Chapter Two
Cold has a taste and none at all .Ice, cotton and wind you can't see coming.
It was the first thing that truly stole my breath. It wasn't the damp chill of the South. This was a dry, aggressive cold that clawed at any exposed skin and seeped through the carriage walls to settle deep in my bones. Jei shivered violently beside me, huddling into her thin Southern cloak.
"Breathe slowly," I instructed her, my own voice tight. "It will hurt less."She nodded, her eyes wide as she pressed her face to the frosted glass. "Mwei… look."
I looked. And for a moment, my carefully constructed composure threatened to crack.
The Northern capital, was not a city built upon the mountain. It was a city carved from it, a terrifying and magnificent extension of the rock itself. Structures weren't built with bricks and mortar but were hollowed out of colossal stone spires, their facades etched with runes that glowed with a faint, eerie blue light. Rope bridges and stone arches connected the peaks, swinging precariously hundreds of feet above the ground.And it was alive with movement. But not just human movement.
My mind, ever the merchant's ledger, began its cold, frantic calculus. I saw a hulking, bear-like creature with intelligent eyes and hands full of thick claws, hefting a crate of ore with ease. A slender woman with skin of polished bark and hair like woven moss bartered with a merchant, her voice a soft rustle. A winged man, his feathers the color of slate, landed on a nearby balcony, folding immense wings before stepping inside. These weren't the monsters of Southern fables, mindless and ravenous. These were citizens. Artisans, merchants, laborers. The sheer, normalizing reality of it was more disorienting than any attack.
"They're… everywhere," Jei whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and awe.
"Don't stare," I said sharply, my grip on her hand tightening. But my own eyes were racing, mapping, assessing. That narrow alley between the two rock spires is a perfect ambush point. The main thoroughfare is too open, no cover from aerial threats. The architecture provides too many perches for winged observers. I categorized every being we passed not by its strangeness, but by its potential for threat. The scaled artisan with a hammer could easily crack a human skull. The two-headed wolfhound snarling on a chain could tear a person apart. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat of pure, undiluted alarm.
The carriage didn't slow its ascent, climbing a spiraling road cut directly into the mountain's face. The city fell away below us, a dizzying tapestry of light and shadow in the deepening twilight. We were heading for the pinnacle, towards the palace that dominated the skyline.
By the time our carriage rattles through the northern gates, my breath fogs the air like ghost smoke. Frost clings to the walls, the streets, even the armor of the soldiers standing watch. Their eyes follow us as if they already know the lie stitched into my name.
Jei leans closer. "They're staring at us."she said."Let them," I whisper. "If I'm going to freeze, I'll do it with my head held high."
Ahead, Blackstone Peak rises from the mountain like something grown, not built stone black as night veined with glowing red seams of dragon glass. The air vibrates, faintly alive, as though the mountain itself breathes fire beneath the ice.
The gates open with a groan that sounds too human.Inside waits the court of the North. wolves in silk.I step down first. Heat rolls from the inner halls, chased by the crackle of braziers. The smell of pineneedles , and blood steel fills my nose.Hundreds of eyes follow me.
At the far end of the hall, on a throne carved from dragonbones and ice, sits the man im supposed to marry.his Armor gone atlest , black tunic open at the throat, hair the color of flame and molten copper. He looks like someone born from war and raised alone.
Around him, the nobles stand ranked by house banners.
House Varrin, the white wolf sigil gleaming on their cloaks Klus Varrin at their front, sharp and unreadable.House Dovaryn, crimson-trimmed, eyes proud but cautious.House Halden, robed priests clutching their ice-crystal pendants.House Nyvolk, trade lords with jeweled fingers and calculating smiles.Lady Inara Frostsong, in silver and blue, her voice soft but eyes alert, the only warmth in the room.
Behind them loom the beast kin banners lion, bear, wolf, falcon all watching in wary silence.
A herald's voice breaks the air."Presenting Her Grace, Princess Mwei Jenwhu of the South, bride to His Majesty the Dragon King."
The title burns as it leaves his mouth.
