Chapter 4

Lyra’s POV

The first girl, Abigail, lasted hardly a few seconds before they dragged her out of the Dragon King’s chambers, unconscious. I searched her for signs of life and noticed her chest rose and fell as they pulled her past me.

At least she was alive. But what had she gone through in there? How did the Dragon King test us to know if we were his imaginary true queen?

Kiki, the performer who’d been so confident, wasted no time entering the room. If I had been next, I would have wasted no time running the other direction.

Of course, now I would be next.

The guards and servants weren’t quite looking at me. Even the steward wouldn’t meet my eyes. Yet the hallway was blocked by the guards’ bulk. They may not want to acknowledge me, but they tensed when I moved. They wouldn’t let me go.

Then, a few minutes after Kiki had entered, there was a blood-curdling scream. Servants rushed in, bringing her out sobbing and burned moments later. Her flesh… I held a hand over my mouth and nose, struggling not to cry.

Would I die as my mother had? No, no I couldn’t. I had to survive.

The steward appeared before me, though I hadn’t noticed him leave. I flinched. This was it.

“Unfortunately, you will not have the honor of meeting the esteemed Dragon King tonight.”

All of my breath left my body. My knees felt weak. I slumped against the wall briefly before collecting myself.

“Right, of course,” I straightened, pulling it together by force of will alone when the relief made me want to sink to the floor. “I am terribly disappointed.”

The steward eyed me before letting my tone pass. He waved to the servants, “Escort her to the tributes’ dormitory.”

No meeting the Dragon King tonight. No burning alive in his horrible tests.

That so-called misfortune was my greatest luck yet. I blessed whatever stomach bug or urgent crisis had distracted the Dragon King with everything I had.

Even as the servants ushered me along the stone hallways, draped in leering black and gold tapestries, I felt my spirits rise. Another day alive and another day to escape.

They led me to a small room with two lush beds. One already housed Abigail, still in her dress, one shoe on and the other placed neatly at the foot of the bed. From her tearstained face, I assumed she was still unconscious.

There was no window in the room, but I was used to that. The main problem was that I couldn’t climb out. Still, considering they’d led me up several stairs to get here, it wouldn’t be a safe escape anyway.

I’d been all but pushed into bed by the servants, but sleep was far from my mind. Plans of how to get out of this place consumed me.

As I thought, I gripped my necklace—a small sapphire no bigger than my pinky nail, but it, like me, had more to it than looks. My mother had given it to me. Like everything she’d given me, it was wonderful. Now, aside from her painting supplies and the skills she’d taught me, it was all I had left of her.

She’d been an amazing painter. People were just starting to know her name. She’d even slowly taught me as well—always patient, no matter how slowly I picked it up. Her gentle smile at my progress always brought a lump to my throat, remembering it now.

We had been so happy. It was the happiest I’d ever been, looking back. Even though my mother was everything I wasn’t—talented, beautiful, perfect—Mom had never thought that way about me. In her eyes, I had been the best gift the world had ever given her.

I set my jaw. I had to escape the palace. I had to avenge my mother and keep my father from profiting off everything she’d left behind. Richard didn’t deserve her.

I got up from bed. Abigail turned at the creak of the floor but settled when I paused—finally asleep, poor thing.

I peeked into the hallway. The guards sat at the far end, not moving. A snore escaped one. They must be used to tributes being too scared to run.

I figured I’d head north, since we’d entered the castle facing south. I thought of Mirabelle and the others, but didn’t know who I could trust to come quietly. My heart ached to leave them behind. If only I knew they wouldn’t call for the guards when I asked them to escape with me, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

As I eased past the guards, they didn’t even stir, sitting beside a small table littered with cards from a forgotten game.

This was almost too easy.

I made my way down the twisting halls of the castle, turning north whenever I could, until eventually I found a door that led out. The night breeze hit me with a bracing cold that made my cheeks ache with a smile.

Even if I had to work from the ground up, I would survive on my own and stop my father from disrespecting my mother’s memory ever again.

But as I turned to run, I heard an agonized roar from a nearby garden.

Someone in terrible pain.

I thought of all the girls I was leaving behind. I could help this one person before I escaped—I didn’t think I could live with myself otherwise.

Running toward the sound, I rounded a high brick wall into a rose garden, only to find the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.

His hair was sable, falling in gentle waves around his smooth, sculpted face. His pink lips hung open slightly under a straight, noble nose. Almost like a prince from a fairy tale.

Even his body was… I blushed, but he was shirtless, so I couldn’t help but notice his strong frame and broad shoulders.

If the Dragon King had looked like this, maybe I wouldn’t have minded being a tribute.

His heavy breathing broke the pause I took, and I hurried to his side. Every muscle was tensed and his expression tortured as if he was in unbearable pain, but I couldn’t find a single wound. Touching his neck, his pulse was fast but steady. I moved him to a seated position, leaning him against the brick wall. As I did, his body unclenched and began to relax.

Maybe the episode was passing? Some sort of internal sickness that came in waves? Or the posture was helping a pain I couldn’t see?

Either way, he seemed to be recovering as I held him up. His eyes fluttered open—blazing gold in the moonlight, so close and bright they were all I could see for a moment.

But I could hear soldiers patrolling nearby. My window to escape had already closed.

He was doing alright now. The soldiers would be here in a moment. If I couldn’t escape tonight, I couldn’t let them know I’d even tried—which meant making it back to the dormitory before they found me missing. I broke into a run.

“Who are you?” the man gasped behind me, his harsh breathing breaking the words apart. I couldn’t take the time to answer.

The soldiers would take care of him now. But if they found me out of the dormitory?

I’d be dead.