47. The Queen’s Diary

*The Dark Tunnel *

Fenris had decided to carry out his plan. He entered the dark tunnel connected to the outside of King’s Harbor, and its damp chill dissipated the unbearable heat. The dragon capital’s hot climate was one thing he couldn’t stand. One more reason to quickly settle his business and return to the north.

The second prince of the werewolf kingdom wasn’t a fan of the dragon realm, nor would he visit if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. But it would be foolish not to invade during such a rare opportunity. The whole nation had lost their dragon spirits, which meant they had lost their power. He had been waiting for his chance ever since.

He believed that the scarred dragon prince would never discover his true intentions. Remus’s ambition had never disappointed him. From the day he learned Remus planned to steal Thorn’s throne, he had started to carry out his plan. He orchestrated the attack at Ironedge to establish contact between the two kingdoms and even offered the poison to Remus to finish off his most powerful rival. All he needed was a reason to persuade his brother, Olcan, to invade. Then, he could find an opportunity to kill Olcan and blame it on the dragons. Now the time had finally come. He was mere steps away from becoming the king of the North.

“Is Thorn still in the West?” he asked his squire, who was walking like a shadow alongside him.

“Yes, your grace. Our men have been tailing him ever since he left the Misty Mountains.”

“Any good news?”

“He’s not dead yet. He’s a tough man, not showing any signs of an injury since he was poisoned by the Snow Kiss,” the squire added, “But the Frozen Sunset was delivered by the dragon princess, and our men watched him drink it.”

“Good,” Fenris chuckled, “that poison is a true wonder. Give it a couple more days, then it will have an irreversible effect. I can’t believe Remus actually thought it was an antidote to the Snow Kiss.”

“May I ask, your grace, why didn’t you just tell him it was another poison that looked just the antidote, that it was actually even deadlier than the Snow Kiss? Remus wanted him dead as well.”

“We couldn’t afford any mistakes. They are family, after all. Who knows if he could actually kill his half brother. But I’m glad he has a cold heart. Thanks to that, the legendary dragon prince will freeze to death from the inside out.”

“No one can compete with your genius,” the squire crooned, “And no one can survive the two fiercest poisons of the Northern Realm—not even Thorn.”

Fenris was very much pleased with his wicked operation. By getting closer to Remus and gaining his trust, letting him think that the second werewolf prince would help him steal the dragon throne, Fenris could use his trust to his own advantage.

He possessed knowledge of the unguarded secret tunnel, had personally settled the death of his one and only nephew, and the most powerful dragon prince in the kingdom would die any second; the gods of the two ancient realms were blessing him.

Fenris couldn’t help but chuckle as he thought about becoming the almighty ruler of both kingdoms. “You know what?” he said to the squire, “I may even have a dragon princess as my queen.”

“A dragon princess?”

Fenris laughed but didn’t say any more. The image of a teary-eyed Rina sitting naked on the roof had made an unforgettable impression on him. *Who could have guessed that his mate would be a dragon girl?* But business came before beauties; he would make Rina his obedient queen after he banished the rest of her family from the realm.

They finally reached the end of the tunnel. Before the iron gate, he stopped and spoke to the people waiting at the other end. “Smooth trip?”

“Open the gate, Fenris,” Olcan said, sounding extremely distressed.

Fenris lifted the gate and led Olcan in along with all of the werewolves who had accompanied him to the Misty Mountains. They were the strongest werewolves in the northern kingdom, but Olcan’s beta Ulric was absent.

“Where is my son?” Olcan blurted out the question as he tried to restrain his overwhelming grief and rage.

“I will take you to him now,” Fenris answered, faking a sad expression.

--

*Main Palace*

Rina had intended to land on the terrace of Amaya’s bedchamber, but she was stopped by the Frost Stone sealing the window. She had to make a detour and land in her own room.