I walk forward anyway. My red gown brushes the frost, leaving streaks like blood behind me, perfect. Jei follows two steps behind, head bowed, hands shaking. I don't blame her. The entire hall smells like judgment.
When I reach the throne's edge, I stop, lift my chin, and meet Valerius's eyes. He doesn't stand, doesn't smile just studies me as though he's reading the fine print of a dangerous contract.
"So," he says finally, his voice low. "The South sends me its brightest flame."he continues."Or its most expendable one," I answer.
The silence that follows is sharp enough to cut skin. Somewhere to my left, a noble gasps. Klus's mouth twitches, almost a smirk.
Valerius's gaze doesn't leave mine, I don't move either. "Expendable or not, you're in my hall now. You'll learn our ways or burn in them."
"Fire's never scared me," I say quietly. "It just shows me who flinches first."
The king's eyes flare amber for a heartbeat dragonfire beneath control. Then he rises, towering, and the nobles bow in a wave of motion."All of you," he says without looking away from me, "remember what you just witnessed. The South sends me a queen, not a lamb."
The words land heavy. A warning i'm not sure but it doesn't matter.
He steps down the dais until he stands close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off his skin. "You may keep your.... maid. For now. But understand this, Princess loyalty here is proved, not promised even if we are to marry."
"I expected nothing less."I say.Something flickers across his face amusement, surprise, maybe respect. He gestures toward the great table at the hall's center. "Then dine, before the ice takes you."The feast feels like a test dressed in candlelight.Roasted stag, black bread, bowls of frostwine that burn colder than fire. The nobles drink and whisper.
"Too proud for a southern girl," someone mutters.
"She'll melt by morning," another sneers.
A third laughs, "If the Dragon King doesn't eat her first."
I smile without teeth. "Weak men always fear strong women," I say loud enough to carry. "They call them witches until the day they need saving."
The whispers choke off. Valerius's hand stills mid cup; his eyes glint like molten glass. Lady Inara hides a smirk behind her goblet.
"Tell me," I add, voice sweet as frostbite, "which one of you wants to test me first?"
No one moves.The silence stretches until Valerius's laugh breaks it low, dark, unexpected."Thats enough," he says. "The Queen has a point. The North could use a few more witches."
He stands. "Tomorrow, she will train with Captain to learn our customs."he says. my body goes tense for a moment.
Klus inclines his head, expression unreadable. "As His Majesty commands."
Valerius looks back at me. "Welcome to the Realm of Fire and Frost, Princess Mwei. From this moment forward, you belong to the North."
I raise my goblet, my voice steady. "Then may the North remember it invited fire inside its walls."
Then, the first attack came.
As I passed the section of nobles, a florid-faced man with a meticulously groomed beard and a corpulent body stuffed into a too-tight silk doublet "stumbled" forward. The movement was too precise, too coordinated. His goblet, full of a deep, blood-red wine, tilted at the perfect angle to empty its contents across the front of my blue gown.
The sound of the gasps that rippled through the court was like a sudden wind. The dark red liquid spread rapidly, a vulgar, blooming stain over my torso and stomach. The insult was as crude as it was deliberate. It was designed to humiliate, to make me flinch, to cry, to reveal the weak Southern flower they all expected.
From behind me, I heard Jei's sharp, stifled intake of breath.
The noble executed a shallow, mocking bow. "My most profound and humble apologies, Your Grace," he said, his voice dripping with false contrition. "How terribly, terribly clumsy of me. This Northern ale is stronger than I am used to."
The entire hall held its breath. This was the moment. Would I dissolve into tears? Would I shriek with outrage? Would I prove myself unfit?
I slowly, deliberately, looked down at the ruin of my dress. I watched the wine seep into the thick wool, darkening it to near-black. I then lifted my head and pinned him with a gaze that was not angry, but held a kind of cold, clinical disappointment. My face remained a mask of polite, icy courtesy.
"The fault is not yours, my lord," I said, my voice clear, calm, and perfectly projected to carry to every corner of the cavern. "It is clearly mine. I must have stepped into your path. I am still, as you see, learning the… particular customs of your Northern court." I let my eyes travel, very slowly, from his face down to his own attire, taking in the slightly frayed cuffs of his doublet, the faded sheen of the silk.
