74. Like a woman scorned.

Reya wiped the blood off the corner of her mouth, still taking in the surprise of the meeting house.

However, the element of surprise was no longer on Reya’s side. The courts were stirring, decisions being made for and unfortunately, mostly against her.

“Your opinion only mattered when you were a representative of the red dragon clan,” A voice sneered from the House of Commons.

“But while you were riding your power thrill and jumping from clan to the other, I believe you hardly noticed that,” Lady Danielle sneered, folding her arms.

Reya narrowed her eyes at the sour bitch. Was she really so angry with Reya because The Lord of The Sea left her?

“I was only protecting myself and everything that I stand for,” Reya explained, brushing off Lady Danielle.

Reya also noted that Lady Danielle was acting out arrogantly, rather than taking her usual cunning and calculated steps. Something was wrong with her- maybe a heartbreak?

“Moreover, denouncing The Red dragon clan has given me the liberty to expose them,” she added coolly, facing on every court bravely.

“What do you mean by that?” A red haired Royal said, raising a curious eyebrow.

“I know all of their secrets. I know all of their businesses. Being a red dragon clan member will make me unable to say what he was dealing with because Alpha Charles placed me under *Entolas*” (an Alpha commandment)

“Now you can either decide to listen to me or shush me because I no longer belong to that clan. How’s that?” She asked, sauntering away from the House of Royals and back to her chair beside Lady Jessica.

Reya leaned back in her seat with a small, cruel smirk, basking in the amount of drama she had stirred in The Meeting House.

“I disagree!” A fat and bald noble from the House of Commons declared.

“Nothing, no matter how surplus it is, is worth a deal with those Red dragons. They will eat away at the power we give them and plant seeds of discord in our Parliament!”

Reya scoffed. She had been studying the Parliament from behind closed doors and if anything, they were far from a United front.

Each house was as greedy as the other, seeking deals that were only beneficial to themselves. They killed and slaughtered for what they wanted so much so no noble dared to sleep in the accommodations provided for them in the Golden castle because it meant instant death.

“I agree! They are tricky, dishonest men. I say we do not let them into our ranks either,” someone agreed.

But Reya knew it was not the matter of them being tricksters. They were afraid of being outsmarted by The Red dragons.

“Why? Why do you have a problem with them?” Reya asked coyly.

She did not want to defend them in anyway because they had done their absolute worst to her. However, to be able to pull this off, she needed to bring them into The Parliament.

“There is nothing left in that clan that we may benefit from. The white dragon herself fled and took all of her money and cure with her. You would never do that if you did not think that clan hopeless,” A man in Grey said, his eyes beady and narrowed.

Reya barked out a laugh and shook her head.

“Alpha Charles can survive without my cure. If you must know, he only used it to keep cordial relationships with the other clans. Alpha Charles has money and investments worth billions, businesses that can even rival The Blue dragon clan’s wealth,” she said, willing for her voice to be strong.

She had to pretend that she would rather not rush to her bed and cry over what they had done to her. Reya had to be strong, to be convincing. She had to prove that she was strong willed and witty enough to be First Grade Princess, the first one in over decades. She had to prove that she could be Queen.

“I do not believe you,” Lady Danielle sneered, narrowing her eyes at Reya.

“What makes you think we will believe you? What makes you think we do not realize you are bluffing?”

Even though Reya could see that Lady Danielle was rallying the crowd to her favor, she pretended not to keep eye contact with them.

“This is what happens when you leave your supposed enemies unchecked. No one collects tax from them, no one collects annual dues from them or checks their business. You all claim that The Red dragons are conspiracists, tricksters and thieves. Tell me Lady Danielle, why on the realm of the five pillars will a thief and trickster remain poor after being outcasted as a pariah?” She rose her voice.

“Lady Reya,” a cold voice from the House of Royals said, dragging her attention.

When Reya noticed Lady Bethanie right beside him, she realized it was Beta Prince Reagan.

The same prince that had threatened her before the mate bond test....

“If you have information and solid evidence together with it that suggests that the red dragons are in fact as wealthy as you claim, you should reveal it,” his cold, calculating blue eyes pierced through her brown eyes.

Something about him deeply unnerved her.

“Are we really going to listen to this Red dragon clan reject?” A Grey royal spat, rising up to his feet.

“Reject?” Reya repeated, tilting her head to the side.

The man scoffed and adjusted his crown.

“We know very well how you were chased away from the red dragon clan with your cure on your back. Is this you trying to prove you deserve to go back to that clan? By giving them the much coveted alliance they were seeking?” He snarled.

Jessica clutched Reya’s hand, noting that her face was going carefully blank to hide that she was going pale.

How did this man know what happened back there?

There was no one anyone would know unless Alpha Charles said it himself. Unless....

“It’s not worth it,” another man was agreeing.

“And what if she is a spy? What if they sent her here to cause mayhem in our meeting house? Why do we even trust her word?”

“What is your true aim here Lady Reya?” The Grey Royal asked, narrowing his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps she is trying to embarrass them! She stripped them off the only money they had and wants to expose their poverty!”

“And where has she been the past month? You all but disappeared! What were you doing? Where did you go to?”

Reya was losing the grasp of the crowd quickly and she knew it. So many people were rising up against her and she was beginning to realize that it would not be as easy.

“Perhaps I should remind you all that you are speaking to your future Princess,” Prince Aidan’s voice was somewhat warm, not quite holding strength to it.

