Hawthorn Vaelor
No. This absolutely could not be happening.
The connection forged itself between us, an unbreakable golden chain that felt like the most precious thing that had ever happened and a noose closing around my neck at the same time.
My fingers closed gently around the flower, but I was careful not to crush the velvety petals as I pulled my hand against my chest. I could feel her magic, humming along my skin, matching my heartbeat.
She didn’t know I was a prince. She would see a dragon kin guard for the Wolf Clan. She would refuse this match, as was proper. There was no reason Alda should have chosen someone like me. That bird was clearly an idiot.
Even as the thoughts crossed my mind, my inner dragon roared. It had claimed an unexpected treasure, and it was not happy that my first instinct was to shove it away.
The crowd stood up, all of them suddenly talking over each other. They blurred my view of Elda as one of the unicorn kin approached me, shouting something incomprehensible in his thick accent. I tensed, suddenly realizing that there was a real danger that the attendees themselves would not accept this union. Elda was an amazing political catch. The White Stag clan was rich in resources and in industry. They saw a lowly guard being chosen, one that couldn’t leverage this gift.
“Stop!” The female voice was powerful, and it reverberated into the dusky sky. Everyone froze, turning back towards the stupid alder tree.
Elda stood there, glowing with a golden halo around her head and shoulders. She looked furious, but not at me, an certainly not at Alda. She was mad at the other attendees. Despite being shorter than almost all of them, Elda held their gazes, her dark eyes narrowed as one of the stag kin in the front tried to make another move to protest.
“Alda has spoken. This is a moment for joy and happiness.” She turned back to the tree, looking up at the branches before whirling back to face me, her pale green dress flowing. “I will accept the mate that she has granted me, with gratitude.”
She held out her hand to me, and I swallowed, still not having made a single conscious move.
“Please, come.” She stood with her shoulders straight, her head back. Her magic was fading, and it felt as though her final words had been for me alone.
I couldn’t make myself move. I wanted nothing more than to turn down the stairs and bolt, but my mind was already considering the implications. I absolutely could not allow this bond to solidify. I had twenty-eight days, but what could I accomplish in that time as the chosen mate of a princess? Her family’s rooms would be open to me. King Sylvan would address me as family. If I could keep this cover for twenty-seven days… then I could break the bond.
A small crease appeared in between Elda’s eyes as I still hadn’t moved from the spot where I’d caught her flower. The distance wasn’t far and would only take a dozen steps, but it may as well been a canyon. I couldn’t make myself move, because it would be acknowledging that I was going to do this, that this wasn’t an absolutely terrible idea. There was a reason dragon kin did not do a mating bond.
Princess Elda moved forward, her bare blending with the creamy stones, crossing the distance that I had been unable to. She didn’t break my gaze, and as she got closer, I noticed the trepidation in her dark brown eyes. There was a tremble in her chest, so slight that it was almost imperceptible. But I could feel every movement she made, the chain tightening around me with each step that she took.
She stopped in front of me, a small and tentative smile on her face.
“Hi,” she whispered, her voice unrecognizable from the powerful one she’d used to silence the terrace. Despite the tremor, she held her posture steady, her back straight and strong.
Up close, she smelled like sun-kissed grass and lavender. Her dark brown eyes held a hint of red in them, barely visible in the dim light. Her expression was open, hopeful as she gazed up on me. I’d never been this close to stag kin before, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the texture of the three small prongs on her antlers, and the gentle elegance of her pointed ears.
The rest of the crowd seemed to melt away in my vision and all I could see was her. All I could feel was the pressure of the chain and the wild pounding of our hearts.
The dragon purred, such a strange sensation in my gut that I felt my mouth open slightly, but I couldn’t make any words come out. Instead, I held out her flower as though I were an actual suitor giving her a gift.
She smiled, her cheeks flushing as she reached up. Instead of taking the flower, she took my hand. There was a brilliant flash of light and a burst of magical flames, and her power connected with mine, brushing against the fire inside like it belonged there.
