The Dragon's Call

Chapter 8

-Ashes-

I had never imagined the northern princess could look so striking in southern attire, but when she emerged from the tent, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She shouldn’t be this captivating, and I struggled to ignore the sight before me.

It suddenly made sense why she was renowned as the northern beauty—even in the South, tales of her had reached us.

“How long will it take us to reach The Golden City?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Nine days, if we maintain this pace.”

“Nine days trapped on a horse and in a tent with you?”

I couldn’t help but smile at her feistiness. I had always envisioned her as submissive and quiet, like the other princesses I had encountered, but this one was as strong and unyielding as the northern cold.

“Where exactly do you expect to go after we reach the city?” I inquired, curious if she had yet to grasp why my father had insisted she be brought to the South.

“I don’t know. In a prison cell? On the streets like a commoner?”

I sighed, shaking my head slightly. She was clever, yet she hadn’t figured it out. Clearly, she hadn’t been taught much about strategic warfare.

“No, not in a cell or on the street,” I told her, noticing my older brother Sirrush and Blaze glance back at us. They must have heard the disrespect and sarcasm in the princess’s voice and wondered why I hadn’t yet put her in her place. I wanted to, but for some reason, I remained silent.

“Then where?”

I sighed again. The princess was really impatient. Had no one taught her to wait for an answer?

“I suppose you’ll have to wait and see.”

She turned her upper body around, narrowed her eyes, and gave me her best angry stare, but I met her gaze calmly.

“Be patient, princess.”

She shook her head slightly before turning away.

-Laelia-

Nine days trapped with the arrogant and cruel Prince Ashes. Nine days! We barely spoke, and every day I begged him to let me ride on my own, but that was out of the question. I also asked if I could walk with the people who had been brought along to serve them.

I would much rather be with them than endure his company and that of his wicked brothers, Blaze and Sirrush, who I learned were both older than Ashes. But I wasn’t allowed to do that either. I slept on the hard ground for nine days and ate very little. I couldn’t bring myself to eat much, knowing how my people were suffering and constantly wondering what would become of us all.

Now that we had finally arrived at the gates of The Golden City, I hoped to get my answers. However, as we approached, my fear only grew. After all this time, I was terrified of the answers. I didn’t want any harm to come to anyone.

The gates were enormous and golden. The walls were white and so tall they seemed to reach the sky. On the gates were two large golden dragons spewing fire at each other. It was an impressive piece of artwork, and under different circumstances, I might have appreciated it.

Even as we entered, the sight was magnificent. The lower part of the city was dirty and muddy, with closely packed houses stacked on top of each other to accommodate more people. But the buildings were as tall as the city walls and became brighter and more refined the deeper we ventured into the city. I had never seen anything like it.

People leaned out of their windows, waving, whistling, and cheering for their victorious princes. Some women even pulled down their dresses to reveal their breasts, cheering for the royals and their soldiers.

I quickly looked away and focused on the road ahead. The mud had turned into fine white stones, and the road widened until we reached another grand gate, with two dragon statues on either side, spewing “fire” into the air.

As the gate opened, an awe-inspiring palace came into view. Its shadow covered more than half of the vast white courtyard and the grand marble staircase leading up to it. I had no idea how many people it could accommodate, but it was so much larger than my father’s castle and the connected city combined!

“My sons!”

An older man, resembling the princes, emerged. His hair was more gray than black, and beside him stood a beautiful woman with the most golden hair I had ever seen—it gleamed like the sun.

She bore similarities to the princes as well, so I could only assume she was their mother, though she appeared much younger than the man beside her. She wore a strikingly bright red stola, while the father was dressed in a white toga.

Blaze and Sirrush quickly moved to their parents’ sides, but Ashes was still assisting me down from the horse. As he swung his leg over and landed on the ground, a young boy with black hair came running toward him. The boy, who looked to be around ten, threw himself into Ashes’s arms. Ashes caught him effortlessly and lifted him up.

“You’re back!” the boy exclaimed happily.

I wondered if this was Ashes’s son. The boy bore a striking resemblance to him, except for the hair. He even had the same piercing yellow eyes. Ashes walked over to his parents with the boy in his arms, then set him down and greeted both of them—shaking hands with his father and offering a brief hug to his mother.

“Ladon really missed you,” his mother told him.

“Just like Father, Ashes is my favorite, the best brother,” the boy said cheerfully, standing beside his mother.

They all laughed at the boy’s comment, though there was an underlying tension as if something more lay beneath the surface.

“Father,” Ashes began, turning to me, “meet the northern princess.”

All eyes turned to me. Damn it. This was it. I was finally facing The King of Dragons, the man who had ordered the attack on my family. My hatred and anger deepened the longer I watched him. He had taken so much from me.

“Princess Laelia, welcome,” the king said, nodding slightly. “Please, come closer.”

My jaw was clenched as I approached King Acheron, allowing him to examine me closely. At first, I struggled to meet his gaze, but gradually I raised my eyes from the ground to meet his piercing yellow ones with my own green.

“The rumors do not do you justice,” he said with a smile that seemed almost friendly. “You are even more beautiful in person.”

I wanted to retort with something biting, but this man controlled not only my fate but the fate of my people as well. Instead, I managed a small, forced smile and a slight nod as a token of acknowledgment.

“Come, you must be tired. Let’s find you a room.”

I looked at the king, taken aback. I was to stay here? I glanced at Ashes, but he was already making his way up the stairs with his brother Ladon.