Rebuilding his Dragon Kingdom

Chapter One-2

THAT EVENING, STAVROK and Lucy returned to the castle.

I smiled with relief when they walked into the dining room, still shaking the last of the snow from their hair. The table was already laid with silver candlesticks and the maids had decorated the white cloth with sweet floral arrangements. Platters of meat and warm, soft bread were waiting for them.

I stood up from the chair where I rested by the fire and rushed toward them. Lucy greeted me with a hug. She was still cold from being outside, and I shivered in my light evening clothes, pressing my hands to her pink cheeks.

“You’re so cold,” I said, trying to warm her. As a human, Lucy wasn’t as adaptable to our climate as dragon shifters.

“How were my little ones?” Lucy clasped my hands, still shivering as she held my warm palms to her cheeks a moment longer.

I laughed. “They were good as gold...Well, the girls were!”

Stavrok let out a booming laugh as he took his seat at the head of the table. “My son has a strong will, even now. He will make a fine dragon king one day.”

Lucy chuckled and moved from the fireplace to take a seat beside her husband. I did the same, and Lucy reached out to brush her hand over mine as we all sat down to dinner. “Thanks for watching them, Cass. I know I can always count on you. You’re an angel.”

I forced out a laugh. “Any time, Lucy.”

What else did I have to do?

I fiddled with my fork. “You know I’ll always be here.”

Always and forever. Until I die of old age, in my library tower, surrounded by my books. Dreaming of adventures, I never undertook.

There were worse fates, and yet I couldn’t help but want more.

Some note of frustration must have come through in my voice, because when I looked up, Stavrok had set down the turkey leg he’d been gnawing on and was watching me with a contemplative expression.

I tilted my head. “What’s up, cuz?”

A grin slid over his face, and his eyes twinkled. “Cass. Dear Cass.”

Uh oh. What have I done now?

“It’s your twenty-first birthday tomorrow,” Stavrok continued, and my stomach, which had lurched at his initial words, relaxed.

A matching grin sparked over Lucy’s face, and the two of them turned to me. My heart started to race.

“You’re not the child I met anymore, all those years ago.” He reached out and took my hand. “You’ve grown into a smart, strong and beautiful woman. I’m proud of you.”

My eyes widened in alarm. “Don’t go getting all emotional on me, Stavrok!”

Still, I couldn’t help but be a tiny bit pleased. If Stavrok finally saw me as an adult, then that could mean...

“I think what my husband is trying to say,” Lucy interjected, “is that you deserve a treat. A birthday present that will let you... spread your wings, so to speak.”

Spread my wings? Like, actually spread my wings? Excitement burst through me, but I tried to hold it in. What if I had misinterpreted what Lucy meant? What if...

“I’m taking you with me to the north,” Stavrok said.

I gasped, both hands lifting to cover my mouth.

Stavrok grinned, obviously relishing the look of total shock on my face. “To meet the Dragon of Winter himself.”

My hands dropped down and my mouth gaped open. The two of them sat there looking pleased as they watched me process the news.

“Oh. My. God!” I squealed, launching myself out of my chair and forward to throw my arms around my cousin’s neck.

As Stavrok spluttered, struggling to free himself from the embrace, Lucy sat back and laughed.

Stavrok patted me a few too many times, and I dragged myself back to my seat, barely able to sit still. Finally, I was getting out of this kingdom! And not just going anywhere. He was going to take me to the one place I wanted to see most!

“I take it this means you’re on board with your present?” Lucy said, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

“Of course, I am! I can’t believe it!” I leant back in my seat. A thousand questions sprang to mind; I didn’t know where to begin. “You’re being serious, right? You wouldn’t trick me with something like this?”

I glanced between my cousin and his wife, both of whom just laughed and shook their heads.

I clapped, too excited to eat anymore. “When do we leave? What do I pack—is it really as cold as they say? Will there be wolves? Will—”

“Whoa!” Stavrok reached out and put a cautionary hand on my shoulder, but his eyes expressed fondness. “How about we finish this meal first? Then we can talk about the rest.”

“Of course. Thank you, guys! This is seriously...” I couldn’t settle on the right word. Eventually, I just went with, “Amazing.”

Stavrok and Lucy turned back to their meals. The conversation shifted to their three kids, so I drifted off.

I ate mechanically, without tasting another bite. I wanted to race off to the library at once and bury myself in the old books I had loved since I was little—the tales of the northern explorers, battling against icy storms and fearsome beasts.

I wanted to reacquaint myself with all the stories so I could prepare for actually going there in person.

I’d never met Damon, the King of Winter, despite the few times he’d come to the castle for royal errands. Stavrok had always kept him, and many of the other kings, away from me for some reason I hadn’t yet worked out. I’d only heard stories about Damon, and they were enough to pique my interest to a mountainous level.

The servants passed rumors and I’d gotten snatches of tales traded from person to person, third-or-fourth hand, from Stavrok’s expeditions and hunting parties.

Everyone knew that the north was a wild place, inhabited by unruly people. Things were different there... survival was harsher. People fought tooth and nail for everything they had.

Their king, according to the rumors, was the wildest one of all. He was said to be a ferocious fighter with piercing eyes and a cold, stoic demeanor. A lifetime spent in the frozen wilderness had rendered him more dragon than man.

An image formed in my mind: a dark, shadowy figure at the center of a snowstorm.

I shivered, and not just from the imagined cold.

“When do we leave?” I managed, at last.

Stavrok looked up from his plate of food. “Tomorrow.”

We would leave tomorrow? On my actual birthday? I breathed deeply, trying to contain the excited squeal that wanted to rise. Best birthday present ever!

My fate was in the north, that much I knew.

The why? That was still a mystery.