“Why?” I ask Thorne, who stands watching me as one of my father’s guards handcuff my arms behind me. The woman with the dagger moves it away from my neck, walking around me to stand next to Thorne. I didn’t think I could be more shocked, but I am at seeing my stepmother's self-satisfied smile. Her long white hair is down, and she has a white leather outfit on with a white cloak. Her crown sparkles on her head in the light, very much like Thorne’s does. Thorne must have dyed his hair and worn contacts; his once brown hair is now an almost white blonde colour, and his eyes are no longer hazel, they are blue. A pale blue like mine. He looks like an ice dragon, he might even be one. He did say he was the fire and ice heir. He doesn’t speak a word, only staring at me and not moving. He’s like an ice sculpture, but one I want to smash into a million pieces for betraying me. I thought he was my friend, and I trusted him. Hell, I even liked him. My dragon growls low in my mind, her anger towards him is even scarier than mine. Heartbreak and betrayal swim through my mind as I look around Thorne, seeing my father’s body once more. I’ve lost everything, everyone is gone.

“I will answer that,” my step mother says, the happiness in her voice is hard to miss.

“I don’t even remember your name. You’re just the bitch that married my father and clearly betrayed him,” I sneer, laughing at her as her eyes narrow. She walks over, slapping me hard across the face, and I fall to the floor.

“Careful now, and it’s Tatarina,” she says as I look up at her. The door to the left of the throne room opens, and Esmeralda walks in, her red heels clicking on the floor. Her cloak is gone, replaced with a red leather outfit much like her sisters, though hers is dripping with blood. There’s blood in her red hair and splattered across her face as she smiles at me. It’s a sinister smile and when she gets close enough, her scent hits me. I didn’t smell it before, she must of hid it, but I know straight away where I recognise it from.

“You bitch, you killed Jace!” I scream at her, trying to get up, but a sword pokes into my back. I turn around to see a dragon guard watching me, his sword placed on my back and threatening to pierce all the way through me. The dragon guard will protect the new royal family, and that’s not me anymore. They protect the queen, my step-mother, as she holds the throne. It was never given to me, neither was the curse that comes with the crown. I imagine she plans to give it to Thorne, as she called him her king.

“Yes, well, I remember. He was not a fighter that one,” she laughs, and I growl low.

“I will complete my vow, you evil bitch!” I scream. She just laughs as she walks over to Thorne and my step mother.

“Everything is done. I will return to the academy to finish the other issues, sister,” she says and then bows at Thorne.

“My king, how the crown suits you,” she practically purrs.

“You are no king, just an idiot wearing a crown that isn’t his,” I spit out, and he narrows his eyes on me, still silent like a ghost.

“Let me tell you a story, one that will explain all this, and then perhaps you will watch your tongue,” she says, walking closer to Thorne and resting her hand on his arm in a loving way as she stares at him.

“This is my son, a son I had with a fire dragon before I was dragged from my home to marry a king I had never even met. My son was hidden with an adoptive family I found, kept safe as I built the fire rebellion up and made the true heir an army,” she says, clearly proud, and yet I can’t believe her.

“An ice dragon and fire dragon can’t have a child,” I say in disbelief.

“Yes, they can,” Thorne finally speaks, holding out both his hands. In one hand a ball of flame appears and in the other a sphere of ice. He smashes them together and grins at me.

“You apparently shouldn’t believe everything you hear, princess,” he says coldly.

“I would have given you the throne, I never wanted it! You didn’t have to kill my father for it!” I shout at them both and Tatarina laughs, looking behind me. I turn, looking to see Dagan, Elias, and Korbin being dragged into the room. They all look like they put up a hell of fight, none of them are conscious as they are thrown onto the ground near me.

“Get the seer,” Tatarina says, walking over to the guys and stopping near Elias. She moves to touch him, and I roar so loudly it shakes the ground around us, and ice spreads across the floor without me even realising I was doing it.

“You were right, it seems,” Tatarina says, moving her hand away and smiling like she just won something.

“We should kill her and them, despite the price,” Tatarina continues, flipping a dagger around in her hand as she walks back to Thorne.

“We cannot, not with the tree spirit blessing. I have explained this to you mother,” Thorne replies, clearly frustrated.

“Fine, we will play by the rules and stick to our plan, for now. She won’t be a threat, none of them will be soon,” she says. No one says a word for a long time, as I stare at my dragon guard with tears running down my face. If they die because of me, I won’t be able to forgive myself. Everyone dies because of me, it never seems to stop.

“Was any of it real?” I ask Thorne, wanting to hear him admit it was fake from the start, as I look up at him.

“None of it,” he says, his words cold as ice.

“I will kill you, and I promise that will be real,” I threaten, and he smiles.

“I look forward to the day you try, and I get a reason to kill you,” he replies, looking away as the door to my right opens. A girl, with her face hidden under a cloak walks in, her red dress moving around her as she moves towards Thorne.

“I was called,” she says, her voice strangely familiar to me.

“Wipe her memory, and lock their dragons away. We will make her human, with no memory of who she is, and leave her on Earth. As for the guards, I will deal with them,” Tatarina says, and I nearly choke on my fear. Can she erase my memory of everything? Make me human?

“NO!” I scream. Standing up, I knock the guard out the way and try to run away when ice freezes my boots to the floor and spreads up my legs, stopping at my knees. Tears fall down my face as the woman in the cloak bows and walks over to me. I keep my eyes locked with Thorne’s as the seer puts her hands on either side of my head, and whispers inside my mind.

“Forget everything.”