The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 134: The Rise of Dragons

Chapter 134: The Rise of Dragons

The sun was already about to set when they finally returned to Corvus Palace. Mineah smiled as she looked out the window. It would be the first time she would see the entrance of the Corvus Palace in daylight. Sunlight was sparse because of the winter, but currently, there was enough light coming from the sky for her to have a better view.

Excited, she peeked her head out the window to have an even better view of the palace. A while ago, she had been too excited about picking her sister Xenia up at the port that she forgot to take a look outside as they left the Corvus Palace.

Now, she could see that water surrounded the whole palace, with the entire structure being situated above a waterfall as they entered the eastern entrance of the palace. She was aware that they were surrounded by water, but she hadn’t seen just how exactly that was the case from the Amaranth Palace where she last stayed.

"It’s your first time to see this part of the palace. Isn’t it, Mine?" Nikolai hummed. "Now that the Midnight Sun has ended, I can finally tour you around later..."

Mineah simply smiled as she kept on gazing at the palace exterior. The design of it all was truly extraordinary, and the only thing that connected the Corvus Palace to land were the bridges extending out of it in almost all directions from its base. It also had dark black stones lining its walls, with the only thing shining bright on it being the gold carvings and sculptures decorating its surroundings.

Looking up in the sky, Nikolai’s vultures and ravens flew all around the palace, and they made a few eerie caws as if welcoming their arrival.

[Nik, are you enjoying being with your kind up there?] she asked her pet.

[Indeed, Master,] Nik eagerly replied. [Actually, can I stay here for a while? I’ll fly to you immediately as soon as you need me, Master.]

[Sure,] she casually shrugged. [Take your time and have fun up there.]

Mineah enjoyed the view as much as she could. As soon as the carriage stopped, she quickly got out to be with her sister.

"Mine, why don’t you escort the Princess to their assigned bedchamber now?" Nikolai suggested. "Darius and I will need to head to the throne hall and meet the court officials."

Mineah nodded and excitedly held her sister’s hand. "Come now, Big sister," she hummed with a wide smile as she then guided them both to the bedchamber assigned to her and King Darius.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Mineah didn’t have a hand in such a selection. Entering the room she personally chose for her sister, she said, "I hope you’ll like this bedchamber. It’s the best guest chamber near ours."

"This is perfect, little sister," Xenia answered with a smile as she looked around. Walking up to the balcony, she then asked, "Will their discussion take long?"

Mineah let the question linger as the darkness of the night set in. Except for the moonlight and the illuminating light sources coming from outside the castle, their surroundings were practically pitch black. From where they were standing, Mineah could hear the sound of running water. It was rather soothing, even if it was rather chilly at the moment.

Letting out a soft hum to herself, she watched Xenia from afar, and she could tell that her sister was worried. Grabbing a blanket, Mineah wrapped it around her sister’s shoulders from behind as she said, "Come back inside, Sister. It’s cold out here."

She then pulled Xenia back inside and she answered, "As for their meeting, they’ll probably take a bit longer. But it won’t be too long to have them deprive us of being with us during supper time."

"Let’s hope that’s the case then," Xenia nodded with a small scoff.

A knock then interrupted their company, with her sister being the first to dart her eyes towards the newcomer in the room. Of course, Mineah already knew who it was as she smiled at the plate of tea and snacks that Dani was carrying."It’s been a while, Dani," Xenia greeted. "How are you and the others?"

"I’m good, Princess Xenia," Dani politely answered with a slight bow. "It’s nice to see you as well."

Zaila and Krisha soon followed, politely greeting her sister in the same manner. Of course, her sister was quick to notice something about the group.

"Where are Niran and Laura?" Xenia curiously asked.

"Hmm, they’re outside," Mineah answered, lying through her teeth. "I asked them to do something for me earlier."

It was for the best. Laura and Niran not being with her inside the palace would probably worry her sister enough that she’d escalate.

"I see..." Xenia commented with a nod.

A minute of silence settled within the room as they all assumed their chosen positions. With a nagging question, however, Xenia broke it for her own curiosity.

"Tell me, Mineah. Something’s wrong, right? What is going on with our big brother?" she suddenly asked. "I noticed how pale you get whenever I ask, and how quickly you try to change the topic whenever we talk about him."

Her question caught Mineah by surprise. Gulping, she signaled her shadow maidens to leave them. She then turned back to her sister the moment they had their privacy.

"Mother and Father will scold me for this," Mineah murmured with a sigh, making Xenia frown.

"Why? I’m more mature now compared to before. I’m emotionally stronger now, so you all shouldn’t keep something important from me out of some unwarranted fear," Xenia complained with a frown. "Seriously! I can’t believe that you’re all hiding something from me. What happened to Ezekiel? Do I need to rush out to the encampment right now just to know about it?"

After a few moments, Mineah let out a heavy sigh. Maybe it would be better if her sister Xenia was at least aware of what was happening.

"...Big Brother is missing, but he’s fine," Mineah admitted. "We thought it’d be best that you weren’t made aware of it so that you can focus more on your battles and struggles, big sister." She sighed as she explained, "You see... Mother and wizard Lurio are doing the best they can right now to bring our Brother back. Something happened..."

"Tell me then," Xenia murmured. Mineah could tell how her sister was trying her best to act calm.

"...He turned into a dragon somehow," Mineah answered, her own disbelief somewhat palpable in her tone. "I’m not sure of the exact details though, big sister. Mother is actually on her way to the encampment right now, and I’m about to make my way there as well once you leave with King Darius and go back to Cordon."

Mineah grabbed her sister by the hand, holding onto her firmly as she added, "No one must know about this. Only I, our parents, Lurio... and I could only assume that Mother had also already informed Jayra, should know about this. No one must know that the dragon that suddenly appeared on the battlefield was our brother Ezekiel."

She continued with a grave tone, "Right now, the news has already spread about the rise of dragons, and I’ve heard that Valcrez will want to investigate this together with Cordon and the other kingdoms who feel threatened about the current events..."