Bane of Dragons (Sera's Curse Book 1)

by Clara Hartley

  “Calm down,” I said, smirking. “She’s only giving out the names.”

  I checked the clock on the large pillar. One more minute.

  “You should be a little more worried,” Frederick said. “What if you don’t get picked?”

  “I will.” Mindset was everything when it came to achievements. I had to believe. And if I failed, I’d be able to take it in stride, because life had given me my fair share of shit, and I’d learned to shrug it off. If only I’d had the same level of calm when seeing the king yesterday. His gaze had thrown all the spunk I had out of me.

  Frederick breathed out a long sigh. “You’re amazing, Sera. Like corn. Because, you know, maize.”

  I thrust my head back in exasperation. “Again? Aren’t you tiring of these puns?”

  A wicked smile spread across Frederick’s face. “No. I live and breathe them.”

  A bell sounded, and everyone’s attention turned to Tindyll.

  Tindyll cleared her throat. “As we all know, Kylen will be stepping down from his position next month, and we’ll need someone to replace him. Kylen and I have listened to your opinions and nominations. And we, with our own judgment, have decided on a list of five candidates for the final vote. The remainder of this process will allow all of you time to decide which of these candidates deserve the position. Each of you will have one vote that will be cast in four weeks. Voting is mandatory.”

  “She’s wearing a shoulder pad over her robe,” Frederick said. “And only on one shoulder. Don’t you find this new fashion strange? I think it’s a little bit silly. What’s the point of just one?”

  I nudged him. “Sh. Focus.”

  Tindyll unraveled her scroll and lifted it in front of her. “I will now call out the names of the candidates. First up, Sera Cadriel, from agriculture.” A burst of congratulations sounded around me. Frederick patted me on the back, and a few peers shook my hands. I humored them, but I knew this didn’t mean anything. As of now, my standing remained the same—one of the team leaders in the agricultural department.

  Tindyll continued, “Elder Olean from social services, Elder Jyonne from education, Carice, also from education, and last but not least, Mei from commerce.”

  Mei. My gaze traveled down from the second floor, to where the scholars from commerce should be standing. She stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of them, with her decorative dress and overdone jewelry. How did she even get on the list? She’d only joined a year before. And scholars were actually talking about voting for her, even though my digging through the archives showed she had published no papers.

  She was accepting congratulations from her peers, the same way I did. She was gorgeous, I had to give her that, and she seemed to be highly personable and friendly, although I’d never spoken a word with her.

  “Sera Cadriel?” Tindyll called, looking at my direction, but still searching through the crowd for me. “Could you come see me after this?”

  “What does she want?” Frederick asked.

  “I’m not certain,” I replied.

  Tindyll continued with her speech, giving up her search for me. “On to other matters. It seems like the manpower in the agricultural department will be insufficient to solve the food problem we have along the Jura region and beyond. I will need to send some teams on an expedition to the outskirts to get us samples and investigate the high summers. And, much to my distaste, the king is truly intending to lift the ban on soul magic, possibly by the next week, so we will have to start testing that out to determine who has the ability to wield it. Chances are that few of us will, since dragons often aren’t adept at the art.” Except for the princes. At the very least, not Gaius. The ass had a pretty good control over magic.

  Tindyll went on for another fifteen minutes, going through logistics and the usual drivel about having to keep up performance. After she finished and dismissed the lot of us, I did as she requested and climbed down the flight of stairs to greet her, leaving Frederick behind with my team.

  “You requested my audience?” I asked.

  “Yes, yes.” Tindyll adjusted her monocle. “About recent developments. Word has been traveling around the high courts about you.”

  “May I inquire as to why?”

  “Your… relationship with the princes.”

  “I have nothing of the sort,” I said.

  “News suggests otherwise. Rylan’s show with you yesterday is starting to make you infamous, and now, with the change in your lodgings…”

  “Sorry? What do you mean my lodgings?” And how did word spread about his giving me a lift yesterday? Only Vancel and a few other people were there.

