Chapter Six

We walked in silence for several miles. Even when gopher-rats the sizes of motorcycles leapt from their holes and tried to devour us and she fell into my arms once more, she said nothing to me. As soon I opened my mouth to speak, she pulled from me and started walking again. My mouth opened and I didn't even know if I would have had anything useful to say. But the longer we walked, the more the silence became deafening. Until, finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

Taking a few fast steps forward, I took her by the arm and brought her around to look at me. Words caught in my throat watching her look up at me expectantly. My mouth was dry and the words fumbled around in my head. Aria sighed and slipped out of my grasp but I reached for her again. "No, wait." I said, looking down at her feet. "Aria...Did I go too far?"

She was silent long enough to make me worry and I looked up to say something else but she shook her head. "No." She said quietly.

"Then what is it?"

She slipped out of my grasp again but didn't turn away. So, I let her go.

"It's just... now isn't really the time I should be letting myself get distracted."

"Distracted? Distracted from what?"

"Surviving."

I rubbed my face and pushed a hand through my hair. "Aria, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

"You can't promise me that, so don't try. Please. Just... just forget about the cave. Please."

My mouth opened and closed. I had to concede the point. The only way to change her mind was to tell her to truth but I wasn't sure the truth would actually change anything because I wasn't sure how I truly felt about her. What if this was just a passing phase? She was beautiful. Her petite little body was perfect. What if it was just lust? I was no stranger to lust. I'd even gone there with a human or two just to test the theory. And even as the possibility of lust crossed my mind, I knew that wasn't the whole story with Aria. But what could I do? There was a still a blackness curling around my heart that wasn't ready to fade or die. Could one human really change that? I doubted it. And yet...

Leila fussed over me until the sun started to rise but I managed to shower and slip into the bed as she pulled the curtains on the day and finally left me to sleep. Exhausted, my body managed to fall asleep and leave my mind running through dark forests and deep caves. Before I knew it, Leila was back in the room gently trying to draw me back from my sleeping nightmare to my waking one.

The feelings I had for Dante were starting to run deep. There was something about the way he reacted to each one of my life-threatening moments that just seemed more personal than a guard on duty and it strummed on my heart. I had never had such a fierce protector, not even Harper. Still though, I wasn't lying when I said this was just not the time to get distracted by feelings of attraction. Dante could protect me from vampires and imps, but his sword would do nothing against the will of a Prince, no matter how much he protested against the notion or sang the praises of his benevolent prince.

"The band has prepared your song." Leila's words broke my thoughts. She was combing through my curls and trying to figure out how she wanted to twist up my hair to match the dress she'd chosen for me after I insisted I didn't want to be bound into another massive gown.

I looked up at her through the reflection in the mirror and nodded. The song was turning out to be more fitting than I had intended. I'd only chosen it because it had been stuck in my head ever since the car ride to meet that bitch Evelyn.

"Remember, after your entrance, you'll go to the section of the table with the runner made of flowers. People will rotate around and come to you to talk and some may even just stare at you and walk away. It's not unusual."

Fitting, I thought, Sitting at a table covered in flowers only to be viewed like a flower. "Sure," I said aloud. "Whatever."

"It won't be that bad, I promise, and it'll be over before you know it. After dinner, you'll sing and they will adjourn to the ballroom. At point you can stay or go as you choose."

All I had to do now was hope this wasn't a nine-course dinner. Reaching back, I took Leila's hand from my hair and stood away from the vanity. "Come back in a little while. I think I'll go practice the song for a moment. At the very least warm up my voice."

The little dragonfly sprite nodded and fluttered out of the room. Pulling a robe over my lace gown, I wandered into the garden humming scales. It wasn't long before I found myself in the place where I had met Dante and sank to the bench to practice my scales.

It had been a restless night and morning. Not even training seemed to tame the rolling feelings inside of me. But then, as I was walking back, through the gardens, I heard a sound that eased tension out of my shoulders. I found myself standing behind the shrubs again, watching as Aria practiced scales. She toggled between the scales and verses of random songs at varying pitches.

I pushed through the bushes and she startled then stared daggers at me. "You don't intend to make this a habit, do you?"

