Fire

Chapter Thirty Seven

Upon entering the room, I see Dalla, Fenrir, Jokull, and Gunnar sitting at a table across from the king, Aurora, and Sebastian. I was surprised to see him here since he had told me he was leaving. He wouldn't look at me so I could tell he was upset about something. Emil lead me to a seat at the end of the table, and then went to sit beside his father, who was at the end opposite me, on the right side of the table. Everyone just sat there for a few minutes in an awkward silence.

"Sooo... Anyone want to explain to me what's going on?" I ask. They all look at each other, waiting for someone to step up and explain. When no one does, the kings speaks.

"You're family is trying to get us to "release" you back to them. I have tried to explain to them that you are not being held here against your will-" I scoff but he continues. "You are free to go home, to visit."

"So you are keeping her captive," Jokull said.

"I said no such thing. She is engaged to the Crown Prince and therefore to be under the protection of the royal guards. Therefore, she cannot be released to you permanently, or we would be putting her life in danger, which we will, under no circumstances, do willingly."

"So then void the engagement. Unmake her the future Queen of Dragons. So then she can go home." Fenrir says venomously.

"We cannot void the engagement. Not only do the dragons need a queen, but Emil needs a mate, his queen. So we cannot release Ember from this engagement," the king states firmly.

"Even though the engagement wasn't mutually agreed..." I mumble. I see Fenrir look over at me and I know he heard what I said.

"Um, Father?" I hear Emil say in a quiet voice, which is odd for him. Usually he's very loud and wants to be the center of attention. Everyone turns and looks at him. "I have found my mate, my true mate, and it is not Ember."

"This is wonderful news son! Who is she?"

"Father let us discuss this later. Right now, we should be talking about Ember, and releasing her to her family," he says, slightly distracted. I hear his father grumble a bit at this but makes no further comment. I am a bit taken back that he is focused on returning me home than on the fact that he found his mate. Not that I'm arguing, I want to go home, but I'm going to miss all the friends I've made here.

"Now about taking Ember home..." Jokull trails off.

"Yes of course. We will need a month no explain everything and get everything situated for her departure. Until then, we will give you comfortable rooms to stay in until everything is settled. I hope you agree to this," the king states. Everyone except Dalla and Aurora nod, they seem to both me in their own worlds. With that settled, everyone gets up to leave, Sebastian still hasn't looked at me the entire time and I'm beginning to wonder if I did something to upset him. I don't know how I could have, seeing as how we talked and then he was supposed to have left and we were on good terms so I am very confused. Now that we have been "dismissed" by the king we all get up and leave, although Dalla and Aurora still don't move. I don't really care what they do with themselves, the only thing I want to do now is get out of here and visit Conny. When I make it out into the hallway, I think I'm in the clear so I head to the infirmary but little did I know someone was following me. I was ten feet from the entrance of the infirmary when someone calls out to me.

"Ember!" A male voice says, the owner of the voice trying to catch my attention. Reluctantly, I stop and turn around to see Seb jogging to reach me. "I wanted to talk to you, but you ran out before I could catch you."

"What did you need to talk to me about? Because I was on my way to visit Conny, so..."

"I wanted to ask you something but before I do, I want you to know that I will go through all the rituals and things required by you and your family. And I understand if you say no, I know you have Fenrir but I just thought-"

"What are you trying to say Seb?"

"I would like permission to uh... court you, or whatever else your people call it," he says in a rush. I am so shocked I don't know what to say. Out of everyone trying to marry me, he was the person I least expected.

"You want to... court me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you are so... kind and unique. Emil told me about your conversation on the way to the hall. That even though you are higher ranking than the soldier, you showed him great respect, when with your title you could treat him like dirt and no one could question you about it. Also... we share a common oddity. We both personify fire. Contrary to what your people think, fire breathing dragons are rare. The more popular form of dragons are ice dragons since we live far in the mountains we adjusted to the climate and took in its powers. So I understand what you go through with being... unique."

"Oh... uh... Can I have a little bit?" I ask. His face falls but he nods. "It's nothing to do with you Seb. It just that I literally just got out of the engagement I was forced into ten minutes ago. I just need a little breathing room, okay?"

"Yeah, you're right. It is a little soon. Sorry. Go on ahead and visit Conny. Come find me when you've made a decision, okay? And I will understand if you say no Ember. I won't me mad at you."

"Thanks," I whisper before continuing on my way to visit Conny.