  “You haven’t heard? Oh dear.” Tindyll pressed her wiry fingers over her lips. “The maids have been ordered by the crown prince to shift your belongings to their quarters. Gossip spread quickly. There wasn’t an order announced, but people made their assump—”

  “He did what?”

  “I apologize. I thought you’d been informed.”

  I took control of my emotions. I didn’t want Tindyll to think I was temperamental. “No, I wasn’t. I will need to look into this.”

  “I’m not sure what the princes want with you. Perhaps Rylan has an interest—”

  “I can assure you he doesn’t.”

  “Everyone thinks otherwise, and I don’t know if you should be running for secretary if you have a romantic relationship with the prince. Being crown princess is a position filled with its own set of duties, and you shouldn’t have to juggle the two. It’ll undermine your commitment to the council.”

  I was chanting mantras in my mind, trying to settle the anger boiling in my blood. Hadn’t Rylan assured me that he would be more inconspicuous about our meetings? He’d made a promise, and decided to pull this stunt right after. “I am as lost as you as to why Prince Rylan made his decision. Pardon me, Elder Tindyll, I find it laughable that you think Rylan and I are a pair. We only met a couple days ago.”

  Tindyll studied me with a look that said I hadn’t convinced her. “It’s a word of caution. I need to know you have your priorities straight. I have high hopes for you, Sera. This position of secretary might be too grand for someone your age, but I don’t want you to miss this opportunity, for I think you will grow into this role quite well. Should you miss this chance, you might not get another.”

  The image of strangers going through my personal belongings grated on my nerves. “I understand.” I adjusted the satchel slung over my shoulder. My grip over it was so tight that I might have accidentally torn the fabric.

  “Sera Cadriel?” a young man said.

  I turned my attention to him. A freckle-faced squire regarded me from the steps.

  “That’s me,” I replied.

  “Prince Rylan has requested your attention.”

  I bowed to Tindyll. “I beg your pardon, madame.”

  “Go,” she replied. “You’ll want to see to this. I’ve finished warning you of my concerns.”

  “Thank you.” I scurried over to the squire, feeling my skin prickle as I did. My patience with the princes was running thin, and I felt ready to scream my lungs out at Rylan. I’d worked too hard at this to have the rug being pulled from under my feet.

  The trek to the prince’s quarters took far longer than when Rylan and Micah carried me. I still hadn’t decided whether that managed to cool my head or gave it time to come to a boil. I was supposed to be able to take control of my own future. To be able to work toward the fate I wanted. What had happened to that? I hated the princes trampling all over what I was striving for, just because they had been born the lucky ones.

  Rylan thought he could simply swoop in and shift my life around.

  I supposed he could because he was crown prince, but that didn’t mean I had to take it lying down. People like him got away too easily with manipulating the lives of smaller folks like me. This election was important, and the tight leash Rylan had put it on was aggravating.

  After an hour’s walk—time that
I didn’t have, by the way—I finally reached the two statues that lined the entrance of the princes’ quarters.

  “Your belongings should be sorted,” the squire said. “Prince Rylan made sure we didn’t leave anything behind.”

  I hoarded too many personal items, including that acceptance letter I’d received from the council three years ago. I also needed to have all my documents properly organized, and the maids might have messed them up.

  “Thank you,” I muttered, not really in a grateful mood.

  The squire bowed. “This way.” He led me up the stairs, into the large entrance hall of the princes’ quarters. We wound up a few stairs, reaching the top floor. Did I have to do this every day? The princes had wings, so I could see how the stairs didn’t inconvenience them, but all I had were two legs to depend on. How was I supposed to get to work?

  I needed to demand that I get relocated back to my dorm.

  The squire gestured. “Your room is the first one on this level, next to the princes’.”

  The door of my new room was nearly twice my height. Most things usually did seem to tower over me because of my short stature.

  I entered, finding Kael standing in the middle of the polished marble floor, wearing the amused smirk he often did.

  He pointed at the wall, directing a maid. “No, it’s not centered yet. A little to the left.”