I shook my head. "Singing tonight?"

She nodded, tucking her curls behind one ear.

"What are you singing?"

"You'll find out when everyone else does."

I frowned and shook my head. "No. There will only be select guards tonight and I won't be one of them."

Aria's hazel eyes darted across my face then lowered and she shrugged. "Have a good night off then."

My jaw clenched. "Is that it then?" She wouldn't meet my gaze, so I stepped into her and lifted her chin with my finger. "Can't we just..."

"Can't we just what? Huh?" She snapped pushing my hand away. "Can't we just have our little affair for my remaining days and then what? Huh? Answer me that. What's your plan, Dante? That, on the off chance the Prince chooses me, we continue our sordid affair right under his nose? Or did you think having me for a few days would be enough. You go back to your captain and I get banished to fucking who knows where and you'll be just fucking fine!"

My hands curled into a fist. My jaw was ticking with anger. She was right. What the fuck was I doing? This whole stupid plan was reeling out of control. We had no future. She was a human and I was a dragon. Our worlds didn't mix and it was the humans who had wanted it that way all along. Even though I was the one that started this charade with Aria, I knew her points were valid. Her anger was valid. Part of me was angry at myself for starting this. Another part felt justified in my test and still another felt it changed nothing. It had only served to make me more confused, to tangle my feelings further and help sort out nothing. It was time to stop, to turn it off, to be done with it. Just like that, my fist uncurled and I nodded. "You're right." I said, however begrudgingly. "I'm sorry."

Aria's anger fizzled around the edges, and I watched her eyes shift with her emotions just as mine had. Maybe I wanted to believe it, or maybe I really saw it there, but it was almost as if she were disappointed I hadn't fought harder. Offered some alternate solution that she hadn't thought of. Or maybe one she had. Because I had. I wanted to promise her safety. I wanted to propose we run away together. I could take her back to her home, commit treason and we could run. But there was no where in the human realm where my kind would not find me. To do any of that would mean giving up what I had worked years to accomplish. The revenge I had promised my brother, my father.

I felt my arm flex and I wanted to reach for her one last time but held back. It was as if my body acted of its own volition when Aria was around. Words came out of my mouth before I could agree to it, and my arms struggled not to stay wrapped around her at all times. So, with a grunt of force, I bowed my head, turned and walked away. I was halfway across the garden when I heard her voice rise up on the soft breeze, forlorn and bereaved but still willful and strong.

In my room, all I could do was pace. There were too many contradictory feelings and thoughts running through me. I didn't know what to think or do. I felt my own loyalty, to my people, to my crown, to my brother, coming into question. Yet, when the door to my room eased open, I felt my heart stop, and a sharp hope that somehow it was Aria. Instead, it was Miho and I wasn't sure how I felt about her being there. There was still lingering anger from her shoving Aria out into the forest.

But Miho came into my room as if that had been ages ago. "You're not dressed?" She asked casually, moving through my room with the ease she always had and dropping down into a large arm chair by the fire.

I shook my head, turning to face her with my arms folded. She just sat there for a while, staring at the fire and I was beginning to wonder what she had come into my room for. She was the captain of the guard, there was shit she needed to be over seeing for tonight.

Before I could ask what she wanted, she said, "You're still mad at me, aren't you?" When I didn't answer she turned in the chair and looked up at me. "I know you. We grew up together, remember?" She rose out of the chair and crossed the room to me. "I see you, Lucien. It's only been three days but I can see you're taken with her."

I shifted but didn't unfold my arms. She wasn't wrong, just missing a large piece of the puzzle. I had been going back and forth to the human realm for almost a year now and in the last few months I was practically stalking this human woman in a club. From the first moment I saw her, the way she moved, danced all by herself if no one were watching, I couldn't get her out of my head. I went back almost religiously just to watch her dance. It was as if that freedom she felt in those moments calmed me. It gave me a sense of peace and was something beautiful about that world I couldn't find anywhere else. I found out three days ago, that girl was the Dragon Bride. I found out she was fierce and smart and kind.