She put on a cherry red satin cloak and walked down the hallway. The palace was completely silent. The servants were trailing along the sparkling walls, quietly doing their work and not daring to make any unwarranted noise.

Rina approached Amaya’s bedchamber door, and was surprised to find that it was locked. She realized something was wrong. Her first reaction was to find Eros.

On her way to the king’s chamber, he saw Dagen rushing down the hall while trying to open a locked notebook in his hands.

“Dagen? What the hell is going on?” Rina came to him and asked, “Why is Mother locked in her room?”

Dagen lifted his head. Seeing it was Rina, he rolled his eyes and said, “It’s a long story. Father’s gone crazy.”

“Wait...what? What happened? What does he want to do!?” Rina exclaimed.

“It has something to do with the death of a grey dragon woman. She brought Leila over to her adoptive house. But that’s just an excuse. He wants to see Mother punished, because he believes the she’s the one to blame for the disappearance of the dragon spirits,” Dagen rumbled impatiently.

“What do you mean? Does this have something to do with that mongrel again?”

“Hey! Watch your language—she’s not a mongrel. She’s the princess of the Stormy Clan and may become your sister-in-law one day,” Dagen stated, warning his arrogant sister.

Rina rolled her eyes. Since she had run into Fenris, the mysterious and handsome northern prince, she had suddenly forgotten all about Thorn, but she still wasn’t interested in having a sister-in-law. Moreover, she felt like she was missing a huge amount of information. “Are you talking about that legendary ancient clan? My world is turning upside down! Who knew? A mongrel can be a fucking princess now!” Rina shook her head and focused on the pressing issue at hand. “What should we do? We can’t just let Father do this to Mother!”

“I know…” Dagen scratched his head. “Even though they’ve had countless arguments and fights before, it’s much more complicated and serious this time. I don’t know who’s telling the truth. They clearly have some resentment towards one another.”

At the mention of complication, Rina suddenly recollected the strange tragedy she had just witnessed. “I just saw a young boy, dead, at the city’s main dock. He had a mark on the center of his spine, a crescent moon.”

“What?” Dagen replied, astounded, “Isn’t that a sign of a royal werewolf?”

Rina nodded. “The boy was found dead by a fisherman. Lots of people saw his body. The news must have spread by now.” Just as she began to consider whether it was necessary to mention the gorgeous wolf prince she had spotted, a golden knight ran towards them.

“Prince and Princess,” the knight bowed to the both of them, then reported to Dagen, “Werewolves were observed on the border of the city.”

This was more astonishing news for Dagen. *How dare the northern wolves blatantly show themselves in the dragon capital*? “How did they get in? Every entrance has been locked down.”

“The knight commander suspects they had been hiding within the city even before the lockdown,” the knight answered.

Dagen sighed, “Any news on Remus?”

The knight shook his head.

“Has Remus disappeared again?” Rina asked.

“Yes. We’ve been searching for him. Father wants him back at the palace.” Dagen got ready to rush off again. “Do you have any idea where he might be?”

“No,” Rina lied, “But I can help you find him.”

“Thanks. Let me know if you find him. I bet that bastard is hiding somewhere in the city. How can he be so irresponsible, at a time like this? I need to check out the werewolves now,” Dagen said, “Can you put this on my desk? Father accidentally dropped it in the hearth. He’s really in a terrible state of mind now.”

Rina took the notebook. She saw it’s title, *Tora’s diary*; she had seen it before on Eros’s table. “Alright. Be careful.”

However, after Dagen went off to deal with the wolves, Rina chose not to place the diary on his desk. Her mind was filled with one thing, and that was to find her twin, Remus. All her life, whenever any kind of issue arose, Rina always talked to him first.

This time was the same. Rina knew that her brother must have his reasons for hiding from the golden knights, and he would know how to rescue their mother. Fortunately, she knew just the place to go, and she set off for Oliver’s place, diary in hand. But Rina never could have imagined the great, royal secret concealed within the locked diary.