  I glanced to where he was pointing, and balked. He was telling a maid how to adjust a portrait of him.

  “No, no.” He scrunched his nose up. “That’s worse. Shift it more to the right. Down a bit. Yes, almost there.”

  “Kael?” I said, letting disbelief mix with my anger. “Why are you hanging a portrait of yourself on top of what I’m assuming is supposed to be my new bed?” My new bed was excessively large, and decorated with a gold that seemed too lavish for someone of my standing. I liked the richness it screamed out, however.

  His eyes twinkled, and he directed his gaze to me. “Ah, Sera. Nice of you to drop in. No reason, really. I liked the thought of it.”

  “It’s strange, and a tad creepy.”

  “Is it?”

  “Where’s Rylan?” I asked.

  “So quick to want to find my brother?” He curled his lips into a wider grin and came closer to me. He leaned down, until he was a bit too near, and tipped my chin up with his finger. “I spent a long time helping with your decorations. Don’t you think I should deserve a kiss for my dedication?”

  “House decorating,” I said. “Sounds like a tough job.” I could feel his breath on my skin and smelled the scent of the sea. Where his finger touched, a sizzle started, because of the strange magic between us. It wasn’t sensual, more like a warm feeling that spread, and was soothing and tingling at the same time.

  Kael lowered his hand and took my gloved one. He slipped my glove off. I narrowed my eyes at him. My heart raced but I didn’t show it. He held my hand, and then brought it up to his face. I had to stop breathing. “I don’t think I’d ever get tired of this, kitty-cat.”

  I tried to tug my hand away. “Don’t call me that.” Heat shot its way through my cheeks.

  “But I love the way you react to it.”

  Gaius called from the doorway, “Kael, what are you doing?”

  Kael didn’t let go. “Making good use of our new toy. You really should test her out. It’s fun.”

  “She’s not my cup of tea,” Gaius said.

  “Oh, she’s mine.”

  I wasn’t sure how to react to that statement. Kael probably thought that every other woman was his cup of tea. He had a reputation for being a womanizer. Finally, he loosened his grip, and I slipped my fingers from his grasp and paced to a desk, where I saw most of the documents lay. They were still in the same folders, and neatly arranged. Other than the different desk, they looked perfectly sorted, just as I’d had them before I left my room this morning.

  “Relax,” Gaius said, walking into the room. His shoes thumped against the marble. “Rylan asked Micah to put things exactly as they were. Micah has photographic memory, so this was child’s play for him.”

  I sighed in relief. Lying in the center of the stacks was a crumpled roll of paper, tied with a red ribbon. It hadn’t been damaged either. It was my acceptance letter. I had to find somewhere safe for it.

  “I need to move back to the dorms,” I said.

  Gaius nodded. “My sentiments exactly.”

  Kael flopped onto the bed, messing the crisp sheets. “So soon? We haven’t even gotten to know each other yet, and that’s the part I’m excited about.”

  “She’s in my space,” Gaius said.

  “Actually, you’re in hers. This is her room now.”

  “It’s our quarters. I don’t need another commoner here intruding on our lives.”

  “You need to be more open to others, Gaius,” Kael said. “Besides, she’s pretty to look at. I like having pretty things around me.”

  Kael’s words made my chest constrict, but I tried to not let them get to my head. “Where’s Rylan?” I asked again. “I need to have a word with him.”

  Kael sat up and patted the spot next to him. “Why don’t you come sit over here and forget about that brother of mine?” His piercing eyes grazed over me, and for a second, his playful demeanor dropped. There was a second emotion there I couldn’t place my finger on.

  “Elder Tindyll talked to me about my moving here earlier,” I said. “Rumors have started, and I don’t need them spreading any more.”

  Kael blew a strand of hair off his face. “Who cares what others think?”

  “You never had to. You’re a prince. Commoners like me are entirely dependent on how we manage other people’s impressions of us.”

