Chapter 13

DIANA

My stomach dropped.

Aeris watched realization begin to form on my face. "Notice anything?"

I looked at the royal escorts again. Not a single scratch was on them, meanwhile Vladimir's men were covered in blood. Some were injured and one even had an arrow lodged in his shoulder.

A cold chill crawled down my spine. "No." I whispered.

Aeris didn't answer which somehow felt worse.

"The attackers knew the Skyblade Warriors would be escorting you." Vladimir finally spoke. His voice was cold as he did. "They sent over one hundred highly trained assassins."

My breath seized in my lungs.

One hundred? I had thought there were a very few dozens.

Vladimir's expression darkened. "They hoped numbers would overwhelm us." His eyes swept across the battlefield. "They were wrong."

I stared at him, then back at the royal guards.

My heart began pounding.

"You're implying..." I couldn't even finish the sentence.

Aeris and Vladimir looked at me dead serious.

I covered my mouth with my hand as a gasp escaped me. "The Queen sent them?"

Nobody answered. They didn't need to, because their silence confirmed everything.

My knees nearly gave out.

The Supreme Queen. The woman who had personally invited me to stay in her palace. The woman I was supposed to spend an entire week with.

She had tried to kill me.

I stared at Vladimir in horror, my mind screaming for a reason. "But... why? Why would she want me dead? I'm a human! I have no power, no throne, no influence!"

Aeris folded his arms. "Because a dead human bride creates convenient political problems."

I looked between them, still unable to understand.

"If you died during the journey, the blame would fall on the Commander." Vladimir explained.

My blood ran cold.

"The treaty." I whispered as understanding hit me all at once.

The marriage treaty that bound my kingdom to the dragon kingdom.

Vladimir nodded grimly. "The whole realm would be led to believe that Prince Draven murdered his new human wife in cold blood to break the alliance."

"And the moment the realm believes that," Aeris said, his expression darker than I had ever seen it, "the Queen has full legal grounds to strip him of his titles and accuse the dark prince of high treason against the crown."

My mouth went dry. "She wanted him punished."

"Punished?" Aeris echoed. "No, Diana."

His silver eyes were cold. "Punishment is for people the Queen intends to keep alive."

Then Vladimir said casually, "She intended for the Commander to die."

The casualness somehow made it even more horrifying.

The Queen hadn't invited me because she wanted to know me. She hadn't summoned me because she was curious.

I wasn't a guest. I wasn't even the target. I was the knife someone intended to plunge into Draven's heart. Yet somehow, I was still expected to get back into that carriage and continue the journey to the palace.

My head was spinning. None of this made sense.

I looked between the two men, searching for some sign that they were joking, but there wasn't one.

"The Queen tried to have me killed," I said slowly. "Then obviously she can't expect me to continue to the Central Palace."

Aeris sighed. "Diana."

The way he said my name immediately told me I was missing something.

I folded my arms. "What?"

"The Queen will be informed whether her plans succeeded or not."

I stared at him, still not sure I understood him.

He continued patiently, as though explaining something to a child. "And since they failed, she will also know that."

I blinked. "Oh."

"Yes," Aeris said dryly. "Oh."

She would know I was alive and the attack had failed.

Aeris nodded as understanding dawned on my face. "Exactly."

I opened my mouth but he didn't give me the chance to interrupt. "Diana, if you fail to arrive, it doesn't matter that someone tried to murder you."

My eyes widened. "That sounds insane."

"It is insane," Aeris agreed.

"But it is also reality." Vladimir finally spoke. "Her Majesty summoned you. You surviving the attack changes nothing."

I stared at him. "Nothing?"

"Nothing."

The word landed like a hammer.

Aeris rubbed the back of his neck. "Think about it from her perspective."

I didn't particularly want to.

"She sends assassins."

I glared at him.

"They fail." He continued anyway. "Now she waits."

My stomach twisted.

"If you continue to the palace, she learns that fear won't stop you, but if you refuse to come, she gains exactly what she wants."

"A reason." The words left my lips in a whisper.

The Queen would simply claim I had rejected a royal summons and that I had insulted the Crown. Claim I had defied the highest authority in the realm.

The attack would disappear, but the blame would remain.

I suddenly understood what they had been trying to tell me from the beginning. There had never been a safe choice.

If I died, the Queen won. If I refused to come, the Queen won. If I went to the Central Palace...my stomach twisted.

The Queen would simply look for another opportunity. She had invited me because every possible outcome benefited her.

A chill crawled slowly down my spine. "Creator."

Aeris gave me a grim smile. "Welcome to the the dragon kingdom, Princess."