The Dragon Sea

Chapter 10. Snakes

Priya and her six-woman entourage guided me through the serpentine corridors of the Dragon Sea castle.

"We are going to be the best of friends," the Snake laced her arm with mine, something Danica used to do all the time, and now all I could think of were my friend's last moments at Priya's hand.

"Thank you," I replied sheepishly. "True friends are rare, I would never decline such a generous offer."

"You are so polite despite growing up outside of the palace." The Naga Princess smiled at me, but her eyes narrowed in the most predatory way. "Where did you grow up?"

Of course, she was already fishing for information. Luckily, I was ready for that.

"It's nothing special or particularly interesting," I shrugged. “When I was an infant, a werewolf couple found me and decided to keep me, raising me as their own. Thus, I have spent my entire known life, growing up in a wolf pack, but obviously, since I was unable to shift into a wolf like all the other kids, I was considered a ‘wolfless human’ and assigned the rank of Omega."

"Dragon gods!" Priya gasped. "That's awful!"

"It had its ups and downs," I smiled at her, looking around at the same time. "I don't regret it, and now I am seeking answers for myself."

"Answers to what?" One of the ladies accompanying us blurted, raising a brow curiously, only to be instantly shushed by Priya.

"Don't listen to them. It is not their turn to speak." She gently nudged me in a direction I knew wasn't to the Princess Tower. Afterall, I had studied everything I could about this place. I am sure Danica will tell us everything when she is ready."

"There really isn't that much to tell," I sighed heavily. "That's pretty much it. My life was quite boring and uneventful until—"

I stopped spilling the story purposefully and knew they would do anything to keep me talking.

"Until what?" Priya stopped and squeezed my hands a little tighter.

"That's something I should probably discuss with my father when I meet him." I returned the gesture and looked straight into her eyes. "I am sure you understand."

"Of course." She nodded, pursing her lips so tight they could burst from the pressure. "Ah, here we are!"

One of her maids pushed open the doors into a dark but spacious room. As we walked inside, all the dust that had been stored in this musty room immediately stirred up reaching my nostrils, and I sneezed as hard as possible.

"Oh, my!" I giggled. " I thought that the Princess Tower was in a … well … tower?"

I glanced at the other women, they all avoided my gaze.

"Draw the curtains!" Priya commanded, and her devoted attendants complied, shifting back the heavy drapes that adorned the large windows. They appeared so old they probably hadn't been replaced for generations. Clouds of dust billowed around us, dancing in the rays of light now penetrating the room, only this time it was one of the other women who couldn't suppress her sneeze, earning her reproachful glares from the others.

"Excuse us," Priya waltzed around as if this was the best place in the world, "we did not have time to prepare your rooms since your arrival was so sudden."

I looked around me. The room was nice, but it was fit for a lady in waiting and not a Princess, who could challenge the heir to the throne. A dark wood four-poster bed with a sheer canopy, an ornate but simple wooden wardrobe, an old-fashioned desk paired with a chair and a small settee accompanied by a coffee table — that was all.

"That's fine," I spun around as if it was the best thing I had ever seen. "I love it! After all, all the Princesses of the past lived here, right?"

They definitely did no such thing.

Silence was my answer as none of the women dared to speak.

"This is not the Tower, dear," Priya beamed at me. "The Princess Tower is already taken."

"But Aunt Sinead—" I stopped and blinked a few times, innocently appearing to be utterly confused.

"Princess Sinead is too old to remember these things now," the Snake shrugged. "It's been quite some time since she has gotten involved in royal matters and she may simply not know what kind of danger her offer to put you in the Tower could evoke."

"Really?" I hugged myself, biting my lip. "What danger are you talking about?"

"Well, as you know, I am the one who lives there now." Priya sighed. "The chambers were given to me when I came here as Aeron's future wife. I would absolutely give them back to you if I could, of course.”

Of course, Lisa snorted in my mind.

“You see, I am the Princess of the Naga Kingdom Ishtorri. My father— how do I put it?"

Priya looked around for help, and a woman with ebony skin and dark, intricately braided hair stepped forward, bowing her head, "A tyrant."

My brow went up at the word. Was that the angle they were going with? The Naga King was sick and had been on the verge of death for months. He would not be terrorising anyone anytime soon.

"Thank you, Sarpa," Priya could barely hold back a smile. "Sadly, that's true. You see, Danica, my father is a tyrant, and if he hears that I was kicked out of my room in the palace, he could declare war on Draigmorr."

Yeah, sure! Lisa rolled her eyes as I audibly gasped. Snakes against dragons. I wonder who would win that one.

"At the very least, he would call off our betrothal," the woman even forced a little tear. "But Aeron and I love each other so much!"