Miho touched my arm and I looked down at her. Her lavender eyes were earnest and full of fear. "It's happening again. Something strange and exotic has arrived here, something unusual to us and you are letting this fleeting flower drag you down like it did Cassian. Did his death teach you nothing? They can't be trusted, Lucien. We swore, or have you forgotten that as well? We swore to avenge him. I would not begrudge you your fun. She is beautiful, but do not forget because I will not lose you too."

Tears rimmed her eyes. I expected my heart to lurch the way it had when Aria cried but it didn't. I thought I would feel my arms reach for her, but they stayed folded until her fingers gripped me and opened them. What was happening to me? How could I have such strong feelings for a woman I knew a mere few days and none of that for the woman I had grown up with, the one that had held me through losing my brother. I felt myself begin to steel away from Aria. I needed to stay focused. I had made a promise, to myself, to Miho, to my parents, to the realm, to avenge my brother and that is exactly what I was going to do. It was time to let Aria go.

I wrapped Miho up in my arms and kissed her. She fell to me with wild abandon and I dove into her. She was my past and present, the lead to my future. The reminder of who I truly was. How could I have forgotten that so quickly?

As if on cue, my mind betrayed me with images of Aria running through the fields with Orc children. How she faced down vampires and Imps, the soft curves of her body as she waded into the water of the caves. So, I pushed myself further away from those images and scooped Miho up and carried her to my bed.

After my talk with Dante in the garden, I had all but resigned to my fate. I would have no choice but to finally confront my betrothed tonight but I still four days to find a way back home. If he could travel, if some of the guards could travel, I was sure I could find the source of this power and wield it as my own. After all, I was not a magical creature and I had been transported here. I could be transported back. So I sat in a contemplative silence while Leila tried to tame my curls and finally decided to just swept them back and tangle the errant strands with vines of soft white flowers. I settled for modest make up with soft blue highlights and nude lipstick with a heavy pink undertone. It made my lips looks like someone had squeezed them pink.

The dress Leila settled on was boned with crystals and flesh toned, skin tight, with an over lay of nearly sheer chiffon pulled around my shoulders and knotted so I looked like a wrapped gift--- fitting. I slid my feet into nude pumps and checked myself in the mirror once more before following Leila out of the room. She escorted me to the grand staircase that lead down to the foyer of the castle and took my hand.

"You'll be fine. Just breathe and try not to yell at anyone." She said with a warm smile.

I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze before rubbing it down my dress, feeling the nerves start to tangle. I took a deep breath and turned to the stairs. To my right was a herald trying not to stare at me to obviously, but he was waiting for a sign to announce me. I caught his gaze and gave a subtle nod. He lifted the great horn in his hand and trumpeted loud before announcing me.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way down the long curved stairs where a sea of unfamiliar faces awaited me. And just as the first day I had arrived, I was greeted with a wave of soft murmuring. Then a familiar face came swimming up through the waves of strangers.

"You are radiant this evening, my dear."

"Lord Xavia." I said with a slight curtsey. He was smiling at me, that winning, charming smile. His sea green eyes sparkling and I couldn't help but smile. "I bet you were a wicked child." I said with a giggle feeling the tension of uncertainty coiling out of me.

He feigned shock and laughed, a deep rich sound, not unlike Dante's. "Me? Whatever would give you that idea?"

"Your smile."

He flashed it again and held out his arm for me to take. "Ever so astute you are, my dear." I took his arm and he started to lead me though the crowd. "There is something I would like to show you before we head to dinner."

I felt a pit drop into my stomach as a flash of the caves overtook my vision. I could still feel Dante's hands on my body, his lips on mine. I had to shake the memory out of my mind and came back to reality in time to see Lord Xavia leading me down a long hallway. We stopped in front of a set of portraits. The first was a portrait of the king and queen, the queen holding a bundle lovingly in her arms. "The Prince." Xavia said.

I heard myself sigh.

"Not Lucien." Xavia said, motioning further down the hall. "Lucien is the second born prince."

My brows furrowed. "If Lucian is the second born, why am I betrothed to him? It's the first born that inherits."

