67. What you don’t know can’t harm you.

Reya’s presence for The Great Parliament’s meeting the next day was timely and well, shocking.

The whole Parliament had seen her the previous day, seen the wide eyed fear she had on her face when the Oracle had informed her she would die if theirs was not a true mating. Rumors had already begun to spread about it and it was damaging to her reputation. At this point, everyone was waiting for her downfall. The nobles were more than excited to oust her from The Golden Castle so that their daughters could stand a chance at winning the twin princes.

So when Reya swept into the meeting house, chin tilted up in pride when the announcer called her title, *Healer of the lands and the people,* the congregation of nobles were shocked.

Lady Jessica had been useful during the small visit she paid to Reya. She filled her in with as much information as she could and gave her advice that would benefit her in tackling the matter concerning her cure. Jessica was sweet but she was also very calculated, scheming and devilish.

All her life, The Dragons of this island had dealt her a cruel hand. Even though she was hurt, she would not let her emotions break her down. Instead, she would wield the negativity of her anger, of her hurt and grief and teach all of those swaggering fools a lesson.

First, she would deal with the silly nuisances of the Parliament, hunt down the Princes and give them a piece of her mind before tackling Alpha Charles and his red dragon clan.

Reya glided to the table meant for the members of House of Commons, pulled back her chair and plumped down on it, looking as comfortable as ever.

“Did I interrupt?” She smiled sweetly at the gaping nobles, stunned by her supposedly cheery mood.

“Do carry on. I believe I heard voices on my trek to the meeting,”

By now, the older men had already recovered from their initial shock and some were beginning to glare at her.

“While you think yourself so important, we do not entertain late comers clanking their dainty heels on the floor and interrupting our conversations. So thank you for your concern, but you can be silent now,” a noble in blue clothes said, his scanty eyebrows drawn in a frown.

Reya blinked at him, not bothered by his rank but easily discerning he was a noble from the blue dragon clan.

Not a particular target for her fangs and sour mood today, but she would not let any man disrespect her.

“You would find it hard to believe but I barely find myself important, not to you or this entire parliament. Perhaps it is the reason why matters that concern me are dealt with while I am unavailable. But that can be easily fixed, can it not?” She bit right back, turning away with a small scoff, rudely dismissing the Blue noble.

Her eyes clashed with Lady Jessica and even though her face was stone cold, her green eyes sparkled. With an acknowledging tilt of her chin, Jessica looked away.

“Why you-“

“That is enough,” A familiar, cool voice said, stunning Reya momentarily.

Alpha Bevan- *a man she had certainly forgotten about* - the heir to the Blue dragon clan was scolding one of his own for Reya.

“This parliament has done Lady Reya wrong. As such, she has a right to voice her concerns and not get silenced,” he added, eyes glowing a vibrant blue when he saw that one of his own would not back down.

The noble from his clan backed down but clearly, not everyone was under the rule of The Blue dragon clan.

“And what wrong did we do her?” A voice added bitterly.

The Rank of Royal Physicians were given to doctors in the Royal dragon clan. However, none of them were one of the higher or lower Royals and were deemed as regular people. Hence, they were mostly situated in the House of Commons. Also, they could be easily identified by a badge on the right side of their chest, one that was a clear drawing of a dragon curling around a V shaped branch.

That was the only reason Reya could denote the rank of the woman that was speaking.

“You discussed matters that pertained to her without her presence. Are you really feeling entitled enough to stake a claim on what belongs to another?” Alpha Bevan pressed, looking down at the Female doctor.

*’I don’t trust his sudden support,’* Reya thought, staring suspiciously at him.

However, both of them never sat to strike a deal. If he was looking for a favor or something else, she would find a way around it.

For now, she would utilize it to her best use.

“We have laws that govern our association, Alpha Bevan. What belongs to one belongs to all. I was merely fighting for the rights of my kindred. We Royal Physicians stick together with all that we have,” An elderly male voice said, trying to be polite.

