Order
1270 Words
Blake POV
Morning came like a threat.
The curse always slept lightly in daylight, simmering under my skin rather than tearing through it. But today, something else stirred—a cold pressure, a warning.
A summons.
The king’s seal burned against the metal plate near my door, pulsing faintly with magic.
I had no choice but to obey.
Elle still slept in my bed, curled into the blankets, her breaths soft and uneven. Blind, trembling, vulnerable… and yet she’d reached for me each time I shifted during the night. As though she sensed the moment my thoughts drifted too far away.
She was the only thing that had calmed me enough to rest at all.
Blaze grumbled in my mind.
Leaving her alone is a mistake.
“I won’t be long,” I murmured under my breath, pulling the blankets higher around her. Her fingers twitched faintly as though responding.
I paused at the cell door.
I could place her inside. Lock her away. Blind and bound.
Safe.
Safe from the world.
Safe from my enemies.
Safe from herself.
Safe—from me.
My hand hovered over the lock.
Then I turned away.
She remained on my bed, wrapped in my scent, my warmth lingering on her skin. It was safer than the cold stone of the cage.
But leaving her was still agony.
---
The walk to the throne room felt longer than it ever had.
Dragons bowed as I passed, some out of respect, others out of fear. My curse hummed beneath the surface of my skin, reacting poorly to their scents, their breaths, their eyes lingering too long.
I hated being watched.
I hated being summoned even more.
When I entered the throne room, my father was already standing, armor half-strapped, as if the formality of rulership bored him.
“Blake,” he said, voice deep as stone. “You’re late.”
“I wasn’t aware I was expected at dawn.”
He waved a hand dismissively.
“You’re cursed. I assumed you’d be awake regardless.”
My jaw tightened, but I said nothing.
To the king’s right stood a woman clad in scaling leather armor—emerald green, polished obsidian pauldrons, a spine of hardened drake-bone along her back. Her posture was rigid, commanding. Her eyes—sharp gold—followed me with assessing precision.
My curse recoiled.
Blaze hissed.
Her.
Kaelis Vorust.
Daughter of the Southern General.
High-born.
Unyielding.
A warrior with a reputation only slightly softer than war itself.
And apparently… my father’s newest proposed solution.
The king’s lips twisted into something resembling approval.
“Blake, you remember Kaelis.”
“I remember,” I replied flatly.
She bowed her head politely, though her gaze never softened. “Prince Blake.”
I inclined mine in acknowledgment.
She smelled of steel and smoke. Strong. Dominant. Everything a traditional dragon match required.
Everything I had no interest in.
My father’s voice boomed.
“You two are to be betrothed.”
Blaze roared in my mind.
OVER MY DEAD BODY.
My own voice came out colder than I intended.
“No.”
The king lifted a brow, unfazed. “You don’t have a choice.”
“I do. And my answer is no.”
Kaelis did not flinch. “I am not offended, Prince. In truth… I expected resistance.”
“Good,” I said.
She stepped forward, chin tilted. “But I do not make unions for sentiment. I make alliances for strength.”
My father smiled, pleased. “And she is strong, Blake. Stronger than any wolf. Stronger than your curse.”
Kaelis’ gaze narrowed. “Your… doll… assists with your madness, correct?”
“Correct,” the king answered for me, as though I weren’t even there.
A low growl escaped my throat.
Kaelis spoke again, measured and calm:
“I want to see her.”
The temperature in the room dropped.
I felt the change before I understood it—my curse flaring, spreading beneath my skin like molten metal ready to erupt. Kaelis’ eyes sharpened, reading me like a battlefield.
“If she is to serve alongside you once we are wed,” she continued, “then I must approve of her.”
My vision darkened at the edges.
“You will not see her,” I said evenly.
“This is not a request,” she replied.
My hands curled into fists, nails scorching my palms.
My father stepped down from the dais. “Blake, listen—”
“No.”
“Your bride-to-be must know what she will inherit.”
“I said no.”
Kaelis crossed her arms. “If she is merely a doll, then why hide her?”
I took a step toward her, aura pushing outward with enough force to make nearby guards flinch.
“She is mine. And you will not come near her.”
Kaelis didn’t retreat—though her pupils flared in warning. “You are unstable, cursed, and unpredictable. If I am to help rule beside you, I need to see what pacifies you.”
“You will not go near her,” I repeated.
My father’s voice cracked like a whip.
“Blake. You will allow it.”
The curse surged violently, a near eruption, and for a moment the entire chamber trembled.
Kaelis’ eyes widened—just slightly.
The king’s expression hardened.
“Blake,” he said, “your request to keep the wolf was already a stretch of my patience. You know the contract terms. If she fails to serve her purpose, she will be replaced.”
I felt murder bloom in my chest.
He continued coldly, “Consider this… a test. Of your control. Of her usefulness. Of your suitability for the throne.”
My hands shook. My heartbeat thundered. Blaze clawed at the inside of my mind.
We tear them apart. BOTH of them.
I forced my voice out, low and lethal.
“You enter that room, Father…
you bring her with you…
and I will not be responsible for the outcome.”
Kaelis spoke, quieter now.
“Blake… she must be seen.”
“No,” I growled. “She must be protected.”
My father’s stare sharpened.
“You will return here at sundown,” he commanded. “With your doll. Kaelis will examine her, and you will both present yourselves before the court.”
“No.”
“It is a royal order.”
I stepped forward, heat rolling off me in waves. Guards readied spears, uneasy.
“I do not care.”
The king leaned in close.
“She is a wolf. Disposable. Do not forget that.”
My vision went black for a heartbeat.
When it cleared, my voice was barely human.
“If anyone lays a hand on her…
if anyone even breathes wrong near her…
I will burn this palace to the ground.”
Kaelis inhaled slowly, measuring me again. “Then prove she can stand beside you. Bring her.”
My father waved his hand dismissively. “Dismissed.”
I turned on my heel before I lost control entirely.
Blaze thundered inside me.
We cannot let them see her.
“I won’t,” I vowed under my breath as I stalked down the corridor, fists clenched, curse burning.
We will protect her.
Even if it meant defying the king.
Even if it meant treason.
Even if it meant war.
And beneath all the fury, all the threat—
A single thought cut deeper than any blade:
How do I keep her safe from a kingdom that already wants to claim her…
when I’m the monster they fear the most?
- Writer
