Page 11 of To Catch a Prince

Traveling west,back to Malek, Talia was thinking about the Tutor’s words again. “Use it wisely,” he’d said of her newfound powers. She was still wondering what that meant. A little voice at the back of her mind told her that her Tutor and her new friends didn’t expect her to spend the rest of her life in her small village, curing various ailments of the nobles who came to her parents’door.

She had to go away again, some day. Perhaps even soon. The notion was a little painful; she’d loved her excursion to the capital, but leaving for good? There wasn’t much to recommend Malek, except herfamily.

She could imagine that leaving her parents behind wouldn’t be a hardship; seeing them only occasionally for the blessed days. But what of her sisters? Her chest tightened. Aleria might do well enough, but poor Xandrie had little to please her at home. Talia was her one ally; could she abandon her? No, she couldn’t. So, if she went away, she was going to have to convince her sister to accompanyher.

She bit her lip, as the carriage arrived in front of her parents’ house . Had it always been sosmall?

Something felt wrong. She knew it even before she knocked on thedoor.

When her mother greeted her with open arms and a sunny smile, she frowned. Her first words were, “Where isXandrie?”

Talia was backout the door within minutes of passing the threshold. Next to her, her beautiful sister wore her thickest coat and carried a large bag with provisions, and, no doubt, plenty of money. This was Aleria, afterall.

That she’d followed without so much as a question was surprising. For all her coldness, her silent and haughty air, apparently Aleria preferred her sister’s company to a life ofcomfort.

“Whatnow?”

Talia bit her lip, wishing she had a concrete plan. They had to go to Xandrie’s aid, that much was clear, buthow?

Dragons come from Farden or Absolia,a voice inside her said. A familiar, dark whisper, which felt like exploding and destroying at the idea of their sister in danger.Both are south ofhere.

“Now, we go south. A dragon flew out of Malek. It won’t have gone unnoticed. We listen to the rumors and follow Xandrie’s abductor to the Kingdom of Gold, or the Kingdom of FieryShadow.”

She expected her sister to call her insane. To say they, two mere women, had no chance of coming out of this quest alive. Protest that Xandrie wasn’t worth it,perhaps.

“Right. Let’s go buyhorses.”

7

the Ceremony

One monthlater

Vincent stoodin his cousin’s chamber, arms crossed behind his back again, staring at the walls beyond their capital city. The last few weeks had been insane. First, their strongest Aether-made walls fell at the hands of an unknown evil, then, a Dragon Rider - the first Dragon Rider in a thousand years - came tothem.

Something was changing. He felt it in theair.

He had been summoned early, on the morning of Rhey’s wedding, because there was a disturbing report to speakof.

“Our spies tell us there’s talk of a new Enchantress, born in the north. We can’t be sure, but they say she’s headedsoutheast.”

Towardsthem.

“Enchantresses aren’t a force of evil,” Nathosreasoned

“And perhaps, in her mind, annihilating dragons is no evil deed. Our kind isn’t known for our warm and fuzzies.” He turned to the King. “We should delay your wedding. Investigate this Enchantress before the whole country decides to drink for aweek.”

Weddings were always an event for their kind - dragons were long lived and rarely formed a union more than once in their lifetime, which made for quite the party when one of them tied the knot. A royal wedding? No one was going to be sober this month. There would be guards posted at all times but Vincent couldn’t tell what state they’d be in. It was fair to assume that the security of their realm would be a little lax, for atime.

Rhey growled in response to that proposition. Actually growled, before baring his teeth. Vincent had to laugh, holding his hands up insurrender.

“Right. No more talk of delaying your nuptials.” It was good to see the King in such disposition. Gone were the vacant looks, the darkness. Madness had been chased away the moment he’d found a woman who could complete his soul. “But let me double the guard, at least. I could also take a few men now, go investigate the threat and comeback…”

“You plan on missing my wedding?” Now the King soundedhurt.

Vincent sighed. “Fine. Let’s just ignore these rumors. What’s the worst thing that could possiblyhappen?”

He intended to be entirely ironic, but the King chose to take his words at face value. “Good. Let us tie that noose around my neck, shallwe?”

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