"Say no more!" I was beside her in an instant, wrapping my arms around her pointy shoulders draped in shimmering golden fabric. The Snake was so stunned that she didn't even notice me plucking a few strands of her hair, which I hid in my sleeve before hugging her tighter. "Of course, don't mind me, I wouldn't want to ruin anything. I hope Aeron will see me as his sister one day." Not.

"You are so sweet," Priya grinned at me, happily believing that her little trick had worked. "I feel like you will be the sister I never had!"

"I intend to be just that." I stepped back and went to look out of the dusty window. Of course, the view was another wall.

“But don’t think I shoved you in the first room I saw,” the Princess took my hand and led me away from the window. “This room is a very special room indeed. At least for you.”

“How so?”

“Your mother lived here right after your father met her, my lady,” one of the women replied. It did not escape me she addressed me as a lady and not Her Highness.

“Really?” I gasped again, ensuring a couple of tears would glisten in my eyes. “Then— then it’s perfect!”

I saw a wave of relief cross their faces. Their first scheme against me was successful after all.

"I think we need to bring fresh flowers here," Priya cooed, opening the desk drawer. "And of course, I mean it when I say I will help you in any way I can. Sarpa, Fiona!" She raised her voice and two women stepped forward at once. "From this moment on, you are Danica's ladies-in-waiting."

Oh, that was yet another trick. I would not be able to get rid of a lady-in-waiting on a whim, and those two were definitely Priya's spies. According to the local laws, if I accepted them, I would have to keep them for at least a year so as not to offend their families. This was more of a title than a job.

"Oh, that's okay." I shook my head vigorously. "Ladies-in-waiting are too fancy for me."

"Nonsense!" The Naga's eyes flashed amber. "You are a Princess! Of course, you need ladies-in-waiting."

I started panting, ordering Lisa to drain the blood from my face to make me as pale as possible. "Too— soon—" I leaned against the nearby wall, acting weak and fragile. Was that how my biological mother did it?

"What is happening?" Priya watched as I slid down the wall to the dirty floor.

"Panic—" I desperately tried to undo the buttons of my shirt. "— attack—"

"A panic attack?" The Princess was in disbelief. "Is this real?"

Of course, it wasn't.

"I'll get her some water!" One of the women ran away.

I began to slow down my breathing. "It's— okay. Getting— better—"

Priya's eyes remained fixed on me the entire time. Her look held no sympathy, only irritation, which she failed to hide despite her efforts to mask it.

"You definitely need some help!" she concluded, folding her arms over her chest. "Just look at you, poor thing."

I looked at her through my lashes, tears forming in my eyes. "I guess— I can use a maid or something."

I tried to sound pitiful, but the Naga's fists clenched so hard that her knuckles went white. Ouch.

"Fine," she forced a smile. "Sarpa and Fiona will stay here to serve you then."

Even if the two women were unhappy to be demoted from ladies-in-waiting to mere maids, they did not show it. After all, they all were playing for the win — the time when their Snake of a Princess became the Dragon Queen.

They helped me up, and I dusted my old coat. "Thank you," I muttered. "I would really appreciate it if you could keep my panic attacks a secret. It's just that— I know I am a pathetic Princess, but I don't want my father and brother to think the same—"

"Of course!" Priya gave her ladies a warning glance, and they all began to assure me that their lips were sealed.

"We'll begin by cleaning the room," Sarpa suggested, while her fellow ‘maid’ frowned at the idea of honest labour. "By the way, do you have any more things with you? We could go and get them for you."

"Oh yes," I nodded. "I forgot about that. I left a small suitcase in a bed and breakfast, where I planned to stay if I was thrown out of the palace and somehow survived. I think its name is Ruby Egg or something like that—"

"I know that place," Fiona spoke. "I'll get to it and fetch your belongings here."

She ran away before Sarpa could object, leaving her to do all the dirty work.

Priya looked satisfied, though. Afterall, now they could check everything I owned for clues to my background.

"Well, we will leave you for tonight," the Naga Princess abruptly stated, heading to the exit. You need your rest, Danica, but I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"Sweet dreams." I waved back at her and her entourage, sure they wouldn't sleep well anytime soon if I could help it.

***

AERON

I struck out my arm sweeping everything off the table, not bothered by the broken glass and the mess I was creating, but even that did not satisfy the anger building inside me. How the hell did that just happen? I was searching for her for so long without a trace, hoping to find her one day and bring her here… but not like that.

The thought that this woman was my sister, the daughter of my own father, made bile rise in my throat.

"Calm down, brother!" Leander said using the one word I did not want to hear right now. I grasped the edge of an ancient bookshelf, thrusting it at him. My friend barely had time to dodge it, spilling the wine in his glass all over his new shiny outfit.

"How. Did. This. Happen?" I roared, while Byron observed my outburst from a safe corner in my chambers. "Did you not assure me my sister was dead?"

