Junia's pov
What nonsense is he talking about? How am I betrothed to him? We don't even have any relation with the dragons. My father can't even stand them.
"If you want war, Ashmaris, this is not the war to ask for it," my father said evenly. He leaned forward slightly, ready to attack.
Ashmaris laughed, throwing his head back. It was cold and sounded unalive. "I don't need to ask for it. I already brought it with me."
Ashmaris stepped closer to my father and was now looking directly at him. "Half of your precious city should be burnt by now."
As soon as the words left his mouth, we heard screams of agony. Dragons are truly barbaric.
"This is not honorable, Ashmaris. Your father wouldn't do this," Father spoke again, his words coming out as if pleading.
Something shifted in Ashmaris's eyes at the mention of his father.
"I am not my father," he gritted out. "And don't you speak to me like you haven't done worse."
What is he talking about?
I couldn't see my father's face, but something changed in his demeanor. He stumbled back.
"Oh, no one knows how deceitful you are, Orion," Ashmaris spat. "Hiding behind your magic and glamour while the ones you betrayed suffer." He stepped closer to my father.
"What is he talking about, Father?" I cried out. I was confused. What exactly did he want?
My father turned, but he didn't say anything. He pressed his hand on his Seelie stone, which he always wore around his neck as a necklace. My father said the stone would protect us when we were in danger. He told me it could create a protective shield against enemies.
"It won't work. I took back the dragon stone a long time ago." He ripped the necklace from my father's neck and wrapped his hand around my father's throat before throwing him across the garden.
"Father!" I screamed as I struggled to push past Solric, who held me in place. How does the Seelie stone belong to the dragons? They don't have magic. Thousands of questions ran through my head. I wanted answers—answers I won't get from my father.
"Protect the king!" Solric ordered. Some guards rushed towards my father, while the rest reformed around us like a shield.
Ashmaris didn't move or rush. He just watched.
"Junia," I heard my stepmother's voice. She was right beside me, when did she get here?
"Mother." I wrapped my arms around her to hug her, and she did the same. Even though she is not my birth mother, she would still protect me like her own.
Solric turned. "My lady," he bowed to greet her.
My stepmother gave him a small smile. "I will take her to safety."
Solric nodded. "The guards and I will protect the king."
In a split second, I was standing right beside Ashmaris. My eyes widened in shock.
Shadow manipulation.
That is what my stepmother used.
I have only read about it in books when I secretly sneaked into my father's study—the ability to travel short distances through shadow.
An ability only the Unseelie fairies had. Valea is not a Seelie fairy, and the Unseelie fairies are dangerous.
Fear washed through me, and I turned to my stepmother.
"Valea," my voice came out small. I was betrayed.
"I am sorry," she stepped back, but her tone didn't sound apologetic.
Solric rushed towards us with his sword drawn and raised to attack. Vines held him midair as he jumped toward Ashmaris, who caught him by the neck and sank his talons into Solric's throat.
I gasped in shock. Blood spilled all over the floor.
"Junia," he rasped. He was thrown to the ground like a sack of waste. I ran towards him and knelt beside him, clasping his hand in mine.
"Solric," I said softly as tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Junia…" he coughed out blood, a small pained smile on his lips.
"Shhh, don't talk. Let me heal you." I pressed my hand against his neck, but he held my hands and shook his head.
"No…" He struggled to breathe. Healing his wound wouldn't do any good. It would only weaken me, and I might not recover for days.
"Please, let me…" I cried. My body shook from crying too much. His eyes closed slowly.
"Solric! Solric! Don't close your eyes." I gathered him in my arms, pleading, but he still slipped away, dissolving into the air.
I stayed there for a while as pain and anger washed through me. I picked up Solric's sword and lunged towards Ashmaris. I didn't want to know what he had against my father—he just killed the one I love.
But before the sword could touch him, his scales came out and clung to his body like armor. I swung again, but he caught the blade, and it melted, turning to molten lava.
I stepped back, flinching as the lava slipped down my arm—it didn't burn me. Ashmaris pulled me to himself.
His gaze roamed freely over my face before moving to my hands. He clamped both of them together and studied my bracelet. Something shifted in his eyes.
"So," he murmured, "your father tried to hide your true nature."
He released my hands, and his hands found my waist, pulling me closer. I gasped. His body was all heat.
What is he talking about? My father gave me these bracelets out of love.
"You can't touch me," I managed as I pushed against him, but he didn't move. "This is Seelie territory."
He smirked—slow and dangerous.
"I walked through your father's barrier, the one that made you Seelie fairies mighty and proud, like fog, and tore down your cities like it was nothing. No one can keep me from what is mine."
My pulse stumbled. "I am not yours," I snapped and pushed him back with all the strength I could gather. He stumbled but quickly recovered, strengthening his grip on me.
A shadow moved past us. Ashmaris noticed and caught it—it was my father. Did he just use…shadow manipulation?
Ashmaris' grip loosened as he held my father by the neck. I stepped back, trying to escape, but Valea was quick. She held me in place.
"Let me go," I hissed at her.
"This is for your own good," she said softly, and I scoffed.
"I won't kill you, Orion, because you will become my father-in-law soon. As you know, dragons don't kill their in-laws—unlike you," Ashmaris said. His voice held deep meaning.
"You beast," my father hissed. "You think she is your— I will—" His words were cut off as Ashmaris threw him to the ground.
He took me from Valea, who had been struggling to hold me down. "You are more of a beast than I am, Orion," he said to my father, who was groaning in pain.
I tried to use my magic to blind him, but it had no effect. "Let me go, you monster," I breathed. I tried to create illusions—he stumbled back. It affected him.
I did the same to Valea and ran, but I didn't get far before he caught me. One of his fingers scratched my neck, and suddenly I felt dizzy. He threw me over his shoulder. Before my eyes closed fully, I saw my father struggling to sit up, calling my name.