Episode4: THE PALACE IS A PRISON
1461 Words
Morning came with blue fire.
Aria woke to a maid lighting the torches. Except they weren’t torches. The flames were blue, and they burned without smoke. They gave off heat that felt wrong. Like it was coming from under the skin instead of from the air. The light painted the black stone walls in ghostly shadows that moved when nothing did.
The room smelled like cold iron and old magic.
“Good morning, my lady,” the maid said, curtsying. She was young. Maybe 16. Silver hair, pointed ears. Not human. Her eyes were pale grey, like winter mornings. Frost seemed to follow her.
“What are you?” Aria asked before she could stop herself. Her voice was hoarse from sleep.
The girl blinked. “I’m a sylph, my lady. I serve the King. I was born in the east tower.” She said it like it was normal. Like being born in a tower was normal. “I’ve served his house for 40 years.”
40 years. And she looked 16.
Aria nodded. Right. Dragons weren’t the only monsters here. The castle was full of them. Breathing, walking, serving. And she was the only human.
“Is there a way out?” Aria asked. She kept her voice casual. Too casual. “To the gardens? Or the village?”
The sylph’s face fell. Fear flickered there and was gone. “No, my lady. The gates are sealed. Only the King and his dragons can pass. And even they need permission.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “The wards would kill anyone else. They taste blood.”
So it was true. Prison. Gilded, but still a prison.
A knock. Sharp. Two guards entered without waiting, carrying a dress of deep red and gold. It was beautiful. And heavy. The fabric was embroidered with tiny black scales that caught the light and moved like they were alive. Like they were watching her.
“The King requests your presence in the throne room,” one guard said. He didn’t look at her. His eyes were fixed on the wall behind her head. “For the presentation.”
Aria let them dress her. The fabric was like wearing armor. It pulled at her shoulders and weighed down her arms until she felt like she was drowning in silk. The brand on her wrist was covered by a gold cuff shaped like dragon claws. When the cuff touched her skin, the brand pulsed once. Warm. Possessive. Like it remembered Kael.
The halls were different in daylight. Still black stone. Still dragons carved into everything, their mouths open in silent roars. But now she could see people. Servants with their eyes down, moving like ghosts. Soldiers in black armor with swords on their backs. And all of them stared.
“Human,” one whispered.
“The King’s toy,” another muttered. “Won’t last the month.”
“Did you see her eyes? No fire in them.”
Aria kept her chin up. If she looked weak, they’d eat her alive. She was the only thing in this castle that could bleed and die.
The throne room doors were massive. Twice her height. Carved with a war that had no end. Dragons fighting dragons. Dragons fighting men. When they opened, the sound echoed like thunder rolling through the castle. Like the castle itself was groaning.
Inside, hundreds of people waited. Dragons in human form. Nobles with sharp cheekbones and sharper smiles. Warriors with scars and gold rings and eyes that weren’t quite human. All dressed in black and gold. The colors of ash and fire.
And at the end, on a throne made of obsidian and bone, sat Kael.
He wore a crown today. Simple. Black. No jewels. He didn’t need them. And he looked every inch the monster they said he was. Tired. Dangerous. Like a blade left in the rain too long. Like he’d been up all night. His gold eyes were sharp.
“Bring her forward,” Kael commanded. His voice filled the room without effort. It rolled over everyone. It made the bones in the throne hum.
Aria walked. Her legs felt like stone. Every eye was on her. Judging. Measuring. Wanting her to fail. Wanting to see her break.
She stopped at the foot of the steps. Close enough to see the gold in Kael’s eyes. Close enough to see he hadn’t slept. Close enough to smell smoke and winter on him.
“Kneel,” someone hissed behind her.
Aria didn’t. She looked up at Kael instead. If she was going to be his prisoner, she wouldn’t crawl.
Kael’s mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Almost approval. The gold in his eyes flared.
“This,” Kael said, standing. The room went silent instantly. Even the torches seemed to quiet. “Is Lady Aria Vale. My wife. By contract and by law.”
A murmur went through the room. Shocked. Disgusted. Amused.
“She is under my protection,” Kael continued. His voice dropped, but somehow got louder. More dangerous. It filled every corner. “Harm her, insult her, or touch her, and you answer to me. Personally.”
His gold eyes swept the crowd. It got very quiet. The air felt heavier. Like before a storm. Like he was holding his dragon back by a thread.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the room answered in unison.
Kael sat back down. “You may rise, wife.”
Aria stood. Her legs were shaking. She hated that they could see it.
“Now,” Kael said, bored. Like this was nothing to him. Like he was already tired of them. “Let the court greet her.”
One by one, they came. Lords and ladies with fake smiles and sharp eyes. They bowed, but their words cut deeper than knives.
“How quaint. A human.”
“What a delicate thing. Will she survive the winter?”
“One year is so short, isn’t it, my lady? I do hope you enjoy it.”
“Try not to die before the contract is up. It would be embarrassing for the King.”
Aria smiled and nodded and didn’t let any of it show. She was her mother’s daughter. She’d been taught how to bleed without making a sound.
Until the last one.
A woman. Tall. Red hair like blood. Dressed in black silk that showed too much skin. Jewels at her throat. She didn’t bow.
“Lady Selene,” Kael said, and his voice was flat. A warning. A blade.
“Your Majesty,” Selene said, eyes never leaving Aria. Studying her like a stain on a dress. “A word?”
“Later,” Kael said.
“It’s about the contract,” Selene pressed. She stepped closer. Too close. Into Aria’s space. “Surely you’re not serious about keeping her for the full year. She’s fragile. Human. What if she dies? What a mess that would be for you. For the kingdom.”
The room went still. You could hear breathing.
Kael leaned forward on his throne. The temperature dropped. Frost formed on the arm of his throne. “Are you questioning me, Selene?”
Selene paled. “No. Of course not. I only worry for you. For the optics.”
“Good,” Kael said. “Because the contract stands. One year. And anyone who forgets that will be dealt with. By me.”
Selene curtsied and fled. Her face was red.
Kael looked at Aria. “Come.”
They walked out together. The moment the doors shut, Aria exhaled. She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath.
“You did well,” Kael said. He didn’t look at her.
“I felt like I was going to faint,” Aria admitted.
Kael stopped walking. Turned to her. His face was closer now. “This is your home now. Learn it. Or it will eat you. The walls have ears. The floors have teeth. And I am not always here to protect you.”
“Can I at least go outside?” Aria asked. “Just to the walls? Just to see the sky?”
“No,” Kael said. “It’s not safe.”
“For me, or for them?”
Kael didn’t answer. He just kept walking. The answer was in his silence.
That night, Aria tried the door. Locked.
She tried the window. Spells on it. Cold that burned.
She was trapped.
And from somewhere deep in the castle, the chains rattled again.
Closer than before. Like something was moving. Like something was awake. Like it was listening to her breathe.
She lay in bed and stared at the ceiling until the sun came up.
[END OF CHAPTER 4]
- Writer
