Chapter 32: _ I Met The Dragon Prince

My eyes followed Bren’s gesture toward the far end of the ballroom, where a rather large podium held five elevated thrones reserved for the student royals of each Academy.

Miriel suddenly yanked hard on my sleeve. "Elira, look! Look at how gorgeous the Lion Prince is!"

The Lion Prince was undeniably breathtaking. Golden hair caught the light like spun sunlight. His posture was casual yet commanding, draped in white silk and gold armor that matched the opulent hall.

The Lion Prince was everything people expected a prince to be. Unfortunately, I had already learned that beautiful people in this realm usually came with problems attached.

I looked away.

It was the second throne that made me lose my breath.

The Tiger Prince.

He was dangerously, wickedly hot. Built like an apex predator with broad shoulders, tanned skin marked by faint, and a manly aura so potent it made something primal deep inside my chest want to leap straight at him.

My head throbbed.

What in the hell was wrong with me tonight?

Was this sensory overload?

Was there something in the magical incense floating through the hall?

What made my head spin even faster was his expression.

As if he could sense my eyes on him, his head turned in my direction and our gazes collided like two stars. Despite the hundreds of aristocrats twirling on the floor below him, his hypnotic gaze wasn’t scanning the crowd.

He was staring directly AT ME?

His eyes dropped briefly to the place where my dragon mark should have been. And for some reason, instead of disgust, his expression sharpened with interest.

I saw the small smile curving across his mouth.

It was not the kind given by someone who had just noticed a stranger. The kind given by someone who had just confirmed something.

I had stumbled before I realized the weight of his gaze had made my knees weak.

Bren caught my arm. "Are you okay? You have a way of always looking like you’ve seen a ghost."

This school has a way of always spawning the impossible. I replied to her in my head.

Just like every other girl who wasn’t busy flirting with some over-decorated and pompous noble, the group of wolf girls ahead of us was gushing shamelessly.

"The Lion Prince is even more beautiful in person," one girl said.

Her friend squealed like a rat. "My cousin said he has rejected every engagement proposal sent to his family."

"The Tiger Prince is better. Look at him."

"Better? He’s terrifying."

"Exactly. Terrifying is attractive."

Luckily for my sanity, the remaining three thrones were empty. I’d never encountered the Dragon Prince and Wolf before, but I sure as hell hoped they never noticed me like Raice and now, the Tiger Prince.

They’re late, I thought, letting out a small, trembling breath as I smoothed down my red gown. Good. Let them stay late. If I can get through this night without facing Raice–

The orchestra suddenly cut off mid-note.

Silence dropped over the ballroom like a lead curtain. The entrance doors at the back of the hall slowly, ominously creaked open.

Three figures stepped through the threshold, framed by the pale moonlight spilling in from the courtyard. Even before the room lost its collective mind, I knew who he was.

He didn’t just walk into a room; he commanded the space around him simply by existing. He had long silver hair that fell over his broad shoulders in regal braids.

Within seconds, high-pitched shrieks from noble girls rendered the silence as if it were never there while the male initiates bowed as he passed.

"Prince Remus! Over here!" a girl near the front shrieked, almost throwing herself through the crowd.

"Look at me, please!" another sobbed loudly, clutching a embroidered handkerchief to her trembling lips as tears streamed down her painted cheeks. "Flame God, he’s even more beautiful up close!"

"I love you, Prince Remus!" a third wailed desperately into the crowd. "Take my heart! Just look at me once!"

They called out declarations of devotion, weeping over his grace, completely unbothered by how unhinged they appeared. To those girls, was more than royalty... he was an untouchable deity walking among mortals, and every heart in the hall seemed to break and beat for him all at once.

Flanking him on either side were two identical girls who looked as if the universe had decided one impossibly beautiful noble girl wasn’t enough and simply made a second copy.

Their gowns were breathtaking. Flowing silver fabric accented with deep red embroidery and gemstone details that reflected the colors of royal flame.

Bren leaned toward me. "That has to be Prince Remus and his famous sisters."

"Are you kidding me? Has to be?" Miriel gasped, her fingers digging into my arm with enough force to leave bruises. "That is Prince Remus! And those are his step-sisters, Vaela and Veyra... literally the most elegant, feared girls in the entire Dragon realm!"

Miriel pressed both hands to her cheeks, swooning. "I can’t believe I’m breathing the same air as them. Gods above, if I weren’t already completely in love with my mysterious red-haired stalker, I would hand my heart to the Dragon Prince on a silver platter."

The mention of the red-haired stalker sent a spike of fear through my chest, pulling my mind back to Tobin, the blood in the Sunken Arch, and the trap we were currently walking into. But as the crowd parted to form a wide walkway for the royals, Prince Remus began his descent down the carpeted aisle.

Then, halfway down the walkway, Remus abruptly stopped in his tracks.

His head tilted back slightly. His nostrils flaring as if catching a sudden scent in the heavily perfumed air. His sharp gaze didn’t scan the crowd randomly. One could tell he was actively tracking an invisible trail through the hall.

Beside him, one of his sisters frowned in confusion, her brows furrowing as she followed his fixed gaze into the crowd, trying to see what had completely derailed her brother’s focus.

I read her lips. "Remus, what is it?"

The question barely left her mouth before the entire ballroom erupted and it wasn’t because anyone had heard her. It was because everyone had noticed him stop.

Whispers spread like a wave moving through the room.

"He stopped."

"He’s looking for someone."

"No way..."

"He’s finally choosing."

I blinked. Choosing?