"I see that a certain… frugality is a valued trait here. The conservation of resources is a virtue we admire in the South as well, of course. Though we typically outgrow the habit of spilling our drink like toddlers still in their leading strings by the time we are five." I offered him a smile that was all sharp, polished teeth. "Please, do not trouble yourself with another thought. The stain will wash out. I am told cold water works wonders on even the most set-in… clumsiness."
I delivered the entire speech in a tone of sweet, genuine, almost maternal concern. The silence that followed was absolute, frozen solid. Then, from the monster faction, Gorrok let out a low, rumbling sound that built into a short, guttural bark of laughter. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated amusement, and it broke the spell.
The noble's face underwent a spectacular transformation, flushing from pink to a deep, apoplectic purple. He had been publicly chastised, called a child, and his implied poverty had been highlighted for the entire court, all without me raising my voice, losing my smile, or breaking a single rule of decorum. The humiliation was total and exquisite.
I gave him a slight, regal nod, the kind one gives to a servant who has performed an adequate task, and turned my back on him. I continued my walk to the dais as if the encounter had been nothing more than a minor nuisance, the ruined gown not a mark of shame but a badge of my first victory.
As I passed the monster faction, I saw a beastman massive granite head dip in a single, slow, deliberate nod of approval. The serpent-eyed woman offered a faint, knowing smirk.
When I reached the base of the dais, I curtsied deeply to Realix, the wet wool of my dress cold against my knees.
He was no longer lounging. He was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his steepled fingers. The bored contempt was gone, replaced by a sharp, focused intensity. A faint, dangerous, and genuinely intrigued smile now played on his lips.
"Welcome to Blackstone Peak, Princess," he said, his voice a low, intimate rumble that somehow filled the immense space. He let his gaze travel pointedly from my wine-stained bodice back up to my eyes. "It seems you are a… remarkably quick study."
The message was received by every soul in the Great Hall. The Southern Princess was not prey. She was not a delicate flower to be crushed. She had claws, a sharp tongue, and a nerve of solid steel. And she had just drawn first blood.
The game, I knew, standing there in my soiled gown before the Dragon King, had just begun in earnest. And I was ready to play.
When the feast ends, the nobles file out, their eyes full of things they're too afraid to say. Jei squeezes my hand under the table.
"You shouldn't have said that," she whispers.
"I meant every word," I answer. "Let them learn I don't break easy."
Outside, snow begins to fall, soft and silent.Inside me, something harder burns.I might be a impostor .But this kingdom just met its match
The feast burns out like a dying fire slow, smoky, and full of eyes.When the last cup is drained and the last song fades, Klus appears beside the throne, his shadow cutting the hall in two.
"Your Majesty," he says, then turns to me. "My Queen. I'll escort you to your chambers." he says.
I don't miss the hesitation before he calls me that.My Queen. Like he's tasting the word and finding it strange on his tongue.I have to keep a close eye on him.The nobles part as we pass. Their stares press against my skin, heavy and sour. Jei trails a few steps behind, clutching the small satchel we carried from the South. I glance back once, and she gives me that quiet, trembling smile that says she's still breathing because I am.
The corridors inside the castle feel alive.The walls hum faintly, heat bleeding through the veins of red glass running under the stone. Every torch glows with dragon fire. not flames, but lights bouncing with movement, like something watching.
Klus walks beside me, tall and silent.His armor clicks softly with each stride, and the wolf sigil at his shoulder flashes silver in the torchlight."You don't talk much," I say finally."I don't have much to say."he says.
"That sounds like something people with too much to say usually claim."I say.
His mouth twitches. "You're not afraid to test limits are you."
"No why would i'm a princess as you know,I was raised by liars," I say, shrugging. "Now I just prefer honesty. Even when it hurts."I say truthfully."Then you'll fit in here better than you think."he replies. what is that supposed to mean.
