They Wanted Me to Serve My Sister, So I Joined the Northern Dragon King Chapter 09
I had barely made it down the steps of the Central Dragon Court when Lorne came running after me.
His face was white. His right arm was still wrapped in thick bandages, and he carried a large mithril case against his chest.
“Elaia, wait.”
He blocked my path and fumbled the case open.
“This is the gilt-steel wing armor I had made for you. Everything I owe you, I’ll make up for.”
Fire magic rippled across the armor’s surface. Cecilia’s favorite rose pattern was etched on the inside, and the armor had been made entirely to her measurements.
I glanced at it once.
“This is Cecilia’s.”
Lorne froze.
“That’s impossible. The attendant must have grabbed the wrong one.”
“My core is frost-aligned. I hate the rose pattern. And my wingspan is an inch wider than Cecilia’s.”
I looked up at him.
“You used to know all of this.”
Three years ago, he had remembered that I couldn’t eat meat from fire-aligned beasts, that my core ached faintly every winter, and that he should save me the shaded spot on the training grounds.
After Cecilia appeared, the only things he remembered were what she liked.
Lorne’s eyes reddened.
“I was just careless. I didn’t think you’d actually leave.”
“Because I was always waiting for you?”
Lorne’s lips moved, but he didn’t answer.
His silence was answer enough.
“So you arranged an academy seat, housing, and a personal guard for her, but arranged an attendant contract for me?”
“I just wanted to keep you close.”
His voice dropped lower.
“You couldn’t transform, and you weren’t good with people. As long as you followed Cecilia into the academy and then bonded with me, I could have provided for you forever.”
“It never occurred to you to ask whether I would be willing.”
“We grew up together. You were always going to bond with me.”
He said it as though it were a given.
Just as my parents had assumed they could take my blood. Just as my brother had assumed he could hand my mines to Cecilia.
They all knew they were hurting me.
The First Frost Dragon Knight Squadron was waiting for their commander.
I strode to the edge of the platform and transformed into a great frost dragon.
My wings unfurled in the sunligh casting a silver shadow that blanketed the entire square.
The next moment, I led my knights into the sky, soaring beyond the North.
Eighteen years ago, they gave me life.
Every day from now on belongs to me alone.