"Clever girl." Lord Xavia mused as he led me down the hall to a great painting of a young man. His black hair was knotted at the top of his head like a samurai but he was relaxed in the chair smiling whimsically as if he had been thinking of sweet music while his portrait was being painted. His eyes were steely blue, a color that should have been and deep and intense but instead sparkled with delight. He, like Xavia and Dante, shared the same strong jawline.

"The three of you look a lot alike." I said, feeling an edge of annoyance creeping up my spine.

"Three?"

"You, this prince, and... Dante." I almost didn't want to say his name. Maybe Dante was a bastard, or maybe a distant relative. The resemblance was a little too uncanny.

"Hmm." He mused. "I suppose we do. This is Prince Cassian. The first born prince of Dracovia." I would have asked what happened to him, but I had a feeling what happened to him was the whole reason for our little talk. Xavia went on, "As with all dragon firstborns, Prince Cassian was gifted with extraordinary powers and strength from birth. He was practically poised to take over the throne the moment he was born. But much to his parents' dismay, Cassian was never interested in politics or warfare. He preferred lifting a quill to pen his poetry than a sword for people."

"Someone once said: the pen is mightier than the sword." I said absently, unable to concede this concept that the prince in the portrait before me was somehow less than just because he did not want to resort to violence.

Xavia was smiling thoughtfully at me when he went on, "In any case, the king and queen were overjoyed when Queen Adrasteia, my sister, bore a second child. Be it a blessing or a curse, much like Cassian, Lucien was kind by nature. Feeling they had been too lax with Cassian, the King and Queen were determined to rectify the mistake with Lucian. He trained day and night, a gentle soul brought up to be merciless weapon. But while his parents trained him to be ruthless, Cassian fed his compassion. They would explore the lands together and Cassian never failed to fascinate Lucien with the legends he shared. Then came Cassian's coronation and to no one's surprise he fell in love with his Dragon Bride and made her his queen. Cassian wanted peace between realms."

Xavia was quiet long enough, I turned from the painting and to him. He was watching me intently. "Well..."I probed, "What happened to him?"

"He was murdered by his bride." He said it flatly, as if it took his entire being to repeat those words and he had to detach from the whole ordeal to say it.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Do you know to kill a dragon, Aria?"

I blinked. "I don't even know how to be the Dragon Bride. Even if I was her, I assure you, that would not be something they teach in Dragon Bride finishing school unless there was a very sinister agenda at play."

Lord Xavia stared at me. His brows were furrowed deeply as if I were a new species of something and he was trying to determine how best to handle me. "I'll tell you." I wanted to protest. What good would that information do me? Was he warning me? Trying to give me at least something to protect myself with on my would be wedding night? "You take a dagger and stab it straight through its heart, trapping it in its human-beast form. Then you rip off every single scale from its body."

Something cold and hard punched my gut. It twisted and wrenched and turned to anger. "You have to be a complete psychopath to do something like that. That's... torture."

Xavia nodded solemnly. "And Lucien saw it. He saw her strip his brother of his last scale and watched him die." He paused and we both sat with the weight of what that must have been like for a young Prince torn between compassion and ruthlessness. "You should know, Aria, my nephew has professed that once he becomes King of all Realms, he intends to order the destruction of the human realm." His hands jumped up, as if to stop me from making any sort of rash decision and signaling he wasn't done speaking. "He's torn and his rage is fed by his realm who loved Cassian deeply and his parents who think war is the answer, but I trained that boy. I am closer to him than most, like his brother before him, and I know he would to regret that decision and I have to stop him."

"Why are you telling me this?" I said, sounding more suspicious than I intended.

The Lord of Tides smiled knowingly at me. "I need your help, and I believe you knew I would ask."

I let out a breath but the weight on my shoulders only grew heavier. My mind was racing. "You are asking me to help stop a man I've never met from destroying an entire realm on the wrong doing of one woman? If he's already condemned us all, I'm not seeing where one human woman is going to make a difference."

He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and crossed his arms. "Would you kill Lucien to save your realm?"

I stared up at Xavia. Behind him was the whimsical smiling Cassian. "Men." I said shaking my head.

"Hmm?"

