The aroma of the bread broke through the noise in my head. My hand moved on its own, bringing a piece to my mouth. It was sweet and spiced, still warm from the oven.
I chewed slowly, rising, moving toward the stove where steam curled upward from the pot, the surface gurgling as it simmered.
My thoughts drowned in it, noting the crimson hue the water had begun to blossom into. As if my curse itself had stained it red.
And I chewed, unable to look away.
CHAPTER TEN
Ronan
THE SEA SWALLOWED THE SUN AS RONAN WATCHED from the den’s windows.
Its reflection was drowned in grey waves, until the half-lit moon rose patient in its place.
His wings throbbed beneath his skin, bones yearning to break, to split.
To shift.
Two days in Ryuu and he hadn’t transformed, despite the unrelenting urge. It was torture, unnatural, to keep a dragon leashed at the altar of its flame.
He dug his fingers into his shoulder blades, kneading the place where scales should pierce through. Nails dragged down his arm, catching on the ink trailing down to his wrist, invisible shackles pulling tight, binding him to a crown he wasn’t sure he wanted.
Maybe if I hold out long enough, it will pass to Aero.
The thought came quickly and unbidden, that maybe the burden would resolve more easily on shoulders that never faltered.
Maybe Aero would finally accept what everyone already believed: that he was the more rightful ruler.
Ronan shook his head, before the thought could even settle. Aero would never take what wasn’t his. He was nothing like Obrann.
Which, somehow, only made the shame worse.
Waves battered the invisible shield, only a thin veil of glass protecting the sea from him as he stood unmoving before it.
Last night, that same sea had kept him hidden. And Aero had waited until the moon leaned low, kissing the water’s edge.
But Ronan never surfaced. He had swum until his lungs were seconds from bursting, until his dragon heart had threatened to rupture, and then he swam deeper, further.
The fireplace crackled behind him now, a low rumble as he turned, pacing the length of the black marble floor. He moved over plush carpets, through velvet shadows, until he reached the desk.
His father’s desk.
Flame-light spilled across its dark wood, shapes twitching over maps and unopened letters. He leaned close, eyes narrowing on one envelope set apart from the rest. Addressed to Aero.
Please inquire as soon as possible.
The parchment was smooth beneath his fingers, the royal seal of Luamis gleaming gold and untouched.
He was the prince. Rhydan’s only heir. He had every right to break it open. Even if the godsdamned letter bore Aero’s name instead of his.
His thumb hovered over the seal. A breath—
Then came a knock, rattling against the door.
He snapped the letter back into place, sliding it between the others just as the hinges creaked.
“Enter.”