We reach a landing overlooking the inner courtyard. Snow drifts down, glowing faintly orange against the fire lit windows. Somewhere below, soldiers spar steel ringing like church bells.The air smells of smoke, frost, and something wild I can't name.
Klus stops before two tall doors carved with dragon wings. "Your chambers," he says, pushing one open.
The room inside steals my breath for a second.The ceilings arch high, ribbed with black iron beams. A great hearth burns low, its flames casting shadows that dance across furs and velvet. A canopy bed waits near the window, its posts carved into dragons with jeweled eyes. The warmth hits my face like a kiss and a warning at once.
Jei gasps softly behind me. "It's beautiful."she says.
I walk in slow, fingers brushing the velvet curtains. "Almost enough to make you forget it's a cage."I said.
Klus stays near the door. "You'll find it less of one if you don't try to break the bars." he says.I glance over my shoulder. "Is that advice or a threat?"I said.He meets my eyes. "Both." the way he says it I knew he wasn't lying.
The heat between us tightens, sharp as the scent of iron. For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe. Then he steps aside, nodding toward the far wall."There's a connecting door," he says. "To His Majesty's chambers."he continues.I stop moving. "What?"I said.
He gestures towards it as if I wasn't getting the hint.A door of black steel stands half hidden behind the hearth, etched with the same flame and dragon sigil carved into the throne. No lock. Just an emblem pressed into the handle a dragon's eye staring back at me.
"He requested it stay open," Klus adds carefully. "For safety. In case of emergency."I laugh softly. "Of course. Kings always worry about their brides' safety."I say.
He doesn't smile this time. "He worries about your loyalty."he says."So I'm to sleep beside a wall and wonder if it's listening in on me" I say, crossing my arms. "Good to know what marriage means here."I say."Marriage here means trying to survive," Klus says quietly. "For the both of you." he says looking between me and jei
The words sink deeper than I want them to.I look back at the door again the dragon's eye glinting in the firelight and feel a strange pull, not fear exactly. Curiosity maybe, something darker that tastes like defiance.I turn to Klus. "And where will you be, Captain?"I say."In the west wing. Guard post near the Queen's hall."he said.
"Then we'll be neighbors," I say. "How convenient."I continue. There's that almost smile again. "Get some rest, Mwei. Tomorrow won't be so kind."he says.Then He bows slightly and leaves, the door closing behind him with a soft, final sound.
The sound echoed in the luxurious room.Jei turned to me, the hope fading from her eyes as she saw the tension in my posture. "Mwei?"
I didn't answer immediately. I walked to the connecting door and pressed my hand against the cold, unyielding wood. There was no give. It was locked, but from which side? The implication was a violation that made my skin crawl.
I turned and walked to the far wall, running my hand over the smooth, cold stone. There were no seams, no hidden passages. The only ways out were through a locked main door, or a door that led directly into the Dragon King's lair.
I finally looked at Jei, who was watching me, her small form dwarfed by the enormous, fur-strewn room.
"Yes," I said, my voice flat and hollow in the expansive space. I gestured to the riches around us the silks, the furs, the roaring fire. "It's beautiful, Jei. But make no mistake." I let my hand fall from the stone wall, the gesture encompassing the locked door, the connecting chamber, the sheer, inescapable rock surrounding us.
"It is the most beautiful cage you will ever see."
For a long time, I just stand there, staring at that connecting door.
I swear I feel warmth seeping through the cracks like the breath of something waiting on the other side. I take one slow step toward it, my hand brushing the handle. It buzzs faintly under my skin, alive like everything else in this cursed mountain."Don't," Jei whispers from behind me.I drop my hand.The buzz fades.
"Fine," I sigh, walking back toward the bed. "But if it ever opens on its own, I'll take that as an invitation."
Jei just shakes her head, giving me a half terrified, half amused knowing.
"You're going to get yourself killed."she says."Maybe I will" I say, climbing into the bed. "But at least it'll be interesting."I joke.
The fire pops once, loud as a heartbeat.Somewhere beyond the wall, I think I hear footsteps deliberately, pacing around .I tell myself it's just the guards.But a part of me knows better.