"Men, hell, even some women. Why is it that most people believe death is the answer? Death has consequences most people can't fathom and still it's the first resolution to every conflict. Your nephew watched his brother be murdered by a lunatic and his resolution to that is wipe out an entire race of people who had nothing to do with that and you ask me if I would murder him?"

"So you wouldn't?"

"NO! Are you crazy? He's never done anything to me. I understand his pain, I do, but if he's as brave and honorable and benevolent as everyone keeps trying to have me believe, he must know there is another way."

Lord Xavia's smile widened. "Then you can help me. Help me convince him of that. Help me change his mind, Aria. If he falls for you, he will listen to you."

I felt my face twist as if I had smelled something disgusting. "You're not serious? You want me, a Dragon Bride, a woman, a human, to convince a man who watched his brother die at the hands of the same, that we're not all that bad?"

He nodded.

I threw my hands up. "Yeah, lemme get right on that, bud." This was all spiraling out of control. Wasn't it enough that I had to worry about my own safety around here, now I had the weight of my realm to worry about. "I swear," I said turning and walking back down the hallway where we came, "It's like I speak a different language or something. Am I slipping into Chinese? Maybe these beings live so long they don't recognize when their hearing starts to go. Lunatics. All of you."

I suppose I arrived back in the main foyer just in time. As I rejoined the crowd, listening to Lord Xavia's amused chuckling riding up behind me, the herald trumpeted and announced, "The Crown Prince, Lucien Draconem of Dracovia." And a still came over the crowd. All eyes turned to the stairs just as they had done me but there was a completely different mood. He had a commanding presence, an air about him that was completely James Dean; every man wanted to be him, every woman wanted him. Who could blame them. He was a towering wall of muscle barely contained in his hand-tailored suit. His eyes were a deep and intense, sapphire jewels like Dante's but lacked that twinkle of mischief. The sleek black mask he wore around his eyes obscured it but he looked a lot like Dante. He was smiling but it was stoic and unapproachable, though that didn't seem to stop the swarms of what I assumed were royal females. I was staring at a man who had watched his brother die in his arms after suffering unspeakable torture. From what Xavia had said time had not healed those wounds but he showed no signs of his distress. In fact, his every movement seemed deliberate, calculated, even the way he avoided looking at me altogether. There was an air about him like a tamed lion and it was slightly terrifying.

Everyone followed the king and queen and their son into the dining hall. The tables were all arranged in a U shape, that reminded me of a Viking hall. The royal family sat at the base of the U. Lord Xavia took a seat beside his sister, the queen and Lucien sat beside his father. I found myself sitting at the curve of the U nearest to Lord Xavia and just as Leila had said this part of the table was set with a runner made of fresh flowers. From where I sat I could see Lucien entertaining every giggle and air-headed remark with flippant charm. The night waned on but thankfully it was not nine courses. Though it hardly mattered because my stomach was so full of dread and knots it couldn't hold food.

As dessert was being served, the king rose from his chair and cleared his throat. It was a small sound but nevertheless the sight of him rising and the sound, however small, was enough to still the crowd. He held a golden goblet in his hand and gave it a gentle swirl before speaking. "Centuries ago, mortals decided to part ways with the magical realms. They didn't want anything to with us. In return for the ancient dragons' grace, mortals promised a human bride every century. Tonight we celebrate the arrival of that bride."

His small summary of the dissention between the realms was unsettling. There as nothing gracious or sympathic about what he said. The king was bitter and did little to hide it. It wasn't hard to imagine that he wouldn't be fond of a son that didn't share his bitterness.

His piercing gaze pinned me. It was the first time I had really looked at the king. His eyes were cold and sinister. He nodded and slowly I pushed the chair out from under me and stood. I felt the gaze of the crowd shift to me and for the first time Lucien looked my way. I didn't meet his gaze afraid to find that same cold blue of his father.

"As is customary, the Dragon Bride will now perform for us." He motioned to the small stage jutting out of one corner of the room. A pianist was waiting near a single microphone stand and the stage was dimly lit with flickering candle light.

