're in there, we'll know."
"And if I'm not?"
He didn't answer.
The Archives turned out to be a huge underground library carved from ice. Books lined shelves that stretched up into darkness. Some of the books glowed. Others whispered. One tried to bite Iskra when she walked past.
An old man sat at a desk in the center, so ancient his skin looked like paper. But his eyes were sharp and knowing when they landed on me.
"Theron," Kaelen said. "I need you to identify her bloodline."
"The new bride?" Theron stood slowly, bones creaking. "Interesting. Very interesting indeed."
He shuffled toward me, moves careful. When he got close, he breathed deeply through his nose.
"Winter magic," he whispered. "Pure winter magic. Not learned. Born." His eyes narrowed. "Girl. Remove your eye patch."
"No!" I clutched it protectively. "I can't—"
"REMOVE IT!" Kaelen's dragon roar shook the shelves.
My hands shook as I untied the leather strap. The eye patch fell away.
Theron gasped. Actually gasped, his old face going pale.
"Impossible," he breathed. "Those eyes... I've only seen them once before, and that was two hundred years ago." He turned to Kaelen. "Your Majesty. This girl is winter fae. Royal winter fae."
The world turned sideways.
"That's crazy," I said. "My mother was human. She was just a musician at court. She had gray hair like mine, but she was human!"
"Silver hair that never aged?" Theron asked softly. "Strange eyes that changed color in different lights? The ability to make flowers bloom in winter?"
My mouth fell open. Mama could do that. She'd grow roses on the ledge in the dead of winter, and I'd thought it was just because she had a green thumb.
"No," I whispered. "She would have told me."
"She protected you," Iskra said, her voice surprisingly soft. "Winter fae and dragons have been at war for ages. If anyone knew what you were, they would have killed you both."
Kaelen was looking at me like I'd grown a second head. "The winter fae have been dead for two hundred years. Their entire royal line was wiped out in the Blood Moon Massacre."
"Not all of them," Theron amended. "One survived. The youngest princess—Elaine Winterlight. She vanished the night of the massacre. Some said she died. Others said she fled to the human world and hid."
"Elaine," I breathed. "My mother's name is Elaine."
The old man's face broke into a sad smile. "Then you, child, are Princess Mira Winterlight. Last heir to the Frozen Throne. And infinitely more dangerous than any of us imagined."
My legs gave out. I sat down hard on the ice floor, my mind spinning. Princess. I was a princess. A real one.
Which meant Vivienne had sent real royalty to die in her place.
"This changes everything," Iskra said. "The treaty mentioned a royal bride. If she's winter fae royalty—"
"Then the marriage is valid," Kaelen finished. His eyes found mine, unreadable. "You're not a fake after all, little lie. You're exactly what you were supposed to be."
I wanted to laugh. Or cry. Or scream.
"But that creature," I said. "It said I was a mix. That I had power I shouldn't have yet. What did it mean?"
Theron's face grew grave. "Winter fae come into their full power at age twenty. If you're turning twenty tomorrow—" "I am." "—then your magic will awaken completely at midnight. Every skill your mother hid from you will surface at once." He paused. "And if you're a hybrid, that means your father wasn't human either."
"What?" I stood on shaky legs. "But Vivienne and I have the same father! King Castellan is—"
"Not your father," Kaelen said quietly. "You said it yourself. You're the kid from your mother's affair. Which means your real father is someone else entirely."
The pieces clicked together in my head with terrible clarity.
"The creature said I was the key to breaking a barrier," I whispered. "It said old evil has been waiting for me. If I'm winter fae and something else... what could make that kind of power?"
Theron and Iskra traded looks.
"There's only one other magical race strong enough to blend with winter fae," Theron said slowly. "Only one that could create a child powerful enough to break a two-thousand-year-old barrier."
He looked at Kaelen.
"Dragons," Iskra breathed. "Her father was a dragon."
The room went quiet.
"That's impossible," Kaelen said. "Dragons and winter fae can't have children together. The magic is incompatible. It would kill both parents and—"
He stopped.
I watched understanding dawn on his face, followed by horror.
"Unless," he said slowly, "unless one of them was willing to die for it. Unless they made the child knowing it would cost their lives. Knowing that child would be powerful enough to—"
The ground beneath us burst.
Ice shattered. Books flew everywhere. A hole opened in the floor, and from it rose the shadow creature—but bigger now, more solid, more real.
"Clever dragons," it hissed. "You figured it out. Yes, little Mira is both winter fae and dragon. The only combination that's ever existed. The only thing powerful enough to tear down the barrier that's kept my master imprisoned for two thousand years."
Its red eyes gleamed.
"And in six hours, when she turns twenty, her power will trigger whether she wants it to or not. The barrier will break. My master will rise. And every monster from the Shadow Realm will pour into your world like a plague."
It lunged at me.
Kaelen shifted into dragon form quickly, his massive body blocking the attack. Ice and shadow met with a sound like thunder.
"Run!" Iskra grabbed my arm. "We need to get you to the protection wards!"
But more shadow things were rising from the floor now. Dozens of them. Hundreds. All reaching for me with claws made of darkness.
"She's the key!" they hissed in unison. "Bring us the key!"
I ran, Iskra pulling me forward. Behind us, I heard Kaelen roaring, fighting monsters that shouldn't exist.
We burst into a hallway. Iskra slammed her hand against the wall, and ice doors sealed shut behind us.
"That won't hold them long," she panted. "We need to get you to Kaelen's rooms. The defense spells there are strongest."
We ran faster. My lungs burned. My legs screamed. But terror pushed me forward.
We made it to the big doors I recognized from earlier. Iskra threw them open and shoved me inside.
"Lock the door!" she ordered. "Don't open it for anyone except Kaelen or me!"
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"To help kill things." She grinned, fierce and wild. "Welcome to the North, Princess. Try not to destroy the world before breakfast!"
The door slammed shut.
I stood there, breathing hard, in Kaelen's rooms.
The room was huge but simple. A bed. A desk covered in maps. Weapons on the walls. And a door—one single door leading to another room.
My room, I realized. The one Iskra had taken me to earlier.
I was locked in the Dragon King's bedroom while monsters hunted me.
This was my life now.
I sank onto his bed, trying not to cry. Trying not to think about how in six hours, I would either die or destroy everything.
That's when I heard it.
Scratching.
Not at the door. Not at the window.
Under the bed.
Something was under Kaelen's bed.
And it was laughing.
"Hello, little key," a child's voice laughed. "Want to play a game?"