His father eyed his son’s exposed chest. “Hopefully, you’re behaving.”
Esi and Bron had their eyes on Jasyn. It was a test, he supposed. Would he reveal it all now? It would end the betrothal. He thought then about that little girl from this morning who had approached Esi—or who they all thought wasEsi—with that flower crown. She had adored the lady in front of her. Jasyn couldn’t rip away the image the two of them created.
“I was just showing them the Butterfly Garden.” Jasyn gestured. Then, he narrowed his eyes. What were his parents doing? They never came out here. At least, he thought they never did, but he saw the blankets and basket his mother was holding, and thoughts of what that meant swirled in his head. “We should go.”
Jasyn started walking away, pushing Bron and Esi along with him. He glanced behind him before the Butterfly Garden was out of sight, and he saw the way his parents giggled as they entered. Before the door shut, he saw the flutter of butterflies swarm them. His parents had been lucky to find love in their marriage. He wished that could be him too, but he decided then, he would marry Esi if he won the Undertaking. After all, his responsibility was to the people of the Sun Court, and he would do everything he could to prove himself worthy.
Iskra’s knees buckled in the town streets. She didn’t have time to wallow in her own pity. The sun would set soon, and she didn’t need to cause a disastrous scene in front of children.
She couldn’t believe this was how it ended. She thought she had a few more blissful days with him. She wanted to be in his arms, to soak up his scent and his touch.
“I knew you would come crawling back to me,” Kryth’s voice whispered.
She wiped the snot from her nose. She had been so distracted by her own woes, she hadn’t heard him approaching.
He crouched so he was eye level with her, his minister blue eyes piercing. “Sometimes, it’s best to stay in a cage. It’s safer there.”
Right now, she only found truth in that statement, because the pain coursing through her was immense, like she was being burned from the inside.
Her life prior to Kryth had been so short, she barely remembered it. She knew she had lived in a commune of dragon shifters. She knew they were constantly on edge because of the possibility of being caught. In the back of her memories, she knew she felt at peace there with the other dragon shifters. They had more control of their shifting, and she could transform any time of day.
Then, Kryth took her away. He had killed his sister and put his nephew, Bron, in debt, knowing he was never going to heal her. He was a villain who ripped joy from others’ lives so he could maintain a title he didn’t deserve.
Yet, even if she despised him, he was all she knew. His shop had become her home, and she had nowhere else to run.
“Take me to the shop,” she whispered, unable to deal with her emotions anymore.
So, Kryth helped her up and carried his prized possession to her cage.
Sixteen
There weren’t enough windows to distract Iskra from her sorrows. She had resorted to washing the neighboring shops’ windows just to keep her mind on the present instead of the painful past and the tragic future in front of her. Even if her pruned hands told her she had done enough, she could still find another window to clean somewhere.
She must have looked like a rabid animal, because townspeople sidestepped her and avoided her gaze. It was funny how just days before, she was with Jasyn, passing out desserts to them, yet now, they didn’t recognize her at all. Though that wasn’t a fair assessment. Her hair was back to its auburn color, and she had been hiding her face by wearing a bonnet. It was to protect against the sun, she told herself. In reality, she feared someonewouldnotice the similarities between the window washer and the prince’s betrothed. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble for Jasyn and his family. It was better to protect them from damaging rumblings in any way she could.
She heaved the bucket with dirty water and threw it out into the grassy field. Rubbing her aching back, Iskra headed back tothe shop. It had been her routine the last few days: leave her cage, get water from the river, start cleaning, and return to the shop right before nightfall.
Just like clockwork, Kryth was outside the shop with his pipe in hand. She swatted away the smoke as she entered the shop, but Kryth grabbed her wrist.
“Your princeling is in Ogrod, visiting Lady Esi’s family,” he gloated. “He’s asking for her hand in marriage.”
“That seems like a wasteful trip. Her parents and the royal family have already decided their fates.” She hated the sting in her words. She was jealous of a reality that existed long before she ever met Jasyn.
Kryth noted her tone, though, because he smiled with malicious glee. “It’s a shame you won’t be here to witness the wedding. I’m sure the streets will be partying for days to celebrate.”
“Are you that confident he’ll kill me and get the Heart?”
Kryth took a puff of his pipe, and Iskra coughed as the smoke hit her nose.
“I never said the wedding between the current prince and her. Perhaps my nephew wins like he clearly needs. Either way, whoever is the victor will be marrying the lady.”
“If the victor is a she?”
“I have no doubts Lady Esi’s family could care less who is on that throne. They just want her as consort.”
Iskra wanted to rip Kryth’s throat, but she didn’t have the strength. “How could you force your own nephew to resort to gambling in order to pay you back for failing to keep your sister alive?”
Kryth didn’t seem shocked by the question. In fact, he avoided it at first, fully stepping back inside the shop. He tinkered with the glass bottles, making sure they were perfectly set on the shelves.
