Skylar stared up at the young man. He wasn't unattractive with short cut hair and fine-boned features. He was shorter than Orion, and much narrower. He was also far more arrogant.
She didn't think that was possible.
Besides, she found Orion's arrogance oddly endearing, mostly because he didn't even realize he did it. He was an Alpha, and he was used to being listened to. He likely couldn't help but think he was important. This man on the other hand had no reason to think so highly of himself, and his arrogance was less regal and more slimy.
Where was Nana? She'd left Skylar for only a minute to go get more food and drink for them, but the man had taken his chance and swooped in the moment Nana was out of sight. Olly and Fiona had run off somewhere, and Victoria and Laura had went to see Percy and Leo. All of her barriers of defense had left her. She didn't want to be talking to him, not in the slightest, but she also didn't want to draw attention by making him angry. He seemed like the type of man who wouldn't take rejection well, and the last thing she needed was to ruin Orion's night by drawing him away from his people. She had no doubt that he would come to her side if he thought she was being harassed by a clan member.
The man leaned down to whisper in her ear, invading her personal space. He'd introduced himself as Samuel, smirking down at her as if she should be falling at his feet. As if his attention was the greatest privilege of her life. If only he knew who he was talking to. Blood or not, she was raised as a princess, and those in her presence treated her as such. They didn't look down on her, no one except for Draco, and they wouldn't dare even think of it.
"I see the Alpha has left you all alone," his voice sneered in her ear with a harsh whisper. "I can take much better care of you, if you would let me, darling." She knew exactly what he meant and so did her dragon. The beast snarled in her head, but didn't try to escape. They'd come to an understanding when the cage was broken, and she trusted Skylar to handle this presumptuous male.
She didn't think attacking him would be the best idea, nor screaming in his face, so she decided against that. She believed that, if he were so inclined, he could beat her to a pulp. Only a cowardly man would hit a woman who was so obviously weaker than him when all she did was offend him, but he seemed like the type. He reminded her of the noble men in court, the ones who thought themselves so important, so long as the only people they associated with were those weaker than him, lower in rank. The minute someone of high status appeared, those men slinked off. She doubted Samuel was any different, and normally he wouldn't have been a problem; she was a princess and if she wanted to put someone in her place she could. But she was out of her realm, and they were in his. She was no one here, no one other than the Alpha's project. She would have to tread lightly around this scenario.
As he stepped back from her, he reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind he read. His fingers ran along her cheek in what was supposed to me a flirtatious manner, but it caused only disgusted shivers to run down her spine. Anger flushed her skin and she twisted her fingers together to keep from smacking that smug smile from his face. Leaving some good gashes probably wouldn't hurt either. Her resolve to not make a scene was slowly slipping away from her. It didn't help that her dragon, blood-thirsty creature she was, was encouraging Skylar's violent streak.
Skylar looked down at her boots and took a deep breath, giving herself strength to hold out until Nana returned. She'd dealt with men like this before, in court. She simply ignored them or smiled politely until they got bored with her, or someone intervened. The only problem was that, this time, her dragon was free. Before she simply shoved the beast further back into her cage, but now Skylar could do very little to suppress her anger. She wouldn't last nearly as long with her dragon as irritated as it was.
Samuel's hand reached up to grab her chin and tilt it up to look at him. Before Skylar could stop herself, her hand flew up and grabbed his wrist. Her claws came out and dug into his skin and her eyes began glowing menacingly. He gasped and his hand released her chin, but she only tightened her grip on his arm. She could feel blood begin to drip around her claws where they were embedded into him.
"Don't touch me," she growled softly. "Don't assume I want anything to do with you. Just because Orion left me alone doesn't mean you, or anyone else, has any right to try to assert themselves over me."
Samuel's yellow eyes started to glow in response to her anger and his mouth opened to reveal sharpening teeth. She felt his hand clench as his claws grew, but her eyes never left his. She didn't think she could beat him, she had no fighting experience or training, but she thought she could at least leave a few marks on him.
She increased her grip on him, but remained calm as his anger grew. She could almost taste it in the air. Not only was she hurting him physically, she'd wounded his pride. That was a dangerous combination with an arrogant man. He was getting ready to take a swing at her when a rumbling voice came over her shoulder.
