The council chamber erupted in laughter, and Robin felt her face burn hot enough to rival the fire she’d been sitting beside for two days. She had told them almost everything—the escape through the catacombs, the horses crushed by the fallen tree, the second dragon soaring overhead. Everything except the one detail that mattered most. “I’m not joking,” she said, her voice rising over the chuckles.
“I saw it happen. He transformed right in front of me. ”
Lord Darian snorted. Lady Mira wiped tears from her eyes.
Even her brother Kendrick shook his head with something close to pity. “You saw a man flee in one direction while a dragon appeared from another,” her father said gently, the sun crown gleaming black on his brow. “In the chaos and fear of the moment, your mind connected them. ”
Robin jabbed a finger toward that crown, the same one that had glowed warm amber in her hands just days ago.
“And that crown—it glowed when I held it. It was warm. Why is no one talking about that? ”
Her father’s hand moved protectively to the circlet.
“Robin, enough. ”
“Take it off. Let me show you. ”
Kendrick gestured to her flushed face, her trembling hands.
“She’s exhausted, traumatized. She’s just lost the man she was to marry. Of course she’s created a story where he’s still alive somewhere. ”
The king sighed.
“Robin, my dear, I think you should retire to your chambers and rest. ”
Master Fenrin took her arm gently but firmly. “Come, Your Highness. Your mind is simply trying to protect itself from the pain.
”
“My mind is perfectly sound,” she hissed, trying to pull away. “Dragon men,” someone muttered, followed by barely concealed laughter. “Next she’ll claim the stable boys are secretly griffins. ”
Humiliation washed over her in a scalding wave.
She stopped struggling and let them lead her from the room, her eyes fixed on the floor. She had always been the clever princess whose observations were praised. She had never imagined they would simply refuse to believe her. Two days passed in her chambers, shivering by a fire that couldn’t chase the cold from her bones.
Whispers followed her in the halls. Sympathetic smiles felt like pity. The brave princess driven mad by grief. Poor thing.
But she wasn’t mad. She knew what she had seen. Cyrus, the kingdom’s greatest dragon slayer, her fiance, had doubled over in agony and become the very creature he was sworn to destroy. His blue eyes had shifted to vertical slits.
His skin had rippled into scales. His hands had twisted into claws. And then the dragon—her Cyrus—had looked at her with something almost like pleading before she ran. No one was looking for him.
So she would do it herself. She packed light: riding clothes, a waterskin, dried food, coins, her dagger. The night guards were predictable. She had been sneaking to the stables since she was twelve.
Her mare, Briar, nickered softly as she secured the saddlebag. “We’re going on an adventure, girl. Just you and me. ”
“And me.
”
Robin spun, hand flying to her dagger. Prince Tommen stepped into the dim light, arms crossed. At twelve, he was all gangly limbs and unshakable curiosity. “What are you doing?
”
“Going for a ride. Clearing my head. ”
Tommen tilted his head, his sly smile giving him away. “You’re going after him, aren’t you?
”
She sighed. “Yes, all right. I know no one believes me, Tom, but I know what I saw. I have to find him.
”
“Dragons can turn into humans? ” His eyes widened, not with disbelief, but with wonder. “I believe so. Which is why I must find Cyrus.
If they can, then everything we’ve believed about dragons has been wrong. ”
Tommen nodded solemnly, then announced, “I’ll come with you. ”
“What? No.
Absolutely not. ”
“I know where we should go,” he continued, ignoring her protest. “The captain of the guard is always talking about this inn near the borders where mercenaries meet. That’s where you can find someone to get you across.
”
“Fine, I’ll go to your inn, but you can’t come with me. I’m not bringing my baby brother on a suicide mission. ”
Tommen smiled patiently. “You don’t have a choice.
The moment you’re gone, I’ll wake Kendrick and tell him exactly where you went. ”
“You wouldn’t. ”
“I would. But I’d rather come with you.
Two are safer than one, and I know things. ”
Robin weighed her options. He was fast and knew all the shortcuts. And he believed her, which was worth more than she could say.
“You’ll do exactly as I say,” she said sternly. “No arguments, no heroics. Understood? ”
Tommen nodded eagerly, already climbing onto his pony.
“I’ve been ready since I heard Kendrick talking about making you marry Lord Cassius’s son. I left a note saying we’ve gone to visit Aunt Elaine. That should buy us at least a week. ”
Robin stared at her brother, reassessing him completely.
“Who are you? ”
Tommen grinned. “I’m the boy who’s going to help his sister find a dragon. ”
They rode through the night, the road stretching into wilder terrain as they approached the borderlands.
Robin adjusted her cloak against the chill that had plagued her for days, the cold settling deep in her bones no fire could reach. Tommen, by contrast, seemed immune to the temperature. “It’s nearly summer,” he said, puzzled. “It’s not so bad.
”
The Fallen Drake lived up to its name. A ramshackle building with a tattered sign showing a dragon with an arrow through its heart, two men brawling in the dirt outside, and a stench of unwashed bodies and spilled ale inside. The room fell silent as heads turned toward them. Mercenaries.
Smugglers. Exactly the sort of people they needed. Tommen marched straight to the bar. “Good kind sir,” he began, his voice carrying, “would you be so kind as to point us toward someone who might take us across the dragon borders?
