“Better than the slop we ate last night at the inn.”
“No kidding,” I laughed and made a face. “Barely edible, I do miss at least that about home. Do they eat slop in Dark Kingdom?”
He shrugged. “Never spent enough time there to really get a feel for it, and most anything tastes good after weeks on a ship.”
“But you’re a dragon. Nyx doesn’t make you stay?” I knew he planned to run away, but a dragon as principled as Nyx surely wouldn’t allow that, would he? None of it added up to me. It felt like I was missing part of the puzzle.
“He won’t. I’m not a part of this. Of any of this. Like I said, I’m not from here.” He didn’t look at me as he said it.
“How?” As far as I or anyone knew, dragons were only born in the Twelve Kingdoms.
“It’s complicated, but Nyx respects it.”
“So you just get to leave while I have to stay?”
“No one is making you stay.” He finally risked a glance.
“They won’t let me leave.” Everything that brought me closer to the Dark Kingdom felt like fingers closing around my heart.
“You have ways to get out, I’ve seen it with my own eyes now. Is that how you got past Nyx and came to the tavern the other night?”
I smirked in confirmation. “And go where?”
“I’ve found work on ships to be quite fulfilling.” He gave me a small smile.
“Maybe.”
“You don’t have to go back, you know. We can disappear at any time, and they will think we died or were captured.”
I stared. “Are you willing to let your friends believe you to be dead?”
“It wouldn’t be my first choice, no, but this isn’t my war, and he isn’t my King. I refuse to be forced to fight in a war that isn’t mine.” This might be the most truthful he’d ever been with me. I didn’t know what brought on the change.
“He’s not my King either.”
He lifted a brow. “And yet you are betrothed to his heir?”
“As forced submission. After the Hundred Years War, part of the terms of our surrender was submission to the Dark,” I saidthrough my teeth. “Not a single one of us isn’t resentful of the treaty.”
“Why would they make you queen as a term of your surrender?”
“How do you not know this?” Did they teach a different history in the other kingdoms? Because I’d been taught this my whole life.
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“We nearly defeated them with our magic early in the war. We were betrayed at the last moment, and it spelled disaster for us. We couldn’t recover.” I tried to keep the sorrow out of my voice, but it was impossible to hide the shame the Light Kingdom bore. I also couldn’t. “Had we not been betrayed, our magic would have easily defeated that of the Dark Kingdom. No one can hide from the light. They knew they’d never get another chance to beat us the same way, so to prevent us from rebellion, they came up with the terms of the treaty to kneecap us and mix our magic with theirs. If they have both, how could we fight back? So they’ve bred a thousand years of princes with our magic.” I spat knowing I shouldn’t get myself worked up, but unable to stop myself.
He blew out a breath. “And now they make all the dragons go to the First Kingdom so no other Kingdom could amass an army for themselves.”
“And cover it up with a war the King will never let end,” I said coldly.
“And that’s why I won’t be used by him,”he admits.
“You’re lucky you have a choice to leave.”
“You could too.” He paused. “Why are you allowing anyone to take you to the First Kingdom?”
“I tried to escape. Many times. My father knows my magic. He prevented it.”