"Try it. We'll see how it goes for you, Samuel," Orion warned. Skylar tried not to feel relief at his appearance, but it came anyway. She turned her head to look up at him, and nearly froze in fear herself. Orion was an intimidating man anyway, but with his body paint, scaled garment, and true anger clouding his eyes, he was downright terrifying. She hadn't seen Orion using his Alpha rank yet, not really, and now it had arrived in full force. She was just thankful it wasn't directed at her.
Samuel immediately submitted, casting his gaze to the ground and retracting his claws and teeth. Skylar slowly let go of his arm, trying not to gag at the blood that was on her fingers. Samuel backed away a few steps, his gaze anywhere but at Orion. "Alpha, I didn't mean-"
"I know what you meant," Orion snarled. "And so did Skylar. Come near her again, and I will kill you. Understand?"
"Yes, Alpha," Samuel began to scurry away. "I'm sorry, Alpha." And he was gone in a flash. Skylar took a small amount of satisfaction from the fact that she'd been correct about him. As soon as someone of higher rank than him arrived, he lost all illusion of bravery or strength.
Skylar turned to look at Orion, finding him still staring after the nasty man. "You didn't have to interfere." She knew she should have thanked him, but she still didn't like the relief she'd felt at his arrival. It made her feel like she couldn't have handled it on her own.
"Yes I did." He didn't elaborate further, but looked around at the people behind him. Skylar understood his meaning; no one was paying them any attention. If he hadn't interfered, there would have been a scene. It was also likely that the clan would have taken Samuel's side; she was the outsider, he wasn't. Skylar looked back up at him again, only to find those golden eyes trained on her. She stared into them for a moment, and though he hid his thoughts well, she couldn't help but fell that there had been another reason he'd had to interfere.
"I still could have handled him," she muttered, looking away. Her pride was slightly wounded, although she knew it was dumb. She wasn't used to people having to come to her rescue, or people treating her poorly either. She didn't like it. "I deal with people like that all the time in court."
"What does that mean?" Orion asked, and Skylar realized that she'd revealed just a little too much about herself.
She waved her hand nonchalantly. "Nothing, it's just-- just people who think highly of themselves."
"In court?"
She looked up at him. "Let it go. You have more important things to worry about tonight."
"I won't let it go," he snapped. "Who are you?"
"I'm no one!" she growled back, drawing a few glances. Orion noticed the attention as well and grabbed her arm, dragging her back toward the Village.
She snarled and tried to tug her arm from his grasp. This was far to reminiscent of the first time they had met; he hadn't treated her like this since that night. "Let me go!"
"No," he shot down at her. "We're going to talk about who you are, and we're going to talk about it now."
His anger was palpable, and she had no idea why he was so upset. Yes, Samuel had been in her face, and she'd almost caused quite a lot of tension with the clan by fighting with him, but it was over. No harm done. Her dragon of course would like to go back and tear him in half, but neither one of them was going to act on it. Skylar looked up at Orion, and his eyebrows were pulled together and his mouth was set in a stern grimace. Something was really eating at him.
He was silent until they got back to the Square, where he sat her down on the stairs in front of the infirmary. She thought he would loom over her, but instead he took a seat next to her, leaving about six inches between them.
He took a deep breath, letting it whoosh out. His anger seemed to go with it. "Are you okay?"
"What?" She was taken aback by that; she had expected him to immediately get in her face about her identity, which she really didn't want to tell him. The only problem was that Orion was the kind of man who got what he wanted, and there was really no reason she shouldn't tell him. She just had no idea what he would do, or what she would do. As much as she missed Greta and her parents and wanted to go home, this new peace she found with her dragon wasn't something she couldn't give up easily. She couldn't go back to suppressing that side of her all the time.
"Did he hurt you?" There was genuine concern in his eyes.
"Oh, no he didn't," she assured him. She didn't point out that he had wanted to, and likely would have if Orion hadn't shown up. "He was just trying to assert his dominance, I think, trying to get me to think he was important. He's a low ranking member of the clan, isn't he?"
Orion gave her an odd look, and nodded. "Yeah, he is. Very perceptive."
"Humans are like that too."
"And you're a high ranking human." It wasn't a question.
She tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, nodding without meeting his eyes. "Yes, I am."
He nodded thoughtfully. "I thought so."
"You thought so?"
A smirk appeared on his face. "You were wearing a very fancy dress. Low ranking members of society don't have dresses like that. Even I, a dragon without much experience in human customs, knows that much. Plus that necklace," he motioned to the necklace Jonathan had given her. "It looks expensive."
