Chapter 3

That evening, footsteps echoed outside the door.

Cecilia came bounding into the hall first, leading a golden griffin by its reins.

"Lorne, look at my griffin! Isn't it amazing?"

Lorne rushed to meet her, his eyes gleaming. "A beauty with a top-tier war beast. A perfect match."

My father and brother followed behind, carrying domain deeds and enchanted cases.

My mother casually shoved a dusty cloth bundle into my hands.

"Elaia, this is the free cloak that came with our purchase. I saved it especially for you."

I unfolded the cloak. The edges were frayed, and the protective enchantments on the inside were faded and incomplete.

A defective thing like this couldn't block dragon breath, let alone keep me warm.

"Thank you." I folded it calmly.

My father nodded approvingly. "That's our sensible Elaia. You're not going to get ahead on your looks, so your clothes only need to be serviceable."

I looked away.

Was I undemanding, or had they simply never given me a choice?

Cecilia noticed my silence. Her eyes welled with tears at once.

"You don't like the cloak, do you?"

She wiped a tear, looking guilty, and pushed the griffin toward me.

"Here, take the griffin. Father already gave me the three dragon crystal mines on the east side, and our brother sent me two chests of gold coins, so I don't need one more gift."

The hall went silent.

My father's smile faded.

I had never heard of those three mines.

Before the investiture, they had told me that the lord's heavy taxes this year meant they could only give me a single low-grade copper mine.

My father frowned. "Lord Vale has his eye on Cecilia. She's representing the family at the banquet, so of course she needs a few mines to look the part."

My brother tilted his chin up. "Those two chests of gold are for Cecilia's jewelry. You're plain-looking, so jewelry would be wasted on you."

My mother quickly chimed in, "Right, Elaia, don't overthink it. We'll make it up to you later."

"Later." Always "later." I had been waiting since I was seven. "Later" never came.

"Don't bother."

My voice was calm in a way that sounded foreign to me.

Cecilia kept pushing the griffin toward me, but her gaze had settled on the pendant at my neck, the Heartscale.

She clutched the reins tight, voice catching.

"Please don't be angry. I'll trade you the griffin for your pendant, okay?

"I don't mean anything by it. It's just that Lord Vale mentioned the pendant was beautiful and would suit me."

I took half a step back, my hand instinctively closing around the pendant.

The Heartscale was made from my grandmother's own dragon scale. It was the only thing she had left me.

After the winter hunt when I was nine, it was my grandmother who stayed by my side while I lay critically injured, using the pendant to suppress the frost damage tearing through my body.

She had stroked my face gently and whispered, "My Elaia. Someone should be looking after you, too."

All these years, it had rested against my chest, a reminder that someone had once treasured me.

"No."

It was the first time I had ever outright refused Cecilia.

Cecilia cried harder.

My mother hurried to mediate. "It's not even worth much. Since your sister likes it, just give it to her."

"And don't take her griffin. I'll buy you a new enchanted necklace."

My brother stepped in front of Cecilia. "Stop being unreasonable. With your looks, do you even deserve a necklace like that?"

I backed away, clutching the pendant, until I bumped into someone.

Lorne.

He gave me a smile, and while I was off guard, unclasped the pendant and tossed it to Cecilia.

He pulled a playful face. "Relax. You're not giving it away. Just let Cecilia borrow it for a while."

Everyone assumed Lorne was just teasing me. No one stopped him.

I stared at Lorne's careless face, biting down hard on my lower lip.

The taste of iron filled my mouth.

He knew exactly what the pendant meant to me. He had once sworn he would protect me the way my grandmother had. Now it all seemed like a joke.

Cecilia put on the pendant and smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Lorne!"

Lorne gazed at her admiringly. "I knew it. This necklace suits you best."

Everyone gathered around Cecilia. No one saw my knuckles turning white.

I went back to my room and locked the door behind me.

I unclipped the Rayne family crest and threw it into the fireplace along with the ruined cloak.

I watched the flames swallow them both and burn them to ash.