ine

y skin crawl, and the tension only worsened when King Reginald marc

her trailing purple-and-gold scaled gown, her

d mark bloomed on his cheek as her voice shook with rage. "You

, pressing his bruised lip

over to me, his eyes dragging shamelessly from my throat down to my waist. "Brother, since you find

nd, his golden slit pupil

Grant drove his fist straight into his brothe

a long banquet table and sending dozens of drag

ling Amos's chest. Red-gold and white-hot dragonfire wrapped aroun

r the searing heat of the dragonfire, Amos's

m apart, but not a single guard dared step near a pure-

ace this hall on your own wedding night?" He did not strip the succession from him-not yet-but he ordered the crown prince confined to

that he had woken, and weeks later that he had healed-though the court whispered tha

burning flesh, the blinding flashes of fire, and the surro

a dark stone floor while heavy hands tore

wed at my throat, stumbling backward until my spine hit a freezing stone pilla

his brother's bloody body, his chest heaving

olden eyes merged with the

un around, kicked off my worn shoes, and

cut into the soles of my feet. My cousin Arlin Davenport, a high-ranking court official, hurried around the co

scrambled into our old wooden carriage and

ng my arms around my knees while cold sweat soaked my plain dress. The palace lights faded behind us, yet

tside the Mcfarland estate on the edge of the

the main hall. Valerie curled her lip at my bloody feet. "Lo

ing a dark red dragon-b

his voice as flat