Chapter 8


    The Death Sentence


    It took all of Cassandra’s willpower to not stare at the dragons, to keep looking down and wait behind


    Kairen. They were like his majestic ck Dragon, but smaller ones and differently colored. She


    remembered the ughter they had inflicted just hours earlier in the arena and shivered. They weren’t


    calm. Even while standing right next to their masters, one could tell that only the chains were really


    holding them. They were agitated, ring at the people around them, and pulling on their restraints.


    The purple one in the cage kept growling for no reason, frightening the Fifth Prince’s concubines each


    time.


    “That’s right, Kairen. I heard you were enchanted by a ve from today’s games?”


    Cassandra jumped. She had almost forgotten the “ve” in question was herself! What would the


    Emperor say? She didn’t dare move from her spot, waiting to see how Kairen would respond. But


    instead, the Second Prince clicked his tongue.


    “To think, after presenting him with countless concubines, our brother’s interest would be a ve…You


    really do have odd tastes, Kairen.”


    “Brother, is that true?” A young, feminine voice suddenly asked, “A ve?”


    Cassandra hadn’t realized Princesses, other than Shareen, were there too. From what she recalled,


    there were six Princes and at least twice as many Princesses, but she only counted five women


    present, each with their own golden seat like Shareen’s. The one who had spoken appeared to be


    among the youngest. Kairen ignored her, but another Princess, this time in a seat closer to him, raised


    her voice.


    “This is inappropriate. How can we allow lowly, filthy ves in our presence? Brother, you are far too


    lenient. That kind of dirt belongs to the lower sses. You should have proper concubines and proper


    servants.”


    From where she sat, Cassandra could see the Princess’s ck hair and as she turned her head,


    Cassandra looked down just in time. She hadn’t been caught staring, but nevertheless, she felt the cold


    re of the Princess.


    “As high and mighty as ever, Phetra…” sneered Shareen, while taking a seat close to the Emperor. (1)


    “You and Kairen should be ashamed of yourselves. Meddling with lowly servants and, worse, ves!”


    But Shareen snickered at her angry sister.


    “Someone needs to stop talking out of her ass…” she muttered. (4)


    But she had said it just loud enough for most people to hear. A few concubines and servants chuckled.


    But what happened next silenced them all. In a sudden and swift movement, Phetra took out a whip


    andshed it in the direction of one of the servants. She caught a man by the throat and hisugh died


    right away, leaving only an expression of pure terror on his face. Phetra snapped her whip and threw


    him right into the cage of one of the colored dragons. The Purple dragon inside jumped on the man,


    instantly ripping his body in half. All the concubines nearby were sttered with blood.


    An ice-cold silence befell the room, apart from the dragon’s loud chewing. Cassandra was frozen in


    an inch, both he and his sister were ring at Phetra.


    But the Princess looked satisfied with herself as she pulled back her whip. The Emperor sighed.


    “Phetra, not while we’re eating.”


    “Sorry, Father.”


    She didn’t look apologetic at all though, only giving her siblings a prideful smirk. Meanwhile, Cassandra


    was still terrified. This family was far too scary. They killed without a shred of remorse or restraint, and


    for such ridiculous


    reasons too. Moreover, she felt like Phetra had only done this to infuriate Shareen, whom she couldn’t


    confront directly.


    Princess Shareen was ring at Phetra, not hiding her annoyance very well. Cassandra had a feeling


    that the hatred between all the siblings had deeper roots than a mere confrontation about servants and


    ves. She observed them more carefully now. Phetra had a lot ofmon traits with the Second


    Prince. Just like Kairen and Shareen, could those two be siblings from the same mother?


    “Enough killing already, all of you. Let’s see the next dancers. And Phetra, do not kill your siblings’


    servants. I’m fed up with your little squabbles.”


    “Yeah, how about you just kill your own servants instead!” protested the Fifth Prince, clearly annoyed.


    Cassandra looked around. Despite staying silent, the other Princesses seemed either shocked or


    annoyed at Phetra’s disy. It wasn’t just Shareen. It didn’t seem like that Princess was particrly


    popr amongst her siblings at all.


    “Mine know their ce, Brother. But Kairen seems to need help teaching his,” stated Phetra, before


    turning to Kairen. “Do you need help, Brother?”


    Cassandra immediately felt the Princess’s venomous re and wicked intent. Even if she was only a


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    disposable ve, that woman’s bloodlust was definitely not normal! But Kairen just red back.


    “Mind your own business, Phetra.”


    “I only mean to help. Maybe, Kairen…”


    A growl suddenly resonated through the hall. Cassandra looked up by reflex as the sky was suddenly


    covered by a dark shadow. Around her, several people gasped or shrieked. The ck Dragonnded


    right behind its master, next to Cassandra, and growled furiously at Phetra as if it was echoing its


    master’s anger. 1


    “Try me again,” threatened Kairen. (9)


    But this time Phetra stayed silent. Her proud attitude from earlier had disappeared as soon as she had


    fixed her eyes on the ck Dragon. The Princess gulped and stopped boasting, her head and


    shoulders dropped down as the dragon continued to growl at her. (2)


    Shareen snickered. (1)


    “That’s my son!” eximed the Emperor, visibly proud. “Kairen, why didn’t you summon him earlier?”


    “I didn’t have a reason to…” Kairen hissed, still ring at Phetra.


