Chapter Two
Cold has a taste and none at all .Ice, cotton and wind you can't see coming.
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. 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, voice low, rough with smoke. "The South sends me its brightest flame."
"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 Varrin's mouth twitches, almost a smirk.
Valerius's gaze doesn't leave mine. "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 command. A warning. Maybe both.
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."
"I expected nothing less."
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? One on one seems fair."
No one moves.
The silence stretches until Valerius's laugh breaks it low, dark, unexpected.
"Enough," he says. "The Queen has a point. The North could use a few more witches."
He stands. "Tomorrow, she will train with Captain Varrin to learn our customs."
Klus inclines his head, expression unreadable. "As His Majesty commands."
Valerius looks back at me. "Welcome to the Realm of Fire and Frost, Mwei Thauk Raelix. 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."
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 their impostor queen.
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."
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.
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 of Blackstone Peak 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 light alive 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."
His mouth twitches. "You're not afraid to test limits."
"I was raised by liars," I say, shrugging. "Now I just prefer honesty. Even when it hurts."
"Then you'll fit in here better than you think."
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."
He doesn't smile this time. "He worries about your loyalty."he says."So I'm to sleep beside a wall and wonder if its listening in on me" I say, crossing my arms. "Good to know what marriage means here.""Marriage here means trying to survive," Klus says quietly. "For the both of you."
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."I said.
"Then we'll be neighbors," I say. "How convenient."I continue.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.
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 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.