”
Robin closed her eyes briefly. Straight up asking. Of course. The barman, a large man with a scar bisecting his left eye, looked them over.
“Plenty of people could take you. Whether they’d want to, that’s another story. Paying don’t keep you alive out there. ”
For an hour, they approached table after table, offering increasing sums of gold.
Some laughed outright. Others negotiated, then backed out when they learned the destination. Finally, back at the bar, Robin’s frustration mounting, the barman spoke up. “You’d need someone who’s both money obsessed and has absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.
”
The door swung open. A tall figure in a hooded cloak entered, silencing the room briefly before conversation resumed. As he pushed back his hood and approached the bar, Robin’s words died in her throat. His hair was dark, almost black, with a streak of deep auburn that caught the light.
His face was all sharp angles, and his eyes were the strangest color she’d ever seen—a warm amber that seemed almost to glow in the dim tavern light. “The usual, Gareth. ” He walked right past Robin as if she were invisible. His voice was low and rough, as though he didn’t use it often.
“You should probably ask him now while he’s sober enough to understand you,” Gareth suggested. Tommen slid off his stool and hurried after the man. “Excuse me, kind sir. For you to take us across the borders to the dragon territory.
”
Xander paused at the door, looking down at Tommen with a raised eyebrow. “And who’s we? You and your mother? ”
“Sister!
” Robin growled, sliding in beside her brother. Xander’s eyes finally shifted to her, a proper assessment that made her feel weighed and found wanting. “You two want to go into dragon territory? ”
“It is of the utmost importance,” Robin declared, meeting his gaze.
Xander’s lips quirked. “Right. Which is why you brought the pre-pubescent adolescent with you. ”
Robin bristled.
“He is the prince of this kingdom. You will address him with respect. ”
Xander sighed, uncorking his bottle. He gave Tommen an exaggerated bow.
“My apologies, Your Highness. ” Then he fixed Robin with a withering look. “Still not helping you. You wouldn’t last a day out there, and I’m not in the business of condemning royalty to death.
Bad for my reputation. ”
“Please,” Tommen interrupted, eyes wide and earnest. “It’s very important to us—to Robin even more so. ”
Xander looked between them, taking a long swig.
“Why do you even want to go there, anyway? ”
“For love,” Robin answered without thinking. Xander nearly choked. “I’m sorry, what?
Your fiance went into dragon territory voluntarily? ”
“Something like that. ”
Xander threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, this is priceless.
The princess is on a quest for true love in dragon territory. What’s next—singing woodland creatures? ”
“Mock me all you want, but this is serious. ”
Xander’s tone turned suddenly serious, all humor gone.
“I know dragons. And I know what they do to trespassers. ”
It nearly made her falter. What if he was right?
What if Cyrus was already—no. She couldn’t think that way. “We’re still going,” she said firmly, “with or without you. ”
Xander studied them for a long moment, then turned to leave.
In desperation, Robin reached out, her hand closing around his forearm. The moment her fingers touched him, she froze. His skin was unnaturally warm, radiating heat like a banked fire. The warmth seemed to flow into her, chasing away the persistent chill that had plagued her for days.
Xander pulled away sharply, frowning. “I can’t help you. ”
Robin played her final card, reaching for the chain around her neck and pulling out a large ruby ring, her grandmother’s, brought as an emergency bargaining chip. “I’m the princess of this kingdom.
If you help us, whatever you desire from my father’s treasure vault is yours. Anything. ”
Xander’s protest died on his lips. His eyes fixed on the gem with an intensity that seemed almost predatory.
His hand moved of its own accord, snatching the ring from her grasp, fingers closing around it possessively. He caught himself, straightening and clearing his throat. “Fine. When do you want to go?
”
“Tomorrow morning. We’ll need supplies. ”
Xander nodded curtly. “Meet me here at dawn.
Bring only what you can carry, and more payment. More shiny things. ”
“Like a magpie,” Tommen whispered, not quite quietly enough. “What was that?
” Xander’s head snapped toward the boy. “Nothing,” Robin interjected. “We’ll be here at dawn. ”
“Well, at least I’ll be paid well for delivering you to your deaths.
” He inclined his head in a mockery of a courtly bow. “Until tomorrow, Your Highnesses. ”
As he turned to leave, Robin stepped forward. “Wait.
Could we meet earlier? Two hours before dawn, perhaps? ”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why?
”
Robin glanced at Tommen, who was distracted by a bar fight breaking out in the corner. “I’d prefer to leave before my brother wakes. He’ll be safer here. ”
Xander studied her for a moment, then gave a curt nod.
“Eastern edge of town, two hours before dawn. ” He held out his hand. “For the inconvenience. ”
She pulled a small gold bracelet set with emeralds from her pouch.
His eyes fixed on it with that same strange intensity before he pocketed it and walked out without another word. “What was that about? ” Tommen asked, returning his attention to Robin. “Nothing,” she said.
“Just confirming details. Come on, let’s find somewhere to sleep. ”
As they left the tavern, Robin’s thoughts were already racing with plans to slip away before her brother could follow.
What she didn’t notice was the thoughtful look in Tommen’s eyes as he watched her from behind.
