Isla's POV
I press my hands against the door the moment Seraphine leaves.
My breath comes in short, panicked gasps. She knows. She absolutely knows I'm not Princess Celeste. The way she looked at me, the questions about my freckles and callused hands she sees right through me.
And tonight I have to have dinner alone with Draeven.
I pace across my chambers, trying to calm down. Think, Isla. Think like Lady Helena taught you. Stay in character. Never break.
A knock startles me so badly I trip over my own feet.
"Princess?" A timid voice calls through the wood. "It's Lyra, your maid. Lady Seraphine sent me to help you settle in."
I straighten my dress and open the door. Lyra stands there holding fresh linens, her face apologetic.
"I'm so sorry to disturb you, Your Highness. I know you must be exhausted. But Lady Seraphine insists on giving you a tour of the palace before dinner tonight. She says you should know the important locations."
Of course she does. More time to study me. More chances to catch me making mistakes.
"When?" I ask, my voice coming out steadier than I feel.
"Now, Your Highness. She's waiting in the eastern corridor."
No time to prepare. No time to practice my lies. Just straight into another test.
"Fine." I grab a shawl and follow Lyra through passages that twist in directions that make my head hurt.
Seraphine waits exactly where Lyra said, looking patient and dangerous. Her swirling eyes lock onto me the moment I appear.
"Ah, Princess. Ready to see your new home?"
"Yes, Lady Seraphine."
"Just Seraphine, please. We're going to be spending quite a bit of time together." She starts walking without checking if I follow.
I hurry to catch up, Lyra trailing behind us.
We move through corridors where the walls pulse with warmth. I touch one experimentally, expecting it to burn. Instead, it feels pleasantly warm, like sun-heated stone.
"Dragon fire runs through the mountain," Seraphine explains without looking back. "The palace is alive in ways human buildings never are. It responds to dragon magic, shifts to accommodate those who live here, remembers everyone who's ever walked these halls."
"The palace remembers people?" I ask before thinking.
Seraphine glances back at me. "Everything in Draconia has memory. The stones, the snow, the fire itself. Dragons live for centuries their magic requires permanence."
We enter a gallery filled with portraits. Dragons in human form, all with the same silver-white hair as Draeven. His family, I realize. Generations of Dragon Kings and Queens staring down at me with knowing eyes.
"King Draeven's parents," Seraphine says, stopping before two particular portraits. "King Aldric and Queen Meira. They died fighting Lord Malachar ten years ago."
"Lord Malachar?" The name sounds like poison.
"A shadow sorcerer. Very old, very powerful, very evil. He cursed the dragon kingdom before he was banished." Seraphine's face darkens. "The curse still affects us. That's why Draeven needs this marriage alliance."
My stomach drops. "What kind of curse?"
"That's not my story to tell." She moves on quickly. "The King will explain when he's ready."
We pass through a training yard where young dragons practice shifting between forms. I watch in horrified fascination as a teenage boy suddenly sprouts wings and scales, his body contorting in ways that should be impossible.
"Does it hurt?" I whisper. "Transforming?"
"At first. But dragons learn young. By adulthood, it's as natural as breathing." Seraphine studies my reaction. "You've never seen real magic before, have you?"
"I've seen some things." Lie carefully. Princess Celeste would have seen court magicians, fortune tellers, illusionists.
"Court tricks and carnival shows don't count." Seraphine's voice carries amusement. "This is real magic. Ancient magic. The kind that built kingdoms and toppled empires."
We climb stairs that spiral upward forever. My legs burn, but Seraphine doesn't slow down. Finally, we emerge onto an open platform.
The Sky Platform, where I'll be married in three days.
Wind tears at my hair and dress. Snow swirls around us even though the platform itself remains clear. And everywhere absolutely everywhere dragons fill the sky.
A massive golden dragon swoops past close enough that I feel the wind from its wings. I stumble backward, my heart hammering.
"Don't be afraid," Seraphine says calmly. "They're curious about you. The first human bride in fifty years."
"What happened to the last one?" The question escapes before I can stop it.
"She died." Seraphine's tone holds no emotion. "Childbirth. Very sad. Draeven was just a boy then."
I stare at the dragons circling above us. In three days, I'll stand here surrounded by creatures that could tear me apart. Making vows to a king I don't know. Sealing a magical bond that will expose every lie I've ever told.
"Having second thoughts?" Seraphine asks quietly.
"No." The lie tastes bitter. "Just overwhelmed."
"Hmm." That sound again. The one that says she doesn't believe a word.
She leads me back inside and through more passages. We pass kitchens where cooks prepare food that smells incredible. Gardens that shouldn't exist underground but flourish anyway, growing strange plants I don't recognize.