"We did kill her, man!" Leander seethed. "This chick must be a fake!"

"A fake?" I laughed coldly in response. This was my reward for being friends with this i***t? This punishment? "Sinead checked her with the royal flame! How the f**k did you check her?"

"Obviously, we did not have the royal flame with us," Byron stepped in, hands behind his back. "The one we killed looked very similar to this woman, and she did have a flame mark behind her ear, just like we expected. She was just a child then and had no idea what was happening. Everything pointed to her!"

I rubbed my temples. A bunch of morons.

"So, what I am hearing is that you killed some girl with a red smudge behind her ear, and this was all you had?

"Aeron, this was all we needed. The witch gave us her location. She looked like your female copy and smelled like a dragonling. What else could we do?" Byron was the reasonable one, as always. "Even if the situation repeated itself, I would do it all over again, just in case. No one should challenge you for the throne. Not when you are so close to it."

I wanted to kill them both, but getting rid of my right and left hand on the same day would have been a mistake. Especially now.

The door creaked, and Priya walked in, a tense expression etched on her pretty face.

"So?" I arched a brow at her. After all, finding and killing off my sister was her idea to begin with.

"Good news," she offered me a seductive smile, but knew better than to touch me right now. "The girl is not too bright. My people are already serving her and they will help us to get rid of her. I am sorry, my love. I thought we already dealt with that problem."

"Your apology means nothing to me!" I seethed. "Fix this."

"Don't worry, darling," she fluttered her lashes. "I give it a week. Your father will kill her personally this time."

Something inside me tensed at these words despite knowing this would be for the best. Whatever plans I had for her in the past were all done now that she turned out to share blood with me. It was annoying how much I thought of someone like her in the past three years. Definitely my mistake. No woman was worth it, and there were many others to replace her.

Danica… Who could have thought…

“A week it is then,” I agreed and fell into my chair, rubbing my chin and closing my eyes.

I had to eliminate her from my life as soon as possible.

***

DANY

I helped Sarpa with the cleaning and sent her away despite her protests. Fiona had yet to return with my things, and in all honesty, I did not expect her to. They obviously had to study everything in that suitcase first.

Little did they know that the things they really should have gone through would be arriving in a very different way.

I waited for the dark of night to conceal the palace, happy they did not use modern sensor lamps in Draigmorr. Dragons were too traditional for that. They could summon flames or other types of magic and illuminate any space, at any time.

This gave me the perfect cover.

The dimly lit corridor seemed to stretch on forever, each step echoing softly against the stone walls. The palace guard I'd arranged to meet stood waiting at the agreed-upon corner, a medium-sized wooden box tucked under his arm.

"Evening," he greeted with a nod, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Heard the palace is buzzing about the long-lost Princess. Could it be you by any chance?"

"Yeah, sure." I rolled my eyes. "The lucky b***h is probably dining from the golden plates right now. While I am here with you."

"In your worn-out coat." He agreed with a chuckle, passing me the box.

"They will give me my maid uniform tomorrow," I lied without blinking.

"Had to ask," he admitted, running his hand through his blonde locks. "Wouldn't it be something, though?"

"Indeed," I murmured, clutching the box tightly. "Thanks for this."

"Anytime. For the right price, of course." He winked at me.

I sighed and took out a couple of gold dragon coins, the local currency, from my pocket. "From my advance," I grunted.

"Don't try to make me feel sorry for you," the guy teased. "I already gave you a huge discount, considering these are your meds. Your secret is safe with me, by the way. I don’t trade information, and a sick maid is not something anyone would pay for anyway."

"I really appreciate it." This time, I told him the truth. "I may need your help in the future if I run out."

"You know where to find me, " he flashed me a grin. Just ask for Blaine, and I will find you myself. And your name is?"

He clearly wanted to form some kind of a relationship with me, but I only pulled my hood lower. "Doesn't matter."

"Always a pleasure, Doesn't Matter ," he chuckled and disappeared into the shadows.

The box's weight seemed heavier with each step I took through the garden and palace corridors. Luomei's potions and trinkets had to be the most valuable things I had ever possessed, and my life depended on them quite literally.

By the time I reached my door, my heart was pounding for reasons beyond the wooden container in my hands. However, pushing it open, I was greeted by an unexpected sight.

Reagan lounged in my only chair, his feet propped on my desk as if he owned the place.

"Took your time," he drawled, eyes gleaming with amusement as they lingered on my box. "And what do we have here, may I ask?"

Author's Note: This is the end of the taster chapters. The book is currently updating on In.k.itt a.p.p You can always find more information on what is going on in my group on sss : Marissa Gilbert's Reading Circle. My IG and TT handle is marissagilbertauthor :) I hope to see you all again one day :)

Love,

Marissa.