  Summoning more courage, I dared slip off my other glove and place it on my desk. A sense of freedom swept over me. I’d always had to cover myself around other people, but I didn’t have to with these princes. I wanted to embrace this moment while I could.

  Gaius’s stomach growled. His eyes widened, then he glanced away.

  “Hungry?” I asked. He had the words “giant asshole” written all over his face, but he had a cute side, which I wasn’t keen on acknowledging anytime soon.

  “Dinner’s in ten minutes,” Kael said, kicking himself to his feet. “Would you like to join us, Sera? Rylan will be there.”

  A royal meal? I had to see that. They fed us well at the council, but maybe the princes had a better assortment of food served to them. The spread in the cafeteria the other way was overtly decadent. “Sure,” I replied.

  Gaius rolled his eyes. “I can’t take this anymore. She’s interrupting our meals as well?”

  “What do you have against me?” I asked.

  “Other than you being lowborn?”

  “I don’t believe I’ve done anything to offend you.”

  “Stepping out of your place, for one.” I could sense he hid the truth behind his tough exterior.

  “Actually, I was dragged here, by Rylan.”

  “You never should have come up to Kael in the first place.”

  Kael cut in, “I don’t regret our meeting one bit.”

  Gaius made an exasperated sound. He shook his head, ran his hand through his short hair, and strode off. “I’ll head for dinner first.”

  “Careful not to trip,” I reminded him.

  He spun around to shoot me a death glare, which didn’t scare me, before leaving the room.

  “We should go too,” Kael said. “Don’t want to keep the others waiting. And I’m famished.” He walked out, and I followed behind him, but not before regarding my papers and books. I had a big tome to go through and summarize for agriculture’s head elder by tonight. The droughts have been giving us more than our fair share of work.

  This new arrangement was causing me more inconvenience than I could manage.

  “Sera, can I sleep with you?” Kael asked.

  I snapped my gaze to his face, having to crane my neck up because he was so tall. “What?”

/>   He held my hand. “I want more of this.” The tingle washed through me. I pried my hand away.

  “Uh, Kael, I don’t think this is appropriate.”

  “Of course it is. Everything is when it comes to me.”

  “Weren’t you courting Lady Carbariel last week?” The girls on the council couldn’t stop going on about it. They’d been disappointed that Kael hadn’t picked them next, as if they stood a chance. Well, I hadn’t either a week ago, so I wasn’t one to say. Maybe I still didn’t stand a chance. Maybe I was misreading Kael’s current strong advances, and he treated every other girl the same way.

  Kael shrugged. “Ditched her. She was getting boring. You, however, are not.”

  Kael coming on this strongly was starting to make me dizzy. “I’m not a toy, Kael, I’ve said that before. I’m not going to be someone for you to have your fun with, then toss aside once you’re done. I have ambitions, which I’ve been working hard for, and I’m afraid being your next project isn’t going to help. With them”

  “Aaand you’re a little bit of a downer, too.” He grabbed my hand again, not willing to let go. I was getting tired of rejecting his advances, and secretly liked it, so I gave in. “It’s all right. It’s better this way. If you swung your arms around me immediately, that’d just be boring.”

  Dragon’s bollocks, Kael alone was too difficult for me to handle.

  “Why the sudden interest?” I asked. “You weren’t this forward yesterday.”

  I was only getting over the fact Prince Kael, one of the most eligible bachelors of Constanria, was holding my hand. Then he pulled me aside and pressed me up against the wall. A crooked grin decorated the side of his lip. “Because you’re pretty.” He took a lock of my hair between his fingertips and brought it close to his lips. “Wispy blond locks, gorgeous green eyes that look like emeralds.” His gaze traveled from my eyes and down to my lips. “Plump lips that look entirely kissable. And you blush when I say something along these lines.”

  A lump hitched into my throat. His scent… his heat… it surrounded me, enclosing me in this bubble that was suffocating. “I… I’m…” I pushed him away from me numbly. He was too heavy for me to make him budge, but he got the message and backed off. “Is that it?” I said, gaining some semblance of control over my thoughts. “You find me attractive?”