Gathering my skirts, I stepped out from the table and made my way down the middle of the U to the stage. The stage was small enough that the pianist didn't have to get up to offer me his hand to climb the stairs. Moving behind the microphone I fluttered the train of my dress out behind me and smoothed my hands down the sides of my dress. The piano started slow and forlorn. My eyes lowered to the head of the microphone and I had to let the room dissolve around me before my lips parted and I began to sing.

Sweet love, sweet love

Trapped in your love

I've opened up, unsure I can trust

My heart and I were buried in dust

Free me, free us

You're all I need when I'm holding you tight

If you walk away I will suffer tonight

I found a man I can trust

And boy, I believe in us

I am terrified to love for the first time

Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?

I finally found my way

I am bound to you

I am bound to you

So much, so young, I've faced on my own

Walls I built up became my home

I'm strong and I'm sure there's a fire in us

Sweet love, so pure

I catch my breath we're just one beating heart

And I brace myself, please don't tear this apart

I found a man I can trust

And boy, I believe in us

I am terrified to love for the first time

Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?

I finally found my way

I am bound to you

I am bound to

Suddenly the moment's here

I embrace my fears

All that I have been carrying all these years

Do I risk it all, come this far just to fall, fall?

Oh, I can trust

And boy, I believe in us

I am terrified to love for the first time

Can't you see that I'm bound in chains

And finally found my way

I am bound to you

I am

Ooh, I am

I'm bound to you

My only choice for the night was to ignore her presence. It was something I couldn't do when she crossed the room and began to sing. Every word out of her mouth struck me in the chest and reminded me of every moment with her. But it wasn't just that. She sang as if she were pleading, with so much emotion I wondered if she had been lying when she said she wasn't the Dragon Bride. How could this song be so telling if she hadn't known? No. I knew that couldn't have been true. There was no way she could have predicted what happened between us. There was a chance that she had known I was the prince all along and was sent to seduce me the same way the other had done my brother but Aria just... didn't seem like that person. Or maybe, Miho was right. Maybe I was letting myself be blinded. Either way, it didn't stop the song from gripping my heart and trying to crush it.

When it was over, the crowd rose with applause and I couldn't stop myself from doing the same. Aria seemed to come out of daze, bowing her head against the rousing applause. She was glowing under the single spot light. The dress she was wearing made it look as though she was dipped in diamonds and nothing else. She was beautiful, looking slightly unsure of what to do or where to go from there. I was moving around the table when I saw Serphinus, the Lord of the Realm of Darkness reached up to the stage and offer her his hand to help her down. I had to stifle a growl as I watched a hot blush caress her cheeks from whatever the fuck he was saying to her.

I was moving with purpose and not even sure what the hell was going to do when I got to them when Seraphina, the Lady of the Realm of Darkness, Serphinus' twin sister, touched my arm. "Your Highness," She said, stepping in front of me. I felt her skirts sweep across the top of my shoes. "I thought I might never get a chance to speak with you. It has been such a long time."

I had to force myself to look down at her as her twin brother led Aria into the ballroom. "Lady Seraphina, you're looking lovely."

She blushed, "You're too kind, Your Highness. How are you doing through all of this?"

I couldn't possibly answer that question. As far as the realms were concerned my brother had run off to the Realm of the Mundane with his Dragon Bride a century ago. That aside, the feelings roiling through me like fire even I didn't understand. I managed to smile and shrug. "I'm just getting a look at her."

People were filing past us into the ballroom. Seraphina took my arm and we started that way as well. "Well she is a vision. I did not know the human realms could produce such things. Though, I'm sure that is not enough to turn a level head such as your own."

She was baiting me. It was an open secret that the Realm of Darkness was gunning for a stronger foothold in high court. "I suppose not."

The band had already begun to play as we entered the hall. Seraphinus led Aria to the middle of the dance floor, sweeping her around before pulling her into his grasp and leading her around the floor. If she was a stranger to the waltz it didn't show. She had swept the edges of her dress into her hand and her small feet were angled in a high heels as she glided across the polished marble. This was not the way I used to watching her dance but it was no less enchanting. The familiar feeling of calm swept over the heat of jealously was I feeling. She had completely entranced all of the eligible Lords of the Realms, each stepping up and sweeping her out of the arms of another. She moved effortlessly from one set of hands to another never missing a beat. When she was swept into the arms of my uncle she let out a laugh that echoed in the halls like chimes on a windy day. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Excuse me," I said to Seraphina and made way to the nearest balcony.

