Chapter 74

SEVEN.

My ears start to ring, but even then, I hear every single word that Professor Venetia says next.

"It would be a wonderful union," he says, and everyone is nodding. "Of course, they will not be married until they finish school, and event when they do, they would still be free to pursue personal interests. But I believe that this will make our people stronger, a bond between two of the most powerful Dragon houses."

He has a point. I won't begrudge him that. The people in the room seem to be more welcoming to that idea than the prospect of me becoming the King. I suppose that this was done intentionally too, to make me seem a better candidate.

I look at my dad and I figure out that the idea must have come from him and Professor Venetia. Their faces are the only ones here that contain a trace of guilt.

The meeting seems to be heading into something a lot more positive but I can’t stand to hear any more of it. I'm zoning out. The bomb has been dropped and everything has turned into smoke and ashes in my head.

So I raise my hand and say, "The meeting is now adjourned."

I don't know if I have the right to do that. I probably don't, because they're all looking at each other like I just asked them to slay each other right in front of me.

But I don't care. I don't want to be here anymore. If they're going to give me power that I didn’t ask for in the first place, I might as well do something with it. "Please. This meeting is over now. We are all free to leave."

The Anatoly lady is at it again. "But the tourney—"

"The tourney can wait before new year," I say hastily. "There's no point doing it on the solstice now. It's only an honorary celebration at this point as well. I hope that solves everything."

With that, I get to my feet and they all do as well. I leave, and I notice that someone is running up behind me. It's Dad, followed by someone I didn't expect. Amelie.

"Seven," she calls out after me in a low voice. "Seven, I promise I didn't...."

"I know," I say, knowing what she was going to say next. "It's not your fault. We were just dragged into it by people who think they know better."

Dad shifts in his spot uncomfortably.

"I'm so sorry," Amelie whispers, and I'm surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I know that you... I know that June—"

"It's alright," I interject, stopping her before she lets something slip because of pure emotion. "I understand, and you don't have to apologize."

I turn around and leave, followed closely by Dad. I get into my own car and I'm surprised that he follows me, getting into the passenger seat without a word. I can tell that he's watching me, but he doesn't say anything until we're well away from the school property.

"I'm proud of you," he starts.

"For what?" I retort. But to be honest I don’t know why he would say that to me. "For being a fire wielder and getting the throne without competition? Without effort? We both know it's wrong. We both know that it's not the way it should have gone."

"I don't know about that, to be honest," he finally confesses. "The hunt has been done for what... centuries now? It's not like it yielded the best results every time. The crown still remains elusive and perhaps it no longer even exists. I don't know why that never occurred to them but I can say now that what if the Crown got destroyed? What if there's no way to recover it? They were right for not wanting to waste time on it."

"It got lost for a reason," I mutter, understanding now that all of it was just a need for direction, a need to change a tradition that yielded them nothing and didn't get them the freedom they wanted.

And now they just found out that I'm the perfect scapegoat for it.

But if they're pushing me to a place of power, I might as well arm myself with the best weapon I can have.

Something that won't let them undermine my rule. Something that will let them know I really deserve it, that I should be respected.

The Crown.

I need to find the Crown.

* * *

JUNE.

The last days of school pass by like a breeze. Now that I no longer have to work, things are admittedly a lot easier. I go home on time now, and I'm free to do a lot of things.

The problem is, I just don't have a lot of things to do, and Tiffany seems to be falling apart.

I can't talk to her anymore. She doesn't confide in me anymore. I've always wanted to ask if this whole thing still had something to do with Vlad, because I would be happy to help her move on.

But right now, I have no idea. There's just nothing I can get from her.

It's Christmas eve now, and the night should be remotely happy. I even have a gift lined up for her, a phone case that I decorated myself, but I don’t know if she's in the mood to be down here with us all as we set up the dinner table.

"You should call her and tell her it's time to have dinner," Uncle Brian tells me. "She can't go on eating nothing but her tears. This is getting ridiculous."

I almost tell him that he's being too harsh, but I just bite my tongue and nod. I go up the stairs and head to Tiffany's room.

I'm about to raise my hand and knock, but that's when I notice that she's talking to someone.

I freeze. I let my hand fall limply to my side as I listen closely to what's happening. I can hear her whispering. Some of the words I can't make out... but some of them are crystal clear.

"... I don't know if I'm capable of doing that yet," Tiffany says, and I have to frown and scratch my head because who the hell is she talking to? On Christmas eve, no less. "I don't think I can hurt her."

Okay, now it's just getting weirder. Is she talking to Vlad over the phone?

There's a voice that answers, and it's a female voice. At first it's just a calm little hum but then it solidifies enough for me to recognize it.

Miss Hera.

But something is strange about her voice. It's not the muffled kind of quality you would expect from a loudspeaker. It's clear, as silent as it it, and it sounds like she's in the room for real.

But that can't be possible, right?

I listen closely, her voice still low enough for me to not make out the words. I close my eyes, concentrating on it, and finally I'm able to hear parts of what she's saying.

"It doesn’t have to be all of it... doesn't have to be tonight either... need to have is that necklace she always wears."

My blood runs cold. My necklace? How does she know about my necklace?

I almost press my ear against the door, desperate to hear more. But it's nearly nothing now. I can't hear them talking anymore.

In fact, it has gone totally silent on the other side of the door.

Now fear is creeping up my throat. I try to get away but then I hear Miss Hera saying, "I think someone is out there who might be listening. Why don't you go open the door, Tiffany?"

Footsteps follow that. All the instincts in my body jump into alert mode, and I find myself rushing down the stairs and streaking straight into my own room before closing and locking the door behind me.

That was unbelievably close, and I don't even know what's happening, exactly. I don't even know what Tiffany was going to do if she indeed catches me at the door.

But then again... how on earth did Miss Hera know that I was there?

I was ready to pass it off as Tiffany just having the best sound system money can buy, but the more time passes, the more I believe that that isn't the case. First off, I don't know Miss Hera to have some kind of open slot for outside work during a holiday. Second, I don't know why she knew someone was there. But lastly... what does she want with my necklace?

I'm starting to panic. But it only gets worse when I turn around in my room and suddenly see little pebbles on the floor. They're directly spread out from the open window.

I frown, and just as I'm about to pick one up, another one comes sailing right into the room from the open window.

One flies up again, this time hitting the glass pane. My heart leaps into my throat. Someone from below is trying to catch my attention.

But who could it be?

My chest is still hard with fear as I look below, and my knees nearly give way when I finally see who's waiting for me.

Dad.