“It’s not?”
“It’s not meant to be an elitist setup. The nature of heirs just invites that, obviously. But what you’re suggesting here opens up a great deal. Something I’m definitely not opposed to.” I sat forward on the chair. “What I could be opposed to, though, is your abrasive attitude. While I value the passion and ferocity, with the way you wield it, working with others isn’t always possible. Or pleasant for anyone involved.”
She sank back against my couch. “I know.”
“You… what?”
She blew out a breath. “I know, Evira. And that’s half the battle, once that’s recognized, isn’t it?”
“It can be, if you follow through.”
“I intend to. This is important to me.”
“All right. Put a proposal together, detail your specific goals, what you’re looking to get out of it, what you’re advocating for others.”
“Will do.”
She rose from the couch, but dragged her feet. Very unlike the formidable fire dragon warrior she was known for being.
“Something else you want to discuss?”
She turned back and grasped the arm of the couch.
“So part of your reason for coming here was to talk about him? That dig earlier was about you not liking that fact?” I put to her.
She shoved a hand through her hair and told me, “I’m seeing to something.”
“Regarding Torvek?”
“Yes.”
I tensed. “The way I understand it, the two of you are done.”
“Something he needed to believe. It got his attention off me, enabling me to move more freely outside the Dracoryn Realm.”
So, yeah, that worry spiked like crazy at her words. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m working on something to ensure the Realm is forced into a difficult choice when it comes to the Crown Heir situation.”
“Excuse me?”
“The old ways that too many still hold to… there’s a lot of pushback since you abdicated. You were beloved. You are beloved. Knowing you stepped down because of public opinion concerning a dragon heir mating with “death incarnate”—sorry, that’s the term floating around—it’s had people questioning things. There’s a lot of talk about relaxing the dragon purity traditionalism toward death magic, death-touched beings, even vampires. With there even being some dragon hybrids in existence now who have vampire sides, Shadowmancer, that sort of thing, but them living outside the Realm due to this not-infecting-life-with-death nonsense, it’s already made itself an issue to be questioned.”
She shifted her weight. “That nonsense also extends to anything exceeding dragon might. Like Celestial power. One reason Vorzyr Titanus is permanently exiled. The party line is that it was because he betrayed House Titanus to your father and grandmother so they could take power. But that’s a lot of bullshit baked in there, because him doing that freed the Dracoryn Realm from the tyrannical rule of Vorzyr’s—and Torvek’s—parents.”
Adrenaline thrummed through me. “What are you getting at exactly here?”
“There are only two suitable Crown Heirs available—you and Torvek. For now, your relationship with Winter Nox has tainted you. But if that were to happen at any point to theonly remaining heir, the Realm would be forced to adjust its opinions.”
Oh my God.
And then she said, “Yes. I know. I know Torvek has the same abilities as his brother. Celestial-based abilities alongside his dragon nature. And I’m working with Vorzyr and Cornelius Martel—Inter-Realm Ambassador—to fix things. Torvek is terrified that if he ever revealed his Celestial abilities, he’d be denounced. But the situation with the Crown Heir guards against that—or it will fully soon.”
I shot to my feet. “How do you know about him? When?”
She held up her hand. “It’s all right. I promise. I’ve known for a long time. Two years. One night Torvek and I were sleeping together outside—not fucking, because he won’t do that with me because of his fear of revealing his abilities—next to each other as we were sort of camping for a few days… and in his sleep, he let loose that Primal Celestial Resonance ability. Cornelius Martel had crossed into the Realm to meet with the Dracoryn Core and I guess Torvek’s system reacted to it. He didn’t know I saw.”
“You knowing about this changes—”
