“It was very touching to learn that you even gave your opinion about tonight’s banquet when you’ve been so busy these days.”
Everyone had retired for the night, and Elena supposed she too should stay in bed, but only a few minutes later she found herself walking to the drawing-room where she knew he would be, just like the last time. He looked pensive, looking at the fire without even glancing in her direction until she spoke.
“I was dealing with some issues on the east coast.” He said in response. “From time to time, pirates from the islands come to pillage and cause havoc in the villages of the area.”
“Pirates? During this season?” Elena sat by his side. She was intending to talk about something completely different, but this caught her attention.<
The morning had started wonderfully, with the whole palace in a hustle to prepare for that evening’s main event. During the weeks leading up to the engagement party, Elena had spent her time between practicing her magic skills with the Grand Duchess, and attending some of the social gatherings she had been invited to. Laila’s reading and writing skills had improved a lot, and Saray had taken it to herself to help the other girl with this task as well. And she saw Ivar from time to time, the late encounters by the fireplace became almost a routine, only that she had started to prepare her tea before going to make him company. He didn’t seem to mind, even if the conversation was scarce, only a short exchange about her progress with magic, and then they would remain in silence, sitting side by side. Up until that point, people had treated her well. Elena even ha
Once upon a time, this was a magical land where all kinds of creatures coexisted peacefully, but one day, men from the unknown Diamond Islands arrived in their ships, and that peaceful existence came to an end. Ivar’s mother told this story every night when she tucked him into bed, and although several decades had passed from that far away childhood, he remembered it well. Humans were the great evil of the continent. The humans who came to destroy and force the owners of the land into submission because of their greediness, and the humans did not help in time when the men from the islands revealed their true intentions. Ivar believed this, even when he barely knew humans. He was the last one, they said, the lucky one who got to live without the shackles that kept the rest of the dragons from the time before, but the only way his parents could protect him when he was young was to hide away from people.
The peaceful days did not return to the palace after the engagement party. With only two weeks before the wedding, the dressmaker that the Grand Duchess had found for Elena was practically stationed in her chambers, given how much time the woman and her team spent there to make Elena try on the dresses after each small change.Some of the guests that had been invited to the party also extended their visit until the wedding ceremony, those who lived far away and were important enough to be granted such a privilege, such as the Marquis of Miraval and his third wife, or Lord Bilory, the president of the Siena Bank and his daughter, Miss Bilory. Elena understood that, although it had been around 30 years since the Empire was established, there was still enough tension with the nobles and important families in Vallas that the House of Alba needed to deal with them in the most diplomatic manner possible.
When Elena entered the bedroom, the music from the ballroom and the congratulatory toasts from the guests were all replaced with quietude and the half lights of a few candle lamps.Moving from her childhood bedroom to her chambers in the palace had already been a big change for her, but sleeping in the nuptial chamber was a whole other level of awkwardness. The maids had stripped her of her ball gown and dressed her in a simple white nightdress and silk robes. This way it was impossible to forget that, even if nothing happened between her and her new husband in that room, everyone outside had expectations of what the first night for a groom and his bride was supposed to be like.Thankfully, Ivar wasn’t there yet.Elena poured herself some wine and sat on one side of the bed, suddenly she reca
His gaze fell on Elena, who’d fallen asleep once more. She’s most beautiful with that serene expression on her face, as if no worries cloud her dreams, as if she had nothing to fear lying by his side.She curled up next to him, and the feeling of her soft curves molding against his body was new to Ivar. And it was nice.‘What have I done?’He’d tried to indulge his lust when he was younger, although it had been so long ago he barely remembered the girl, only that she too got scared when his touch became too painful for her human sensitiveness, and that brought him back to his senses. Two different species shouldn’t mingle.Besides, humans were dirty and so easily corrupted, he learned it by witnessing horror after horror all t
The Vallas Varsity was truly a grand place. It was the first time Elena was visiting it, accompanied by Saray and Miros to attend a charity event that was meant to give more funds to scholarships for young talents. As the carriage entered the gates of the institution, she was already thinking about how good it would be to visit during a normal day with students attending their classes. Surely they would allow her to see the facilities of the law school or the medical school now that she was a Duchess… she’d ask Ivar later. “Are you impressed, sister? You will really like the schools at Eir, then.” “What about the academies you supervise, Miros? Do they compare to this?” “Our academies are much better, of course.” “Your Grace, Lord Miros. Princess, Duchess, it’s an ho
The palace’s library was full of all kinds of books, but Elena wasn’t informed about the condition of the library in the Alvor Palace. Besides, the journey to get there would take at least ten days, even if they stopped only during the night, that was what the knights had told her when she asked about their upcoming return to the northern region of Vallas. It was necessary to have something to entertain herself during that time, so she and Laila had their fun shopping in the big bookstores of the city.“The Fairy Queen’s Secret Lover.” The girl giggled as she read the title she had in her hands. “Your Grace, it sounds like this is interesting, but is it really okay to read this kind of thing if you’re going to share a carriage with the Duke?”“He won’t mind. Besides, I might read this even before we pa
Dragons lived much longer than humans, and this was just one of the many reasons why they never mate with different species. While one was barely becoming an adult, the other would have been born, lived and gone back to ashes all in the blink of an eye. Although dragons could take on a human form to socialize and establish contact with humans, and some temporary friendships could be formed through the course of their lives, dragons still preferred to be free in their original form.Shapeshifting was a gift given by the Emerald Heart, it had not been part of them from the beginning. It was only Ivar who managed to come to the world in different circumstances.He was born from parents that had been imprisoned in the human shells, long after they had been hiding, long after the last eggs were destroyed, a miracle on its own. He’d also been born the same way