She touched the necklace where it rested beneath her shirt, feeling guilty about not thinking about Jonathan. She also had a strange aversion to telling Orion about where she got it. Luckily he didn't ask.
Orion continued. "You also have a way of looking down your nose at me, as if you're used to being one of the most important people in the room. You can imagine that I, someone who isn't used to be looked down on, noticed that right away."
Skylar blushed and and finally looked over at him. "I don't mean to."
"I know. That's how I figured out you were important. It came so naturally to you."
She laughed quietly and looked out at the quiet Square. Orion shifted next to her, waiting. She knew he was waiting for her to say who she was. She figured now was as good a time as ever. She'd have to tell him eventually, or he'd figure it out. She just had to trust he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. That's when she realized that she did trust him that way. Orion wouldn't harm her; he would come to her rescue. She'd known him for three days, and she was as sure about that as she had ever been about anything in her life. He'd been nothing but kind to her, bar their first encounter. He was helpful and patient, and without him she would be stuck in Draco's dungeon. She owed him her life.
"Harold and Violet," she finally said. "My parents' names are Harold and Violet."
She could sense him thinking it over, trying to place the names. Her dragon paced within her head, waiting for his response. He finally shook his head.
"The names are familiar," he admitted. "But I can't place them."
Skylar took a deep breath. "They're familiar because they are the king and queen, Orion."
There was a moment of silence before he shot to his feet. Now he started looming over her. "What?!" he demanded. His face was full of anger and something akin to fear, but not quite that intense. Maybe anxiety.
She almost shrunk away from him, but her dragon wouldn't let her. So she rose to her feet to meet his glare. "I'm the daughter of King Harold and Queen Violet. I'm the crown princess of the kingdom of Trael."
His eyes widened at the directness of her words, and she watched as they sunk in. "Dear God, help us," he whispered, running his hands through his hair and spinning away from her. "I kidnapped the princess. I kidnapped the humans' princess."
She remained quiet as he paced back and forth, processing this information. This is what she had been worried about. She couldn't tell what he was going to do with her. And whatever he chose, she wasn't going to win. If he chose to keep her there, she wasn't going to see her parents again. If he let her leave, sent her away, she would have to live in hiding once again.
And you won't get to see Orion again, a small, tiny voice whispered inside her. She shook her head. No, no thoughts like that. She couldn't afford to have thoughts like that.
Orion finally spun around to look at her. "The king and queen know what you are, and they let you live?" he asked.
She made a face at him and shrugged. "I don't know why they did it. I'm their only heir, even if it isn't by blood, and I've figured out it isn't by blood. I'm the only hope for the future of the kingdom." It hurt to admit that they likely only let her live because of that, but it was probably the truth. Either way, she loved them, and she wanted to believe they loved her.
"And they have no idea where you are?"
"I knocked my tiara off when I was kidnapped," she told him. "If they found it... I don't know what they'd think. I don't think that they would assume I ran away. I've always been a model princess. And if they knew where I was, then they'll be on the way here. I don't know how long it takes by road."
"A few weeks," he ran his hands through his hair again. His appearance was almost comical. He was painted from head to toe, he wore a garment made out of dragon scales, his hair was standing up on end, and his eyes were wide. She hadn't seen him like this before. It was all at once unnerving and refreshing; Orion could get ruffled just like anyone else.
"Wait," he froze, staring at her. "You said the man who kidnapped you threatened you and your parents. Who would dare threaten the royal family? Who would you be afraid of? I've seen you, Skylar. I watched you handle Samuel a little while ago. He easily could have hurt you, and you still stood up to him. You aren't afraid of much."
Her fingers found each other and she twisted them together, hesitating. She wasn't sure why, she'd already told him who she was. That was the most important part, she thought.
"Skylar, I need all the pieces to the puzzle. Please," he whispered. "My clan. If the humans find out you're here, they'll be in danger. I need to know if I need to keep you or send you home. If the man isn't much of a threat, I can send you home with an apology letter or something and they'll be safe again."
That hurt a little, that he'd be so ready to send her away. Maybe she had become more fond of him than he had of her. It was entirely possible, and she shouldn't expect much else. To Orion, she was nothing. Simply a thorn in his side, disrupting his life. If that's how he was going to be, she would build up a wall against him. She couldn't let herself get any more attached.
"Fine," she spat out venomously. She was aware it wasn't really warranted that she be so cruel, but her pride had been wounded. "Draco. He's a fellow king. That's who threatened me."
As soon as his name was out of her mouth, all color drained from Orion's face.