When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER TWO POINT FIVE

SHADE'S POV

The emperor's bargain to end the war with his meager treaty was useless. Emperor Nepheus had an ego the size of his gargantuan castle and it was just as easy to see through him as it was his home of ice. His solution to ending the war was to have his powerless daughter marry me, the Prince of Ravos. 

The Nyrial Empire would regain their power amplifier – Armaeda, Nepheus' dragon – and their troops would stop dying in the Voltant Isles. All Draconians would be unstoppable with the renewal of their amplified powers due to the dragon's close proximity to them once again. Armaeda's current location in my kingdom was fueling our powers while the Nyrial Draconians' were weakening.

The only benefit my kingdom would gain was access to the empire's resources – resources we did not need in our state. 

There was a reason the Ravos Kingdom was as desolate and bleak as the organ pumping poison through my veins. 

And it was Emperor Nepheus' fault. 

I would never marry Princess Aeryn Glastos. I could deal with my father's wrath regarding my refusal. The daughter of my enemy, on the other hand, was a battle I could not win without a life – or two – being lost. 

Hardly constrained rage heated my pale cheeks and lit a fire under my translucent skin as I stormed through the ice castle. The torches snuffed out as I passed by them, fangs digging into my lip as I forced back the growl tearing up my throat. 

It was an insult for Emperor Nepheus to offer up his weak daughter to marry me. It was as if he thought it was an even trade and she was suitable to be my wife. 

I was a weapon. My father knew it and from the desperation in Emperor Nepheus' voice to conclude the war, he knew it, too. He needed me on his side and the proposal was the only way he'd guarantee it. 

The feeble girl had better odds of surviving on the front lines of the war than she did with me as her husband. If she got too close to me, it would be the last thing she ever did. 

I shoved through the next set of doors I encountered and stepped out into the night. I was met with a narrow ledge that dropped off into a steep cliff above a set of icy spikes jutting out from an outcropping on the mountain. The squalling winds knocked the hood of my robe off and tossed the wintry strands of my hair in every direction as it sent flurries of snow in my face. I lifted the hood and leapt off the edge, allowing myself to plummet towards the deadly shards of ice awaiting an unlucky victim's fate. 

"I'd come save you, but this is not how you meet your end," a gruff voice called from below. 

I closed my eyes and let out a huff of annoyance as I continued to fall. 

"Open your wings any second now," the visitor said, sounding closer, "Don't prove me wrong." 

Opening my eyes, I met the intense violet-eyed gaze of the shifter standing amidst the death trap and snapped my wings open. Suspended in the air, I crossed my arms over my chest and hitched a brow as smoke twisted around the lethal icicles. 

"I am not going through with it," I refuted as I landed between the ice spears. Turning toward the Ravos shifter, I said, "I'm not marrying that girl." 

She'd been petrified. 

Of me. 

I didn't blame her. I scared myself sometimes. Not only was I a weapon, but I was also a promise. 

A promise of certain death. 

Aeryn Glastos should fear me. 

The knowing smile spreading across the shifter's lips made my stomach churn with unease. The only part of his face not covered by bone were his lips and jaw. Ivory horns curled downwards from his head as if they were reaching for the cracked cheekbones on his face. 

"My prince," he said, humor breaking through the rasp in his tone as his red-lined violet irises glinted in the moonlight, "if only your power was to intervene with your fate. Your touch is enough to bring about another's fate, but the one you wish to control is out of your hands." 

"That does not sound promising." 

"It is just as promising as an engagement is to remain together forever." 

"Edge, you speak in riddles and metaphors. There is no need to sound prophetic. Just give it to me straight up. How does this treaty end?" 

Edge rubbed the center of his palm with a thumb as smoke billowed from the obscured symbol marking his hand. Meeting my eyes, he gave a slight shake of his head. 

"There is no end; only sacrifice." 

"I'm about to sacrifice you if you don't give me a straight answer," I threatened. 

Edge clicked his tongue and smirked as he lifted a finger. Waving it back and forth, he said, "You are not the death of me, my prince. My princess comes closer to it than you ever will." 

My eyebrows narrowed. "All the more reason not to accept the proposal." 

"It is not your decision to make. Not yet." 

I opened my mouth to offer a smart retort when he continued, "I must go. It is almost time to formally meet my princess." 

With that, Edge unfurled his torn wings and launched himself into the night sky. 

Sighing, I opened my hand and stared at the Insignia damning me with the power that drained even more of my humanity each time I was forced to use it. 

I despised the Nyrial Draconians for what they have done and continue to do to my species. The hatred I had for them knew no limit. 

But it was nothing compared to how much I loathed myself. 

Closing my hand into a tight fist, I shoved it deep in the pocket of my black cloak and stared up at the distant stars pulsing in the sky as the cool air brushed my cheeks. 

Soon enough, my wife would be engaged to her assassin whether I meant for myself to play that role or not. I had no choice in the matter to rid Traeveria of the heir to the world's most abominable man – my Insignia made sure of it. 

Aeryn Glastos was not going to be my wife. She was not going to be the Princess of Ravos. 

She was going to be an example to the Nyrial Empire of just how much vengeance we'd been storing. 

She was going to be a martyr to her people and the symbol of freedom to mine. 

It all came down to one simple touch and she would be dead. Emperor Nepheus had no other heirs and once we were able to gain his trust, it would make it that much easier to infiltrate his empire and take his head.

The Ravos Kingdom was going to be restored – and it started with eliminating Princess Aeryn.

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Hi everyone! I've decided to add a few chapters with Shade's POV throughout this story as I edit it. Once I finish editing and adding new Shade chapters, I will continue uploading chapters to the sequel. :)

I understand this story must sound confusing, but it will start to make sense!