Reya would have thought him weak willed if she did not know how cunning the Prince was. He was deliberately baiting them, hoping to draw out their ugliest truths right from their mouths so that he could use their words against them.

“Future Princess? The woman that threatens us with her future power? She needs to be regulated! To be checked! You’re letting her walk over us in this Parliament, barely giving respect to those that deserve it,”

“Is it not enough?” The Lord of The Sea’s voice was cold, his eyes frosting over.

He released the tamper on his power and the salty air of the sea came rushing into the meeting house, silencing the arguing nobles.

“Is it not enough that The King and Queen have given you all title so that you may be deemed Royal. They have made this Parliament up and have made you Princes and Princesses, have made you Dukes and Duchesses. Now you want My mate’s future power to be regulated?” He asked, the fury building up in his voice.

“We only suggest this for the good of the Golden throne. She is power obsessed and we fear that she may-“

The Growl that rippled through the meeting house sent everyone falling to their knees. An unnatural heat and magnetic power pulsed in the meeting house, causing a few to tremble and whimper. It was the power of the dragon king, the one that could make a grown man wet his breeches.

“This is the last time I should ever hear such a suggestion. The next person that has the audacity to bring this matter up will have his tongue sliced and must abdicate his Royal rank. I have made Royals out of people with common blood and this is how you dare repay me? You dare question my authority?” The Dragon King growled, his voice deathly calm but containing a certain fury that made Knees to wobble.

“Forgive us your majesty! Punish us if you see fit! We had no right to suggest something so fickle!”

“I do not know what came over me! Please forgive us!”

“You will now behave civil and act your age. Not a single stupid word from any of your mortal mouths,” King Erik thundered.

And even from afar, Reya could see his head turning towards her.

“Now, Lady Reya. Tell us what you know about the red dragon clan,”

Barely managing to keep her composure, she cleared her throat and spoke.

“The Red dragon lands have good sea routes and they also have mines. Before the fall of the six pillars that caused us to flee the lands of the humans, The red dragons had a prominent jewelry company amongst other businesses. Because the lands they ruled over were carved out and given back to them, they still had their mines. Using their sea routes that have been unchecked due to their banishment, they have been exporting jewels- both refined and unrefined and Crude oil. We all know the wealth that comes from Oil” Reya explained in intricate detail.

Reya could see heads turning, could see whispers exchanged and the greed shining in the eyes of the nobles.

“And do you have any proof of that?” The Sovereign Beta Princess Sophia asked from her court.

“All I have is my knowledge. But I have facts,” Reya explained.

“The price of the diamonds, gold, oil and so many other raw materials that we export to other islands have been steadily declining over the years. There is an over supply even when The Royal Dragon clan hoards their goods to hike up the price. Am I right, Royal treasurer?” She asked.

The frail man nodded and answered.

“She is right,”

“The Red dragon clan has been crashing the economy of the island. Best, they made sure the kingdoms they transacted with kept quiet about their dealings. The other kingdoms even made us start believing that they have mines when our kingdom is the only place rich in minerals. No one knew because they gave them too much independence. This is why I propose that they be brought into the Great Parliament. Let them be regulated or else, our economy will collapse. Let them also pay their dues, their tax. They cannot go scot free with sneaking around,”

And just like that, Reya changed the tides of the entire argument. Everyone that had accused her of said evil things about her where now lost in their thoughts, thinking of the money they could make from the Red dragons. She would have never done this all if it was not for Prince Aidan.... and Prince Armani.

“Although reasonable, this is still a hypothesis. We should investigate The Red dragon clan first. If our findings match her report and we see the mines she speaks of, then we can progress with our consideration of the alliance. On to the next topic!”

Lady Jessica squeezed Reya’s hand with a small, comforting smile.

****************

*”Give,” thrust.*

*”Me,” another thrust.*

*”White,” yet another thrust.*

*”Dragon,” a thrust that twisted her insides.*

*”Babies,” a final brutal thrust.*

Reya woke up with a gasp and jumped down from her bed, her eyes blinded with her sleep and big fat tears.

She would not stop running until she was in the Bathroom, until she was kneeling down in front of the Toilet bowl and retching everything she ate for dinner.

Reya would have loved to believe that she was strong and fierce, that she was a strong woman out for revenge. But deep inside, she was nothing but the broken pieces of a porcelain doll.

It did not matter that her dreadful assault had happened over Seven years ago. She had remembered barely a month ago and the sick, disgusting feeling of Castiel forcefully penetrating her was twisting her mind until she yielded and broke into tiny pieces.

She had not been able to face her mates, knowing that they were soon going to propose. It was not her fault, she knew that of course. But it did not stop her from feeling ashamed for what happened to her.

Gods, she would beg the Queen to make her forget how she was raped. It was the most disgusting and vile thing she had ever seen. Reya could not sleep, could not eat, could not drink. She was becoming paler, her bones sticking out. But she had tried her best, even despite her retching. She hoped she would get some peace...

“Castiel...stop,”

Reya rose from the toilet bowl and jumped back, her hand against her mouth.

How Had the Lord of The Sea caught up with her?

“Your highness-“

The Lord of The Sea took a step towards her, his expression stoic and unreadable. He was wearing a dark trench coat lined with boots and matching pants.

“You kept repeating it before you stood up and ran to throw up. Reya,” his voice hardened as he held her shoulders.

And Reya realized his hands were shaking, that his entire body was shaking with anger.

“What did Castiel do to you? You look pale and unhappy, Tell me,” he charged.

And then Reya bursted into tears, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and clutching him tight.