    Shareen and the Emperor were the only ones happy with the ck Dragon’s arrival. Everyone else


    seemed uneasy or scared and for good reason. Its size was far more imposing than the other beasts,


    as were its ws and fangs. The other dragons became agitated seeing their peer. Cassandra


    wondered if they naturally feared it.”


    “How impressive… She really isn’t scared at all.”


    Cassandra suddenly realized one of the Princesses was talking about her. She felt several eyes on her


    and looked down hard, feeling anxious. Indeed, therge dragon was standing with its head right next


    to her, its huge body so · close that she could feel the heat. Its presence wasn’t scary for Cassandra.


    She was more frightened by the human beings in the room than the beast who had its red eyes on her


    – eyes filled with the same curiosity as before.


    “That’s an interesting one you have there, Kairen,” said the Fifth Prince. “To be able to stay so close to


    your beast and not be scared at all.”


    Cassandra again felt several stares on her, wishing she could hide, when a low growl suddenly got her


    attention. Curling himself up around her, Krai, the ck Dragon, gently pushed her with its head and


    rubbed its warm scales against her arm. How could she ignore the beast? She dared a nce towards


    Kairen but he was ignoring her, his eyes focused on his siblings. For once, she wished her master


    would spare a nce her way, giving her some clue


    as to what she was supposed to do.


    Krai nudged her arm again and, with a discreet movement, she gently caressed its scales. He growled,


    a very deep sound that was an obvious disy of satisfaction. Cassandra blushed slightly, surprised to


    have a dragon almost purring from her touch! (10


    “Look at this! The woman is obviously a sorceress! To charm an Imperial dragon like so! Let’s just


    behead her now and put an end to this…” (2


    “Silence…”


    Before the Second Prince could finish his sentence, Kairen’s words cut him off.


    “Or would you like to try and take her from my dragon?”


    Hearing this, Krai growled threateningly. Several women cried in fear and the whole ce dissolved


    into chaos with the other dragons growling back and the servants trying to calm everyone down. Still,


    they all avoided the ck beast. Krai was getting agitated, standing guard over Cassandra, and


    growling at the Second Prince.


    The ck Dragon was sorge that it didn’t even realize it was shoving Cassandra around. Forced to


    the ground, she suddenly feared it would stomp on her like a mere ant under its ws. The scales over


    her were moving so frantically, she couldn’t tell what was going on.


    Suddenly, arge hand grabbed her out of the chaos, pulling her from under the dragon. It took her a


    second to realize Kairen had brought her to safety, holding her against his chest. Behind them, the


    ck Dragon was still growling and stomping around, but she barely noticed it now. All she could hear


    was her own heart, beating too fast in her ears. (2


    ***


    Cassandra slowly opened her eyes.


    Where was she? It took her a few seconds to recognize the room and remember the prior events. The


    Prince’s chambers! It was still dark though. What happened at the banquet? She could only remember


    up to the point where the dragon was going wild.


    She realized she wasying in a real bed and feeling… warm. She couldn’t remember thest time she


    had felt so content or slept in real sheets.


    However, she couldn’t move an inch. Something hot was pressed against her body and Cassandra


    gasped – it was a man’s arm! Moreover, she recognized the scaled braces! She froze, almost unable to


    breathe. She wasn’t just in the Prince’s bed, he was in it too!


    “…How are you feeling?” the deep voice next to her ear surprised her.


    How did he even know she had woken up? He was holding her from behind, his strong body right


    against her skin. As Cassandra attempted to move she realized someone had bandaged her injured


    wrist and it smelled of herbal medicine, too. (1)


    “My Lord, what happened?” she inquired in a whisper.


    “You copsed at the banquet.”


    She tried to remember, but the void seemed to confirm what he was saying. It wasn’t that surprising.


    She hadn’t eaten in two days, and she wasn’t in great condition to begin with, and then to have had so


    many emotions in one day. It was a lot to deal with.


    * You didn’t answer.”


    “I’m better, my Lord,” she replied right away, afraid he might be angry.


    “…I see.”


    He stayed silent after that and Cassandra wondered if he had gone back to sleep; she definitely


    couldn’t This situation was just unbelievable.


    She should have died as a nameless ve mere hours ago. So why was it that now she was


    clothes, something a ve couldn’t ever dream about in a hundred years! What kind of Prince showed


    interest in a ve, and acted as no one else would? Was it only because of his dragon’s interest in


    her?


    What would happen next? She was perfectly aware of her impossible situation. Someone would kill her


    sooner orter for overstepping her ce. The Third Prince Kairen was indeed a stubborn and strong


    man, but he wouldn’t care for her forever. 1


    Presuming her death sentence had only been dyed, Cassandra shivered. Was this what it was like


    experiencing heaven before you die?


    She slowly tried to wiggle away, to leave the bed before something happened. She should definitely not


    be here. For a ve like herself, even the floor of this bedroom was too good. She had to leave, to


    sleep in the kitchens or anywhere else, but definitely not in her new master’s bed!


    “Where are you going?”


    Kairen had sensed her moving and held on to her even tighter. Cassandra shook her head, trying to


    free herself.


    “I cannot be here, my Lord, I…”


    “Enough.”


    He suddenly pushed her down into the mattress and positioned himself over her, looking down with


    angry, obsidian eyes.


    “Why is it that you’re constantly trying to run away from me?”


    *Author Note: Thank you for reading my Story! I hope you’re enjoying it so far, please like,ment &


    add to your library if you like it!