Reya scoffed rather loudly, attracting the attention of every noble surrounding her.

“If I am accurate, every doctor in the Royal dragon clan is a Royal Physician. However, there is a hierarchy so that the physicians in the King’s main clan outrank the rest,” she said.

“That is correct,” another voice agreed.

“So why would the Royal Red dragons argue with the other Royal physicians over the rights of the cure? Because every doctor in the clan is a Royal physician. Either way, the Royal red dragons will have part of claim of the cure, am I not right?” She added fiercely,light brown eyes growing hard.

“Yes however-“

“The Royal Physicians are not presenting a United front, whether you like it or not. I’m not sure I will be comfortable handing my cure into that organization,” she added.

This obviously, caused a great deals of murmurs to rise through not only the table, but the courts.

“You speak of the organization as though you were above it. Do not forget Lady Reya, you took the title from the Dragon King- so greedily might I add. That’s all you red dragons-“

“If you’re going to argue with me, I would like a direct conversation. Red dragons have no place in this discussion... well except the Royal ones,” Reya tipped her chin in the direction of the House of Royals.

A bang to the onyx table caused Reya to roll her eyes.

“You are being disrespectful, Lady Reya! The red dragons have abandoned you, leaving you without a clan. We are willing to take you in and protect your interests and yet, this is how you repay us,” the vicious female snarled.

Reya’s only time to recover was a second. She had to school her features to hide her shock. But how? How had everyone already discovered what happened at the red dragon clan?

“Whose interests are you protecting? Now that I have come to interact with a few of you, I can see that you are arrogant lots. Surely, your arrogance would permit you the decency of reaching out to me? Why is this even a discussion? Why do you think you have a right to what belongs to me?”

“You enjoy keeping all the glory to yourself! If the Royal physicians can take custody of the care and understand its content, then we can multiply it and help the areas of the island that are still suffering. You think yourself far too important, for someone that has no name and no clan,”

“No Prince either,” another one coughed.

Reya barked out a laugh, hiding it behind her handkerchief.

These idiots thought they could get to her by using her predicament against herself.

“I assure you, I can produce a thousand cures within a heartbeat. The labs that you offer me are not nearly as good enough as the one I had before. After all, I wiped the Royal dragon clan clean of the disease. Who says I cannot do it to other clans? What sort of help and interest are you protecting when all you care about is the money that comes from the cures? That’s not to say I do not understand you. After all, you had the best resources for medical health and could do nothing about the pandemic. Stop projecting your insecurity on me,” she added bitterly.

“Lady Reya!” An older man banged his hands on the table, his eyes glowing with grey circles.

“I suggest you watch your mouth!”

*’Unable to take the medicine you dished out?,’* Reya scoffed silently.

“I also suggest you watch what you say. You’re projecting your greed in the most embarrassing way possible,” she snapped right back.

“I don’t understand the point of this conversation. What would you do if I revoke my title? I would not even be a part of your organization! What would be your argument?” She hissed, causing a few doctors to pale.

Right on the spot, right where she wanted.

“You have no right to revoke a title gifted to you by The Dragon King! You are disrespectful, arrogant and have no regard for higher authority!”

“Settle down!” Alpha Bevan snapped, clearly irritated by the entire squabble.

“Who’s to say one cannot revoke a title? You Royal physicians do it every time when you retire or suffer terminal injuries,” a younger female shrugged, wrapping a blonde curl around her finger.

“And what is injured about her? Her pride? Lady Reya has injured it far too many times on her own. Forgive them for calling her out on her dishonesty,” Lady Danielle shrugged.

Reya resisted the urge to snarl at her and dutifully ignored the bitter, jilted woman.

“And why do you panic when I threaten to revoke my title?” Reya chuckled, leaning forward.