I was dizzy from all the twirling so when I finally made into a pair of familiar arms, I was grateful. "Lord Xavia." I said breathlessly.

"You have impressed many tonight, Aria. That was quite a moving performance." He said smiling, a smile that said his words held a deeper meaning.

I shook my head and moved for the edge of the dance floor. "I need some air."

He nodded, and motioned to the great archway on the other side of the ballroom. I had to weave through the sneering faces of females who were obviously pining for the Prince and other royals who either looked at me with lust, curiosity or confusion. My paced picked up and I almost stumbled out onto the balcony. Catching my footing, I smoothed down my skirt and turned to find the masked Prince standing on the balcony already. He was less than a foot from me, the source of an impossible heat. He turned to look at me and his eyes were smoldering with a torrent of emotions I couldn't discern.

"I...I..." I stumbled. "I apologize, Your Highness." It was all I could get out. I was alone with that tame lion so I turned to leave.

Something touched my arm and before I could reconcile what was happening, his hand was holding my face. His fingers spread across my cheek, his thumb controlling my chin with just the rough pad. His mouth was nearly on mine. I was frozen in place, my breath caught in my throat.

"Dragon Bride," He said in a deep husky voice, again, not unlike Dante's but this burned deep into my gut. "You were brought here for me. Your attention belongs to me. Your heart shall beat for no one but me. Your body belongs me and shall remain mine alone. You are mine, Aria."

He leaned in to seal his declaration with a kiss and I felt rage explode through me like a volcano erupting. The hand that had been caught between us spread across his chest and my bicep flexed to keep him at bay. I reached for his hair with my free arm and yanked his head back. Shoving him away. "Get off me! How dare you?"

He stumbled back and rubbed the back of his head. He even had the audacity to look surprised.

"Don't look at me like that. Did you really think that was all it was going to take? These other fools may swoon over you and worship the ground you walk on but I do not even know you. Furthermore, if the stories are true you are a damned human hater. What? Did you think I was some empty headed lowly human that would cower to the power of a dragon? I bow to no one, especially not some coward who couldn't even show me his face before he tried to force himself on me." I wasn't aware of when I closed the space between us, but suddenly I was close enough to him to touch him. In a fit of rage, I reached up and ripped the mask off his face. What I found stunned me. "...Dante..."

His eyes had shifted from cold and stoic to that familiar intense blue that somehow managed to be caring at the same time, except now they carried shame.

"How..."

"Aria, please, I can explain.."

The rage was back. "You had fucking better! How could you do that to me! After what I told you, how fucking could you?" I spun away and spun back. I didn't want this explanation. Not now. Too much had happened. I had been filled with too much information for the night. This was not the topper I wanted. I need space, air, something else. "I changed my mind. Fuck off. Stay away from me. Do you hear me, PRINCE LUCIEN? Stay away from me."

I spun again and he grabbed my arm. Reeling around my hand collided with his face. The sound rang out. My hand stung. His face was a bright shade of red but he hadn't move an inch, only let go of my arm. People had started to gather in the archway from the ballroom as I turned and started away.

My face burned where her hand had landed. If her fist had been closed I might have tasted blood. The rage in her face was raw and real. I had completely forgotten myself when I saw her on the balcony. Completely forgotten my charade and I had paid for it.

My mother grabbed my face and growled. She spun from me and shouted for the guards. "NO!" I said, halting them from going after her. "Let her go."

"She struck you!" My mother reeled. "How dare she!"

I had to smile. With a bravery, I've never seen. "I'm fine, mother. I shouldn't have kissed her."

"That girl!--- That human girl, should be so lucky as to have your affections and this is what she does?"

I frowned. "Mother, just let her go. I mean it. Leave her alone." I wasn't unaware of the people around before but now I acknowledged them. "Go back to the party everyone. There's nothing more to see here."