"The Queen's Garden," Seraphine says as we enter a space filled with silver flowers that chime like bells when the wind touches them. "Every Dragon Queen has tended this garden. Added her own plants. Left her mark. Soon it will be yours to care for."
The Idea of staying here long enough to plant gardens makes my chest tighten.
We continue to the library three massive floors of books surrounding a fireplace burning with rainbow flames. The heat pulses like a heartbeat.
I move toward the books without thinking, my fingers itching to touch them. I've always loved reading, loved learning. The palace library back home was forbidden to servants, but sometimes I'd sneak in late at night and
"You like books," Seraphine observes. It's not a question.
I freeze. Princess Celeste hates reading anything educational. She only tolerates romantic novels.
"I like beautiful things," I correct quickly. "The fire is very pretty."
"The fire is ancient dragon magic given form. It's powerful, dangerous, and absolutely deadly if approached incorrectly." Seraphine walks closer to me. "But you called it pretty. Interesting choice of words for someone who grew up surrounded by magic and power."
My pulse races. "I meant no offense"
"None taken." She circles me slowly. "Tell me, Princess. What's your favorite book?"
The trap springs before I can avoid it. "I I enjoy romantic stories. Love conquering all obstacles. That sort of thing."
"How lovely." Seraphine's smile doesn't reach her eyes. "And which romantic story is your favorite? Surely you have one you've read multiple times?"
My mind goes blank. I don't know any romantic novels. I've never had time to read for pleasure. All I know are the old fairy tales my mother left me and the practical books about herbs and healing I'd study late at night.
"I have so many favorites," I stall. "It's hard to choose just one."
"Try." The word is gentle but commands obedience.
"The the tale of the knight and the shepherdess?" I grasp at something that sounds romantic. "Where love bridges the class divide?"
Seraphine's eyebrow raises. "I'm not familiar with that one. Who wrote it?"
"I don't remember the author." Sweat beads on my forehead despite the comfortable temperature. "It's been a while since I read it."
"Pity. I'd love to read a story about class divides being overcome." Her emphasis on those last words feels deliberate. "It seems very relevant to certain situations."
We stare at each other. The rainbow fire crackles between us.
"We should continue the tour," Seraphine finally says. "There's still much to see."
She shows me dining halls, council chambers, and rooms whose purposes I don't understand. Every space feels designed to intimidate, to remind me how small and insignificant I am in this place of ancient power.
Finally, we return to the corridor near my chambers. My feet ache. My head spins with information. My nerves are completely shredded.
"That's the essential tour," Seraphine says. "You'll learn the rest as you go. Any questions?"
A thousand questions. But none I can ask without revealing my ignorance.
"No, thank you. You've been very thorough."
"I try to be." Seraphine tilts her head, studying me one more time. "You're not at all what I expected, Princess Celeste."
"What did you expect?"
"Someone harder. Crueler. More entitled." She pauses. "The letters from your kingdom painted a very specific picture of your personality. But you seem different. Softer. Almost uncertain of yourself."
"People can surprise you," I manage.
"Indeed they can." Seraphine steps closer, lowering her voice. "Can I give you some advice, child?"
I nod, not trusting my voice.
"The King is a good man. Better than most. He's lonely, burdened with responsibility, desperate to save his people from a curse he didn't create. He deserves honesty. He deserves someone who sees him as more than just a crown and a title."
Her words feel like knives. Because everything about me is dishonest. Everything.
"I'll try to be a good wife," I whisper.
"Will you?" Seraphine's swirling eyes seem to see straight into my soul. "Or will you be something else entirely?"
Before I can respond, she steps back and her formal tone returns.
"Rest now. You have a few hours before dinner. I suggest you use them wisely. Prepare yourself mentally as well as physically. The King will have questions tonight. Personal questions. He wants to know the woman he's marrying, not just the princess title."
My blood runs cold. "What kind of questions?"
"About your life. Your dreams. Your fears. Your truths." Each word lands like a blow. "Draeven values honesty above all else. He'll be able to tell if you're hiding something important."
She starts to walk away, then pauses.
"Oh, one more thing. The King will see you for dinner tonight. Private. Just the two of you. Seven o'clock. Don't be late."
She disappears around a corner, leaving me alone in the corridor.
Just the two of us. Private. Personal questions.
I lean against the wall, my legs threatening to give out.
Three hours until I sit across from a dragon king who values honesty and can probably sense lies.
Three hours to become Princess Celeste so completely that even magic won't see through my disguise.
Three hours before everything either works perfectly or falls apart catastrophically.
I stumble back to my chambers and close the door.
The clock on the wall shows four o'clock.
Three hours left.
Three hours to prepare for the most dangerous dinner of my life with a man who expects truth from someone who is nothing but lies.