“After all, the dragon king gifted me such a beautiful title. He said and I quote ‘the highest ranking royal physician’. I outrank you, each and every one of you,”

Certainly, that was what hushed all the Royal physicians.

They thought her stupid, simple minded not to remember the rank that was gifted to her.

She was as good as their head, having an advantage over them all.

“And as such I can claim full possession of my cure, giving only a handful access to it. The cure has always been ours after all, why do you fight me so?” She added sweetly.

Lady Danielle scoffed and rolled her eyes, folding her arms.

Reya however, did not have her time. She woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was spotting an awful migraine coupled with severe, unexplainable cramps.

“It is settled. I want a new laboratory built on the hospital lands. Until then, my cure will remain in the hands of my mate, The Second Prince,” she added, glaring at Lady Danielle meaningfully.

However, she was most certainly not expecting The Red Royals to float down to her table.

They were dressed in blood red garments, crowns of gold and red rubies sitting on their heads.

Lady Jessica had explained the hierarchy to her last night.

Apparently, there were only four sub clans in the Royal dragon clan.

While other clans worked with Head Alphas and sub alphas, The Royal dragon clan functioned as a duchy.

All the various types of dragons were in the clan and hence, each of them had a Duke presiding over them.

“Alpha Charles has handed you into the custody of the Royal Red sub clan, Lady Reya,” the woman said, folding her hands.

“Your possessions and yourself have to be transferred to our territory. Even if you have mates in the main clan, it is inappropriate to live with them,”

*Trap,* her mind screamed.

It was all a tactic to drag her back into Scotland.

This was a tricky situation. She could not show she had a falling out with Alpha Charles in front of her foes and from the smirks of the Red Royals, they knew it.

“While I appreciate the gesture, I am unable to utilize the offer,” Reya said, springing up to her feet.

“The Queen herself has provided me an accommodation and protection. I will not neglect that, or her lessons preparing me to take the rank of First grade Princess,”

The shock on their faces were almost laughable, considering Reya had been mixing truths with untruths.

Reya was not certain she was truly mated to the Princes but nothing could harm her at this point.

*”And who cares if you’re lying or not? If the Princes are your mates, you will not be lying. If they are not, then what exactly is the harm of lying? You would have been dead by then! Surely you cannot care what people say about you when you’re dead,”* Lady Jessica had said to Reya last night.

“Court of Levi,” Reya regarded them.

“Royal Physicians. I am not impressed with how I have been treated today. The Princes are my mates and the Oracle will prove that tomorrow. Afterwards, I will most certainly be engaged to them for marriage. I will be a Princess,” her eyes sliced to Lady Danielle.

“I am not certain it will be wise on your path to refrain from invoking the wrath of your future Princess,”

And with that, she walked out of the meeting, leaving all the common and royal nobles gaping at her.

Two women were standing outside of the meeting house, arms folded and gaze focused on Reya.

The doctor almost gasped in surprise, recognizing Beta Princess Milena. She was standing beside another Princess, one that had features very similar to Princess Milena.

If she was right, then this had to be Princess Natalija, the one that preferred to ally herself to Lady Diana, Danielle’s younger sister during the selection.

She was dressed in those tight leather clothings the shadows wore, bows and arrows strapped around her back and a sword attached to her hip.

“What a convincing act you put up there,” Princess Milena said, features cold and equally bored.

“We’d love to hear more about how you will soon outrank us. However,” Princess Natalija said, walking towards Reya.

“The Lord of The Sea needs you. You have to come with us,”

Reya frowned, stepping back warily.

Her headache was becoming something else and her vision was easily doubling. What was wrong with her?

“What is the matter? What happened to him?”

Princess Natalija rolled her eyes impatiently, digging her hands into a pocket and producing a sheet and pencil.

She scribbled swiftly across it before handing the paper to Reya.

*’Prince Armani started using the dark side of his gift to torture the vampires that stole your cure. If none of us can stop him, he’ll lose control and go on a killing spree,’*