Alana's perspective
"H–huh?" I gasp, the air stolen from my lungs by a sudden, jarring shock.
"Where's that bastard Justin?" Darius repeats. His voice is a jagged blade of fury as he strides toward me, his emerald hair disheveled. Before I can even think to retreat, his hand clamps around my arm like a vice of heated iron.
"O–ouch! Darius, stop it you're hurting me!" I cry out, the sharp sting of his grip bringing instant, hot tears to my eyes.
"Where is your stupid fiancé?" he snarls, leaning in until I can see the reptilian slit of his pupils. "I need an answer, and I need it now!"
His hand slides with terrifying speed from my arm to my throat.
A white-hot explosion of pain flares through my neck as my breath hitches and dies.
I let out a helpless, strangled squeal, my toes scraping uselessly against the floor as he lifts me into the air by my throat. The world begins to dim at the edges.
"Darius, stop it! You're hurting me!" I choke out, my fingernails clawing desperately at his unyielding wrist.
"Darius, let her go."
The command cuts through the room like a crack of thunder deep, freezing, and absolute.
Darius freezes mid-motion. Slowly, with a palpable reluctance, he opens his hand. I fall hard against the marble floor, the impact jarring my bones and knocking what little air I had left from my lungs. I curl into a ball, gasping and coughing.
"Darius, don't you know how to treat a lady?" the voice continues, dripping with a smooth, dangerous elegance.
I lift my head, my frame still trembling violently, and my heart nearly stops in my chest.
Standing before us is Prince Volta Blackwood, the Prince of All Dragons.
He stands tall and imposing, his presence radiating a weight so heavy it feels like a physical storm held back by a thin thread of willpower.
His golden eyes gleam with a piercing, ancient authority as they lock onto Darius. The knight instantly pales, panic flickering across his face as he runs a shaky hand through his green hair.
"I expect better from you, Darius," Volta says calmly but there is a lethal promise buried beneath the silence that follows. "Treat a lady with respect."
He steps closer, the click of his white boots echoing against the stone. He kneels slightly so we are at eye level.
"Alana," he says. His voice is firm, yet carries a strange, haunting gentleness. "Please tell me where is Justin?"
"I… I don't know," I reply between shallow, ragged breaths. "He left last night… in a panic."
"Well," Volta says as he helps me to my feet, his hand steady and incredibly strong on my arm. "Your fiancé caused quite a disturbance last night. We need him now," he commands, his tone shifting from gentle to immovable.
As I stand upright, I finally see him clearly. This is the closest I've ever been to Prince Volta. He is… different. There is an aura of absolute control about him.
His golden eyes shimmer like molten suns beneath strands of perfectly kept blond hair. He is built for war; I can feel the solid, unyielding muscle beneath his flawless white jacket as he steadies me.
He is untouchable, like a god carved from ivory. A dragon through and through.
"Stop wasting time and tell us where Justin is!" Darius snaps, his patience frayed.
Volta gently releases my arm.
"As I said," I reply, my voice trembling but defiant as I rub the angry red marks on my aching neck, "I don't know. He left last night."
"What Darius is trying to say," Volta interrupts, his voice dropping to a cold, clinical edge, "is that Justin meddled in matters he had no right to."
He turns toward the door, his white cape fluttering behind him.
"His scent was found all over the Princess's chambers. She is royal. He is a commoner. He trespassed into forbidden areas of this castle. And since the Princess is my fiancée… you know exactly what that means."
My vision blurs. Justin… wouldn't do that. Would he?
Suddenly, a flood of memories rushes back the cryptic words he whispered last night, the haunting crimson glow of his magic circle before he vanished, and the Princess bursting into my room at dawn, pale and frantic, searching for him.
My hands fly to my mouth, stifling a sob.
"No…" I whisper, the realization shattering my composure. Tears spill freely down my cheeks, splashing onto the cold floor. "It can't be. I don't believe he would do something like that."
"Well, his scent says otherwise," Volta replies harshly, his gaze devoid of empathy. "And you know the price for such a crime against the throne."
"I don't think that's possible!" I shout, my voice cracking.
Before either of them can move to stop me, I shove past them, my black gown rustling as I sprint down the hall. I slam open the heavy double doors to the Princess's chamber.
Inside, Princess Calamity is sitting on the edge of her bed, her hands trembling as she pulls on a crimson dress. She freezes the moment she sees me, quickly adjusting the fabric. The silk clings to her perfectly, trailing across the marble like a pool of fresh blood.
"Princess!" I scream, my lungs burning. "Tell me what happened last night!"
She jumps to her feet, her face ashen. "It… it was-"
"Tell her what Justin was doing in your room," Darius cuts in loudly, appearing at the doorway.
"Calamity!" I shout, staring straight into her blue eyes. "What was he doing in your room?!"
"Well," Volta says impatiently, his shadow falling over us. "He was there at midnight. What do you think he was doing? The conclusion is obvious."
"It's not!" I scream, my chest heaving. "Answer me!"
Calamity looks at me… then slowly lowers her gaze, her hands clasping together tightly at her hips. Silence fills the room, heavy and suffocating.
"So that's it?" I whisper, my chest aching with a physical pain I can't describe. "You're all accusing my fiancé?"
My heart pounds. Why did I call him that again? Why does it hurt so much to even say the word?
"If you stand by a traitor," Volta says, his golden eyes turning as cold as the void, "you will be executed alongside him."
My blood turns to ice.
"I will give you two choices," Volta continues, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. "One:die with him. Or two:agree to marry Darius within the coming days."
The room spins. The weight of the choice crushes my lungs like I'm being buried alive under the castle stone. What do I do? How do I choose between a boy who left me and my own life?
"O–okay," I say suddenly. The words escape my lips before my mind can even process them. "I agree. I'll marry Darius."
I value my life. Don't I?
Tears stream down my face, hitting the floor as my body trembles uncontrollably. Why am I crying over someone I barely know? Why does this decision feel like it's ripping my soul in two?
I hold my hands to my chest as the tears flow freely. I turn and flee, stumbling through the Princess's room, past the endless hallways and through the courtyard.
Everything is a blur. I put another's life at risk to save my own. I am pathetic.
I stumble into the carriage, collapsing onto the velvet seat as ragged sobs wrack my body. Time passes in a haze of misery until my breathing finally steadies. Then, a thought hits me with the force of a lightning strike.
His mother. Alicia. That's where he would go.
I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand, my resolve hardening into something sharp and cold.
"Driver!" I say firmly, my voice echoing in the small carriage. "Increase the pace. Take me to Justin's house. Now!"
As the carriage races forward, the wheels clattering rhythmically against the cobblestones, my heart whispers only one frantic prayer
Please, Justin… please be alive.