Bride Of The Dragon King

Xendaya's POV: My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I stood outside my sister's chamber, pressing my palms flat against the cold stone wall, trying to steady myself. From inside, I could hear Lena crying, in a soft voice, broken sounds that made my chest tight. She had always been the gentle one, the kind one, the sister who wouldn't hurt a fly even if it landed on her nose. And now they wanted to send her to marry a monster. "Xendaya." My brother Kael appeared in the hallway, his face dark with anger. "Father is looking for you. He needs all of us present for the agreement signing." I didn't move. "Lena shouldn't have to do this. There has to be another way." Kael's jaw clenched. "There is no other way. The Dragon King demands a bride, and Father has agreed. This marriage will stop the war. It will save thousands of lives." "It will destroy one girl's life," I whispered. I finally turned to face him, and something in my expression must have frightened him because he took a step back. People often said I had strange eyes, not in color or shape, but in what they seemed to see. I had always been different. Since childhood, I could tell when someone was lying. I could sense the truth beneath words, read the intentions hidden behind smiles. It was a gift and a curse, this ability to see through people. Most didn't understand it. Many feared it. "Don't even think about it," Kael warned, pointing a finger at me. "Father has already made his decision." But I was already thinking it. I had been thinking it since I'd overheard the negotiations three days ago. I pushed past my brother and entered Lena's chamber. She sat on her bed, her beautiful face streaked with tears, her small body shaking with sobs. She was only eighteen which means that she's five years younger than me, and she looked like a child who had lost everything. "Lena," I said softly, sitting beside her and pulling her into my arms. "I can't do it, Xen," she cried against my shoulder. "I've heard the stories. They say he kills people for sport. They say he keeps women and discards them like broken toys. I don't want to die. I don't want to be sent away to a stranger who will hurt me." My heart broke into pieces. "You won't go," I said quietly. "I promise you, you won't go." She pulled back to look at me, hope and confusion mixing in her swollen eyes. "What do you mean? Father has already agreed. It's done." "Not if someone else takes your place." Understanding dawned slowly on her face, followed immediately by panic. "No. Absolutely not. Xendaya, you can't..." "I can, and I will." I stood up before she could argue further and left the chamber. My mind was already moving ahead, planning, deciding. This was the right choice. It had to be. Lena was gentle and kind and didn't deserve to suffer. I was strong. I had survived worse than this. I could handle a cruel king. I could handle being in a strange kingdom. I could handle anything. At least, that's what I told myself. The signing ceremony took place in the great hall of our palace. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting everything in a golden glow that seemed obscene given the circumstances. Our father, King Aldric, sat upon his throne, his face a mask of resignation. Beside him stood the Dragon King's emissaries, three brutal-looking men with scarred faces and cold eyes. I walked directly to Father and knelt before him. "My King," I said, and several heads turned in surprise. It was Lena who was supposed to be here, not me. "Xendaya, what is the meaning of this?" Father's voice carried the weight of authority, but I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. I had always been unpredictable. "I wish to propose an exchange," I said clearly, loud enough for the emissaries to hear. "Let me go to the Dragon King instead of my sister. I am stronger, older, and better suited to handle the demands of such a position." Silence fell over the hall like a stone dropped into still water. The eldest emissary stepped forward, studying me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. His name was Draven, and I could read him immediately, that he was dangerous, ambitious, and he saw opportunity in my offer. That made him doubly dangerous. "The Dragon King requested a specific bride," Draven said, but his tone suggested he was not opposed to negotiation. "He wanted the younger princess." "He wanted a bride to secure peace," I countered, lifting my eyes to meet his. "It matters not which princess, so long as the agreement holds. I am of royal blood. I am a princess of the werewolf kingdom. My marriage to your king will bind our peoples just as firmly as my sister's would." I could feel Father's anger rising, but I didn't look at him. I kept my gaze on Draven, reading him like a book. He was considering it. Calculating. Wondering if his king would accept this change. "Very well," Draven finally said, a smile spreading across his scarred face that was anything but friendly. "The Dragon King is not particular about his brides once they are in his chambers. This will be... acceptable. We ride at first light. Prepare yourself, Princess Xendaya. Your new life begins tomorrow." As the emissaries left the hall, my father's voice cut through the air like a whip. "Xendaya!" he roared. "You have overstepped. Guards, take her to..." But I was already moving, already thinking three steps ahead. I ran from the great hall and straight to the stables. My father could confine me, could order me chained, but he couldn't stop me if I was no longer here. The sun was setting. I had all night to prepare. I was throwing clothing into a travel bag when Kael found me in my chamber. "You're truly going through with this madness," he said. It wasn't a question. "Yes." "You'll die there." "Perhaps," I said, not looking at him. "But Lena will live. That's what matters." Kael was silent for a long moment. Then he came to me and embraced me tightly. "Then you'd better be as strong as you think you are, sister. Because the Dragon King is not a man to be trifled with. The stories about him... they're not exaggerations. He's killed entire armies. He's burned cities. He has no mercy, no compassion, no heart." I pulled back to look at my brother, and I let him see the truth in my eyes. "Then I suppose we'll have to teach him what those things mean. Or I'll die trying." At dawn, as I climbed into the carriage that would carry me away from everything I knew, I made a final decision. The Dragon King thought he was getting a meek princess he could control. He was about to learn that he'd gotten something far more dangerous instead. I was going to survive this. And somehow, some way, I was going to change him. But as the carriage lurchedhurts forward and I watched my home disappear behind me, a new fear began to creep into my chest, a fear that perhaps I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. A fear that no amount of strength or courage could protect me from what was to come. And a terrible, unsettling feeling that I was running toward something darker than I could possibly imagine.