The crowd was still silent, but I caught a movement behind Elda. Immediately, the world expanded and I prepared to pull Elda behind me. The unicorn kin from earlier had stepped back, and the path between us and the tree was clear except for a single stag kin. It was Princess Willow, looking at the two of us with an open and wide expression. Then she started clapping and laughing, setting the tone for the rest of the attendees. They began to clap as well.
I caught a glimpse of Uncle Merek. He looked slightly confused, but there were enough kin between us that he probably hadn’t gotten a good look at my face yet. I was careful to avoid eye contact.
Elda hadn’t turned, but her eyes lit up with emotion as she reached with her left hand, placing it gently and tentatively on my chest, right over my heart.
“I’m Elda.”
I could barely hear her over the applause, and I couldn’t help the soft snort. Of course, I knew who she was.
“What’s your name? Will you, accept my choice?”
I covered her hand resting on my chest with my own. She tensed for the briefest moment, but didn’t try to pull away. Her courage was unbelievable. She had no idea who I was and thought I was some random nobody, and yet, here she was, bridging the gap between us with kindness and hope. I was a genuine asshole for what I was about to do, but I had to focus. I couldn’t let this derail my plans.
“Hawke… Silverpine,” I said, hoping my hesitation was mistaken for nerves. I couldn’t exactly give her a dragon kin surname, and especially not my own house name. And no one in Skyreach called me Hawke other than Orion.
“And, do you accept?”
I paused, weighing the decision again. If I were to reject her here, it would absolutely humiliate her and be a grave insult to Alda. Since I was here as Orion’s guard, it would be seen as a poor reflection on him as well. And I could use this to my advantage, but was I willing to betray her? This brave creature that had approached an unknown stranger, who put her faith in her goddess to choose the right mate for her. Maybe Alda was the real asshole here.
“Yes, if it pleases you, your highness,” I replied, bowing my head to her.
“It does.” She turned her fingers until she held my hand with her left and my right. She turned to face the crowd, keeping her body in front of mine as was proper for her position here.
“Alda has spoken, and I have chosen Hawke Silverpine as my mate.” Her voice was strong again, cutting off the celebrations.
King Sylvan and Queen Jessamine stood behind Willow, smiling like the proud parents they were. Even I was impressed by their ability to keep straight faces. King Sylvan smiled, but it was the smile of a kin already practicing arguments in his head to try to convince Elda to break our bond before it solidified. The queen was harder to read, but I could see the concern in the way she held herself apart from her husband. I made sure not to stare. I’d have plenty of time to talk to them now.
“Come on,” Elda said, her grip tightening as she pulled me toward the stairs, rushing me out of the gathering before we could get overwhelmed.
I was grateful, since it meant I’d have more time to try to figure out a way to keep my cover intact when my uncle came to pay his respects. Perhaps pretending to be the shy guard would be different enough from my normal attitude that he’d have a tough time believing I was the same person.
We reached the first landing, and I could hear the crowd moving upstairs, starting to head down to the first level for the banquet that was coming. Down the hall were two guards, blocking the entrances to the family’s private quarters.
I stopped her, and she tilted her head at me.
“Wait, I’m responsible for Prince Orion’s safety. I can’t just leave him.” And I really needed to talk to him about my new identity that needed a lot more fleshing out than originally intended.
“Well, we could wait here for him, and then you would get completely swamped by every single kin up there. I got the sense you wanted to avoid that.” Her voice was bright and teasing.
“Y-yeah. That would be ideal, but still. I have a duty to the prince.”
She thought for a moment and turned down the hall, gesturing for one of the guards. The young kin trotted forward immediately, her blue eyes alert as she took in my attire, and who my companion was. I saw her realization cross her face, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something.
“Could you please wait here for Prince Orion? Please escort him personally to his quarters to freshen up before the banquet. Do not leave his service until one of his guards takes over.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the guard said, giving a sharp bow before turning to the staircase.
We could hear voices now. King Sylvan was first, as was proper. I hoped he didn’t think I was insulting him by allowing Elda to pull me from the space before he’d left. The last thing I needed was his negative regard.
“Come on. I’ll show you the back way,” Elda said, tugging on my hand. I let her pull me along, trying to watch everything at once. I had twenty-seven days. I needed to make this work.
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